# 2014 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2014 New Zealand Warriors season was the 20th in the club's history. Coached by Matthew Elliott until he was replaced by Andrew McFadden in Round 6, and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2014 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season 9th out of 16 teams, failing to make the finals for the third consecutive year. In the pre-season the Warriors also had competed in the inaugural NRL Auckland Nines tournament.

## Milestones

* 9 March - Round 1: Four players made their club debuts for the Warriors; Sam Tomkins, Chad Townsend, Jayson Bukuya and John Palavi.
* 15 March - Round 2: David Fusitua made his NRL debut.
* 7 April: Head coach Matthew Elliott resigned as head coach. Andrew McFadden was made acting coach.
* 13 April - Round 6: Siliva Havili made his NRL debut.
* 2 May: Shaun Johnson, Ben Henry, Simon Mannering and Siliva Havili played for New Zealand in the 2014 ANZAC Test.
* 3 May: Suaia Matagi, Michael Sio, Dominique Peyroux and Carlos Tuimavave represented Samoa in the Pacific International.
* 13 May: Andrew McFadden was appointed head coach until the end of the 2017 season.
* 1 June - Round 12: Simon Mannering played in his 200th match for the club, and his 100th as club captain. Nathan Friend also played in his 50th game for the club.
* 19 July - Round 19: Agnatius Paasi made his NRL debut.
* 27 July - Round 20: Tuimoala Lolohea made his NRL debut.
* 24 August - Round 24: Ben Matulino played in his 150th match for the club. He is the first NYC graduate from any club to reach the milestone.
* 18 October: Sam Lisone and Adam Tuimavave-Gerard played for the Junior Kiwis.
* Sam Tomkins represented England, Simon Mannering, Manu Vatuvei, Shaun Johnson, Suaia Matagi, Siliva Havili and Thomas Leuluai represented New Zealand and Dominique Peyroux and Michael Sio represented Samoa in the end of year Four Nations tournament.

## Jersey and sponsors

* In 2014 the Warriors jerseys was again made by Canterbury of New Zealand.

## Fixtures
### Pre-season training

Pre-season training began on 28 October 2013.

### Pre-season matches

The Warriors played the Gold Coast Titans at North Harbour Stadium on 9 February and the Brisbane Broncos at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 23 February. The Warriors also played the Wigan Warriors on Wednesday 12 February, in a warm up game before Wigan competes in the 2014 World Club Challenge.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 9 February | Trial 1 | Gold Coast Titans | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 18-32 | Lolohea (2), Ikahifo | Lino (3) | 7,000 |
| 12 February | Trial 2 | Wigan Warriors | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Loss | 22-46 | Townsend, Tuimavave-Gerrard, Peteru, Friend | Townsend (3) | |
| 23 February | Trial 3 | Brisbane Broncos | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin | Win | 48-4 | Fisiiahi (2), Hurrell (2), Johnson, Gubb, Tuimavave, Fusitua, Tomkins | Johnson (4), Townsend (2) | |

### Auckland Nines

The Warriors were coached by Ricky Henry. The squad consisted of Jayson Bukuya, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Glen Fisiiahi, David Fusitua, Charlie Gubb, Konrad Hurrell, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Shaun Johnson, Solomone Kata, Ngani Laumape, Tuimoala Lolohea, Sione Lousi, Suaia Matagi, Dominique Peyroux, Sam Tomkins, Carlos Tuimavave. At the conclusion of the weekend Shaun Johnson was named the tournament's MVP and Suaia Matagi was named in the team of the tournament.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | New Zealand Warriors | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 6 |
| 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 45 | +10 | 2 |
| 3 | Canberra Raiders | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 2 |
| 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 53 | −28 | 2 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals |
| 15 February | Nines 1 | Canberra Raiders | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 25-14 | Johnson, Fisiiahi, Matagi, Kata | Johnson (3), Tomkins |
| 15 February | Nines 2 | Manly Sea Eagles | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 27-4 | Johnson, Kata, Peyroux, Fusitua, Lolohea | Johnson (3) |
| 16 February | Nines 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 28-23 | Ikahihifo (2), Johnson, Tuimavave, Laumape | Johnson (3) |
| 16 February | Quarter | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 17-16 | Johnson, Fisiiahi, Laumape | Johnson, Tomkins |
| 16 February | Semi | North Queensland Cowboys | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 0-8 | | |
| Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 11 | | | | | | |
| Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 16 | | | | | | |
| Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 16 | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 18 | | | |
| | | | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 14 | | | |
| Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 6 | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 14 | | | |
| Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 17 | | | | | | |
| Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 17 | | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 7 |
| | | | | | | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 16 |
| New Zealand Warriors | New Zealand Warriors | 17 | | | | | | | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 16 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 16 | | | | | | |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 16 | New Zealand Warriors | New Zealand Warriors | 0 | | | |
| | | | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 8 | | | |
| Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 12 | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 8 | | | |
| North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 22 | | | | | | |

