# 2017 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2017 New Zealand Warriors season was the 23rd season in the club's history. Coached by Stephen Kearney and captained by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2017 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines tournament.

## Milestones

* 12 September 2016: Stephen Kearney is appointed as head coach, with former coach Andrew McFadden accepting a role as assistant coach.
* 14 December 2016: Sam Lisone is named in the World All Stars side to play in the 2017 All Stars match.
* 1 February: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is announced as the new captain, with Simon Mannering as vice-captain.
* 5 March – round one: Isaiah Papalii made his NRL debut.
* 10 March – round two: Erin Clark made his NRL debut. Shaun Johnson scored a try and kicked two goals, surpassing Stacey Jones' 674 points as the highest point scorer for the Warriors.
* 26 March – round four: Simon Mannering played his 262nd match for the Warriors, surpassing Stacey Jones record for most appearances for the club.
* 2 April – round five: Kieran Foran made his club debut and Solomone Kata played in his 50th match for the club.
* 15 April – round seven: Blake Ayshford played in his 150th NRL match.
* 30 April – round nine: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad made his NRL debut. The Warriors NRL community ambassador, Georgia Hale, played for the Kiwi Ferns.
* 5 May: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson, Issac Luke and Simon Mannering represented New Zealand in the Anzac test. Chanel Harris-Tavita, Erin Clark and Isaiah Papali'i played for the Junior Kiwis.
* 6 May: In the Pacific tests: Manu Vatuvei, Tuimoala Lolohea and Mafoa'aeata Hingano represented Tonga, Ken Maumalo represented Samoa, and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad represented the Cook Islands.
* 7 May: Matt Allwood and Toafofoa Sipley represented NSW Residents.
* 13 May – round ten: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck played in his 100th NRL match and Sam Lisone played in his 50th, all for the Warriors.
* 19 May – round eleven: Ben Matulino played in his 200th NRL match, all for the Warriors.
* 30 May: Jacob Lillyman played for Queensland in game one of the 2017 State of Origin series.
* 10 June – round fourteen: Ryan Hoffman played in his 300th NRL match.
* 22 July – round twenty: Chris Satae made his NRL debut.
* 28 July – round twenty one: James Bell made his NRL debut.
* October–December: At the 2017 Rugby League World Cup: Shaun Johnson, Simon Mannering and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck represented New Zealand; Bunty Afoa, Sam Lisone, Ken Maumalo and Jazz Tevaga represented Samoa; James Bell represented Scotland; David Fusitu'a, Ata Hingano, and Solomone Kata represented Tonga; and Bureta Faraimo represented the United States.

## Jersey and sponsors

* In 2017 the Warriors jerseys will again be made by Canterbury of New Zealand.

## Fixtures
### Pre-season training

Pre-season training began on 1 November, with the exception of players involved in the 2016 Four Nations tournament.

### Auckland Nines

The Warriors lost all three of their matches at the Nines.
The squad for the Nines was Ryan Hoffman, Junior Pauga, Matt Allwood, Blake Ayshford, Ata Hingano, Sam Cook, Shaun Johnson, Ruben Wiki (c), Mason Lino, Bunty Afoa, James Gavet, Tuimoala Lolohea, Jazz Tevaga, Ofahiki Ogden, Lewis Soosemea, Toafofoa Sipley, Isaiah Papalii, and James Bell. Solomone Kata was originally named, but withdrew due to a virus and was replaced by Cook.
Piha Pool :
| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Parramatta Eels | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 23 | +43 | 6 |
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 4 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 2 |
| New Zealand Warriors | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 46 | −25 | 0 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 4 February | Game 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 11–15 | Cook, Ayshford | Hingano | 22,000 |
| 4 February | Game 12 | Parramatta Eels | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 0–11 | | | 22,000 |
| 5 February | Game 20 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 10–14 | Hingano, Lolohea | Hingano | 22,000 |

### Pre-season matches

The Warriors played two trial matches, against the Melbourne Storm and the Gold Coast Titans. The match against the Titans was in Palmerston North, it was the first time the Warriors played in Palmerston North since 1995.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
| 11 February | Trial 1 | Melbourne Storm | Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast | Loss | 18–30 | Lolohea, Aofa, Tuivasa-Sheck | Lino (2), Hingano | 10,169 | |
| 19 February | Trial 2 | Gold Coast Titans | Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North | Win | 26–6 | Papalii, Lolohea, Fusitu'a, Gavet, Mannering | Johnson (3) | | |

