# 2006 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2006 New Zealand Warriors season was the 12th in the club's history. The club competed in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Ivan Cleary while Steve Price was the club captain.

## Milestones

* 25 March - Round 3: Awen Guttenbeil played in his 150th match for the club.
* 25 June - Round 16: The Warriors defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs 66–0 at Telstra Stadium. This result stands as the Warriors largest victory to date.
* 9 July - Round 18: Jerome Ropati played in his 50th match for the club.
* 9 July - Round 18: Louis Anderson played in his 50th match for the club.
* 12 August - Round 23: Brent Webb played in his 100th match for the club.

## Salary cap breach

Before the season started the Warriors were investigated by the National Rugby League over alleged salary cap breaches committed by the team's previous administrators. The club admitted to inflating its salary cap to the tune of nearly $1 million during the 2005 season. As punishment, the National Rugby League fined the Warriors club $430,000 and stripped the team of four competition points prior to the beginning of the season. It was the first time in 99 years of rugby league in Australia that a team has started a season on less than zero premiership points.
The Warriors appealed the decision by the NRL to strip the four competition points but accepted the financial penalty. Prior to the beginning of the season, the National Rugby League confirmed that the points penalty would stand. The penalty would prove the decisive factor in the Warriors missing the finals for the third year in succession.

## Jersey & Sponsors

* The Warriors adopted a new home jersey for 2006, a predominantly Black & White design supplied by Puma AG. A new away jersey was also adopted, being mainly Grey with Black details.

## Fixtures

The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 2006, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995. On 12 July, the stadium reverted to its original name: Mt Smart Stadium.

### Pre-Season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 12 February | Trial 1 | Canberra Raiders | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16 - 28 | Todd Byrne, Tony Martin, Cooper Vuna | Martin (2) | 11,000 |
| 18 February | Trial 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | Barlow Park, Cairns | Loss | 10 - 26 | Manu Vatuvei, George Tuakura | Martin (1) | 15,000 |
| 25 February | Trial 3 | Bulldogs | Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast | Win | 24 - 20 | Nathan Fien, Ruben Wiki, Tony Martin, Jerome Ropati | Martin (4) | 12,380 |

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 12 March | Round 1 | Melbourne Storm | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16 - 22 | Koopu, Vatuvei, Ropati | Martin (2) | 10,035 |
| 18 March | Round 2 | Parramatta Eels | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Loss | 14 - 22 | Tuimavave, Vatuvei | Martin (3) | 16,089 |
| 25 March | Round 3 | Wests Tigers | AMI Stadium, Christchurch | Win | 26 - 10 | Guttenbeil, Ropati, Toopi, Webb, Vatuvei | Martin (3) | 14,675 |
| 2 April | Round 4 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | Win | 26 - 22 | Fien, Rovelli, Tuimavave, Vatuvei | Martin (5) | 18,359 |
| 9 April | Round 5 | Manly Sea Eagles | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 8 - 22 | Martin (2) | | 7,888 |
| 15 April | Round 6 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Loss | 14 - 18 | Koopu, Webb | Martin (3) | 7,174 |
| 22 April | Round 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 46 - 14 | Wiki (2), Byrne, Gatis, Martin, Price, Webb | Martin (9) | 8,015 |
| 30 April | Round 8 | Bulldogs | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16 - 30 | Faumuina, Koopu | Martin (4) | 11,604 |
| | Round 9 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 13 May | Round 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Illawarra | Loss | 16 - 22 | Mannering, Price, Webb | Martin (2) | 10,117 |
| 20 May | Round 11 | Wests Tigers | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 34 - 12 | Anderson, Faumuina, Mannering, Rovelli, Tuimavave, Webb | Martin (5) | 8,210 |
| 27 May | Round 12 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Park, Sydney | Loss | 20 - 34 | Koopu (2), Mannering, Faumuina | Martin (2) | 9,490 |
| 4 June | Round 13 | Brisbane Broncos | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 18 - 23 | Wiki (2), Ah Van | Martin (3) | 7,746 |
| 11 June | Round 14 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Win | 22 - 12 | Vatuvei (2), Fien, Martin, Webb | Martin (1) | 6,806 |
| 18 June | Round 15 | Newcastle Knights | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30 - 18 | Fien (2), Faumuina, Price, Ropati | Martin (5) | 6,240 |
| 25 June | Round 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Telstra Stadium, Sydney | Win | 66 - 0 | Hohaia (3), Ropati (2), Webb (2), Ah Van, Mannering, Martin, Price, Tuimavave | Martin (9) | 6,597 |
| 1 July | Round 17 | Penrith Panthers | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 28 - 22 | Mannering (2), Martin, Webb, Wiki | Martin (4) | 8,723 |
| 9 July | Round 18 | Bulldogs | Telstra Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 18 - 22 (a.e.t) | Koopu, Mannering, Vatuvei | Martin (3) | 14,076 |
| 15 July | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12 - 20 | Price, Rovelli | Martin (2) | 14,499 |
| | Round 20 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 29 July | Round 21 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 6 - 36 | Vautvei | Martin (1) | 9,725 |
| 5 August | Round 22 | Cronulla Sharks | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 12 - 10 | Luck, Rovelli | Martin (2) | 4,850 |
| 12 August | Round 23 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 26 - 0 | Hohaia (2), Mannering, Rapira, Vatuvei | Hohaia (3) | 5,425 |
| 19 August | Round 24 | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne | Win | 24 - 20 | Webb (2), Mannering, Vatuvei | Hohaia (4) | 13,477 |
| 27 August | Round 25 | Sydney Roosters | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 42 - 16 | Ropati (4), Ah Van (2), Lauaki, Wiki | Hohaia (5) | 12,711 |
| 3 September | Round 26 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 12 - 36 | Byrne, Rovelli | Hohaia (2) | 47,193 |

