# 2013 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2013 New Zealand Warriors season was the nineteenth season in the club's history. Coached by Matthew Elliott and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2013 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 11th (out of 16 teams), failing to make the finals for the second consecutive year.

## Milestones

* 12 October 2012: Matthew Elliot was appointed coach for the next two seasons.
* 16 January: Simon Mannering is reconfirmed as captain for the 2013 season.
* 9 February - All Stars match: Feleti Mateo and Shaun Johnson represent the NRL All Stars team and Dane Nielsen represents the Indigenous All Stars in the 2013 All Stars match.
* 9 March - Round 1: Dane Nielsen and Todd Lowrie made their debuts for the club.
* 24 March - Round 3: Ngani Laumape made his first grade debut.
* 19–21 April: The Warriors provided 7 players to the three representative matches held over the weekend. Ben Matulino, Elijah Taylor and Shaun Johnson played for New Zealand, Glen Fisiiahi and Siliva Havili played for Tonga, Carlos Tuimavave played for Samoa and Feleti Mateo played for City.
* 11 May - Round 9: Suaia Matagi made his first grade debut.
* 18 May - Round 10: Feleti Mateo plays in his 150th NRL match. The Warriors lose 6-62 to the Penrith Panthers, their largest ever loss in the club's history.
* 3 June - Round 12: Jacob Lillyman played in his 150th NRL match, Shaun Johnson played in his 50th NRL match and Dominique Peyroux made his debut for the club.
* 7 July - Round 17: Charlie Gubb made his debut for the club.
* 7 September - Round 26: Sio Siua Taukeiaho made his debut for the club. Jacob Lillyman played in his 100th match for the club.
* October - November: 15 players from the club participated in the World Cup: Kevin Locke, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson, Elijah Taylor, Simon Mannering, Ben Matulino (New Zealand), Pita Godinet, Suaia Matagi, Michael Sio (Samoa), Glen Fisiiahi, Konrad Hurrell, Siliva Havili (Tonga), Dominique Peyroux, Hikule'o Malu (Cook Islands).

## Jersey and sponsors

* In 2013 the Warriors jerseys is again to be made by Canterbury of New Zealand.
* The Warriors are the best selling club in the NRL for merchandise sales. In 2013 they had seven different playing shirts on sale.
* Red Bull was announced as a new sponsor of the club, signing a three-year deal.

## Fixtures
### Pre-season training

Pre-season training began on 5 November 2012. Australian wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Brad Morris was employed on the Warriors coaching staff. The team was based at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health and North Harbour Stadium during the pre-Christmas period. Four players joined the squad on pre-season trial contracts; Charlie Gubb, Suaia Matagi, Atelea Nafetalai, Nathaniel Peteru.

### Pre-season matches

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 9 February | Trial 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Pizzey Park, Burleigh Heads | Loss | 24-42 | Godinet, Fusitua, Hurrell, Laumape, Nafetalai | Siejka (1), Godinet (1) | |
| 16 February | Trial 2 | Penrith Panthers | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Loss | 18-32 | Vatuvei, Laumape, Locke, Fishiiahi | Johnson (1) | 12,000 |
| 23 February | Trial 3 | Brisbane Broncos | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin | Win | 16-10 | Vatuvei, Fisiiahi, Lowrie | Johnson (1), Godinet (1) | 15,000 |