### Regular season

Home matches were played at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, with the exception of one game at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton. The Warriors also played an away game at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
| 5 March | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 26–22 | Fusitu'a (3), Kata, Hoffman | Johnson (2), Luke (1) | 13,712 | |
| 10 March | Round 2 | Melbourne Storm | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 10–26 | Lolohea, Johnson | Johnson (1) | 9,811 | |
| 17 March | Round 3 | Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin | Loss | 12–24 | Thompson, Johnson | Johnson (2) | 10,523 | |
| 26 March | Round 4 | St George Illawarra Dragons | UOW Jubilee Oval, Sydney | Loss | 12–26 | Luke, Maumalo | Johnson (2) | 11,608 | |
| 2 April | Round 5 | Gold Coast Titans | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 28–22 | Johnson, Fusitua, Tuivasa-Sheck, Foran, Hoffman | Johnson (4) | 10,263 | |
| 9 April | Round 6 | Parramatta Eels | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 22–10 | Thompson (2), Mannering, Maumalo | Johnson (3) | 13,526 | |
| 15 April | Round 7 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium, Canberra | Loss | 8–20 | Hoffman | Johnson (2) | 13,996 | |
| 25 April | Round 8 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 14–20 | Fusitua (2) | Johnson (3) | 22,153 | |
| 30 April | Round 9 | Sydney Roosters | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 14–13 | Gavet, Fusitua | Johnson (3) | 13,126 | |
| 13 May | Round 10 | Penrith Panthers | Pepper Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 28–36 | Nicoll-Klokstad (2), Foran, Hoffman, Fusitua | Johnson (4) | 11,588 | |
| 19 May | Round 11 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Loss | 14–30 | Nicoll-Klokstad (2), Matulino | Johnson (1) | 11,108 | |
| 27 May | Round 12 | Brisbane Broncos | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 28–10 | Ayshford, Johnson, Tuivasa-Sheck, Maumalo, Gavet | Johnson (4) | 13,826 | |
| 2 June | Round 13 | Parramatta Eels | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 24–32 | Mannering, Maumalo, Hoffman, Tuivasa-Sheck | Johnson (4) | 9,489 | |
| 10 June | Round 14 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast | Win | 34–12 | Ayshford (2), Hoffman, Maumalo, Tuivasa-Sheck, Hingano | Luke (4), Hoffman (1) | 14,067 | |
| | Round 15 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 23 June | Round 16 | Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 21–14 | Maumalo, Ayshford, Tuivasa-Sheck | Johnson (4 & FG) | 13,476 | |
| 1 July | Round 17 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | nib Stadium, Perth | Loss | 22–26 | Nicoll-Klokstad (2), Thompson, Tuivasa-Sheck | Johnson (3) | 6,258 | |
| | Round 18 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 14 July | Round 19 | Penrith Panthers | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 22–34 | Kata (2), Mannering, Thompson | Johnson (2) Luke (1) | 13,076 | |
| 22 July | Round 20 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville | Loss | 12–24 | Afoa, Mannering | Luke (2) | 16,080 | |
| 28 July | Round 21 | Cronulla Sutherland Sharks | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12–26 | Kata, Thompson | Luke (2) | 9,771 | |
| 5 August | Round 22 | Newcastle Knights | Hunter Stadium, Newcastle | Loss | 10–26 | Fusitua, Roache | Luke (1) | 11,824 | |
| 13 August | Round 23 | Canberra Raiders | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16–36 | Fusitu'a, Tuivasa-Sheck, Papali'i | Lino (2) | 10,182 | |
| 18 August | Round 24 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 18–36 | Tuivasa-Sheck (2), Mannering | Luke (3) | 6,213 | |
| 27 August | Round 25 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 22–21 (G.P.) | Fusitu'a (2), Ayshford, Maumalo | Luke (1), Johnson (1 & FG) | 9,167 | |
| 3 September | Round 26 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney | Loss | 16–28 | Kata, Tuivasa-Sheck, Nicoll-Klokstad | Luke (2) | 10,231 | |

## Ladder

2017 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm (P) | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 633 | 336 | +297 | 44 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 500 | 428 | +72 | 38 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 597 | 433 | +164 | 36 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 496 | 457 | +39 | 36 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 476 | 407 | +69 | 34 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 552 | 512 | +40 | 32 |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 504 | 459 | +45 | 30 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 467 | 443 | +24 | 30 |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 533 | 450 | +83 | 28 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 497 | +61 | 26 |
| 11 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 360 | 455 | −95 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 464 | 564 | −100 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 444 | 575 | −131 | 18 |
| 14 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 413 | 571 | −158 | 18 |
| 15 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 448 | 638 | −190 | 18 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 428 | 648 | −220 | 14 |

