2016 New Zealand Warriors season
NRL Rank10th
2016 recordWins: 10; draws: 0; losses: 14
Team information
CEOJim Doyle
CoachAndrew McFadden
Assistant coachJustin Morgan
Andrew Webster
Captains
StadiumMount Smart Stadium
Avg. attendance14,302
Top scorers
TriesSolomone Kata (15)
PointsShaun Johnson (125)
< 2015 2017 >

The 2016 New Zealand Warriors season was the 22nd season in the club's history. Coached by Andrew McFadden and captained by Ryan Hoffman, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2016 Telstra Premiership and the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines tournament.

Milestones

See also: List of New Zealand Warriors representatives

Jersey and sponsors

In 2016 the Warriors jerseys were again made by Canterbury of New Zealand.

Fixtures

See also: List of New Zealand Warriors results

Pre-season training

Pre-season training began on 2 November 2015, with the exception of players involved in the New Zealand Kiwis tour of Great Britain.[8]

Auckland Nines

The Warriors competed in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines, losing to the Parramatta Eels 4-22 in the final. The squad for the tournament was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Ryan Hoffman, Jacob Lillyman, Nathaniel Roache, Solomone Kata, Tuimoala Lolohea, Shaun Johnson (c), Charlie Gubb, Henare Wells, Konrad Hurrell, Ben Matulino, Ken Maumalo, Jonathan Wright, Jeff Robson, Sam Lisone, Blake Ayshford, Albert Vete and Ata Hingano.[9] David Fusitu'a was originally named but withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Nathaniel Roache.[10]

Shaun Johnson and Tuimoala Lolohea were named in the team of the tournament.[11]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Report
6 February Game 5 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Eden Park, Auckland Win 34 – 8 Roache (2), Johnson, Kata, Robson Johnson (3), Robson [12]
6 February Game 13 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Eden Park, Auckland Loss 12 – 15 Maumalo, Hingano Johnson (2) [13]
7 February Game 22 Brisbane Broncos Eden Park, Auckland Win 15 – 8 Roache, Wells, Johnson Johnson (1) [14]
7 February Quarter Final Canberra Raiders Eden Park, Auckland Win 16 – 8 Kata (2), Wright, Wells [15]
7 February Semi Final Gold Coast Titans Eden Park, Auckland Win 22 – 4 Robson, Wright, Kata, Lolohea Lolohea (2), Robson [16]
7 February Final Parramatta Eels Eden Park, Auckland Loss 4 - 22 Tuivasa-Sheck

Pre-season matches

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
13 February Trial 1 Gold Coast Titans Toll Stadium, Whangarei Win 40-18 Faitala-Mariner (3), Tyrell (2), Afoa (2) Luke (2), Hingano (4) [17][18]
20 February Trial 2 St George Illawarra Dragons Trafalgar Park, Nelson Loss 10-46 Kata, Wright Lolohea 10,400 [17][19]

Regular season

Home matches were played at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland with the exception of one home game which was played at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth.[20] Two away games were also played in New Zealand.

