# 2012 New Zealand Warriors season

The New Zealand Warriors 2012 season is the New Zealand Warriors 18th first-grade season. The club is competing in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Brian McClennan, until he was sacked on 21 August after Round 22, while Simon Mannering is the club's captain. Assistant Coach Tony Iro was appointed caretaker coach for the final two matches.

## Milestones

* 4 February – All Stars Match: Manu Vatuvei represents the NRL All Stars in the pre-season All Stars Match.
* 5 March – Round One: Ben Henry and Konrad Hurrell make their first grade debuts while Nathan Friend plays his first match for the Warriors.
* 24 March – Round Four: Simon Mannering played in his 150th NRL match and his 50th match as captain.
* 12 May – Round 10: Ukuma Ta'ai played in his 50th NRL match.
* 16 June – Round 15: Omar Slaimankhel made his first grade debut.
* 16 June – Round 15: Ben Matulino played in his 100th NRL match. He became the first player from the Toyota Cup to play 100 matches in the National Rugby League.
* 11 August – Round 23: Manu Vatuvei becomes the first player to score 100 tries for the club.
* 11 August – Round 23: Bill Tupou played in his 50th NRL match.
* 19 August – Round 24: Manu Vatuvei played in his 150th NRL match.
* 19 August – Round 24: Feleti Mateo played in his 50th match for the club.
* 2 September – Round 26: In Micheal Luck's last NRL match, the Warriors lost their eight straight match, a record for the club. The streak included two back-to-back losses involving comebacks of eighteen points or more, an NRL first.

## Jersey and sponsors

* In 2012 the Warriors jerseys is again to be made by Canterbury of New Zealand. They were unveiled on 21 November 2011 at the first day of training. The jerseys feature a traditional rugby league "v" for the first time since 2003.
* The Junior Warriors play in a red strip with a white away jersey.

## Change of ownership

On 2 March owner Eric Watson announced that he had bought out the minority shareholders, including Mark Hotchin, and would form a new 50–50 venture with Owen Glenn to control the club.

## Fixtures

The Warriors opened the season by hosting a match at Eden Park in Auckland. This was only the second time that the Warriors have played a home match away from Mount Smart Stadium. The remaining 11 home games will be played at Mount Smart Stadium, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.

### Pre-season training

The main squad returned to training on 21 November 2011 to start preparing for the 2012 season. Players involved in the 2011 Four Nations and other representative matches returned to training later. Twenty three first graders were present on the first day of training.

### Pre-season matches

North Harbour Stadium hosted a Warriors trial match for the tenth time. The Warriors also played a match in Whangārei.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 4 February | Trial 1 | Gold Coast Titans | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | Win | 26–10 | Hurrell, Brown, Johnson, Fisiiahi, Tupou | Maloney (2) | 10,500 |
| 11 February | Trial 2 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour | Win | 22–14 | Vatuvei (2), Mannering, Hurrell | Johnson (2), Maloney | 5,376 |
| 19 February | Trial 3 | Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles | Toll Stadium, Whangārei | Win | 68–10 | Penehe (2), Matulino (2), Mara, Godinet, Ta'ai, Locke, Inu, Brown, Ropati, Fishiiahi, Henry | Inu (4), Locke (3), Henry | 9,000 |

