# 2023 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2023 New Zealand Warriors season is the 29th in the club's history. They are competing in the National Rugby League's 2023 Telstra Premiership. The Captain Tohu Harris retains his club role for the 3rd consecutive season and Head Coach Andrew Webster joins to coach the club for the 2023 NRL Season.

## Player Movement

These movements happened across the previous season, off-season and pre-season.

### Gains

| Player/Coach | Previous Club | Length |
| Marata Niukore | Parramatta Eels | 2026 |
| Luke Metcalf | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2024 |
| Dylan Walker | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 2025 |
| Mitchell Barnett | Newcastle Knights | 2025 |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Canberra Raiders | 2025 |
| Te Maire Martin | Brisbane Broncos | 2025 |
| Jackson Ford | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2024 |
| Brayden Wiliame | USA Perpignan | 2024 |

### Losses

| Player/Coach | New Club |
| Euan Aitken | Dolphins |
| Reece Walsh | Brisbane Broncos |
| Eliesa Katoa | Melbourne Storm |
| Aaron Pene | Melbourne Storm |
| Jack Murchie | Parramatta Eels |
| Ben Murdoch-Masila | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Taniela Otukolo | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| Otukinekina Kepu | Redcliffe Dolphins |

## Pre-Season Challenge

The Warriors played two pre-season matches.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Thursday, 9 February | Trial 1 | Wests Tigers | Mount Smart Stadium | 48 – 12 | Marcelo Montoya (3) Viliami Vailea (2) Jackson Ford Luke Metcalf Moala Graham-Taufa Solomon Vasuvulagi | Luke Metcalf (3/5) Viliami Vailea (1/1) Edien Ackland (2/3) | 4,000 |
| Sunday, 19 February | Trial 2 | Melbourne Storm | Orangetheory Stadium | 6 – 24 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Shaun Johnson (1/1) | 11,817 |

## Regular Season

Source:

### League table

2023 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38 |
| 4 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38 |
| 5 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35 |
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34 |
| 7 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32 |
| 9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30 |
| 12 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29 |
| 13 | Dolphins | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24 |
| 15 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20 |
| 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16 |
| 17 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 385 | 675 | −290 | 14 |

