| 1995 Auckland Warriors season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARL Rank | 10th | |||
| 1995 record | Wins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 9 | |||
| Points scored | For: 538; against: 501 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Ian Robson | |||
| Coach | John Monie | |||
| Captains | ||||
| Stadium | Ericsson Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 26,450 | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Sean Hoppe (19) | |||
| Goals | Gene Ngamu (36) | |||
| Points | Gene Ngamu (84) | |||
| ||||
The 1995 Auckland Warriors season was the inaugural season of the newly-formed club. Competing the 1995 Australian Rugby League premiership, they were coached by John Monie and captained by Dean Bell. The Warriors' home ground for their first season was Ericsson Stadium. They finished their first premiership regular season 10th (out of 20), so failed to make the finals.
 |  | The Warriors inaugural jersey was produced by Canterbury of New Zealand. The Jersey was blue with a Green, Red and White "V". In part, the colours were based on the traditional Auckland colours of Blue and White. The main sponsor was DB Bitter, with Ansett Australia as the sleeve sponsor. Asics, Coca-Cola and Mitsubishi also had sponsorship deals. |
The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 1995, and it remained the only Home Ground the club used in the competition until they played a match at Eden Park in 2011.
Three pre-season matches were played before the World Sevens and another three were played after the World Sevens.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 January | Match 1 |  Canterbury | Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch | Win | 26 - 12 | 12,811 | [2] | ||
| January | Match 2 | Central Districts | Palmerston North Showgrounds, Palmerston North | Win | 36 - 16 | [3] | |||
| January | Match 3 |  Auckland | Carlaw Park, Auckland | Win | 46 - 20 | [3] | |||
| February | Match 4 | Northland | Kaikohe | Win | 66 - 6 | [3] | |||
| 14 February | Match 5 |  Canberra Raiders | Carlaw Park, Auckland | Win | 23 - 16 | 16,000 | [3] | ||
| 25 February | Match 6 |  Western Reds | West Wyong | Loss | 28 - 40 | [3] |
The Warriors participated in the 1995 Rugby League World Sevens, losing in the Trophy Quarterfinals.
Squad: Phil Blake (c), Sean Hoppe, Manoa Thompson, Tea Ropati, Whetu Taewa, Gene Ngamu, Syd Eru, Stephen Kearney, Tony Tatupu, Des Maea. [4]
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 February | Round 1 | Canberra Raiders | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Win | 22 - 4 | Blake (2), Hoppe, Ngamu | Ngamu (3) | ||
| 3 February | Round 2 |  New Zealand 'A' | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 10 - 26 | Eru, Ropati | Ngamu (1) | ||
| 5 February | Trophy Quarterfinals |  Sydney Tigers | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 12 - 16 | Ngamu (2) | Ngamu (2) |
Team: Phil Blake (c), Sean Hoppe, Dean Bell, Manoa Thompson, Whetu Taewa, Martin Moana, Gene Ngamu, Gavin Hill, Duane Mann, Hitro Okesene, Stephen Kearney, Tony Tatupu, Tony Tuimavave. Bench: Tea Ropati, Se'e Solomona, Mike Dorreen, Jason Mackie. [5]
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 February | Round 1 | North Sydney Bears | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 14 - 12 | Taewa, Ngamu | Hill (1), Ngamu (1) | 8211 |
*The Warriors were stripped the 2 competition points from winning this game due to exceeding the replacement limit.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Manly | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 687 | 248 | +439 | 40 |
| 2 | Canberra | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 634 | 255 | +379 | 40 |
| 3 |  Brisbane | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 600 | 364 | +236 | 34 |
| 4 |  Cronulla | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 516 | 287 | +229 | 32 |
| 5 |  Newcastle | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 549 | 396 | +153 | 30 |
| 6 | Sydney Bulldogs | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 468 | 352 | +116 | 28 |
| 7 |  St. George | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 583 | 382 | +201 | 26 |
| 8 | North Sydney | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 542 | 331 | +211 | 24 |
| 9 |  Sydney City | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 466 | 406 | +60 | 24 |
| 10 |  Auckland | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 544 | 493 | +51 | 24* |
| 11 | Western Reds | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 361 | 549 | -188 | 22 |
| 12 |  Illawarra | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 519 | 431 | +88 | 21 |
| 13 |  Western Suburbs | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 459 | 534 | -75 | 20 |
| 14 |  Penrith | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 481 | 484 | -3 | 18 |
| 15 | Sydney Tigers | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 309 | 591 | -282 | 14 |
| 16 |  South Queensland | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 303 | 502 | -199 | 13 |
| 17 |  Gold Coast | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 350 | 628 | -278 | 9 |
| 18 |  South Sydney | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 319 | 686 | -367 | 9 |
| 19 |  Parramatta | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 310 | 690 | -380 | 6 |
| 20 |  North Queensland | 22 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 269 | 660 | -391 | 4 |
*Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in one game.