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 4 March | Round 1 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Eden Park, Auckland | Loss | 20–26 | Vatuvei (2), Johnson, Locke | Maloney (2) | 37,502 |
| 12 March | Round 2 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Win | 36–20 | Tupou (2), Mateo, Hurrell, Maloney, Locke | Maloney (6) | 12,000 |
| 18 March | Round 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 18–32 | Maloney, Lousi, Mateo | Maloney (3) | 17,067 |
| 24 March | Round 4 | Gold Coast Titans | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 26–6 | Johnson (2), Taylor, Vatuvei, Mannering | Maloney (3) | 12,915 |
| 31 March | Round 5 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 26–8 | Ropati, Fisiiahi | | 13,021 |
| 8 April | Round 6 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Loss | 12–32 | Henry, Maloney | Maloney (2) | 10,800 |
| 15 April | Round 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 44–22 | Mannering (2), Henry, Brown, Ropati, Tupou, Ta'ai, Inu | Maloney (6) | 15,378 |
| 25 April | Round 8 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 14–32 | Tupou (2), Brown | Maloney (1) | 20,333 |
| 5 May | Round 9 | Brisbane Broncos | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30–20 | Henry, Johnson, Taylor, Lillyman, Mateo | Maloney (5) | 19,012 |
| 12 May | Round 10 | Sydney Roosters | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30–26 | Hurrell (2), Johnson (2), Vatuvei | Maloney (5) | 16,220 |
| 18 May | Round 11 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney | Loss | 22–24 | Hurrell (2), Henry, Tupou | Maloney (3) | 16,406 |
| | Round 12 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 3 June | Round 13 | Melbourne Storm | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12–22 | Hurrell, Vatuvei | Maloney (2) | 20,487 |
| 11 June | Round 14 | Penrith Panthers | Centrebet Stadium, Sydney | Win | 30–16 | Vatuvei (2), Hurrell, Locke, Maloney | Maloney (5) | 5,778 |
| 16 June | Round 15 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Toyota Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 19–20 | Hurrell, Locke, Johnson | Maloney (3 & FG) | 9,271 |
| | Round 16 | Bye | | | | | | |
| 1 July | Round 17 | North Queensland Cowboys | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 35–18 | Henry (2), Hurrell, Lillyman, Friend, Brown | Maloney (5 & FG) | 15,274 |
| 8 July | Round 18 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park, Gold Coast | Win | 32–14 | Hurrell (3), Johnson, Locke, Matunlino | Maloney (4) | 17,134 |
| 13 July | Round 19 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 8–10 | Locke, Vatuvei | | 32,148 |
| 21 July | Round 20 | Newcastle Knights | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 19–24 | Johnson, Matulino, Friend | Maloney (3 & FG) | 15,112 |
| 29 July | Round 21 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Patersons Stadium, Perth | Loss | 22–24 | Locke, Johnson, Brown, Vatuvei | Maloney (3) | 20,095 |
| 5 August | Round 22 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 4–45 | Tupou | | 13,812 |
| 11 August | Round 23 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville | Loss | 12–52 | Tuimavave, Vatuvei | Malony (2) | 13,616 |
| 19 August | Round 24 | Penrith Panthers | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 16–18 | Henry (2), Johnson | Malony (2) | 11,000 |
| 25 August | Round 25 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | Loss | 6–38 | Johnson | Malony (1) | 11,261 |
| 2 September | Round 26 | Canberra Raiders | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 42–22 | Vatuvei (2), Matulino, Godinet | Henry (2), Maloney | 11,455 |

## Ladder

2012 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 568 | 369 | +199 | 40 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 579 | 361 | +218 | 38 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 559 | 438 | +121 | 36 |
| 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 497 | 403 | +94 | 36 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 597 | 445 | +152 | 34 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 545 | 536 | +9 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 445 | 441 | +4 | 29 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 481 | 447 | +34 | 28 |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 405 | 438 | -33 | 26 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 506 | 551 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 449 | 477 | -28 | 24 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 448 | 488 | -40 | 24 |
| 13 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 462 | 626 | -164 | 21 |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 497 | 609 | -112 | 20 |
| 15 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 409 | 575 | -166 | 20 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 431 | 674 | -243 | 16 |

