The Auckland Warriors 2000 season was the
Auckland Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
6th first-grade season. The club competed in Australasia's
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
. The coach of the team was
Mark Graham while
John Simon was the club's captain.
Milestones
*20 February - Round 3:
Nigel Vagana
Nigel Faletoese Vagana (born 7 February 1975), also known by the nicknames of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a and . A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Z ...
played in his 50th match for the club.
*1 April - Round 9:
Joe Vagana
Joseph Sonny Vagana (born 21 January 1975), also known by the nickname of "Big Joe", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a Prop forward in the 1990s and 2000s. During his career Vagana played for the Auckland Warriors ...
played in his 100th match for the club.
*8 April - Round 10:
Lee Oudenryn
Lee Oudenryn (born 8 February 1970) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. His outstanding speed saw him play mostly on the , though he also played a few games at .
Background
Oudenryn w ...
played in his 50th match for the club.
*6 May - Round 14: The Warriors lost 0–54 to the
St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
at
WIN Stadium
Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawa ...
. This result stands as the Warriors largest defeat to date.
*18 June - Round 20:
Jerry Seuseu
Jerry Seuseu (born 19 April 1974) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a . He represented New Zealand and Samoa at international level. After retirement he became Wellbeing and Educa ...
played in his 50th match for the club.
*October–November: 20 players from the club participated in the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
:
Stacey Jones
Stacey William Jones (born 7 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He played as a , but he has also briefly played at during his disting ...
,
Ali Lauitiiti,
Logan Swann
Logan Swann (born 10 February 1975) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. Swann is related to several other international rugby league players, notably cousins Willie Swann and Anthony Swann ...
,
Joe Vagana
Joseph Sonny Vagana (born 21 January 1975), also known by the nickname of "Big Joe", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a Prop forward in the 1990s and 2000s. During his career Vagana played for the Auckland Warriors ...
,
Nigel Vagana
Nigel Faletoese Vagana (born 7 February 1975), also known by the nicknames of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a and . A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Z ...
(New Zealand),
Peter Lewis (Cook Islands),
Talite Liava'a (Tonga),
Monty Betham
La’auli Montgomery Junior "Monty" Betham (born 12 March 1978) is a professional boxer, and former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative and , he played club football for the New Zealand Warriors in ...
,
Henry Fa'afili
Henry Fa'afili (born 30 May 1980) is a Samoan-born New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand Secondary Schools, t ...
,
Joe Galuvao
Joe Galuvao (born 8 July 1978) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s in the NRL. A Samoa and New Zealand international second row forward, he played for the Auckland Warriors, Parramatta Eel ...
,
Vae Kololo,
Francis Meli
Francis Meli (born 27 April 1979) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Samoa and New Zealand international representative centre or winger, he played in the National Rugby League for New ...
,
Jerry Seuseu
Jerry Seuseu (born 19 April 1974) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a . He represented New Zealand and Samoa at international level. After retirement he became Wellbeing and Educa ...
(Samoa),
Terry Hermansson
Terry Brian Hermansson, is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. An international representative , he played club football in England, Australia and New Zealand.
Playing career
Hermansson was a Schoolboy Kiwi in 1982 and ma ...
,
Wairangi Koopu
Dane Wairangi Manurea Koopu (born 2 April 1980) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League. Koopu primarily played in the , and as a ...
,
Odell Manuel
Odell Manuel is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and the Australian Powerlifting champion.
Early years
Growing up in Auckland, Manuel was an Otahuhu Leopards junior and in 1997 was selected for the Junior Kiwis.
Rugby ...
,
Boycie Nelson
Boycie Nelson is a New Zealand coach who is the assistant coach of the New Zealand Warriors Holden Cup team and former rugby league former footballer who played as a goal-kicking .
Playing career New Zealand
Nelson grew up playing rugby league ...
,
Henry Perenara
Henry Edward Perenara (born 16 June 1980) is a New Zealand rugby league referee and former professional footballer who represented New Zealand. He played as a , though he could also play in the . He is also the first NRL referee in history to s ...
,
Clinton Toopi
Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi (born 29 February 1980) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative , he played his club football in the ...
,
Paul Whatuira
Paul Whatuira (pronounced , born 31 July 1981) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL in 2011. A New Zealand international , he won National Rugby League premierships with ...
(Aotearoa Māori).
Jersey & Sponsors
Fixtures
The Warriors used
Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 2000, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.
Pre-season trials
Regular season
Ladder
Squad
Thirty four players were used by the Warriors in 2000, including seven players who made their first grade debut.
Staff
*Chief Executive Officer: Trevor McKewen
Coaching Staff
*Head Coach:
Mark Graham
Transfers
Gains
Mid-Season Gains
Losses
Other Teams
The Warriors had feeder agreements with the
Newtown Jets
The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground ...
in the
NSWRL Premier League
The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...
and
Brisbane Souths in the
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...
. Players not selected for the first grade side would be sent to one of these clubs for the weekend. This arrangement also worked the other way when the Warriors signed
Jason Bell from the Jets midway through the season and the Brisbane Souths captain,
David Mulhall, made his debut in Round 20. Occasionally players were also released to
Bartercard Cup
The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...
teams.
[John Coffe]
Whatuira boosts Wainui backline
''The Press'', 8 April 2000
Awards
Robert Mears won the club's Player of the Year award.
[''New Zealand Rugby League Annual 2002'', ]New Zealand Rugby Football League
The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...
, 2002. p.50
References
External links
Warriors official site
{{2000 in rugby league
New Zealand Warriors seasons
Auckland Warriors season
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...