The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Auckland Warriors, and are affectionately known as the Wahs. The Warriors are coached by Andrew Webster. Mitch Barnett and James Fisher Harris are the current co-captains. The Warriors are based at Mount Smart Stadium in the Auckland suburb of Penrose.
For the 1995 season the newly formed Auckland Warriors became the first club from outside Australia to be admitted to the Australian Rugby League's premiership when it expanded from 16 to 20 teams. As a result of the Super League war in the mid-1990s, Auckland left the ARL to compete in the Super League competition of 1997, before joining the re-unified NRL the following year. They re-branded themselves the New Zealand Warriors in 2001. The club has yet to win a premiership as of 2026. They have won one minor premiership (in 2002), and reached two grand finals (2002, 2011), reaching the finals eleven times.
History History of the bid
Rugby league in New Zealand was largely centred around Auckland since the establishment of the New Zealand Rugby League in 1909. Auckland produced the bulk of the New Zealand team for many years, and a number of these players were recruited to play professionally in either Australia or England.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Auckland representative side consistently provided strong opposition to touring teams. An Auckland team was admitted into the mid-week ARL Amco Cup competition in 1978. In their first year they made the semi-finals, and were defeated by the overall competition winners, the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. They remained in the competition until the early 1980s. In 1987, an Auckland side toured Great Britain and claimed wins over powerhouse clubs Leeds and Wigan.
In 1988, serious investigation into an Auckland team entering the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) commenced, encouraged mainly by Mount Albert, which at that time was one of the strongest rugby league clubs in the country. On 17 May 1992, it was announced that an Auckland-based club would enter the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995. This followed very good turnouts to a number of NSWRL matches played in Auckland. The new team was to be called the Auckland Warriors and would be run by the Auckland Rugby League. The original colours selected were blue, white, red and green. Blue and white are recognized as the traditional sporting colours of Auckland, while red and green were the colours of the Warriors' original sponsor, DB Bitter. The original logo was designed by Francis Allan, of Colenso.
Inaugural Season – 1995 PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 10th (of 20) 22 13 0 9 – 544 493 +51
The coach of the new team would be former Parramatta and Wigan coach John Monie. A number of senior players were signed, such as Greg Alexander and Andy Platt. Captain Dean Bell was a high-performing signing. Former rugby union players such as John Kirwan and Marc Ellis were brought in, in later years.
The Warriors' first year in the Australian Rugby League was 1995. Their debut match was against the Brisbane Broncos on 10 March 1995 in front of 30,000 people at a newly refurbished Mount Smart Stadium. The Warriors led 22–10 at one point in the second half of the match, however Brisbane defeated the new club 25–22.
A home crowd attendance record of 32,174 was set at Mount Smart Stadium in Round 6 of the 1995 ARL season, a record that was not topped until Round 1 of the 2011 NRL season (albeit that match was played at Eden Park, not Mount Smart Stadium).
The Warriors were deducted two competition points for an interchange error. In a match against Western Suburbs, the Warriors used five interchange players instead of the allowed four. The Warriors won the match, 46–12. This error led to the club ultimately missing the finals by two competition points. The season saw the debut of future star, Stacey Jones, who scored a try on debut in a 40–4 rout of the Parramatta Eels in Sydney.
Second year blues – 1996 PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 11th (of 20) 21 10 0 11 – 412 427 −15
The Australian Rugby League season 1996 could have been regarded as a better one for the Warriors. The Warriors found themselves siding with the Super League during the Super League War when the New Zealand Rugby League signed up to the rebel competition. They claimed their first 'victory' over the Brisbane Broncos in round one of the competition that year, after all Super League clubs agreed to boycott the first round of the competition in protest. The Warriors won the two points when they travelled to Brisbane with a squad of players that were unsigned to Super League, forcing the Broncos to forfeit the match.
With four rounds remaining the Warriors were in sixth place in the competition, seemingly headed for a finals berth. They proceeded to lose all four matches to tumble out of the finals.
Super League war – 1997 PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 7th (of 10) 18 7 0 11 – 332 406 −74
The Warriors spent 1997 in the breakaway Super League Telstra Cup competition. Despite the reduced number of teams, they failed to make an impression on the competition. Monie was replaced by Frank Endacott as coach midway through the 1997 season. The only positive was the team's performance in the World Club Challenge. The Warriors defeated United Kingdom powerhouses Wigan and St Helens, as well as Warrington. The Warriors were knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual winners the Brisbane Broncos, going down 16–22.
Beginning of the NRL era – 1998 PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 15th (of 20) 24 9 0 15 – 417 518 −101
The first season of the reformed competition was a year that saw few highlights for the club. It was readily apparent that the club needed a new approach and attitude. They were in a better position than the other two clubs that joined the competition in 1995.