## Squad

The Warriors used twenty nine players during the season. Seven players made their debut for the club, including six who were making their NRL debuts – all of these players were graduates from the Warriors Toyota Cup programme.
| No. | Name | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 108 | Jerome Ropati | CE | 31 August 2003 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | WG | 23 May 2004 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | SR | 26 June 2005 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 126 | Micheal Luck | LK | 12 March 2006 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | PR | 20 May 2006 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 141 | Russell Packer | PR | 4 May 2008 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | PR | 14 June 2008 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 146 | Jacob Lillyman | PR | 14 March 2009 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 149 | Ukuma Ta'ai | SR | 22 March 2009 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 151 | Lewis Brown | SR | 3 May 2009 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 152 | Kevin Locke | FB/WG | 31 May 2009 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 156 | James Maloney | FE | 14 March 2010 | 24 | 4 | 67 | 3 | 153 |
| 159 | Sione Lousi | SR | 14 March 2010 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 160 | Bill Tupou | WG | 4 April 2010 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 162 | Alehana Mara | HK | 21 August 2010 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 163 | Glen Fisiiahi | FB | 12 March 2011 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 164 | Feleti Mateo | SR | 12 March 2011 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 166 | Krisnan Inu | WG/CE | 19 March 2011 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 167 | Elijah Taylor | SR | 3 April 2011 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 168 | Shaun Johnson | HB | 4 June 2011 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 169 | Steve Rapira | SR | 4 June 2011 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 170 | Pita Godinet | HB/HK | 24 July 2011 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 171 | Ben Henry | CE/SR | 4 March 2012 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 36 |
| 172 | Nathan Friend | HK | 4 March 2012 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 173 | Konrad Hurrell | CE | 4 March 2012 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 174 | Omar Slaimankhel | FB | 16 June 2012 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 175 | Sam Lousi | SR | 21 July 2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 176 | Sebastine Ikahihifo | LK | 28 July 2012 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 177 | Carlos Tuimavave | FE | 5 August 2012 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

## Staff

* Chief Executive Officer: Wayne Scurrah
* General Manager: Don Mann Jr
* Recruitment and Development Manager: Dean Bell
* High Performance Manager: Craig Walker
* High Performance Assistant: Ruben Wiki
* Medical Services Manager: John Mayhew
* Welfare and Education Manager: Jerry Seuseu
* Media and Communications Manager: Richard Becht

### NRL staff

* NRL Head Coach: Brian McClennan, until 21 August 2012, replaced by Tony Iro.
* NRL Assistant Coach: Tony Iro
* Defence coach: Ruben Wiki
* Halves Coach: Andrew Johns

### NYC staff

* NYC Head Coach & Assistant NRL Coach: John Ackland
* Development Coach: Willie Swann

## Transfers
### Gains

| Player | Previous Club | Length | Notes |
| Nathan Friend | Gold Coast Titans | 2013 with option | |
| Brian McClennan | Leeds Rhinos | 2012–2013 with option | Coach |

### Losses

| Player | Club | Notes |
| Lance Hohaia | St Helens R.F.C. | |
| Aaron Heremaia | Hull F.C. | |
| Brett Seymour | Hull F.C. | |
| Jeremy Latimore | St. George Illawarra Dragons | |
| Joel Moon | Salford City Reds | |
| Shaun Berrigan | Canberra Raiders | |
| Isaac John | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | |
| Ivan Cleary | Penrith Panthers | Coach |
| Adam Henry | Sydney Roosters | |
| James Gavet | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | |
| Anthony Gelling | Wigan Warriors | |
| Sosaia Feki | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | |

### Mid-season Losses

| Player | Club | Notes |
| Krisnan Inu | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 May |

## Other teams

In 2012 the Junior Warriors are again competing in the Toyota Cup while senior players who are not required for the first team play with the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup. The Vulcans are coached by former Warriors development coach Ricky Henry.

### Vulcans squad

The Auckland Vulcans contracted ten players. The team was strengthened with Warriors players not picked for each round and local club players. The ten contracted players were: DJ Collier, Agnatius Paasi, Daniel Palavi, Tulson Caird, Willie Peace, James Blackwell, Ruben Williams, Steve Waetford, Darin Kingi and Murray Iti.
Sam Lousi was named the Auckland Vulcans' Player of the Year.

## Awards

Ben Matulino won the club's Player of the Year award. Ben Henry was named Young Player of the Year and Elijah Taylor was the clubman of the year. Konrad Hurrell was the Vodafone People's choice award winner.