2015 New Zealand Warriors season
The 2015 New Zealand Warriors season was the 21st in the club's history. Coached by Andrew McFadden and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2015 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines tournament. Fixtures. Pre-season training. The bulk of the Warriors' 2015 NRL squad began preseason training on 3 November 2014. Auckland Nines. The Warriors finished second in the Hunua pool at the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines before being eliminated by the Cronulla Sharks in the quarterfinals. The squad for the Nines  was Shaun Johnson , Matthew Allwood, Nathan Friend, Ben Henry, Ryan Hoffman, Solomone Kata, Ngani Laumape, Sam Lisone, Tuimoala Lolohea, Sione Lousi, Suaia Matagi, Ben Matulino, Ken Maumalo, Nathaniel Roache, Bodene Thompson, Sam Tomkins, Chad Townsend and Manu Vatuvei. Simon Mannering, Dominique Peyroux, Sebastine Ikahihifo and Jonathan Wright were originally named in a 22-man training squad. Solomone Kata was named in the team of the tournament. Pre-season matches. The Warriors were planning to host the St. George Illawarra Dragons at Trafalgar Park in Nelson, however the match was cancelled when the Dragons were invited to compete in the World  Club Series. It would have been the first time the Warriors had played in Nelson. Regular season. All home matches were played at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, with the exception of the Round 22 match, which was played at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. It was the third year in a row the Warriors took a match to Wellington, as part of the "Capital Clash". Other teams. As in 2014, the Warriors entered a team into the NSW Cup and the Junior Warriors competed in the Holden Cup. NSW Cup squad. The Warriors NSW Cup side finished fourth in the  regular season, however lost two consecutive play-off matches and were eliminated from the play-offs. John Palavi was named in the competition's team on the year. Holden Cup squad. The Junior Warriors finished 7th to make the finals. They defeated the Roosters and the Broncos before being eliminated by the Penrith Panthers in the preliminary final. Club awards. Ben Matulino was named as the Warriors player of the year, his second time winning the award. The other finalists for the award were Simon Mannering and Shaun Johnson. Johnson was awarded the People's choice award, Albert Vete was  named the Club person of the year and Tuimoala Lolohea was named the NRL rookie of the year. John Palavi was named the NSW Cup side's player of the year, while Mason Lino was the sides rookie of the year. Bunty Afoa was the Junior Warrior's player of the year, while Ata Hingano was the rookie of the year.