# 2015 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2015 New Zealand Warriors season was the 21st in the club's history. Coached by Andrew McFadden and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2015 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines tournament.

## Milestones

* 13 February: Manu Vatuvei and Nathan Friend were selected to play for the NRL All Stars team in the NRL All Stars game.
* 7 March – round 1: Solomone Kata, Bodene Thompson, Ryan Hoffman, Sam Lisone and Albert Vete made their debut for the club. Kata, Lisone and Vete were also making their first grade debut.
* 15 March – round 2: Jonathan Wright made his debut for the club.
* 21 March – round 3: Nathan Friend played in his 200th NRL match. Ben Henry also played in his 50th NRL match.
* 29 March – round 4: Matt Allwood made his debut for the club.
* 6 April – round 5: Ryan Hoffman played in his 250th NRL match.
* 11 April – round 6: Manu Vatuvei played in his 200th match for the Warriors.
* 25 April – round 8: Raymond Faitala-Mariner made his first grade debut.
* 2 May: Bunty Afoa, Marata Niukore, Toafofoa Sipley and Jazz Tevaga played for the Junior Kiwis. Dominique Peyroux and Sam Lisone represented Samoa while Tuimoala Lolohea, Konrad Hurrell, Solomone Kata and Albert Vete played for Tonga.
* 3 May: Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai, Simon Mannering, Ben Matulino, Manu Vatuvei all played for the New Zealand national rugby league team in the 2015 Anzac Test.
* 16 May – round 10: Ken Maumalo made his first grade debut.
* May to July: Ryan Hoffman represented New South Wales and Jacob Lillyman represented Queensland in the 2015 State of Origin series.
* 13 June – round 14: Manu Vatuvei scored his 10th try of the season, becoming the first player to score 10 tries in 10 consecutive seasons.
* 27 June – round 15: Jacob Lillyman played in his 200th NRL match and Bodene Thompson played in his 100th NRL match.
* 19 July – round 19: Shaun Johnson played in his 100th match for the Warriors.
* 22 August – round 24: Mason Lino made his first grade debut.
* 8 October: Tuimoala Lolohea and Ben Matulino were named in the squad for the New Zealand tour of Great Britain. Sam Tomkins was also named in the England squad.
* 17 October: Solomone Kata and Albert Vete played for Tonga in a World Cup qualifier.

## Jersey and sponsors

* In 2015 the Warriors jerseys were again made by Canterbury of New Zealand.

## Fixtures
### Pre-season training

The bulk of the Warriors' 2015 NRL squad began preseason training on 3 November 2014.

### Auckland Nines

The Warriors finished second in the Hunua pool at the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines before being eliminated by the Cronulla Sharks in the quarterfinals.
The squad for the Nines was Shaun Johnson (c), Matthew Allwood, Nathan Friend, Ben Henry, Ryan Hoffman, Solomone Kata, Ngani Laumape, Sam Lisone, Tuimoala Lolohea, Sione Lousi, Suaia Matagi, Ben Matulino, Ken Maumalo, Nathaniel Roache, Bodene Thompson, Sam Tomkins, Chad Townsend and Manu Vatuvei. Simon Mannering, Dominique Peyroux, Sebastine Ikahihifo and Jonathan Wright were originally named in a 22-man training squad.
Solomone Kata was named in the team of the tournament.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Wests Tigers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 32 | +18 | 4 |
| 2 | New Zealand Warriors | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 4 |
| 3 | Gold Coast Titans | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 2 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 73 | −27 | 2 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 31 January | Hunua 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 17–10 | Kata, Hoffman, Lolohea | Johnson (2) | 43,000 |
| 31 January | Hunua 2 | Canberra Raiders | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 19–23 | Johnson, Maumalo, Lolohea, Allwood | Johnson (1) | 43,000 |
| 1 February | Hunua 3 | Wests Tigers | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 22–8 | Kata (2), Vatuvei, Lolohea, Henry | Johnson (1) | 43,000 |
| 1 February | Quarter Final | Cronulla Sharks | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 12–14 | Vatuvei, Kata, Laumape | | 43,000 |
| Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 17 | | | | | | |
| North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 11 | | | | | | |
| North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 11 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 6 | | | |
| | | | South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 37 | | | |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 30 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 37 | | | |
| Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 6 | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 6 | | | | South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 |
| | | | | | | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 14 |
| Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers | 4 | | | | | | | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 14 |
| Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 22 | | | | | | |
| Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 22 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 4 | | | |
| | | | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 10 | | | |
| Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 14 | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 10 | | | |
| New Zealand Warriors | New Zealand Warriors | 12 | | | | | | |

