# 2009 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2009 New Zealand Warriors season was the 15th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership and finished 14th (out of 16). The coach of the Warriors was Ivan Cleary while Steve Price was the team's captain. In 2009 Warriors games were broadcast on New Zealand's Sky network averaged 107,163 viewers.

## Milestones

* 14 March – Round One: Steve Price played in his 300th National Rugby League game.
* 14 March – Round One: Four players made their debuts for the Warriors; Denan Kemp, Joel Moon, Jacob Lillyman & Leeson Ah Mau. Ah Mau also made his first grade debut.
* 22 March – Round Two: Two players made their debuts for the Warriors; Jesse Royal & Ukuma Ta'ai. Ta'ai also made his first grade debut.
* 5 April – Round Four: Game dedicated to the memory of Sonny Fai, the Warriors lose to the South Sydney Rabbitohs 22–16.
* 5 April – Round Four: Nathan Fien played in his 100th game for the Warriors.
* 5 April – Round Four: Daniel O'Regan made his first grade debut, becoming Warrior #150.
* 3 May – Round Eight: Lewis Brown made his first grade debut.
* 17 May – Round Ten: Jerome Ropati played in his 100th National Rugby League game and 100th game for the club.
* 31 May – Round Twelve: Two players made their first grade debuts; Kevin Locke and Aaron Heremaia.
* 12 June – Round Fourteen: Stacey Jones played in his 250th game for the club.
* 19 July – Round Nineteen: Isaac John made his first grade debut.
* 26 July – Round Twenty: Patrick Ah Van played in his 50th National Rugby League game and 50th game for the club.
* 31 July – Round Twenty One: Evarn Tuimavave played in his 100th National Rugby League game and 100th game for the club. It was also Tuimavave's first game of the season.
* 15 August – Round Twenty Three: Siuatonga Likiliki made his first grade debut.
* 5 September – Round Twenty Six: Simon Mannering played in his 100th National Rugby League game and 100th game for the club.
* 5 September – Round Twenty Six: Stacey Jones played in his last game for the club, the Warriors lost to the Melbourne Storm 30–0.

## Jersey and sponsors

* The Warriors used a New Jersey design in 2009, produced by Canterbury of New Zealand. Previously Puma AG had supplied the Warriors with apparel. The jerseys were unveiled on 25 February. The Main jersey retained the Black & White colours of the previous jersey, with a reversed scheme for the away jersey. The Warriors used a Blue jersey for the "Heritage round" in Round 10, to represent the Auckland. The Heritage jersey was also worn in Round 12, to celebrate the centenary of the Auckland Rugby League, and in Rounds 24 and 25.
* Vodafone New Zealand was again the naming rights sponsor of the Warriors in 2009. Lion Red was the sleeve sponsor. Suzuki and HiFX were featured on the shorts while Loadlift was on the back of the jersey. Other major sponsors included ZM and Flava.

## Fixtures

The Warriors used Mt Smart Stadium as their home ground in 2009, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.

### Trial Matches

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 12 February | Trial 1 | Melbourne Storm | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Win | 24 – 12 | McKinnon, Kirk, O'Regan, Vatuvei | Kemp (3), Ah Van | 10,800 |
| 22 February | Trial 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | Win | 32 – 28 | Ah Van, Moon, Hohaia, Solomona, Brown, Vatuvei | Kemp (2), Moon (2) | 16,500 |
| 28 February | Trial 3 | Gold Coast Titans | Oakes Oval, Lismore | Win | 34 – 12 | Kemp (2), McKinnon (2), Tate, Rapira, Moon | Kemp (2), Moon | 5,117 |