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
5 March Round 1 Wests Tigers Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney Loss 26-34 Kata (2), Mannering, Thompson, Johnson Lolohea (3) 10,917 [21]
11 March Round 2 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Loss 10-25 Luke Johnson (3) 35,230 [22]
20 March Round 3 Melbourne Storm Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Loss 14-21 Lolohea, Kata, Wright Johnson (1) 16,214 [23]
28 March Round 4 Newcastle Knights Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Win 40-18 Kata, Matulino, Ayshford, Lolohea, Vatuvei, Johnson, Luke Johnson (6) 13,895 [24]
3 April Round 5 Sydney Roosters Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Win 32-28 (g.pt) Kata (2), Johnson (2), Vatuvei, Tuivasa-Sheck Johnson (4) 10,113 [25]
9 April Round 6 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Loss 18-34 Ayshford, Luke, Kata Johnson (3) 16,112 [26]
16 April Round 7 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Westpac Stadium, Wellington Win 24-20 Ayshford (2), Fusitu'a, Wright, Lolohea Johnson (2) 18,212 [27]
25 April Round 8 Melbourne Storm AAMI Park, Melbourne Loss 0-42 21,233 [28]
1 May Round 9 St George Illawarra Dragons Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Win 26-10 Johnson, Allwood, Gubb, Robson Johnson (5) 12,752 [29]
14 May Round 10 Penrith Panthers AMI Stadium, Christchurch Loss 18-30 Kata, Wright, Ayshford Johnson (3) 18,000 [30]
21 May Round 11 Canberra Raiders Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth Loss 12-38 Johnson, Ayshford Johnson (2) 12,833 [31]
Round 12 Bye
4 June Round 13 Brisbane Broncos Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Win 36-18 Fusitu’a (2), Johnson, Thompson, Lillyman, Hoffman, Kata Johnson (4) 15,097 [32]
11 June Round 14 Newcastle Knights Hunter Stadium, Newcastle Win 50-14 Fusitu'a (4), Vete (2), Vatuvei, Thompson, Kata Johnson (5),
Luke (2)		 12,222 [33]
19 June Round 15 Sydney Roosters Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Win 12-10 Johnson Luke (4) 14,026 [34]
25 June Round 16 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks Shark Park, Sydney Loss 18-19 (g.pt) Ayshford, Wright, Leuluai Luke (3) 12,074 [35]
2 July Round 17 Gold Coast Titans Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Win 27-18 Ayshford, Lolohea, Johnson, Thompson Luke (5),
Johnson (FG)		 15,107 [36]
Round 18 Bye
16 July Round 19 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles nib Stadium, Perth Loss 14-15 (g.pt) Afoa (2) Luke (3) 11,109 [37]
23 July Round 20 Canberra Raiders GIO Stadium, Canberra Loss 22-26 (g.pt) Leuluai (2), Vatuvei, Fusitu'a Luke (3) 9,471 [38]
30 July Round 21 Penrith Panthers Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Win 20-16 (g.pt) Fusitu'a (2), Maumalo, Johnson Luke (2) 13,026 [39]
7 August Round 22 Gold Coast Titans Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast Win 24-14 Kata (2), Fusitu'a, Thompson, Mannering Lolohea (2) 25,109 [40]
13 August Round 23 South Sydney Rabbitohs Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Loss 22-41 Kata (2), Vatuvei, Tevaga Johnson (3) 17,409 [41]
20 August Round 24 North Queensland Cowboys 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville Loss 6-34 Hoffman Johnson (1) 15,676 [42]
28 August Round 25 Wests Tigers Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Loss 24-36 Thompson, Kata, Mannering, Lolohea Luke (3),
Hingano (1)		 14,020 [43]
4 September Round 26 Parramatta Eels Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Loss 18-40 Mannering (2), Vatuvei Luke (3) 11,129 [44]

Ladder

2016 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne Storm 24 19 0 5 2 563 302 +261 42
2 Canberra Raiders 24 17 1 6 2 688 456 +232 39
3 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (P) 24 17 1 6 2 580 404 +176 39
4 North Queensland Cowboys 24 15 0 9 2 584 355 +229 34
5 Brisbane Broncos 24 15 0 9 2 554 434 +120 34
6 Penrith Panthers 24 14 0 10 2 563 463 +100 32
7 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 14 0 10 2 506 448 +58 32
8 Gold Coast Titans 24 11 1 12 2 508 497 +11 27
9 Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 499 607 −108 26
10 New Zealand Warriors 24 10 0 14 2 513 601 −88 24
11 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 10 0 14 2 341 538 −197 24
12 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 9 0 15 2 473 549 −76 22
13 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 8 0 16 2 454 563 −109 20
14 Parramatta Eels 24 13 0 11 2 298 324 −26 181
15 Sydney Roosters 24 6 0 18 2 443 576 −133 16
16 Newcastle Knights 24 1 1 22 2 305 800 −495 7

1 Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.