### Regular season

The Warriors played eight home matches at Mount Smart Stadium, three at Eden Park and another at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. Their loss to the Panthers in the final round saw the Warriors finish the season in 9th place, only just missing out on the finals. This was an improvement on their 11th-placed finish in 2013 and their 14th-placed finish in 2012.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 9 March | Round 1 | Parramatta Eels | Pirtek Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 16-36 | Vatuvei, Tuimavave, Fisiiahi | Johnson (2) | 14,397 |
| 15 March | Round 2 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 12-31 | Tomkins, Ropati | Johnson (2) | 14,392 |
| 22 March | Round 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville | Win | 20-16 | Fisiiahi (2), Lousi, Hurrell | Johnson (2) | 12,738 |
| 30 March | Round 4 | Wests Tigers | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | Win | 42-18 | Fisiiahi (4), Johnson, Vatuvei, Bukuya, Tomkins | Johnson (5) | 22,512 |
| 5 April | Round 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Remondis Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 6-37 | Vatuvei | Johnson (1) | 11,307 |
| 13 April | Round 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 20-21 | Tomkins, Vatuvei, Hurrell, Mannering | Johnson (2) | 22,160 |
| 19 April | Round 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Jubilee Oval, Sydney | Loss | 10-20 | Tomkins, Vatuvei | Johnson (1) | 10,559 |
| 25 April | Round 8 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 16-10 | Fusitua, Mateo, Johnson | Johnson (2) | 28,716 |
| 10 May | Round 9 | Canberra Raiders | Eden Park, Auckland | Win | 54-12 | Johnson (2), Vatuvei (2), Matulino, Hurrell, Laumape, Tomkins, Bukuya | Johnson (9) | 18,165 |
| 18 May | Round 10 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Loss | 12-16 | Matulino, Henry | Johnson (2) | 17,673 |
| 24 May | Round 11 | Gold Coast Titans | Robina Stadium, Gold Coast | Win | 24-16 | Fusitua (2), Matulino, Johnson, Mannering | Townsend (2) | 18,753 |
| 1 June | Round 12 | Newcastle Knights | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 38-18 | Mannering (2), Vatuvei (2), Tomkins, Townsend, Hurrell | Johnson (5) | 19,068 |
| 7 June | Round 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | nib Stadium, Perth | Loss | 18-34 | Fusitua, Johnson, Mannering, Hurrell | Johnson (1) | 20,267 |
| | Round 14 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 21 June | Round 15 | Brisbane Broncos | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 19-10 | Henry, Hurrell, Townsend | Johnson (3 & FG) | 16,025 |
| 29 June | Round 16 | Penrith Panthers | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30-20 | Hurrell (2), Vatuvei, Mannering, Johnson | Johnson (5) | 12,801 |
| | Round 17 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 12 July | Round 18 | Parramatta Eels | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 48-0 | Tomkins (2), Fusitua, Johnson, Hurrell, Mannering, Henry, Townsend | Johnson (8) | 14,087 |
| 19 July | Round 19 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 22-28 | Henry (2), Mannering, Tomkins | Johnson (3) | 37,082 |
| 27 July | Round 20 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12-22 | Hurrell, Mannering | Townsend (2) | 19,199 |
| 3 August | Round 21 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium, Canberra | Win | 54-18 | Vatuvei (3), Rapira (2), Lousi, Tomkins, Hurrell, Matulino, Laumape | Townsend (7) | 7,094 |
| 10 August | Round 22 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 16-12 | Laumape (2), Vatuvei | Townsend (2) | 13,939 |
| 16 August | Round 23 | Newcastle Knights | Hunter Stadium, Newcastle | Loss | 22-28 | Fusitua (2), Vatuvei (2), Friend | Townsend (1) | 12,733 |
| 23 August | Round 24 | Sydney Roosters | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12-46 | Tomkins, Laumape | Johnson (2) | 19,676 |
| 30 August | Round 25 | Gold Coast Titans | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 42-0 | Tomkins (2), Henry, Peyroux, Friend, Hurrell, Johnson | Johnson (7) | 13,540 |
| 6 September | Round 26 | Penrith Panthers | Centrebet Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 6-22 | Vatuvei | Johnson (1) | 13,551 |