### Pre-season matches

The Warriors were planning to host the St. George Illawarra Dragons at Trafalgar Park in Nelson, however the match was cancelled when the Dragons were invited to compete in the World Club Series. It would have been the first time the Warriors had played in Nelson.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 7 February | Trial 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba | Loss | 12–22 | Peyroux, Peteru | Pewhairangi (2) | 6,827 |
| 14 February | Trial 2 | Penrith Panthers | Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua | Win | 18–4 | Maumalo (2), Niukore, Johnson | Townsend (1) | 9,000 |
| 21 February | Trial 3 | Warriors NSW Cup | Bruce Pulman Park, Papakura | Win | 42–14 | Hurrell (2), Vatuvei, Tomkins, Friend, Kata, Mannering, Johnson | Johnson (5) | 2,000 |

### Regular season

All home matches were played at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, with the exception of the Round 22 match, which was played at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. It was the third year in a row the Warriors took a match to Wellington, as part of the "Capital Clash".
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 7 March | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | Hunter Stadium, Newcastle | Loss | 14–24 | Leuluai, Hoffman | Johnson (3) | 16,146 |
| 15 March | Round 2 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium, Canberra | Win | 18–6 | Vatuvei, Kata, Hoffman | Johnson (3) | 8,241 |
| 21 March | Round 3 | Parramatta Eels | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 29–16 | Kata (2), Hoffman, Lolohea, Vatuvei | Johnson (4 & FG) | 14,112 |
| 29 March | Round 4 | Brisbane Broncos | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16–24 | Townsend, Allwood, Kata | Johnson (2) | 14,670 |
| 6 April | Round 5 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 14–30 | Vatuvei, Friend, Ikahihifo | Johnson (1) | 18,179 |
| 11 April | Round 6 | Wests Tigers | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 32–22 | Vatuvei (2), Townsend, Lolohea, Johnson, Thompson | Johnson (4) | 13,781 |
| 18 April | Round 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville | Loss | 24–28 | Hurrell, Wright, Kata, Vatuvei | Johnson (4) | 16,038 |
| 25 April | Round 8 | Gold Coast Titans | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 28–32 | Fusitu'a, Matulino, Wright, Kata, Thompson | Johnson (4) | 15,102 |
| 9 May | Round 9 | Cronulla Sharks | Remondis Stadium, Sydney | Win | 20–16 | Wright, Vatuvei, Kata, Johnson | Johnson (2) | 13,988 |
| 16 May | Round 10 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Win | 17–13 (A.E.T.) | Kata, Johnson, Thompson | Johnson (2) Townsend (FG) | 11,152 |
| | Round 11 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 31 May | Round 12 | Newcastle Knights | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 24–20 | Lolohea, Vatuvei, Kata, Matulino, Wright | Johnson (2) | 13,203 |
| 6 June | Round 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | NIB Stadium, Perth | Loss | 4–36 | Vatuvei | | 20,272 |
| 13 June | Round 14 | Sydney Roosters | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 21–25 | Kata (2), Lolohea, Vatuvei | Johnson (2 & FG) | 14,167 |
| 20 June | Round 15 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium, Robina | Win | 36–14 | Johnson (2), Friend, Faitala-Mariner, Hurrell, Thompson | Johnson (6) | 14,132 |
| 27 June | Round 16 | Canberra Raiders | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30–8 | Lolohea (2), Thompson, Johnson, Vatuvei | Johnson (5) | 13,110 |
| | Round 17 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 12 July | Round 18 | Melbourne Storm | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 28–14 | Lolohea (2), Fusitua, Thompson, Johnson | Johnson (4) | 17,278 |
| 19 July | Round 19 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 0–24 | | | 16,301 |
| 25 July | Round 20 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12–32 | Johnson, Vete | Lolohea (2) | 15,812 |
| 1 August | Round 21 | Cronulla Sharks | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 14–18 | Hurrell, Mannering | Lolohea (3) | 12,481 |
| 8 August | Round 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | Loss | 0–36 | | | 18,317 |
| 15 August | Round 23 | Penrith Panthers | Sportingbet Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 10–24 | Tomkins, Hurrell | Lolohea (1) | 6,774 |
| 22 August | Round 24 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16–50 | Lolohea, Maumalo, Peyroux | Lolohea (2) | 14,412 |
| 20 August | Round 25 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 16–50 | Allwood (2), Vete | Lolohea (2) | 6,700 |
| 6 September | Round 26 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 22–26 | Lolohea (2), Friend, Kata | Lolohea (2) | 14,821 |

## Ladder

2015 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 591 | 300 | +291 | 40 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 574 | 379 | +195 | 38 |
| 3 | North Queensland Cowboys (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 587 | 454 | +133 | 38 |
| 4 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 467 | 348 | +119 | 32 |
| 5 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 522 | 480 | +42 | 32 |
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 469 | 476 | −7 | 32 |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 465 | 467 | −2 | 30 |
| 8 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 435 | 408 | +27 | 28 |
| 9 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 458 | 492 | −34 | 26 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 577 | 569 | +8 | 24 |
| 11 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 399 | 477 | −78 | 22 |
| 12 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 448 | 573 | −125 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 445 | 588 | −143 | 22 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 439 | 636 | −197 | 22 |
| 15 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 487 | 562 | −75 | 20 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 458 | 612 | −154 | 20 |