Tainui era – 1999
PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 11th (of 17) 24 10 0 14 – 538 498 +40
Former Kiwi Mark Graham took over as coach in 1999. The club was sold off to a consortium that included ex-Kiwi coach Graham Lowe and the Tainui tribe. The club again disappointed on field, but a mid season ultimatum saw a strong finish to the season, with the side winning five of their last six games. The signs appeared promising for the new millennium.
Financial collapse and reinvention – 2000
PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 13th (of 14) 24 8 2 16 – 426 662 −236
In National Rugby League season 2000 the Warriors could only finish second last. This season included the Warriors' second largest ever loss in their history to date, 54–0 to St. George Illawarra in Wollongong. Alarmingly, the problems off-field overshadowed the on-field problems. The majority shareholders were under intense financial pressure, and the club's future was looking bleak at best. The key assets of the club were purchased by business tycoon Eric Watson. This did not include player contracts, and many players were released and had to fight to get the money they had been promised. Ultimately only 10 players from the 2000 season were retained.
The club was re-branded as the New Zealand Warriors, with new colours of black and grey – resembling the national sporting colours. New coach Daniel Anderson and CEO Mick Watson focused on signing unknown New Zealand talent. There were only six Australians in the 2001 squad, and only three foundation players – Monty Betham, Stacey Jones and Logan Swann.
First finals series – 2001
PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 8th (of 14) 26 12 2 12 – 638 629 +9
In a season where the re-branded New Zealand Warriors were tipped to finish in second-last place behind the North Queensland Cowboys, the team surprised all, qualifying for their first ever finals appearance in the National Rugby League season 2001.
The Warriors were involved in Round 8 in one of the biggest near-comebacks in the history of the NRL. Down 24–8 to the Bulldogs with under six minutes remaining, the Warriors rattled off three tries in as many sets, only failing to win the match as Stacey Jones missed a conversion from in front of the posts in the final minute.
After a mid-season struggle, the Warriors upset the minor premiers Parramatta 29–18 at home, in what was a highlight match.
Then, with their season on the line, the team won four matches in a row, starting with impressive 34–8, 30–0, and 14–8 home victories over fellow finals-bound teams the Bulldogs, Cronulla, and the Sydney Roosters. The Warriors also scored 24 unanswered points in the final quarter to beat the Panthers 48–32. Their first finals appearance was sealed with a bruising 24–24 draw with the Melbourne Storm at Colonial Stadium, but the effects of this match were seen a week later, as the Warriors were beaten by 30–18 at home by the Cowboys, a win that saw the North Queenslanders avoiding the wooden spoon.
In their first-ever finals appearance, they were defeated by the Minor Premiers, the Parramatta Eels 56–12. The loss was at the time the largest in finals series history.
Minor Premiership and Grand Final – 2002 PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 1st (of 15) 24 17 0 7 2 688 454 +234
The Warriors reached their zenith to date in the National Rugby League season 2002. They won the Minor Premiership, finishing in first place at the conclusion of the regular season after the Bulldogs lost 37 competition points late in the season due to severe salary cap breaches. The club played what stands as the first finals match to have been held outside Australia at Mount Smart Stadium in the first week of the Finals Series. The Warriors would defeat their bogey side the Canberra Raiders 36–20 after surviving an early scare.
For the Preliminary Final against the Cronulla Sharks at Stadium Australia the Warriors' sponsors, such as Vodafone New Zealand and Eric Watson, purchased 15,000 tickets and gave them away for free to anyone with a New Zealand passport. Reportedly, in the 45,000 crowd there were more Warriors supporters than Cronulla supporters – astonishing considering Cronulla are a Sydney-based club. The Warriors went on to win 16–10 with John Carlaw scoring a famous try after latching onto a pinpoint Stacey Jones grubber-kick.
The Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters was a tight match for the first hour. The Warriors trailed 2–6 at half time, but took a lead just after halftime when Jones scored a great grand final try – as he left defenders sprawling in his wake on a 40-metre run to the try line. The Roosters ran away with the match in the final 20 minutes after captain Brad Fittler was involved in a head clash with Warriors prop Richard Villasanti. The final score was 8–30.
Top-eight again – 2003 PositionPldWonDrewLostByePoints forPoints againstPoints differential 6th (of 15) 24 15 0 9 2 545 510 +35
2003 was another quite successful year for the Warriors.
After blowing an early 16–0 lead to lose 26–36 to the Newcastle Knights in Round 1, the Warriors embarked on a five-match winning streak to announce themselves as contenders for the season. However, the Warriors then struggled through the middle-stages of the season, squandering a 26–12 lead with eight minutes remaining to lose to the Parramatta Eels dramatically 28–26 at Parramatta Stadium. There was also an insipid 10–30 loss in Townsville to the North Queensland Cowboys. They played their first ever extra time match, defeating South Sydney 31–30, recovering from a 6–24 deficit.