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | WG | 23 May 2004 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | SR | 26 June 2005 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | PR | 14 June 2008 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 146 | Jacob Lillyman | PR | 14 March 2009 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 168 | Shaun Johnson | HB | 4 June 2011 | 18 | 4 | 45 | 2 | 108 |
| 183 | Charlie Gubb | PR | 7 July 2013 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 189 | David Fusitua | WG | 15 March 2014 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 192 | Tuimoala Lolohea | HB | 27 July 2014 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 193 | Solomone Kata | CE | 7 March 2015 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 194 | Bodene Thompson | SR | 7 March 2015 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 195 | Ryan Hoffman | SR | 7 March 2015 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 |
| 196 | Sam Lisone | PR | 7 March 2015 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 197 | Albert Vete | PR | 7 March 2015 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 199 | Matt Allwood | CE | 29 March 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 201 | Ken Maumalo | WG | 16 May 2015 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 202 | Mason Lino | HB | 24 August 2015 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 203 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | FB | 5 March 2016 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 204 | Blake Ayshford | CE | 5 March 2016 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 206 | Issac Luke | HK | 5 March 2016 | 23 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 38 |
| 207 | Nathaniel Roache | HK | 5 March 2016 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 208 | James Gavet | PR | 5 March 2016 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 209 | Jazz Tevaga | HK | 20 March 2016 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 210 | Ligi Sao | LK | 16 April 2016 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 212 | Toafofoa Sipley | PR | 1 May 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 213 | Bunty Afoa | PR | 2 July 2016 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 214 | Ata Hingano | FE | 20 August 2016 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 215 | Isaiah Papalii | PR | 5 March 2017 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 216 | Erin Clark | HK | 10 March 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 217 | Kieran Foran | FE | 2 April 2017 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 218 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | WG | 30 April 2017 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 219 | Chris Satae | PR | 22 July 2017 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 220 | James Bell | SR | 28 July 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Zac Santo | UB | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Transfers

Gains :
| Player | Previous Club | Length | Notes |
| Kieran Foran | Free Agent | 1 year | |
| Zac Santo | Canberra Raiders | | 2017 mid-season |
| Manaia Cherrington | Cronulla Sharks | 1 1/2 years | 2017 mid-season |
| Bureta Faraimo | Parramatta Eels | rest of season | 2017 mid-season |
Losses :
| Player | Club | Notes |
| Raymond Faitala-Mariner | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2016 mid-season |
| Konrad Hurrell | Gold Coast Titans | 2016 mid-season |
| Jeff Robson | Parramatta Eels | 2016 mid-season |
| Shaun Lane | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | |
| Thomas Leuluai | Wigan Warriors | |
| Ben Henry | Retired | |
| Johnathan Wright | Manly Sea Eagles | |
| Sione Lousi | Townsville Blackhawks | |
| John Palavi | Limoux Grizzlies | |
| Henare Wells | Burleigh Bears | |
| Ali Lauitiiti | Retired | |
| Tuimoala Lolohea | Wests Tigers | 2017 mid-season |
| Erin Clark | Canberra Raiders | 2017 mid-season |
| Manu Vatuvei | Salford Red Devils | 2017 mid-season |

## Other teams

As in 2016, 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

The Warriors finished the season second and played the third placed Penrith Panthers in week one of the finals. After losing to eventual winners Penrith they defeated Newcastle 30–6 before losing to the Wyong Roos in a preliminary final to end the season.
Bureta Faraimo, Mason Lino and Toafofoa Sipley were named in the 2017 Intrust Super Premiership NSW Team of the Year.

#### Finals

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney Football Stadium | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Wyong | 34 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Canterbury | 26 | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | | | | |
| | | | Canterbury-Bankstown | Canterbury-Bankstown | 32 | | | | |
| Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Illawarra | Illawarra | 14 | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | | | |
| 5 | Mount Pritchard | 26 | | | | Wyong | Wyong | 16 | |
| 8 | Illawarra | 30 | | | | New Zealand | New Zealand | 12 | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval |
| | | | | | | | | | Wyong | Wyong | 12 |
| Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | | | | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Penrith | Penrith | 20 |
| 6 | North Sydney | 18 | | | | Penrith | Penrith | 16 | | |
| 7 | Newcastle | 40 | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Canterbury-Bankstown | Canterbury-Bankstown | 12 | | |
| | | | New Zealand | New Zealand | 30 | | | | | | |
| Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Newcastle | Newcastle | 6 | | | | | |
| 2 | New Zealand | 20 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Penrith | 36 | | | | | | | | |

### Holden Cup squad

The Holden Cup team finished in last place, with only three wins during the season. This was the final year of the Holden Cup.

## Awards

Captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck won the club's NRL player of the year award while Simon Mannering won the people's choice award.
Mason Lino was the club's Intrust Super Premiership NSW player of the year while Chanel Harris-Tavita was the NYC player of the year.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad won the clubman of the year while Sam Cook was the Intrust Super Premiership NSW team man of the year and Kenese Kenese was the NYC clubman of the year.
Bunty Afoa won the NRL rookie of the year and Tyler Slade was the NYC rookie of the year.