The 2016 New Zealand Warriors season was the 22nd season in the club's history. Coached by

Andrew McFadden Andrew McFadden (born 20 January 1978) is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player. He is an assistant coach at the Canberra Raiders in the NRL. Early life Born in Canberra, Australia. McFadden was educated at Hawker Colleg ...

and captained by

Ryan Hoffman Ryan Hoffman (born 26 January 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for Melbourne Storm and the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and the Wigan Warriors ...

, the Warriors competed in the

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 ...

's 2016 Telstra Premiership and the

2016 NRL Auckland Nines The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it was ...

tournament.

Milestones

Simon Mannering Simon Alexander Mannering (born 28 August 1986) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL. A New Zealand international second row forward, ...

and

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former rugby league footballer. He plays for the Auckland Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific, and for the New Zealand national team. He made his debut against Irel ...

were named to play for the

World All Stars The NRL All Stars team was a rugby league football team made up of professional players in the National Rugby League. These players were selected by fan vote. However, fans were only allowed to select one player from each NRL team to join the Aus ...

in the

2016 All Stars match The 2016 All Stars match was the sixth annual representative exhibition All Stars match. For the first time, the match was played between the Indigenous All Stars and a World All Stars team. Teams 1 - Tyson Frizell was originally selecte ...

. They both later withdrew and were replaced by

and

Konrad Hurrell Konileti "Konrad" Hurrell (born 5 August 1991) is a Tongan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for St Helens in the Super League and Tonga at international level. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the G ...

. Hurrell scored a try as the World All-Stars won 12-8. *17 February:

announced he had decided to step down as club captain. He was replaced by

. *19 February: The Warriors announced that they had signed an agreement with Regional Facilities Auckland extending their contract to use

Mount Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

until the end of 2028. *5 March - round 1:

Blake Ayshford Blake Ayshford (born 15 April 1988) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Wests Tigers, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and New Zealand Warriors in the NRL. Backgrou ...

Jeff Robson Jeff Robson (born 5 August 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Parramatta Eels. He played primarily at . Playing career Robson made his NRL debut for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 200 ...

Issac Luke Issac Luke (born 29 May 1987) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, New Zealand Warriors, St. George Illawarra Dragons, and the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugb ...

Nathaniel Roache Nathaniel Roache is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Back ...

and

James Gavet James Gavet (born 19 October 1989) is a Samoa national rugby league team, Samoa international rugby league footballer who last played as a for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bull ...

all made their debuts for the club. It was also Roache's

NRL 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 ...

debut. *20 March - round 3:

Jazz Tevaga Jazz Iosefa Tevaga (born 4 September 1995) is a Samoa national rugby league team, Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL). Early years Tevaga was born in ...

made his NRL debut. *3 April - round 5:

Jacob Lillyman Jacob Lillyman (born 7 March 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Throughout his career, he played for the North Queensland Cowboys, New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, while r ...

played in his 150th match for the Warriors. *16 April - round 7:

Ligi Sao Liligiifo Sao (born 11 October 1992) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Hull F.C. in the Betfred Super League. Sao previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors in the ...

made his Warriors debut. *1 May - round 9:

Toafofoa Sipley Toafofoa Sipley (born 5 January 1995) is a Niue national rugby league team, Niue international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, NRL. He previously played for the New Zeal ...

made his NRL debut and

Shaun Lane Shaun Lane (born 29 November 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as forward for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, New Zealand Warriors and the Manl ...

played his first match for the Warriors. *6 May:

Shaun Johnson Shaun Johnson (born 9 September 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the New Zealand Kiwis at international level. He has played pr ...

played for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in the

2016 Anzac Test The 2016 Anzac Test (known as the Downer Anzac Test due to sponsorship) was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle. It was the 17th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the ...

. *7 May: Erin Clark played for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

while

David Fusitua David Fusitu'a (born 16 October 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Leeds Rhinos in Super League and for both Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga and New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand a ...

and

Solomone Kata Solomone Kata (born 3 December 1994) is a Tongan professional dual-code rugby player who plays as a wing for Gallagher Premiership club Leicester Tigers and the Tonga national team. Prior to rugby union, Kata played rugby league for the Ne ...

played for

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Ata Hingano Mafoa'aeata "Ata" Hingano (born 11 March 1997) is a Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the York Knights in the Betfred Championship. He has played for the New Zealand Warriors ...

, Marata Niukore and Isaiah Papalii represented the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

. *June–July:

served as 18th man for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in game one of the

2016 State of Origin series The 2016 State of Origin series was the 35th time the State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams to be played e ...

and came from the bench in game two and three. *11 June - round 14:

played in his 200th NRL match. *2 July - round 17:

played in his 250th NRL match, all for the Warriors. Bunty Afoa made his NRL debut. It was also the Warriors 250th first grade match at Mount Smart Stadium. *20 August - round 24:

made his first grade debut. *28 August - round 25:

Tuimoala Lolohea Tuimoala Lolohea (born 23 January 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level. Lolohea previou ...

scored the 2,000th try in the club's history. *8 October:

Ken Maumalo Ken Maumalo (born 16 July 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the West Tigers in the NRL and has played for Samoa and New Zealand at international level. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in th ...