## Ladder

2014 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 615 | 385 | +230 | 36 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 502 | 399 | +103 | 36 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs (P) | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 585 | 361 | +224 | 34 |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 506 | 426 | +80 | 34 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 596 | 406 | +190 | 32 |
| 6 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 536 | 460 | +76 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 446 | 439 | +7 | 30 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 549 | 456 | +93 | 28 |
| 9 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 571 | 491 | +80 | 28 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 477 | 580 | −103 | 28 |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 469 | 528 | −59 | 26 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 463 | 571 | −108 | 24 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 420 | 631 | −211 | 24 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 372 | 538 | −166 | 22 |
| 15 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 466 | 623 | −157 | 20 |
| 16 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 334 | 613 | −279 | 14 |

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 105 | Thomas Leuluai | HB | 2 May 2003 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 108 | Jerome Ropati | CE | 31 August 2003 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | WG | 23 May 2004 | 23 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 68 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | SR | 26 June 2005 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | PR | 20 May 2006 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | PR | 14 June 2008 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 146 | Jacob Lillyman | PR | 14 March 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 152 | Kevin Locke | FB | 31 May 2009 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 159 | Sione Lousi | SR | 14 March 2010 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 163 | Glen Fisiiahi | FB | 12 March 2011 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 164 | Feleti Mateo | SR | 12 March 2011 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 168 | Shaun Johnson | HB | 4 June 2011 | 21 | 9 | 63 | 1 | 163 |
| 171 | Ben Henry | SR | 4 March 2012 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 172 | Nathan Friend | HK | 4 March 2012 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 173 | Konrad Hurrell | CE | 4 March 2012 | 19 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 175 | Sam Lousi | SR | 21 July 2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 176 | Sebastine Ikahihifo | LK | 28 July 2012 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 177 | Carlos Tuimavave | FE | 5 August 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 178 | Dane Nielsen | CE | 9 March 2013 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 180 | Ngani Laumape | WG | 24 March 2013 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 181 | Suaia Matagi | PR | 11 May 2013 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 182 | Dominique Peyroux | CE | 3 June 2013 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 183 | Charlie Gubb | PR | 7 July 2013 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 185 | Sam Tomkins | FB | 9 March 2014 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 186 | Chad Townsend | HB | 9 March 2014 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 40 |
| 187 | Jayson Bukuya | SR | 9 March 2014 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 188 | John Palavi | PR | 9 March 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 189 | David Fusitua | WG | 15 March 2014 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 190 | Siliva Havili | HK | 13 April 2014 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 191 | Agnatius Paasi | PR | 19 July 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 192 | Tuimoala Lolohea | HB | 27 July 2014 | 3 | 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: Andrew McFadden
* NRL Assistant Coach: Ricky Henry
* NRL Assistant Coach: Adam Mogg
* NSW Cup Head Coach: Rohan Smith
* NSW Assistant Coach: Willie Swan
* NYC Head Coach: Stacey Jones
* NYC Assistant Coach: Kelvin Wright
* Academy and Pathways Manager: Duane Mann

