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 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 ...

in the

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 ...

. A New Zealand international second row forward, who could also play as a centre. He was appointed the New Zealand national team's captain in 2013 and was replaced by

Jesse Bromwich Jesse Bromwich (born 3 May 1989) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League and New Zealand at international level. He played for and captained the Storm, with whom he won ...

in 2016 and was part of the 2008 World Cup-winning Kiwis team. Mannering was a one-club player who played his whole NRL career with the Warriors. With 301 appearances for the Warriors, Mannering is the club's most capped player.

Early years

Mannering moved to

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding ...

at an early age and was educated at

Motueka High School Motueka High School is a coeducational secondary school in Motueka, New Zealand established in 1955. Notable alumni * Shannon Francois – netball player *David Havili David Kaetau Havili (born 23 December 1994) is a New Zealand rugby un ...

and then at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 2000 to 2004,''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition where he played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. After being spotted by rugby league development officer Paul Bergman, Mannering switched codes and was an instant success, making the national secondary schools team after just three games of rugby league. In 2004 Mannering moved to Wellington to play for the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

under-18 side, joining the

Wellington Rugby League Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellingto ...

Academy at

WelTec The Wellington Institute of Technology, also known as WelTec, is a New Zealand polytechnic based in Petone, Lower Hutt. WelTec was formed in 2001 by an amalgamation between the Central Institute of Technology (established in 1960) and the Hutt V ...

. He then was selected for the Paul Bergman-coached

Wellington Orcas The Wellington Rugby League Team (also known as the Wellington Orcas) are a rugby league team that represents the Wellington Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They currently compete in the National Competition. History ...

in the

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 ...

. In 2004, Mannering made the

Junior Kiwi 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 Supe ...

's and the New Zealand A side. Mannering received interest from the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

before deciding to move to Auckland and join the

Professional playing career

2005

Mannering made his NRL debut for the Warriors against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

in 2005. The match was special as it marked the Warriors' 10th-anniversary match and they upset the then competition leaders for the second time that year.

2006

In 2006, Mannering was selected in 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 ...

squad for the 2006 Tri Nations tournament. He played in every game of the series for the Kiwis and was named Rookie of the Year for the Kiwis.

2007

Mannering was selected to play for the New Zealand national team at centre in the 2007 ANZAC Test loss against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Mannering was also one of the nominees for 2007 New Zealand Rugby League Player of the Year.

2008

Mannering played all 26 games for the Warriors in 2008 and was named the club's player of the year. In August 2008, Mannering was named in the New Zealand training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

squad. In the Kiwis' second match of the tournament, against Papua New Guinea, he scored two tries. He also played in the side that won the final.

2009

In 2009 Mannering signed a new contract with the club that expires after the 2012 season. He played centre for 20 games in the season for the Warriors to forget.

2010

Mannering was appointed the Warriors club captain for the 2010 season.Steve Price dropped as Warriors captain
''3News'', 4 November 2009 Mannering missed the Kiwis' ANZAC Test match clash with Australia due to injury. Following the 2010 NRL Season, he was selected in the Kiwis' Squad for the 2010 Four Nations tournament and played off the bench in the Four Nations warm-up Test game against

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 ...

at Auckland's

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 ...

, which the Kiwis won 50–6. During the Four Nations, Mannering featured in all of the Kiwis' regular tournament games at Second Row. Following New Zealand's lost to Australia at Eden Park (Round 3 of the tournament), coach Stephen Kearney selected him in the centres for the

Grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

against Australia at Brisbane's

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. New Zealand won the game 16-12 and the 2010 Four Nations tournament. Simon Mannering 2013

2011

In 2011, Mannering lead the Warriors to their second Grand Final appearance and he captained the side in the 2011 NRL Grand Final, playing at Second Row against Manly at

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand * ...

. The Warriors lost the game 24–10. Following the NRL Grand Final, he was selected in the New Zealand Kiwis' Squad for the Newcastle Trans-Tasman Test game against Australia and for the 2011 Four Nations Tournament.

2012

In February 2012, Mannering extended his contract once more to see him linked to the club for another three years, with his new contract expiring in 2015. This new contract will see Mannering become one of the New Zealand Warriors' longest serving players, only beaten by

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 ...

. In April 2012, Mannering was selected to play centre for New Zealand in the 2012 ANZAC Test at Eden Park in Auckland. However, Australia won the game 20–12. In October 2012, Mannering was selected to play lock for the Kiwis in the post-season Trans-Tasman Test game against the Australian Kangaroos at

Dairy Farmers Stadium The Willows Sports Complex, currently known as 1300SMILES Stadium through sponsorship, is a grass football stadium situated in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It has been a predominantly rugby league ground as the home ground of the North Q ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

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_ ...

. However, Australia won the game 18–10.

2013

In February 2013, Mannering replaced

Benji Marshall Benjamin Quentin Marshall (born 25 February 1985) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played at or . He previously played for the Wests Tigers in two separate spells, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Brisbane Bro ...

as New Zealand Kiwis captain. In April 2013, Mannering was originally selected to play New Zealand in the

2013 Anzac Test The 2013 ANZAC test (also known as the VB Test due to sponsorship by Victoria Bitter) was the 14th annual Anzac test, and was not only the first time the Australian Kangaroos played at Canberra Stadium, but the first time they had played in the ...

against Australia at

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports ven ...

and to captain New Zealand for the first time. However, only hours before the test game he was ruled out with a calf injury and

Kieran Foran Kieran Foran (born 13 July 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL and New Zealand at international level. Foran previously played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, ...

took over the captaincy. Following the 2013 NRL Season, he was named in the Kiwis' 2013 Rugby League World Cup Squad. Mannering played in the Kiwis' World Cup warm-up game against the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

captaining the Kiwis for the first time, playing at second row. The Kiwis went on to win the game 50–0. He played in the Kiwis' first 2013 Rugby League World Cup game against

, playing at lock, and scoring 2 tries in the Kiwis' 42–24 win. The following week, he played in the Kiwis' 48–0 win over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, playing at lock. Coach Stephen Kearney rested him for the Kiwis' clash against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profileNRL profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mannering, Simon 1986 births Living people Junior Kiwis players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors captains New Zealand Warriors players People educated at Motueka High School People educated at Nelson College Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Napier, New Zealand Rugby league second-rows Wellington rugby league team players