Opinion
This is the sixth article in the series where I’ll pay tribute to the pioneers of each of the 11 surviving clubs who entered the national competition since I began following rugby league back in the 1960s and I’ll tell you a little about who they were and where they came from.
Today we look at the men from the Shaky Isles, the New Zealand Warriors.
Originally known as the Auckland Warriors, the club sprang from the strong Auckland-based competition which for so long had provided a steady stream of players both to the New Zealand Test team and to the Australian and English competitions. The Warriors’ entry into the ARL was strongly rumoured as far back as 1988, and their opportunity finally came in 1995.
Here’s the team that took the field for the Warriors in their very first outing against the Broncos at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland on 10 March 1995 wearing red, white, blue and green in front of over 32,000 fans and a huge NZ TV audience. They acquitted themselves well, but after leading 16-10 at half-time and 22-10 late in the match, they were overtaken by the star-studded Broncos team to lose 25-22 thanks to an Allan Langer masterclass.
Numbers in brackets are the total first-grade games the player played for the Warriors, and note that the hooker is No. 9 and the lock is No. 13.
1. Phil Blake (37)
Phil Blake was 31 by the time he joined the Warriors for their debut season, having notched up nearly 280 games at his previous seven clubs. He had a stellar season for the Warriors in 1995, scoring 14 tries from just 17 games, including the club’s very first try. He considered reuniting with his junior club, Manly, after a poor season in 1997 but instead announced his retirement prior to the beginning of the 1998 season.
2. Sean Hoppe (88)
Hoppe was well established in the NZ Test side, with 11 Tests under his belt, when he joined the Warriors in 1995 from the North Sydney Bears. He went on to play another 24 tests for the Kiwis and left the Warriors for the ESL in 1999. He was the Warriors’ first Dally M winner, being named Dally M winger of the year in 1995, and topped the club’s try-scoring list that year with 19 tries.
3. Dean Bell (captain) (19)
Bell was one of the best centres in the world at his peak and joined the Warriors for their inaugural season after 26 Tests for NZ and nearly 300 games in the ESL. He won seven Challenge Cups with Wigan and was seen as the ideal man to lead the new club. At age 33, though, his career was in decline, and he returned to the ESL after just one season with the Warriors.
4. Manoa Thompson (seven)
Thompson was a player of undeniable talent who never seemed to settle or reach his potential. He had just two games in the Warriors’ run-on team and the rest off the bench, and he left the club at the end of the 1995 season.
5. Whetu Taewa (11)
Better known as a centre, Taewa was one of the youngest ever selected for the Kiwis and ended up playing five Tests for his country. He popped a memorable offload after a sideline burst to put Phil Blake over for the Warriors’ first-ever try and held a first-grade spot for the opening ten rounds. He left the Warriors to join the Cowboys in the 1996 season.
6. Gene Ngamu (81)
Ngamu could certainly play a bit, and he went from the Junior Kiwis to the NZ Test team in 12 months and had four Tests under his belt before he joined the Warriors in 1995. He topped the Warriors’ point-scoring list in 1995 and had five seasons with the club before finishing his career in England.
7. Greg Alexander (37)
Alexander was another player close to his use-by date when he joined the Warriors in 1995, but he struck some good form, alternating between the halves and fullback, and went on to captain the club in 1996. He left the Warriors at the end of the 1996 season to return to Penrith.
8. Gavin Hill (14)
A former rugby union forward who successfully made the transition to rugby league, Hill played with the Bulldogs in 1992 and 1993 and also notched up five Tests for NZ by the time he joined the Warriors. After a patchy couple of seasons with the Warriors he returned to rugby union.
9. Duane Mann (13)
Mann had a pretty impressive resume prior to joining the Warriors, including 34 tests and a host of games for Auckland. He had just one season with the club before finishing his career in the local competition.
(Photo by Nigel Marple/Getty Images)
10. Hitro Okesene (22)
Hitro was a big unit and was always a handful for the defence. He had played two Tests for the Kiwis before joining the Warriors from the local Auckland competition. He went pretty well in 1995 but faded over the next couple of years before finishing his career in England.
