# 2001 New Zealand Warriors season

The New Zealand Warriors 2001 season was the New Zealand Warriors' 7th first-grade season, and their first under the new name. The club competed in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Daniel Anderson while Stacey Jones and Kevin Campion were the club's co-captains. The club made the final series for the first time, after finishing eighth in the regular season.

## Milestones

* 4 March — Round 3: Ali Lauitiiti played in his 50th match for the club.
* 24 March — Round 6: The Warriors defeat Brisbane for the first time, 13–12.
* 16 June — Round 16: Jason Death played in his 50th match for the club.
* 24 June — Round 17: Awen Guttenbeil played in his 50th match for the club.
* 15 July — Round 19: Logan Swann played in his 100th match for the club.
* 27 August — Round 25: The club reaches the play-offs for the first time when a 24–24 draw with Melbourne secures a finals berth.

## The Sale

In November 2000 Tainui sold many of the club's assets to businessman Eric Watson. This purchase included the club's NRL license, the intellectual property rights and the training base but controversially did not include the player contracts.
The club was re-branded as the New Zealand Warriors, with new colours of black and grey — resembling the national sporting colours. Mick Watson was hired as CEO while little known coach Daniel Anderson was appointed head coach.

## Jersey & Sponsors

The Warriors had a new jersey in 2001, produced by Puma, similar to old designs but with the new owners adding black to the design.

## Fixtures

The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 2001, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.

### Pre Season trials

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
| 3 February | Canterbury Bulls | Rugby League Park, Christchurch | Win | 74-12 | Toopi (2), Koopu (2), Myles (2), Jones (2), Beverley, Tookey, Seuseu, Fa'afili, Betham, Meli | Jones (7), Myles (2) | 4,500 | |

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 18 February | Round 1 | Canberra Raiders | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 8-24 | Fa'afili | Cleary (2) | 11,134 |
| 25 February | Round 2 | Northern Eagles | Central Coast Stadium, Gosford | Win | 24-16 | Beverley, Guttenbeil, Jones, Meli | Cleary (4) | 8,012 |
| 4 March | Round 3 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Sports Ground, Sydney | Loss | 10-29 | Koopu, Meli | Cleary (1) | 8,899 |
| 9 March | Round 4 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 34-8 | Betham, Campion, Cleary, Tony, Toopi | Cleary (7) | 8,730 |
| 18 March | Round 5 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 24-30 | Betham, Meli, Morgan, Swann | Cleary (3), Jones (1) | 12,141 |
| 24 March | Round 6 | Brisbane Broncos | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 13-12 | Fa'afili, Swann | Jones (2 & FG) | 13,921 |
| 31 March | Round 7 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | Loss | 24-45 | Toopi (2), Fa'afili, Meli, Wood | Cleary (2) | 15,894 |
| 7 April | Round 8 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | Draw | 24-24 | Fa'afili, Meli, Justin Murphy, Toopi | Jones (4) | 27,724 |
| 16 April | Round 9 | Penrith Panthers | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 52-8 | Meli (2), Murphy (2), Swann (2), Toopi (2), Richard Blackmore, Fa'afili | Cleary (6) | 16,876 |
| 21 April | Round 10 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Park, Sydney | Loss | 16-26 | Lauiti'iti, Swann, Villasanti | Cleary (2) | 9,011 |
| 29 April | Round 11 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Win | 42-30 | Seuseu (2), Fa'afili, Jones, Meli, Tony, Toopi | Cleary (7) | 9,857 |
| 12 May | Round 12 | Melbourne Storm | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 20-40 | Tony (2), Betham | Cleary (4) | 15,167 |
| 20 May | Round 13 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville | Loss | 18-35 | Blackmore, Fa'afili, Swann | Cleary (3) | 10,819 |
| 26 May | Round 14 | Canberra Raiders | Manuka Oval, Canberra | Win | 22-10 | Death, Jones, Swann, Tony | Cleary (3) | 7,112 |
| 1 June | Round 15 | Northern Eagles | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 30-34 | Betham, Campion, Cleary, Death, Fa'afili, Toopi | Cleary (5) | 12,282 |
| 16 June | Round 16 | Wests Tigers | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16-21 | Fa'afili (2), Jones | Cleary (2) | 8,333 |
| 24 June | Round 17 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | Loss | 18-38 | Guttenbeil, Jones, Tony | Cleary (3) | 9,013 |
| 7 July | Round 18 | Parramatta Eels | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 29-18 | Cleary, Hape, Jones, Paleaaesina | Cleary (6 & FG) | 10,554 |
| 15 July | Round 19 | Brisbane Broncos | Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast | Loss | 12-48 | Fa'afili, Tookey | Cleary (2) | 15,813 |
| 22 July | Round 20 | Newcastle Knights | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 30-37 | Tony (2), Meli, Paleaaesina, Toopi | Jones (3), Cleary (2) | 8,188 |
| 28 July | Round 21 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 34-8 | Betham, Murphy, Jones, Fa'afili, Swann, Tookey | Jones (5) | 10,391 |
| 5 August | Round 22 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Win | 48-32 | Jones (2), Meli (2), Fa'afili, Lauiti'iti, Swann, Toopi | Cleary (8) | 8,234 |
| 11 August | Round 23 | Cronulla Sharks | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30-0 | Koopu, Myles, Swann, Toopi, Villasanti | Cleary (5) | 10,131 |
| 18 August | Round 24 | Sydney Roosters | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 14-8 | Hape, Jones | Jones (2), Cleary (1) | 15,665 |
| 27 August | Round 25 | Melbourne Storm | Telstra Dome, Melbourne | Draw | 24-24 | Hape (2), Fa'afili, Myles | Jones (4) | 13,298 |
| 2 September | Round 26 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 18-30 | Koopu, Lauiti'iti, Tony | Jones (3) | 24,568 |