## Ladder

2006 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 605 | 404 | +201 | 44$^1$ |
| 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 608 | 468 | +140 | 36 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos (P) | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 497 | 392 | +105 | 32 |
| 4 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 608 | 538 | +70 | 32 |
| 5 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 534 | 493 | +41 | 32 |
| 6 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 519 | 481 | +38 | 32 |
| 7 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 525 | 573 | -48 | 30 |
| 8 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 506 | 483 | +23 | 28 |
| 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 450 | 463 | -13 | 26 |
| 10 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 552 | 463 | +89 | 24$^2$ |
| 11 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 490 | 565 | -75 | 24 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 510 | 587 | -77 | 24 |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 515 | 544 | -29 | 22 |
| 14 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 528 | 650 | -122 | 20 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 429 | 772 | -343 | 10 |
$^1$ The Melbourne Storm were later stripped of this minor premiership due to gross salary cap breaches.
$^2$ The New Zealand Warriors were deducted 4 competition points due to gross salary cap breaches.

## Squad

Twenty five players were used by the Warriors in 2006, including several players who made their first grade debuts.
| No. | Name | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 33 | Awen Guttenbeil | SR | 14 April 1996 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 64 | Wairangi Koopu | CE / SR | 9 April 1999 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 66 | Clinton Toopi | CE | 2 May 1999 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 87 | Richard Villasanti | PR | 18 February 2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | Brent Webb | FB | 1 April 2002 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 98 | Sione Faumuina | CE / LK | 1 April 2002 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 99 | Lance Hohaia | UB | 6 April 2002 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 48 |
| 102 | Evarn Tuimavave | PR | 1 September 2002 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 108 | Jerome Ropati | CE / FE | 31 August 2003 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 109 | Tony Martin | CE | 14 March 2004 | 20 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 160 |
| 110 | Epalahame Lauaki | SR | 14 March 2004 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 112 | Louis Anderson | LK | 28 March 2004 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | WG | 23 May 2004 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 118 | Cooper Vuna | WG | 21 August 2004 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 | Steve Price | PR | 13 March 2005 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 122 | Todd Byrne | WG | 13 March 2005 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 123 | Ruben Wiki | PR | 13 March 2005 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 124 | Nathan Fien | HK | 13 March 2005 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | CE | 26 June 2005 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 126 | Micheal Luck | SR | 12 March 2006 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 127 | Grant Rovelli | HB | 12 March 2006 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 128 | George Gatis | HK | 25 March 2006 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 129 | Patrick Ah Van | WG | 9 April 2006 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 130 | Misi Taulapapa | WG | 22 April 2006 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | PR | 20 May 2006 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

## Staff

* Chief Executive Officer: Wayne Scurrah

### Coaching Staff

* Head coach: Ivan Cleary
* Assistant coach: John Ackland
* Development coach: Tony Iro
* Trainer: Craig Walker

## Transfers
### Gains

| Player | Previous Club |
| Micheal Luck | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Grant Rovelli | Sydney Roosters |
| George Gatis | North Queensland Cowboys |

### Losses

| Player | Club |
| Stacey Jones | Catalans Dragons |
| Monty Betham | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
| Francis Meli | St Helens R.F.C. |
| Iafeta Paleaaesina | Wigan Warriors |
| Karl Temata | Harlequins RL |
| Tevita Latu | Cronulla Sharks |

### Mid-Season Losses

| Player | Club | Notes |
| Richard Villasanti | Cronulla Sharks | granted an early release on 3 May after 96 appearances for the Warriors since arriving in 2001. |
| Clinton Toopi | Leeds Rhinos | granted an early release on 17 July. |
| Sione Faumuina | Harlequins RL | contract terminated by the Warriors on 30 Augustafter another case of serious misconduct. |

## Awards

* 14 September – Steve Price wins the club's premier accolade as the Lion Red Player of the Year. Grant Rovelli wins the Vodafone Young Player of the Year, Micheal Luck the Puma Clubman of the Year and Brent Webb the Vodafone One Tribe Supporters' Player of the Year.

## Other teams

Players not required by the Warriors were released to play in the 2006 Bartercard Cup. These included Misi Taulapapa for the Mount Albert Lions and Cooper Vuna for the Tamaki Titans. Sam Rapira and Lance Hohaia both made appearances for the Waicoa Bay Stallions while Richard Villasanti played for the Canterbury Bulls.