### 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 |
| Sam Tomkins | Wigan Warriors | 3 years | World Record Transfer fee |
| Chad Townsend | Cronulla Sharks | | |
| Jayson Bukuya | Cronulla Sharks | | |

### Losses

| Player | Club | Notes |
| Russell Packer | Newcastle Knights | |
| Elijah Taylor | Penrith Panthers | |
| Steve Rapira | Salford Red Devils | |
| Sio Siua Taukeiaho | Sydney Roosters | |
| Bill Tupou | Canberra Raiders | Left mid-2013 |
| Alehana Mara | Released | |
| Todd Lowrie | Brisbane Broncos | |
| Pita Godinet | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | |

## Other teams

The Warriors entered a team into the NSW Cup for the first time. The team replaced the Auckland Vulcans, who the club previously helped to fund. The Junior Warriors again competed in the Holden Cup.

### NSW Cup squad

The NSW Cup side were coached by Rohan Smith. It was the first time that the team had a full-time coach. In June the team took a match to Gisborne's Rugby Park.
The side finished eighth in regular season and made the finals, defeating the Mount Pritchard Mounties 36-28 in the elimination finals. They were eliminated the next week, losing 12-29 to the Illawarra Cutters.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner was named in the NSW Cup team of the year.
| 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 |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers | 42 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Illawarra Cutters | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Illawarra Cutters | Illawarra Cutters | 29 | | | | | |
| | | | NZ Warriors | NZ Warriors | 12 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Mounties | 28 | | | | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 31 | | |
| 8 | NZ Warriors | 36 | | | | Wentworthville Magpies | Wentworthville Magpies | 12 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 48 |
| | | | | | | | | | Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 12 |
| 6 | Wests Tigers | 6 | | | | Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | | 34 | | | |
| 7 | Wyong Roos | 28 | | | | Illawarra Cutters | Illawarra Cutters | 10 | | | | |
| | | | Wentworthville Magpies | Wentworthville Magpies | 29 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Wyong Roos | Wyong Roos | 16 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Wentworthville Magpies | 12 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Holden Cup Squad

The Junior Warriors won the Holden Cup by defeating the Brisbane Broncos 34-32 in the grand final. The Junior Warriors had finished eighth in the regular season, just qualifying for the finals series. In the finals they defeated the Sydney Roosters 44-30 in the elimination finals.
The Grand Final team was: Brad Abbey, Ngataua Hukatai, Nathaniel Roache, Solomone Kata, Paul Ulberg, Tuimoala Lolohea, Mason Lino (c), Sam Lisone (c), Kurt Robinson, Kouma Samson, Michael Ki, Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Jazz Tevaga. Interchange: James Bell, Toafofoa Sipley, Ken Maumalo, Iulio Afoa. Coach: Stacey Jones.
Sam Lisone was named at prop in the Holden Cup team of the year. Solomone Kata won the Jack Gibson Medal as the grand final player of the match.
| 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 |
| 1 | Newcastle Knights | 22 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | 30 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 16 | | | | | |
| | | | NZ Warriors | NZ Warriors | 23 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Sydney Roosters | 30 | | | | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | 16 | | |
| 8 | NZ Warriors | 44 | | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 32 |
| | | | | | | | | | New Zealand Warriors | New Zealand Warriors | 34 |
| 6 | Wests Tigers | 28 | | | | NZ Warriors | NZ Warriors | | 29 | | | |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | | | | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 26 | | | | |
| | | | Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers | 18 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 42 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 26 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Parramatta Eels | 32 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Awards

Simon Mannering was named the NRL Player of the Year and also received a Legacy award. Konrad Hurrell won the People's Choice Award while Manu Vatuvei was the Club Person of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year. David Fusitu’a was the NRL Rookie of the Year.
The NSW Cup Player of the Year was Agnatius Paasi, who also won the NSW Cup Players' Player of the Year award. Tuimoala Lolohea was the NSW Cup Rookie of the Year.
Sam Lisone won the NYC Player of the Year and NYC Players' Player of the Year awards while Brad Abbey was the NYC Rookie of the Year.