### Matches

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Friday, 3 March | 1 | Newcastle Knights | Sky Stadium | 20 – 12 | Edward Kosi 25' Bunty Afoa 29' Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 51' Wayde Egan 73' | Shaun Johnson (2/4) | 16,676 |
| Saturday, 11 March | 2 | Sydney Roosters | Allianz Stadium | 20 - 12 | Wayde Egan 24' Addin Fonua-Blake 62' | Shaun Johnson (2/2) | 16,267 |
| Saturday, 18 March | 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 12 – 26 | Wayde Egan 8' Marcelo Montoya 28', 55' Jazz Tevaga 33' Edward Kosi 47' | Shaun Johnson (3/5) | 17,818 |
| Sunday, 26 March | 4 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Mount Smart Stadium | 16 – 14 | Viliami Vailea 37' Marcelo Montoya 55' Shaun Johnson 66' | Shaun Johnson (2/3) | 18,895 |
| Sunday, 2 April | 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | PointsBet Stadium | 30 – 32 | Wayde Egan 21' Marata Niukore Shaun Johnson 45' Edward Kosi 51' Josh Curran 67' | Shaun Johnson (6/6) | 10,878 |
| Sunday, 9 April | 6 | Newcastle Knights | McDonald Jones Stadium | 34 – 24 | Adam Pompey 22', 49' Edward Kosi 55' Jackson Ford 71' | Shaun Johnson (4/4) | 18,007 |
| Saturday, 15 April | 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mount Smart Stadium | 22 – 14 | Addin Fonua-Blake 3' Edward Kosi 28' Josh Curran 50' Dylan Walker 61' | Shaun Johnson (3/6) | 23,695 |
| Tuesday, 25 April | 8 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 30 – 22 | Jackson Ford 4' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak '10, '44 Addin Fonua-Blake '20 | Shaun Johnson (3/4) | 23,469 |
| Sunday, 30 April | 9 | Sydney Roosters | Mount Smart Stadium | 14 – 0 | - | - | 20,395 |
| Saturday, 6 May | 10 | Penrith Panthers | Suncorp Stadium | 18 – 6 | Addin Fonua-Blake 9' | Shaun Johnson (1/1) | 38,035 |
| Friday, 12 May | 11 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | 24 – 12 | Josh Curran 6' Addin Fonua-Blake 24' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 34' Ronald Volkman 66' | Shaun Johnson (4/4) | 14,294 |
| | 12 | BYE | | | | | |
| Saturday, 27 May | 13 | Brisbane Broncos | McLean Park | 22 – 26 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 36', 61' Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 74' Marcelo Montoya 77' | Shaun Johnson (3/4) | 15,600 |
| Saturday, 3 June | 14 | Dolphins | Go Media Stadium | 30 – 8 | Shaun Johnson 5', 53' Luke Metcalf 55', Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 68', 71' | Shaun Johnson (5/5) | 23,686 |
| Saturday, 10 June | 15 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 36 – 14 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 31' Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 47' Tom Ale 54' Luke Metcalf 62' Wayde Egan 66' Shaun Johnson 78' | Shaun Johnson (4/4) Adam Pompey (2/2) | 21,082 |
| | 16 | BYE | | | | | |
| Friday, 23 June | 17 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 48 – 18 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 4', 48', 69', 71' Marcelo Montoya 25' Bayley Sironen 29' Jackson Ford 32' Shaun Johnson 53' Rocco Berry 56' | Shaun Johnson (6/9) | 9,275 |
| Friday, 30 June | 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Go Media Stadium | 28 – 6 | Marcelo Montoya 15' | Shaun Johnson (1/1) | 22,612 |
| Saturday, 8 July | 18 | Parramatta Eels | CommBank Stadium | 46 – 10 | Luke Metcalf 6', 33' Marcelo Montoya 26', 30' Dylan Walker 39' Mitchell Barnett 48', 70' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 58' | Shaun Johnson (7/8) | 21,696 |
| Sunday, 16 July | 20 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Go Media Stadium | 44 – 12 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 19', 63' Rocco Berry 25' Addin Fonua-Blake 28' Luke Metcalf 31' Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 55' Josh Curran 59' Adam Pompey 77' | Shaun Johnson (6/8), Luke Metcalf (1/1) | 24,012 |
| Friday, 21 July | 21 | Canberra Raiders | Go Media Stadium | 21 – 20 | Marata Niukore 3' Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 38' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 48' | Shaun Johnson (4/5), FG (1/1) | 19,112 |
| | 22 | BYE | | | | | |
| Friday, 4 August | 23 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 28 – 18 | Shaun Johnson 26', 34' Jackson Ford 42' Tohu Harris 72' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 75' | Shaun Johnson (4/5) | 20,877 |
| Saturday, 12 August | 24 | Wests Tigers | FMG Stadium Waikato | 30 - 22 | Luke Metcalf 6' Adam Pompey 13' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 32' Tohu Harris 49' Addin Fonua-Blake 76' | Adam Pompey (3/4) Shaun Johnson (2/2) | 25,118 |
| Friday, 18 August | 25 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Daniel Anderson Stadium | 29 - 22 | Tohu Harris 7' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 11', 16', 50' Marata Niukore 72' | Adam Pompey (4/5) Shaun Johnson FG (1/1) | 24,112 |
| Friday, 25 August | 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Go Media Stadium | 18 - 6 | Adam Pompey 13' Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 19' Addin Fonua-Blake 74' | Adam Pompey (3/4) | 25,095 |
| Saturday, 2 September | 27 | Dolphins | Suncorp Stadium | 34-10 | Freddy Lussick 57' Marcelo Montoya 59' | Adam Pompey (1/2) | 35,438 |

## 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 |
| 9 Sept – BlueBet Stadium | 9 Sept – BlueBet Stadium | 9 Sept – BlueBet Stadium | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Penrith | 32 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | New Zealand | 6 | 16 Sept – Go Media Stadium Mt. Smart | 16 Sept – Go Media Stadium Mt. Smart | 16 Sept – Go Media Stadium Mt. Smart | | | | |
| | | | New Zealand | New Zealand | 40 | | | | |
| 10 Sept – McDonald Jones Stadium | 10 Sept – McDonald Jones Stadium | 10 Sept – McDonald Jones Stadium | Newcastle | Newcastle | 10 | 22 Sept – Accor Stadium | 22 Sept – Accor Stadium | 22 Sept – Accor Stadium | | | |
| 5 | Newcastle | 30 | | | | Penrith | Penrith | 38 | |
| 8 | Canberra | 28 | | | | Melbourne | Melbourne | 4 | 1 Oct – Accor Stadium | 1 Oct – Accor Stadium | 1 Oct – Accor Stadium |
| | | | | | | | | | Penrith | Penrith | 26 |
| 9 Sept – PointsBet Stadium | 9 Sept – PointsBet Stadium | 9 Sept – PointsBet Stadium | | | | 23 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | 23 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | 23 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | Brisbane | Brisbane | 24 |
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 12 | | | | Brisbane | Brisbane | 42 | | |
| 7 | Sydney | 13 | 15 Sept – AAMI Park | 15 Sept – AAMI Park | 15 Sept – AAMI Park | New Zealand | New Zealand | 12 | | |
| | | | Melbourne | Melbourne | 18 | | | | | | |
| 8 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | 8 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | 8 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | Sydney | Sydney | 13 | | | | | |
| 2 | Brisbane | 26 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Melbourne | 0 | | | | | | | | |