Squad

See also: List of New Zealand Warriors players
No. Name Position Warriors Debut App T G FG Pts
55 Ali Lauitiiti SR 19 April 1998 0 0 0 0 0
105 Thomas Leuluai HB 2 May 2003 18 3 0 0 12
115 Manu Vatuvei WG 23 May 2004 15 6 0 0 24
125 Simon Mannering SR 26 June 2005 22 5 0 0 20
142 Ben Matulino PR 14 June 2008 23 1 0 0 4
146 Jacob Lillyman PR 14 March 2009 22 1 0 0 4
159 Sione Lousi SR 14 March 2010 1 0 0 0 0
168 Shaun Johnson HB 4 June 2011 24 10 42 1 125
171 Ben Henry SR 4 March 2012 1 0 0 0 0
173 Konrad Hurrell CE 4 March 2012 3 0 0 0 0
183 Charlie Gubb PR 7 July 2013 14 1 0 0 4
188 John Palavi PR 9 March 2014 3 0 0 0 0
189 David Fusitua WG 15 March 2014 18 11 0 0 44
192 Tuimoala Lolohea HB 27 July 2014 22 5 5 0 30
193 Solomone Kata CE 7 March 2015 21 15 0 0 60
194 Bodene Thompson SR 7 March 2015 18 6 0 0 24
195 Ryan Hoffman SR 7 March 2015 23 2 0 0 8
196 Sam Lisone PR 7 March 2015 21 0 0 0 0
197 Albert Vete PR 7 March 2015 15 2 0 0 8
198 Jonathan Wright WG 15 March 2015 9 4 0 0 16
199 Matt Allwood CE 29 March 2015 4 1 0 0 4
200 Raymond Faitala-Mariner SR 25 April 2015 1 0 0 0 0
201 Ken Maumalo WG 16 May 2015 10 1 0 0 4
202 Mason Lino HB 24 August 2015 0 0 0 0 0
203 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck FB 5 March 2016 7 1 0 0 4
204 Blake Ayshford CE 5 March 2016 23 8 0 0 32
205 Jeff Robson HB 5 March 2016 7 1 0 0 4
206 Issac Luke HK 5 March 2016 20 3 28 0 68
207 Nathaniel Roache HK 5 March 2016 11 0 0 0 0
208 James Gavet PR 5 March 2016 10 0 0 0 0
209 Jazz Tevaga HK 20 March 2016 11 1 0 0 4
210 Ligi Sao LK 16 April 2016 2 0 0 0 0
211 Shaun Lane SR 1 May 2016 1 0 0 0 0
212 Toafofoa Sipley PR 1 May 2016 2 0 0 0 0
213 Bunty Afoa PR 2 July 2016 4 2 0 0 8
214 Ata Hingano FE 20 August 2016 2 0 1 0 2
Henare Wells FB 0 0 0 0 0
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad UB 0 0 0 0 0

Staff

Coaching staff

Transfers

Gains

Player Previous Club Length Notes
Issac Luke South Sydney Rabbitohs 3 years [47]
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Sydney Roosters 3 years [48]
Ligi Sao Manly Sea Eagles 2 years [49]
Blake Ayshford Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2 years [50]
Henare Wells Burleigh Bears [51]
Jeff Robson Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 year [52]
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad Melbourne Storm 2 years [53]
Ali Lauitiiti Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 1 year [54]
James Gavet Brisbane Broncos 1 year [55]
Shaun Lane Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1 year 2016 mid-season[56]

Losses

Player Club Notes
Suaia Matagi Sydney Roosters 2015 mid-season[57]
Nathaniel Peteru Gold Coast Titans 2015 mid-season[58]
Api Pewhairangi Connacht (RU) 2015 mid-season[59]
Ngani Laumape Hurricanes (RU) 2015 mid-season[60]
Sam Rapira Huddersfield Giants [61]
Nathan Friend Gold Coast Titans [62]
Dominique Peyroux St. Helens [63]
Sam Tomkins Wigan Warriors [48]
Chad Townsend Cronulla Sharks [64]
Siliva Havili St. George-Illawarra Dragons [65]
Brad Abbey Canterbury Bulldogs [66]
Glen Fisiiahi Chiefs (RU) [67]
Sebastine Ikahihifo St. George-Illawarra Dragons [68]
David Bhana Newcastle Knights [69]
Raymond Faitala-Mariner Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2016 mid-season[56]
Konrad Hurrell Gold Coast Titans 2016 mid-season
Jeff Robson Parramatta Eels 2016 mid-season[70]

Other teams

As in 2015, the Warriors entered a team into the Intrust Super Premiership NSW and the Junior Warriors competed in the Holden Cup.

Intrust Super Premiership NSW squad

See also: 2016 Intrust Super Premiership NSW and 2016 Intrust Super Premiership Finals Series

The Warriors finished 5th in the regular season, before defeating the Penrith Panthers 21-14 in an elimination final.[71] They then lost 18-22 to the Newtown Jets in a semi-final.