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 14 March | Round 1 | Parramatta Eels | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 26 – 18 | Hohaia (2), Moon, Packer | Kemp (5) | 20,102 |
| 22 March | Round 2 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | Win | 26 – 24 | Tate (2), Vatuvei, Royal, Ropati | Kemp (3) | 16,307 |
| 28 March | Round 3 | Brisbane Broncos | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 10 – 26 | Mannering, Ta'ai | Kemp (1) | 24,350 |
| 5 April | Round 4 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16 – 22 | Kirk, Luck, McKinnon | Kemp (2) | 19,386 |
| 12 April | Round 5 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | Loss | 22 – 24 | McKinnon, Fien, Packer, Ah Van | Kemp (3) | 16,307 |
| 19 April | Round 6 | Sydney Roosters | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win (G.P.) | 17 – 16 | Jones, Ropati, Vatuvei | Kemp (2), Jones (FG) | 16,309 |
| 25 April | Round 7 | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne | Draw (G.P.) | 14 – 14 | Vatuvei (2), Ah Van | Kemp (1) | 15,200 |
| 3 May | Round 8 | St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | Loss | 11 – 12 | Ah Van, Ropati | Ah Van (1), Jones (FG) | 14,562 |
| | Round 9 | Bye | | | – | | | |
| 17 May | Round 10 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12 – 34 | Fien, Kemp | Kemp (2) | 16,345 |
| 24 May | Round 11 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Loss | 12 – 38 | Price, Mannering | Kemp (2) | 8,383 |
| 31 May | Round 12 | Wests Tigers | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 14 – 0 | Locke (2), McKinnon | Locke (1) | 15,365 |
| 7 June | Round 13 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 10 – 18 | Vatuvei, Brown | Locke (1) | 14,082 |
| 13 June | Round 14 | Newcastle Knights | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 13 – 0 | Hohaia, Locke | Locke (2), Hohaia (FG) | 14,255 |
| | Round 15 | Bye | | | – | | | |
| 27 June | Round 16 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park, Robina | Loss | 12 – 28 | Hohaia, Brown | Locke (2) | 20,031 |
| 3 July | Round 17 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 14 – 28 | Price (2) | Locke (3) | 32,456 |
| 12 July | Round 18 | Bulldogs | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 14 – 18 | Vatuvei, Locke, Packer | Locke (1) | 11,802 |
| 19 July | Round 19 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Win | 30 – 24 | Vatuvei (2), Ah Van, Mannering, Jones | Jones (3) | 8,021 |
| 26 July | Round 20 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 4 – 29 | Moon | | 13,507 |
| 1 August | Round 21 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Draw (G.P.) | 32 – 32 | Moon (4), Brown | Locke (6) | 12,677 |
| 9 August | Round 22 | Gold Coast Titans | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 10 – 30 | Vatuvei (2) | Locke (1) | 10,205 |
| 15 August | Round 23 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 4 – 40 | Vatuvei | | 12,627 |
| 23 August | Round 24 | Canberra Raiders | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Won | 34 – 20 | Hohaia (2), Heremaia, Mannering, Ropati, Moon | Locke (5) | 8,812 |
| 30 August | Round 25 | Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 20 – 40 | Vatuvei (2), Rapira (2) | Jones (2) | 41,835 |
| 5 September | Round 26 | Melbourne Storm | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 0 – 30 | | | 14,734 |

## Ladder

2009 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 548 | 329 | +219 | 38 |
| 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 575 | 428 | +147 | 38$^1$ |
| 3 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 514 | 467 | +47 | 36 |
| 4 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 505 | 348 | +157 | 33 |
| 5 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 549 | 459 | +90 | 32 |
| 6 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 511 | 566 | −55 | 32 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 508 | 491 | +17 | 30 |
| 8 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 476 | 473 | +3 | 29 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 558 | 483 | +75 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 566 | 549 | +17 | 27 |
| 11 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 515 | 589 | −74 | 27 |
| 12 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 474 | +84 | 26 |
| 13 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 489 | 520 | −31 | 22 |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 377 | 565 | −188 | 20 |
| 15 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 359 | 568 | −209 | 14 |
| 16 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 382 | 681 | −299 | 14 |
$^1$ The Bulldogs were deducted 2 competition points after an interchange breach in Round 2.

## Squad

The Warriors used Twenty Nine players in 2009. Twelve players made their debut for the club, including eight making their National Rugby League debuts.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 24 | Stacey Jones | New Zealand | HB | 23 April 1995 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 20 |
| 99 | Lance Hohaia | New Zealand | UB | 6 April 2002 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 102 | Evarn Tuimavave | New Zealand | PR | 1 September 2002 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 108 | Jerome Ropati | New Zealand | CE / FE | 31 August 2003 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | New Zealand | WG | 23 May 2004 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 121 | Steve Price | Australia | PR | 13 March 2005 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 124 | Nathan Fien | New Zealand | HK | 13 March 2005 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | New Zealand | CE | 26 June 2005 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 126 | Micheal Luck | Australia | SR | 12 March 2006 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 129 | Patrick Ah Van | New Zealand | WG | 9 April 2006 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | New Zealand | PR | 20 May 2006 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 132 | Wade McKinnon | Australia | FB | 17 March 2007 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 136 | Aidan Kirk | Australia | FB / CE | 17 March 2008 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 137 | Brent Tate | Australia | CE | 17 March 2008 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 138 | Ian Henderson | Scotland | HK | 23 March 2008 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 141 | Russell Packer | New Zealand | PR | 4 May 2008 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | New Zealand | SR | 14 June 2008 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 144 | Denan Kemp | Australia | WG | 14 March 2009 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 46 |
| 145 | Joel Moon | Australia | FE | 14 March 2009 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 146 | Jacob Lillyman | Australia | PR | 14 March 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 147 | Leeson Ah Mau | New Zealand | PR | 14 March 2009 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 148 | Jesse Royal | New Zealand | PR | 22 March 2009 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 149 | Ukuma Ta'ai | Tonga | SR | 22 March 2009 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 150 | Daniel O'Regan | New Zealand | FE | 5 April 2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 151 | Lewis Brown | New Zealand | HK | 3 May 2009 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 152 | Kevin Locke | New Zealand | FB | 31 May 2009 | 12 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 60 |
| 153 | Aaron Heremaia | New Zealand | HB | 31 May 2009 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 154 | Isaac John | New Zealand | FE | 19 July 2009 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 155 | Siuatonga Likiliki | New Zealand | CE | 15 August 2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Staff