Mason Lino Mason Lino (born 4 February 1994) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Wakefield Trinity in the Betfred Super League and Samoa at the international level. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors a ...

, Erin Clark,

Sam Lisone Sam Lisone (born 19 February 1994), also known by the nickname of "Slammin'", is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the ...

, Bunty Afoa and

represented Samoa in a test match against Fiji. *October–November:

David Fusitu'a David Fusitu'a (born 16 October 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Leeds Rhinos in Super League and for both Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga and New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand a ...

Thomas Leuluai Thomas James Leuluai (born 22 June 1985) is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer who played for New Zealand ...

and

were named in the New Zealand squad for the

2016 Rugby League Four Nations The 2016 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (known as the 2016 Ladbrokes Four Nations, for sponsorship purposes) was the fifth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England in October and November. The series was c ...

Jersey and sponsors

Fixtures

Pre-season training

Pre-season training began on 2 November 2015, with the exception of players involved in the New Zealand Kiwis tour of Great Britain.Changes to football department
''warriors.kiwi'', 27 September 2015

Auckland Nines

The Warriors competed in the

, losing to the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

4-22 in the final. The squad for the tournament was

(c),

Charlie Gubb Charlie Gubb is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Widnes Vikings in the Super League. Early years Gubb, of Māori descent, attended Wellington College and played for their first XV rugby union te ...

, Henare Wells,

Ben Matulino Ben Andrew Matulino (born 3 January 1989) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s as a or . He played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League, NRL, ...

, Jonathan Wright,

Albert Vete Albert Vete ( to, ʻAlipate Vete) (born 24 January 1993) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Melbour ...

and

was originally named but withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Nathaniel Roache. Shaun Johnson and Tuimoala Lolohea were named in the team of the tournament.

Pre-season matches

Regular season

Home matches were played at

in Auckland with the exception of one home game which was played at

Yarrow Stadium Yarrow Stadium is situated in the central suburb of Westown in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, with main vehicle access off Maratahu Street. Named the third best rugby stadium on earth by ''New Zealand Rugby World'' magazine in May 2009, Ya ...

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

. Two away games were also played in New Zealand.

Ladder

Squad

Staff

*Chief Executive Officer: Jim Doyle *Media and Communications Manager: Richard Becht *Football Operations Manager: Dan Floyd *Team Manager: Laurie Hale *Head of Medical Services: John Mayhew *Recuritment and Development Manager:

Tony Iro Tony Roy Iro (born 30 May 1967) is a professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Cook Islands national rugby league team and a former professional rugby league footballer. He is a former New Zealand international representativ ...

*Welfare and Education Manager:

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 ...

*Academy and Pathways Manager:

Duane Mann Duane Darrin Mann (born 28 June 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. A Tonga and New Zealand international representative , he captained both sides. Mann played his ...

Coaching staff

*NRL head coach:

*NRL assistant coach:

Justin Morgan Justin Morgan (February 28, 1747 – March 22, 1798) was a U.S. horse breeder and composer. He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and by 1788 had settled in Vermont. In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of ...

*NRL assistant coach: Andrew Webster *NSW Cup head coach:

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 ...

Jones to coach NSW Cup side in 2015
''warriors.co.nz'', 5 October 2014 *NSW Cup assistant coach: Ricky Henry *NYC head coach: Kelvin Wright *NYC assistant coach:

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 ...

Transfers

Gains

Losses

Other teams

As in 2015, the Warriors entered a team into the

Intrust Super Premiership NSW 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 the Junior Warriors competed in the

Holden Cup The NRL Under-20s (known commercially as the Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Australasia. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition c ...

Intrust Super Premiership NSW squad

The Warriors finished 5th in the regular season, before defeating the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

21-14 in an elimination final. They then lost 18-22 to 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 a semi-final. John Palavi and Upu Poching played in their 50th NSW Cup matches for the Warriors, becoming the first players to reach this milestone for the club.

Holden Cup squad

The Junior Warriors finished the season in 14th position, with 8 wins, a draw, and 15 losses.

Club awards

was named the club's player of the year for a record fifth time. He was also named the clubman of the year.

won the people's choice award while

was the NRL rookie of the year.

was named in the NRL-RLPA academic team of the year, as he was completing a Bachelor of Business. Ben Henry also won a Pasifika leadership and excellence award, which included travel to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) to attend lectures.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (born 2 August 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer from New Zealand who plays as a for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for the Cook Islands, New Zealand, and the N ...

was the Intrust Super Premiership NSW player of the year, while James Bell was the teams man of the year. Chris Sio was the Junior Warriors player of the year and Chanel Harris-Tavita was the Junior Warriors rookie of the year. Journalist Allen McLaughlin was also awarded a legacy award, after covering all but one of the club's 254 games at the venue since 1995.

References

External links

Warriors 2016 season
''rugby league project'' {{NZ Warriors New Zealand Warriors seasons New Zealand Warriors season Warriors season