### Final Series

| Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 56 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 22 | | | | 1W | Parramatta Eels | 24 | | | |
| | | | 4W | St. George Illawarra | 28 | | Brisbane Broncos | 16 | | | |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 40 | 2L | Brisbane Broncos | 44 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 40 | 2L | Brisbane Broncos | 44 | | | | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 24 |
| 7 | Cronulla Sharks | 22 | | | | | | | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 24 |
| 7 | Cronulla Sharks | 22 | | | | | | | Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 30 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 6 | | | | 2W | Newcastle Knights | 18 | | | |
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | 6 | 3W | Cronulla Sharks | 52 | | Cronulla Sharks | 10 | | | |
| | | | 1L | Canterbury Bulldogs | 10 | | | | | | |
| 4 | St. George Illawarra | 23 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | NZ Warriors | 12 | | | | | | | | | |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
| 9 September | Qualifying Final | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 12 - 56 | Koopu, Tony | Cleary (2) | 17,336 | |

## Ladder

2001 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 839 | 406 | +433 | 42 |
| 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 617 | 568 | +49 | 37 |
| 3 | Newcastle Knights (P) | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 782 | 639 | +143 | 33 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 594 | 513 | +81 | 32 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 696 | 511 | +185 | 29 |
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 647 | 589 | +58 | 27 |
| 7 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 661 | 573 | +88 | 26 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 638 | 629 | +9 | 26 |
| 9 | Melbourne Storm | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 704 | 725 | -21 | 23 |
| 10 | Northern Eagles | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 603 | 750 | -147 | 23 |
| 11 | Canberra Raiders | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 600 | 623 | -23 | 19 |
| 12 | Wests Tigers | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 474 | 746 | -272 | 19 |
| 13 | North Queensland Cowboys | 26 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 514 | 771 | -257 | 14 |
| 14 | Penrith Panthers | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 521 | 847 | -326 | 14 |

## Squad

Twenty Seven players were used by the Warriors in 2001, including three players who made their first grade debuts.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 24 | Stacey Jones | | HB | 23 April 1995 | 26 | 10 | 24 | 1 | 89 |
| 26 | Richie Blackmore | | CE | 14 May 1995 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 33 | Awen Guttenbeil | / | SR | 14 April 1996 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 42 | Logan Swann | | SR | 1 March 1997 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 50 | Jerry Seu Seu | / | PR | 16 August 1997 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 55 | Ali Lauitiiti | / | SR | 19 April 1998 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 59 | Jason Death | | HK / LK | 8 March 1999 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 61 | Monty Betham | / | HK / LK | 8 March 1999 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 62 | Cliff Beverley | | FE | 21 March 1999 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 64 | Wairangi Koopu | | CE / SR | 9 April 1999 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 65 | Francis Meli | / | WG | 2 May 1999 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 66 | Clinton Toopi | | CE | 2 May 1999 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 73 | Ivan Cleary | | FB / CE | 6 February 2000 | 22 | 3 | 80 | 1 | 173 |
| 76 | Mark Tookey | | PR | 6 February 2000 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 77 | David Myles | | CE | 14 February 2000 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 80 | Shontayne Hape | | CE | 18 March 2000 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 81 | Henry Fa'afili | / | WG | 26 March 2000 | 27 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| 84 | Jonathan Smith | | SR | 24 June 2000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 86 | Kevin Campion | / | LK | 18 February 2001 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 87 | Richard Villasanti | / | PR | 18 February 2001 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 88 | Justin Morgan | | PR | 25 February 2001 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 89 | Jason Temu | | PR | 4 March 2001 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | Motu Tony | / | UH | 9 March 2001 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 91 | Nathan Wood | | HK / HB | 24 March 2001 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 92 | Justin Murphy | | WG | 7 April 2001 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 93 | Iafeta Paleaaesina | / | PR | 1 June 2001 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 94 | Anthony Seu Seu | | PR | 15 July 2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Staff

* Chief executive officer: Mick Watson

### Coaching Staff

* Head coach: Daniel Anderson
* Assistant coach: Tony Kemp
* Video analysis: Rohan Smith

## Transfers
### Gains

| Player | Previous Club |
| Kevin Campion | Brisbane Broncos |
| Richard Villasanti | Wests Tigers |
| Justin Morgan | Canberra Raiders |
| Jason Temu | Newcastle Knights |
| Nathan Wood | Sydney City Roosters |
| Justin Murphy | Canterbury Bulldogs |

### Losses

| Player | Club |
| Jason Bell | Retired |
| David Mulhall | Wests Tigers |
| Henry Perenara | Melbourne Storm |
| Paul Whatuira | Melbourne Storm |
| Ben Lythe | Mt Albert Lions |
| Matthew Spence | Retired |
| Scott Coxon | Newcastle Knights |
| Robbie Mears | Leeds Rhinos |
| John Simon | Wests Tigers |
| Talite Liava'a | Perpignan |
| Scott Pethybridge | Northern Eagles |
| Joe Galuvao | Penrith Panthers |
| Odell Manuel | Canberra Raiders |
| Terry Hermansson | Retired |
| Lee Oudenryn | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Nigel Vagana | Canterbury Bulldogs |
| Tony Tuimavave | Retired |
| Joe Vagana | Bradford Bulls |

## Other Teams

Players not required by the Warriors each week were released to play in the 2001 Bartercard Cup. This included Anthony Seuseu, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Cliff Beverley, Shontayne Hape, Jason Temu, Motu Tony, Jonathan Smith, Justin Murphy, Mark Tookey and Kevin Campion who all played in the Bartercard Cup and the National Rugby League in 2001.

## Awards

Jerry Seuseu won the club's Player of the Year award.