### Regular season

The Warriors will play ten home matches at Mount Smart Stadium, one at Eden Park and another at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. This will be the Warriors first home match held outside of Auckland.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 9 March | Round 1 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 10-40 | Lillyman, Nielsen | Johnson (1) | 13,351 |
| 16 March | Round 2 | Sydney Roosters | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 14-16 | Johnson, Godinet, Tupou | Johnson (1) | 32,740 |
| 24 March | Round 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Shark Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 4-28 | Hurrell | | 12,183 |
| 1 April | Round 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 20-18 | Taylor, Hurrell, Johnson | Johnson (4) | 10,572 |
| 7 April | Round 5 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 22-24 | Matulino, Hurrell, Laumape, Godinet | Johnson (3) | 13,513 |
| 13 April | Round 6 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Loss | 16-20 | Vatuvei (2), Henry | Johnson (2) | 9,699 |
| 25 April | Round 7 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 18-28 | Henry, Tupou, Johnson | Johnson (3) | 25,480 |
| 5 May | Round 8 | Gold Coast Titans | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 25-24 | Vatuvei, Mateo, Tupou, Johnson, Henry | Johnson (2 & FG) | 9,465 |
| 11 May | Round 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | Loss | 16-24 | Vatuvei, Leuluai, Fisiiahi | Johnson (2) | 30,116 |
| 18 May | Round 10 | Penrith Panthers | Centrebet Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 6-62 | Vatuvei | Henry (1) | 9,386 |
| 26 May | Round 11 | Newcastle Knights | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 28-12 | Vatuvei, Leuluai, Rapira, Mannering, Taylor | Johnson (4) | 9,257 |
| 3 June | Round 12 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Win | 56-18 | Vatuvei (2), Fisiiahi (2), Hurrell (2), Leuluai (2), Packer, Locke | Johnson (8) | 21,259 |
| 9 June | Round 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 18-16 | Taylor, Fishiiahi, Hurrell | Johnson (3) | 11,143 |
| 16 June | Round 14 | Sydney Roosters | Allianz Stadium, Sydney | Win | 23-12 | Taylor, Laumape, Fishiiahi, Vatuvei | Mateo (2), Johnson (1 & FG) | 11,040 |
| | Round 15 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 30 June | Round 16 | Brisbane Broncos | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 18-16 | Vatuvei, Taylor, Hurrell | Johnson (3) | 15,515 |
| 7 July | Round 17 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | NIB Stadium, Perth | Loss | 13-30 | Mannering, Hurrell | Johnson (2 & FG) | 20,221 |
| | Round 18 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 19 July | Round 19 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney | Win | 24-14 | Johnson (2), Hurrell, Mannering | Johnson (4) | 11,436 |
| 28 July | Round 20 | Melbourne Storm | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30-22 | Laumape (2), Leuluai, Hurrell, Locke | Johnson (5) | 20,126 |
| 3 August | Round 21 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 14-18 | Vatuvei (2), Hurrell | Johnson (1) | 15,209 |
| 11 August | Round 22 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Central Coast Stadium, Gosford | Loss | 12-27 | Laumape, Johnson | Johnson (2) | 12,090 |
| 18 August | Round 23 | Penrith Panthers | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 24-28 | Leuluai, Taylor, Matagi, Hurrell | Johnson (4) | 11,596 |
| 24 August | Round 24 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park, Gold Coast | Win | 24-22 | Ropati (2), Nielsen, Hurrell | Johnson (4) | 15,786 |
| 31 August | Round 25 | Canberra Raiders | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 50-16 | Vatuvei (3), Johnson (3), Taylor, Mannering, Laumape | Johnson (7) | 15,121 |
| 7 September | Round 26 | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | Loss | 10-19 | Taylor, Vatuvei | Johnson (1) | 9,022 |

## Ladder

2013 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 640 | 325 | +315 | 40 |
| 2 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 588 | 384 | +204 | 40 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 589 | 373 | +216 | 37 |
| 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 588 | 366 | +222 | 35 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 468 | 460 | +8 | 32 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 529 | 463 | +66 | 30 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 528 | 422 | +106 | 29 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 507 | 431 | +76 | 28 |
| 9 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 500 | 518 | −18 | 26 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 495 | 532 | −37 | 26 |
| 11 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 495 | 554 | −59 | 26 |
| 12 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 434 | 477 | −43 | 25 |
| 13 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 434 | 624 | −190 | 24 |
| 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 379 | 530 | −151 | 18 |
| 15 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 386 | 687 | −301 | 18 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 326 | 740 | −414 | 14 |

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 105 | Thomas Leuluai | HB | 2 May 2003 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 108 | Jerome Ropati | CE | 31 August 2003 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | WG | 23 May 2004 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | SR | 26 June 2005 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | PR | 20 May 2006 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 141 | Russell Packer | PR | 4 May 2008 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | PR | 14 June 2008 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 146 | Jacob Lillyman | PR | 14 March 2009 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 152 | Kevin Locke | FB | 31 May 2009 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 159 | Sione Lousi | SR | 14 March 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 160 | Bill Tupou | WG | 4 April 2010 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 162 | Alehana Mara | HK | 21 August 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 163 | Glen Fisiiahi | FB | 12 March 2011 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 164 | Feleti Mateo | SR | 12 March 2011 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 167 | Elijah Taylor | SR | 3 April 2011 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 168 | Shaun Johnson | HB | 4 June 2011 | 24 | 10 | 67 | 3 | 177 |
| 169 | Steve Rapira | SR | 4 June 2011 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 170 | Pita Godinet | HB | 24 July 2011 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 171 | Ben Henry | SR | 4 March 2012 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 172 | Nathan Friend | HK | 4 March 2012 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 173 | Konrad Hurrell | CE | 4 March 2012 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 175 | Sam Lousi | SR | 21 July 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 176 | Sebastine Ikahihifo | LK | 28 July 2012 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 177 | Carlos Tuimavave | FE | 5 August 2012 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 178 | Dane Nielsen | CE | 9 March 2013 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 179 | Todd Lowrie | SR | 9 March 2013 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 180 | Ngani Laumape | WG | 24 March 2013 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 181 | Suaia Matagi | PR | 11 May 2013 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 182 | Dominique Peyroux | CE | 3 June 2013 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 183 | Charlie Gubb | PR | 7 July 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 184 | Sio Siua Taukeiaho | SR | 7 September 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Staff