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 105 | Thomas Leuluai | HB | 2 May 2003 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | WG | 23 May 2004 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | SR | 26 June 2005 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | PR | 20 May 2006 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | PR | 14 June 2008 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 146 | Jacob Lillyman | PR | 14 March 2009 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 159 | Sione Lousi | SR | 14 March 2010 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 163 | Glen Fisiiahi | FB | 12 March 2011 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 168 | Shaun Johnson | HB | 4 June 2011 | 18 | 8 | 48 | 2 | 130 |
| 171 | Ben Henry | SR | 4 March 2012 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 172 | Nathan Friend | HK | 4 March 2012 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 173 | Konrad Hurrell | CE | 4 March 2012 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 176 | Sebastine Ikahihifo | LK | 28 July 2012 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 180 | Ngani Laumape | WG | 24 March 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 | Suaia Matagi | PR | 11 May 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 182 | Dominique Peyroux | CE | 3 June 2013 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 183 | Charlie Gubb | PR | 7 July 2013 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 185 | Sam Tomkins | FB | 9 March 2014 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 186 | Chad Townsend | HB | 9 March 2014 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 188 | John Palavi | PR | 9 March 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 189 | David Fusitua | WG | 15 March 2014 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 190 | Siliva Havili | HK | 13 April 2014 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 192 | Tuimoala Lolohea | HB | 27 July 2014 | 23 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 70 |
| 193 | Solomone Kata | CE | 7 March 2015 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 194 | Bodene Thompson | SR | 7 March 2015 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 195 | Ryan Hoffman | SR | 7 March 2015 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 196 | Sam Lisone | PR | 7 March 2015 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 197 | Albert Vete | PR | 7 March 2015 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 198 | Jonathan Wright | WG | 15 March 2015 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 199 | Matt Allwood | CE | 29 March 2015 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 200 | Raymond Faitala-Mariner | SR | 25 April 2015 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 201 | Ken Maumalo | WG | 16 May 2015 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 202 | Mason Lino | HB | 22 August 2015 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Staff

* Chief executive Officer: Jim Doyle
* General manager: Don Mann Jr
* General manager Football Operations: Dean Bell
* Medical Services Manager: John Mayhew
* Welfare and Education Manager: Jerry Seuseu
* Media and Communications Manager: Richard Becht

### Coaching staff

* NRL head coach: Andrew McFadden
* NRL assistant coach: Tony Iro
* NRL assistant coach: Andrew Webster
* NSW Cup head coach: Stacey Jones
* NSW Cup assistant coach: George Carmont
* NSW Cup assistant coach: Willie Swann
* NYC head coach: Kelvin Wright

## Transfers
### Gains

| Player | Previous Club | Length |
| Ryan Hoffman | Melbourne Storm | 3 years |
| Matt Allwood | Canberra Raiders | 3 years |
| Bodene Thompson | Wests Tigers | 3 years |
| Api Pewhairangi | Parramatta Eels | 1 year |
| Jonathan Wright | Cronulla Sharks | 1 year |

### Losses

| Player | Club | Notes |
| Jerome Ropati | Retired | |
| Kevin Locke | Salford Red Devils | 2014 Mid-season transfer |
| Carlos Tuimavave | Newcastle Knights | |
| Feleti Mateo | Manly Sea Eagles | |
| Sam Lousi | New South Wales Waratahs | |
| Jayson Bukuya | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | |
| Dane Nielsen | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | |
| Agnatius Paasi | Gold Coast Titans | |
| Suaia Matagi | Sydney Roosters | 2015 Mid-season transfer |
| Nathaniel Peteru | Gold Coast Titans | 2015 Mid-season transfer |
| Api Pewhairangi | Connacht (RU) | 2015 Mid-season transfer |
| Ngani Laumape | Manawatu Turbos (RU) | 2015 Mid-season transfer |

## Other teams

As in 2014, the Warriors entered a team into the NSW Cup and the Junior Warriors competed in the Holden Cup.

### NSW Cup squad

The Warriors NSW Cup side finished fourth in the regular season, however lost two consecutive play-off matches and were eliminated from the play-offs. John Palavi was named in the competition's team on the year.

### Holden Cup squad

The Junior Warriors finished 7th to make the finals. They defeated the Roosters and the Broncos before being eliminated by the Penrith Panthers in the preliminary final.

## Club awards

Ben Matulino was named as the Warriors player of the year, his second time winning the award. The other finalists for the award were Simon Mannering and Shaun Johnson.
Johnson was awarded the People's choice award, Albert Vete was named the Club person of the year and Tuimoala Lolohea was named the NRL rookie of the year.
John Palavi was named the NSW Cup side's player of the year, while Mason Lino was the sides rookie of the year.
Bunty Afoa was the Junior Warrior's player of the year, while Ata Hingano was the rookie of the year.