11. Stephen Kearney (79)
Kearney made his debut for Western Suburbs in 1992 and played the first of his 45 Tests for NZ just a year later. He never really settled in his time with the Warriors and joined Melbourne in 1999, where he found instant success.
12. Tony Tatupu (67)
Tatupu joined the Warriors from the Auckland competition, stayed for the first two years, had a season with Warrington and then rejoined the Warriors for two more years in 1998. He then headed back to England to finish his career.
13. Tony Tuimavave (78)
Tuimavave came from the Waitakere City club to take his place in the inaugural Warriors team and played Tests for both NZ and Western Samoa that same year. He retired from the game at the end of 2000, being the last of the inaugural side to leave the club.
14. Se’e Solomona (nine)
The big front rower had already played a handful of tests for New Zealand and Western Samoa when he joined the Warriors as a 30-year-old from the English competition. He left after that first season to play for the Cowboys.
15. Tea Ropati (72)
Ropati was a versatile back who played in the inaugural Newcastle Knights team in 1988 before joining St Helens for six years from 1989. He returned to the southern hemisphere to join the Warriors in 1995 and was their inaugural player of the year. He retired from the game at the end of the 1998 season.
16. Jason Mackie (five)
A back rower, Mackie played five Tests for the Kiwis in 1993 and joined the Warriors from the Auckland competition. He spent most of his time in reserve grade and was released by the club at the end of 1996.
17. Martin Moana (six)
Moana was a versatile player and a true journeyman, turning out for no fewer than ten teams in his 400-plus-game senior career. He had just one season with the Warriors before heading to England.
Coach: John Monie (61)
Monie was one of those guys who was just an average player but an exceptional coach, and he was a great choice as the inaugural Warriors clipboard custodian. Before joining the Warriors, he coached Parramatta to their last premiership in 1986 and then took Wigan to four consecutive Challenge Cup final victories between 1989 and 1992. After leaving the Warriors midway through the 1997 season, he returned to Wigan and led them to Super League supremacy again in 1998.
There were 28 players who turned out for the Warriors in first grade that year, but there were some well known players from 1995 who were not in that first run-on side.
Denis Betts (42)
Betts was a seasoned British and English international second rower and captain who joined the Warriors midway through the 1995 season.
Richie Blackmore (35)
Blackmore was firmly entrenched in the NZ Test backline when he joined the Warriors from Castleford in Round 10 of the 1995 season. He stayed for two seasons, returned to England in 1998 and then returned to the Warriors for a handful of games in 2001 before retiring.
Frano Botica (five)
A former All Blacks player, Botica was a top-flight utility back and goal kicker who spent six years with Wigan before joining the Warriors for a handful of games in 1995.
Syd Eru (59)
Eru made his first-grade debut for the Warriors in 1995 and soon replaced international Duane Mann as hooker for both Warriors and New Zealand. He retired at the end of 1999 due to ongoing injuries.
Stacy Jones (261)
A Warriors and Kiwi legend, Jones made his first-grade debut for the Warriors as a 19-year-old in Round 7 of their inaugural season and never looked back. He spent 11 years with the club, had a couple of seasons in the ESL and finished his career where it all began in 2009. He played 46 tests for New Zealand and was one of the best halfbacks to play the game and arguably the greatest Warrior of them all.
John Kirwan (35)
Kirwan was an All Blacks winger and legend but made the switch to the Warriors for the 1995 and 1996 seasons before returning to rugby. He was the Warriors’ top try-scorer in 1996, with ten tries from 19 games.
Andy Platt (35)
Platt was another ageing Wigan player with international experience who followed John Monie to the Warriors before returning to England after the 1996 season to see out his career.
On paper the Warriors had a pretty good line-up to contest their first season. The side was full of internationals, though some may have been just past their prime.
The looming Super League split didn’t do them any favours, but they can be proud of their first effort, finishing a creditable tenth on the ladder in the 20-team competition and missing a place in the finals only when they had two points deducted for exceeding the replacement limit in Round 3.
They beat some pretty big names that year, including South Sydney, Cronulla the Roosters and Parramatta, and they enjoyed great home game support. with crowds averaging over 26,000. The Warriors had arrived and were here to stay.
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