Twenty Eight players were used by the club in 1995.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dean Bell |  | CE / LK | 10 March | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Phil Blake |  | FB / HK | 10 March | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| 3 | Sean Hoppe | | WG | 10 March | 22 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 76 |
| 4 | Manoa Thompson |  | CE | 10 March | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Whetu Taewa | | CE | 10 March | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Gene Ngamu | | FE | 10 March | 21 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 84 |
| 7 | Greg Alexander | | FB / HB | 10 March | 21 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 40 |
| 8 | Gavin Hill | | PR | 10 March | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Duane Mann | /  | HK | 10 March | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 | Hitro Okesene | | PR / HK | 10 March | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Stephen Kearney | | SR | 10 March | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | Tony Tatupu | /  | SR | 10 March | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 13 | Tony Tuimavave | / | PR / LK | 10 March | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Se'e Solomona | / | PR | 10 March | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Tea Ropati | / | CE / FE | 10 March | 21 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 16 | Jason Mackie | | LK | 10 March | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Martin Moana | | LK / FE | 10 March | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Joe Vagana | / | PR | 18 March | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Syd Eru | | HK | 28 March | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 20 | Willie Poching | / | SR | 28 March | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 21 | Logan Edwards | | SR / LK | 7 April | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 22 | John Kirwan | | WG | 16 April | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 23 | Andy Platt |  | PR | 23 April | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Stacey Jones | | HB | 23 April | 14 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 40 |
| 25 | Mike Dorreen | | CE | 7 May | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 26 | Richie Blackmore | | CE | 14 May | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 27 | Frano Botica | | WG | 4 June | 5 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 46 |
| 28 | Denis Betts | | SR | 4 June | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
The Warriors participated in the ARL's Reserve grade competition that mirrored the senior draw. The Reserve grade side made the top eight, finishing eighth, but lost to Penrith 8-14 in the Quarterfinals. [7]
In the Club Championship the Warriors finished seventh overall.
In addition a Warriors Colts side was fielded in NZRL's Lion Red Cup. The Warrior Colts made the grand final but lost to the North Harbour Sea Eagles.
| North Harbour | Position | Auckland Colts |
|---|---|---|
| Quinten Dane | FB | Nigel Vagana |
| Auvae Tapuai | WG | Paul Staladi |
| Paki Tuimavave | CE | Stuart Lester |
| Jason Kaulima | CE | Anthony Swann |
| Steve Barry | WG | Tacofe Kalauta |
| Aleki Maea | FE | Meti Noovao (C) |
| Latham Tawhai | HB | Willie Swann |
| Donald Stewart (C) | PR | Dallas Mead |
| Sean Wilson | HK | Aaron Lester |
| Darren Kohlhase | PR | David Fatialofa |
| Mike Setefano | SR | Bryan Henare |
| Keniti Asiata | SR | Frank Watene |
| Jason Palmada | LK | Logan Swann |
| Frank Fuimaono | Bench | Charlie Kennedy |
| Cory Jamieson | Bench | Des Maea |
| Lafaelle Filipo | Bench | Druce Nilsen |
| Brent Snooks | Bench | Steve Buckingham |
| Graeme Norton | Coach | John Ackland |
After trailing 15–2 at halftime the North Harbour Sea Eagles came from behind to defeat the Warrior Colts 28–21 in the second Lion Red Cup Grand Final. [8] The match included an eight-point try scored by Paki Tuimavave in the 48th minute. Tuimavave was tackled high by Aaron Lester while he was grounding the ball. Lester was then sin-binned for back chatting the referee after the incident.
| Team | Halftime | Total |
|---|---|---|
| North Harbour Sea Eagles | 2 | 28 |
| Auckland Warriors Colts | 15 | 21 |
| Tries (North Harbour) | 1: F. Fuimaono, S. Wilson, P. Tuimavave, J. Palmada |
|---|---|
| Tries (Auckland Colts) | 1: N.Vagana, B.Henare, M.Noovao, W.Swann |
| Goals (North Harbour) | 6: Q.Dane |
| Goals (Auckland Colts) | 1: S.Buckingham, M.Noovao |
| Field Goals Goals (Auckland Colts) | 1: M.Noovao |
| Date | 16 September |
| Referee | Dennis Hale |
| Venue | Ericsson Stadium |
| Broadcast | TVNZ |
Tea Ropati won the club's Player of the Year award. [9]
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