* Chief Executive Officer: Wayne Scurrah

### NRL Staff

* NRL Head Coach: Ivan Cleary
* NRL Assistant Coach: John Ackland
* NRL Head Trainer: Craig Walker
* NRL Assistant Trainer: Dayne Norton
* NRL Football Manager: Don Mann Jr
* NRL Physiotherapist: Jude Spiers
* Club Doctor: John Mayhew

### NYC Staff

* NYC Head Coach: Tony Iro
* NYC Assistant Coach: Frank Harold
* NYC Team Manager: Dean Bell

## Transfers
### Gains

| Player | Previous Club | Length |
| Liam Foran | Melbourne Storm | 2009, with option |
| Jacob Lillyman | North Queensland Cowboys | 2010 |
| Denan Kemp | Brisbane Broncos | 2010 |
| Joel Moon | Brisbane Broncos | 2011 |
| Stacey Jones | Retired | 2009 |
| Lewis Brown | Wests Tigers | 2009, with option |
| Jesse Royal | Newcastle Knights | 2010 |

### Losses

| Player | Club |
| Ruben Wiki | Retired |
| Wairangi Koopu | Melbourne Storm |
| Logan Swann | Retired |
| Michael Crockett | Released |
| Ryan Shortland | Released |
| Grant Rovelli | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Sonny Fai | presumed drowned |

### Mid-Season Losses

| Player | Club |
| Epalahame Lauaki | Hull |
| Michael Witt | Otago Rugby Union |
| Liam Foran | Newtown Jets |
| Nathan Fien | St. George Illawarra Dragons |

### Contract extensions

* Simon Mannering (until 2012)
* Jerome Ropati (until 2012)
* Lance Hohaia (until 2011, with option)
* Patrick Ah Van (until 2011)
* Aaron Heremaia (until 2011, with option)
* Isaac John (until 2011, with option)
* Ian Henderson (until 2011)
* Ivan Cleary (until 2012)

## Sonny Fai

Warrior Sonny Fai went missing at around 7pm on 4 January 2009, after being caught in a rip current while trying to save some family who had got into difficulty at Te Henga (Bethells Beach), Auckland. His body is yet to be found. The entire team attended his two memorial services, one in a Samoan Methodist Church and one held at Te Henga (Bethells Beach).
The Warriors wore black armbands for their opening NRL match of the 2009 season, as well as jerseys embroidered with Fai's signature and official team number in honour of him.

## End of Season awards

* Lion Red Player of the Year: Micheal Luck
* Canterbury of New Zealand Clubman of the Year: Sam Rapira
* Vodafone NRL Young Player of the Year: Russell Packer
* Vodafone One Tribe Supporters' Player of the Year: Kevin Locke
* Sonny Fai Medal: Elijah Taylor

## Other Teams

In 2009 the Junior Warriors again competed in the Toyota Cup while senior players who were not required for the first team played with the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup. The Auckland Vulcans were coached by Bernie Perenara and finished 11th out of eleven teams.
Daniel O'Regan was the Vulcan's player of the year, while Pita Godinet was the runner up and Sione Tongia was the rookie of the year.

### 2009 Junior Warriors

Siuatonga Likiliki was named in the 2009 Toyota Cup team of the year.
National Youth Competition season 2009vte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 879 | 417 | +462 | 43 |
| 2 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 758 | 461 | +297 | 42 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm (P) | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 833 | 597 | +236 | 42 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 709 | 588 | +121 | 35 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 698 | 551 | +147 | 34 |
| 6 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 776 | 568 | +208 | 31 |
| 7 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 725 | 612 | +113 | 31 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 706 | 685 | +21 | 28 |
| 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 668 | 683 | -15 | 28 |
| 10 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 596 | 756 | -160 | 23 |
| 11 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 649 | 867 | -218 | 23 |
| 12 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 604 | 698 | -94 | 20 |
| 13 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 573 | 755 | -182 | 20 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 542 | 738 | -196 | 20 |
| 15 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 443 | 736 | -293 | 16 |
| 16 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 391 | 838 | -447 | 12 |
| Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Manly | 28 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | St. George Illawarra | 48 | | | | 1W | St. George Illawarra | 12 | | | |
| | | | 4W | Canberra Raiders | 34 | | Wests Tigers | 36 | | | |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | 54 | 2L | Wests Tigers | 42 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | 54 | 2L | Wests Tigers | 42 | | | | Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers | 22 |
| 7 | Wests Tigers | 22 | | | | | | | Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers | 22 |
| 7 | Wests Tigers | 22 | | | | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 24 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 46 | | | | 2W | Melbourne Storm | 40 | | | |
| 6 | South Sydney | 18 | 3W | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | | Brisbane Broncos | 16 | | | |
| | | | 1L | doggies | 10 | | | | | | |
| 4 | NZ Warriors | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Canberra Raiders | 32 | | | | | | | | | |