### Matches

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 9 September | Qualifying Final | Penrith Panthers | BlueBet Stadium | 32-6 | Wayde Egan 56' | Adam Pompey (1/1) | 21,525 |
| Saturday, 16 September | Semi Final | Newcastle Knights | Go Media Stadium | 40-10 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 1' Addin Fonua-Blake 6' Marcelo Montoya 11' Dylan Walker 46' Rocco Berry 59' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 63' Bailey Sironen 75' | Adam Pompey (6/7) Dylan Walker (0/1) FG | 26,083 |
| Saturday, 23 September | Preliminary Final | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | | | | 52,273 |

## Squad
### Debutants

| Player | Round | Opponent | Cap Number | Notes |
| Mitchell Barnett | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #273 | Club Debut |
| Jackson Ford | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #274 | Club Debut |
| Te Maire Martin | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #275 | Club Debut |
| Marata Niukore | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #276 | Club Debut |
| Dylan Walker | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #277 | Club Debut |
| Brayden Wiliame | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #278 | Club Debut |
| Taine Tuaupiki | Round 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | #279 | NRL Debut |
| Demitric Sifakula | Round 9 | Sydney Roosters | #280 | NRL Debut |
| Luke Metcalf | Round 13 | Brisbane Broncos | #281 | Club Debut |
| Ali Leiataua | Round 15 | Canberra Raiders | #282 | NRL Debut |

### Milestones

| Player | Round | Opponent | Milestone |
| Shaun Johnson | Round 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 250th NRL Game |
| Tohu Harris | Round 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 100th Club Game |
| Jackson Ford | Round 21 | Canberra Raiders | 50th NRL Game |
| Shaun Johnson | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 200th Club Game |
| Dylan Walker | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 200th NRL Game |
| Addin Fonua-Blake | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 150th NRL Game |
| Wayde Egan | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 100th NRL Game |
| Joshua Curran | Round 17 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 50th Club Game |
| Joshua Curran | Round 15 | Canberra Raiders | 50th NRL Game |
| Marcelo Montoya | Round 10 | Penrith Panthers | 100th NRL Game |
| Shaun Johnson | Round 6 | Newcastle Knights | 1000 Club Points |
| Marata Niukore | Round 4 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 100th NRL Game |
| Tohu Harris | Round 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 200th NRL Game |

### Club Awards

| Player | Award |
| Shaun Johnson | Simon Mannering Medal (Player of the year), Players' Player, Peoples Choice |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Clubman of the year |
| Taine Tuaupiki | Rookie of the year |
| Kalani Going | NSW Cup Player of the year |
| Ronald Volkman | NSW Cup Players' Player |
| Ali Leiataua | NSW Cup Man of the year |
| Demitric Sifakula | NSW Cup Man of the year |

### Dally M Awards

| Player | Award |
| Shaun Johnson | Dally M Halfback of the year, RLPA Dream team Halfback, RLPA Players' Champion (Player of the year) |
| Andrew Webster | Dally M Coach of the year |
| Addin Fonua-Blake | Dally M Prop of the year, VB Hard Earned Player of the year, RLPA Dream team Prop |
| Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Dally M Winger of the year, RLPA Dream team Winger |

## Statistics

| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Tries | Try Assists | Goals | Goal Kicking Percentage | Field Goals | Points | Runs | Run Metres | Line Breaks | Tackle Breaks | Offloads | Kicks | Kick Metres | Tackles | Missed Tackles | Errors | Penalties | Sin Bins | Send Offs |
| Bunty Afoa | 20 | 15 | 592 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 4 | 124 | 1,006 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 399 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Ale | 18 | 1 | 443 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 4 | 131 | 1,104 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 254 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitch Barnett | 11 | 9 | 646 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 0 | 8 | 157 | 1,309 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 305 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Rocco Berry | 12 | 12 | 848 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | 0 | 8 | 84 | 789 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Curran | 19 | 5 | 891 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 16 | 120 | 949 | 5 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 416 | 42 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Addin Fonua-Blake | 23 | 23 | 1,378 | 8 | 3 | 0 | - | 0 | 32 | 379 | 3,618 | 8 | 65 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 567 | 25 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Tohu Harris | 20 | 20 | 1,363 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | 0 | 12 | 243 | 2,047 | 4 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 714 | 45 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Shaun Johnson | 23 | 23 | 1,821 | 8 | 30 | 71 | 79% | 2 | 176 | 71 | 579 | 9 | 40 | 8 | 383 | 11,863 | 405 | 37 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 17 | 17 | 1,349 | 21 | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | 84 | 252 | 2,313 | 21 | 67 | 15 | 4 | 54 | 50 | 24 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 |