* Chief Executive Officer: Wayne Scurrah
* 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: Matthew Elliott
* NRL Assistant Coach: Andrew McFadden
* NRL Assistant Coach: Ricky Henry
* NYC Head Coach: John Ackland
* NYC Assistant Coach: Kelvin Wright
* Junior Recruitment and Pathways Coach: Stacey Jones

### Strength and Conditioning

* Strength and Conditioning Coach: Carl Jennings
* Strength and Conditioning Coach: Ruben Wiki
* Sports Science Manager: Brad Morris
* Rehab and Speed Coach: Dayne Norton
* Performance Analyst: Adam Sadler

## Transfers
### Gains

| Player | Previous Club | Length | Notes |
| Thomas Leuluai | Wigan Warriors | 2013–2015 | |
| Harry Siejka | Penrith Panthers | 2013–20?? | |
| Dane Nielsen | Melbourne Storm | 2013–2015 | |
| Todd Lowrie | Melbourne Storm | 2013-2014 | |
| Matthew Elliott | Sydney Roosters | 2013-2014 | Coach |
| Dominique Peyroux | Gold Coast Titans | 2013-2015 | |

### Losses

| Player | Club | Notes |
| James Maloney | Sydney Roosters | |
| Lewis Brown | Penrith Panthers | |
| Micheal Luck | Retirement | |
| Ukuma Ta'ai | Huddersfield Giants | |
| Krisnan Inu | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Left 24 May 2012 |
| Omar Slaimankhel | Canon Eagles | |

## Other teams

The Junior Warriors again competed in the Holden Cup while senior players who were not required for the first team played with the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup.

### Holden Cup Squad

In John Ackland's last season with the club, the Junior Warriors made the grand final, before losing 30-42 to the Penrith Panthers juniors.
Grand Final team: David Fusitua, Metia Lisati, Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Ngataua Hukatai, Viliami Lolohea, Tuimoala Lolohea, Mason Lino, James Taylor, Siliva Havili, Albert Vete, Michael Sio, Raymond Faitala-Mariner and David Bhana (c). Bench: Eko Malu, Sam Lisone, Kouma Samson, Solomone Kata.
Seventeen Junior Warriors attended an NRL rookie camp on 24 and 25 November 2012. They were Vincent Afoa, Katamiro Atera, Trent Bishop, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Sione Feao, David Fusitua, Ngani Laumape, Mason Lino, Sam Lisone, Kouma Samson, Kurt Robinson, Lafu Feagaiga, Tama Koopu, Kenneth Maumalo, Eric Newbigging, Sam Cook and Esera Esera.

### Vulcans squad

The Vulcans were coached by Willie Swann, who was assisted by Brent Gemmel.
The Vulcans made the finals, losing to the Wests Tigers 24-34 in an elimination final.
The 2013 squad was Aaron Nootai, Agnatius Paasi, Atelea Nafetalai, Daniel Palavi, Murray Iti, Nathaniel Peteru, Steve Waetford, Tangi Ropati and Zoram Watene. In addition, the Vulcans were able to select players contracted to the Warriors and not selected for first grade, including four under 20 players; Ngani Laumape, Siliva Havili, Trent Bishop and Visesio Setefano.
Suaia Matagi was named the player of the year, ahead of runner up Tangi Ropati. John Palavi was named the rookie of the year.

## Awards

Captain Simon Mannering won the Player of the Year award while Ngani Laumape won Rookie of the Year. The Clubman of the Year was Manu Vatuvei and Shaun Johnson won the People's Player of the Year, decided by public vote. Jerome Ropati was presented with a special Legacy Award.