John Palavi and Upu Poching played in their 50th NSW Cup matches for the Warriors, becoming the first players to reach this milestone for the club.[72]

Qualifying and elimination finalsSemi-finalsPreliminary finalsGrand Final
Pepper Stadium  
1 Mounties30
4 Jets12Pepper Stadium  
Jets22
Mt Smart Stadium   Warriors18Leichhardt Oval  
5 Warriors21 Mounties24
8 Panthers14 Tigers18Pirtek Stadium
Mounties20
Pepper Stadium  Leichhardt Oval   Cutters21
6 Roos19 Cutters18
7 Bulldogs18Pepper Stadium   Jets10
Tigers26
Jubilee Oval   Roos16
2 Cutters32
3 Tigers22

Holden Cup squad

See also: 2016 NRL Under-20s season)

The Junior Warriors finished the season in 14th position, with 8 wins, a draw, and 15 losses.

Club awards

Simon Mannering was named the club's player of the year for a record fifth time. He was also named the clubman of the year.[73] Shaun Johnson won the people's choice award while Nathaniel Roache was the NRL rookie of the year.

Ryan Hoffman was named in the NRL-RLPA academic team of the year, as he was completing a Bachelor of Business. Ben Henry also won a Pasifika leadership and excellence award, which included travel to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to attend lectures.[74]

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was the Intrust Super Premiership NSW player of the year, while James Bell was the teams man of the year.[73]

Chris Sio was the Junior Warriors player of the year and Chanel Harris-Tavita was the Junior Warriors rookie of the year.[73]

Journalist Allen McLaughlin was also awarded a legacy award, after covering all but one of the club's 254 games at the venue since 1995.[73]

References

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  45. ^ Second assistant coach named warriors.co.nz, 23 September 2014
  46. ^ a b Jones to coach NSW Cup side in 2015 warriors.co.nz, 5 October 2014
  47. ^ "Warriors confirm Issac Luke signing". nrl.com. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  48. ^ a b "Club makes double fullback announcement". warriors.co.nz. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  49. ^ "PLAYER SIGNING | Sao coming home - Warriors". Warriors.kiwi. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  50. ^ "Warriors sign Sharks centre". New Zealand Herald. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  51. ^ "Warriors sign former Roosters fullback for 2016 season". stuff.co.nz. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  52. ^ "Veteran Robson signed for 2016". warriors.kiwi. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  53. ^ "Young storm utility signed". warriors.kiwi. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  54. ^ "Lauitiiti returns to Warriors". NRL.com. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  55. ^ "Warriors confirm signing of Gavet for 2016". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  56. ^ a b "Vodafone Warriors complete player swap". New Zealand Warriors. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  57. ^ "Warriors prop Suaia Matagi inks deal with the Sydney Roosters after seeking early release". stuff.co.nz. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  58. ^ "Titans sign Warriors forward | NRL". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  59. ^ "NSW CUP ROUND No. 16 v Mounties". 24 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  60. ^ "Warrior Ngani Laumape crosses rugby codes to sign with Manawatu Turbos". stuff.co.nz. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  61. ^ "Rapira to join Super League's Huddersfield". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  62. ^ "Titans reunite with an old friend". NRL - Zero Tackle. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  63. ^ "St Helens sign Dominique Peyroux from New Zealand Warriors". the Guardian.
  64. ^ "Chad Townsend Leaves Warriors for the Sharks - Triple M NRL". Triple M. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  65. ^ "Dragons sign Siliva Havili". NRL - Zero Tackle.
  66. ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs to sign boom Kiwi fullback Brad Abbey". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  67. ^ "New Zealand Warrior Glen Fisiiahi signs for Super Rugby side the Chiefs". stuff.co.nz. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  68. ^ "Dumped Warrior Ikahihifo signs two-year deal with Dragons". TVNZ. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  69. ^ 2016 NRL player transfers nrl.com
  70. ^ "NRL: Warriors recall Tui Lolohea, drop Jonathan Wright". 28 June 2016 – via New Zealand Herald.
  71. ^ Media, NRL Digital. "ANNOUNCEMENT - Week One Finals Fixtures".
  72. ^ NRL. "ISP and NYC teams named for 17th round".
  73. ^ a b c d Media, NRL Digital. "Mannering's fifth player of the year".
  74. ^ "2016 NRL-RLPA Academic Team of the Year".

External links

2016 in rugby league
New Zealand Warriors
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