| 2008 New Zealand Warriors season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 8th | |||
| 2008 record | Wins: 15; draws: 0; losses: 12 | |||
| Points scored | For: 502; against: 567 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Wayne Scurrah | |||
| Coach | Ivan Cleary | |||
| Assistant coach | John Ackland | |||
| Captains | ||||
| Stadium | Mt Smart Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 12,528 | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Manu Vatuvei (16) | |||
| Goals | Michael Witt (59) | |||
| Points | Michael Witt (138) | |||
| ||||
The New Zealand Warriors 2008 season was the New Zealand Warriors 14th first-grade season. The club competed in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Ivan Cleary while Steve Price was the club's captain.
 |  |  | The Warriors again did not change their jersey, sticking with the predominantly Black & White design supplied by Puma AG. The away jersey also remained unchanged, being mainly Grey with Black details. For the "Heritage Round" the Warriors played in a strip based on their 1999 Red away strip |
The Warriors used Mt Smart Stadium as their home ground in 2008, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 February | Trial 1 |  Newcastle Knights | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 14–22 | Ah Van, Vatuvei, Koopu | Witt (1) | 9,000 | [1] |
| 23 February | Trial 2 |  Auckland Vulcans | Henham Park, Auckland | Win | 50–0 | Solomona (2), Hohaia (2), Fien, Witt, Locke, Taylor, Mika | Witt (7) | [1] | |
| 29 February | Trial 3 |  Manly Sea Eagles | Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast | Loss | 16–24 | Rovelli, Witt, Solomona | Witt (2) | 8,040 | [1] |
| Qualifying finals | Semifinals | Preliminary finals | Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Melbourne | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 |  New Zealand | 18 | 1W | Manly | 32 | |||||||||||||
| 4W | New Zealand | 30 | New Zealand | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Manly | 38 | 2L |  Sydney | 13 | |||||||||||||
| Manly | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  St. George Illawarra | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Melbourne | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 |  Cronulla | 36 | 2W | Cronulla | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 6 |  Canberra | 10 | 3W |  Brisbane | 14 | Melbourne | 28 | |||||||||||
| 1L | Melbourne | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Sydney | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Brisbane | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September | Qualifying Final | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne | Win | 18–15 | Ropati, Vatuvei, Witt | Witt (3) | 15,193 | |
| 19 September | Semi Final | Sydney Roosters | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30–13 | Hohaia (2), Henderson, Kirk, Vatuvei | Witt (5) | 25,585 | |
| 27 September | Preliminary Final | Manly Sea Eagles | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 6–32 | Kirk | Hohaia (1) | 32,095 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 584 | 282 | +302 | 38 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 645 | 355 | +290 | 38 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 451 | 384 | +67 | 38 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 511 | 446 | +65 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 560 | 452 | +108 | 33 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 527 | +113 | 30 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 489 | 378 | +111 | 30 |
| 8 |  New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 502 | 567 | -65 | 30 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 516 | 486 | +30 | 28 |
| 10 |  Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 528 | 560 | -32 | 26 |
| 11 |  Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 501 | 547 | -46 | 26 |
| 12 |  Penrith Panthers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 504 | 611 | -107 | 25 |
| 13 |  Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 476 | 586 | -110 | 24 |
| 14 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 453 | 666 | -213 | 20 |
| 15 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 474 | 638 | -164 | 14 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 433 | 782 | -349 | 14 |
Twenty Six players played for the club in 2008. Eight players made their debut for the club, including five who were also making their first grade debuts.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Logan Swann |  | SR | 1 March 1997 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Wairangi Koopu | | CE / SR | 9 April 1999 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | Lance Hohaia | | UB | 6 April 2002 | 26 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 78 |
| 102 | Evarn Tuimavave | | PR | 1 September 2002 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 108 | Jerome Ropati | | CE / FE | 31 August 2003 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 110 | Epalahame Lauaki | /  | SR | 14 March 2004 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 115 | Manu Vatuvei | | WG | 23 May 2004 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 121 | Steve Price |  | PR | 13 March 2005 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 123 | Ruben Wiki | | PR | 13 March 2005 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 124 | Nathan Fien | | HK | 13 March 2005 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 125 | Simon Mannering | | CE | 26 June 2005 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 126 | Micheal Luck | | SR | 12 March 2006 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 127 | Grant Rovelli |  | HB | 12 March 2006 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 129 | Patrick Ah Van | | WG | 9 April 2006 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| 131 | Sam Rapira | | PR | 20 May 2006 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 132 | Wade McKinnon | | FB | 17 March 2007 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 133 | Michael Crockett | | WG | 17 March 2007 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 134 | Michael Witt | | FE | 17 March 2007 | 18 | 5 | 59 | 0 | 138 |
| 136 | Aidan Kirk | | FB / CE | 17 March 2008 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 137 | Brent Tate | | CE | 17 March 2008 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 138 | Ian Henderson |  | HK | 23 March 2008 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 139 | Sonny Fai | | SR | 23 March 2008 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 140 | Ryan Shortland | | CE | 6 April 2008 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 141 | Russell Packer | | PR | 4 May 2008 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 142 | Ben Matulino | | SR | 14 June 2008 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 143 | Malo Solomona |  | WG | 29 June 2008 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Player | Previous Club | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Tate | Brisbane Broncos | ||
| Ian Henderson | Bradford Bulls | ||
| Ryan Shortland | Melbourne Storm |
| Player | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| George Gatis | Huddersfield Giants | |
| Todd Byrne | Hull | |
| Louis Anderson | Warrington Wolves | |
| Tony Martin | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
In 2008 the Junior Warriors competed in the new Under 20's competition, the Toyota Cup, while Senior players who were not required for the first team played with the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup. The Auckland Vulcans were coached by Bernie Perenara. Wayne McDade was named the Vulcans player of the year with Aaron Heremaia as the runner up and Pita Godinet as the Rookie of the year. [3]
The Junior Warriors finished third in the Toyota Cup, making the finals before losing to the Brisbane Broncos in a Preliminary Final. Both Russell Packer and Ben Matulino were named in the Toyota Cup's team of the year.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canberra Raiders (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 744 | 581 | +163 | 40 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 684 | 476 | +208 | 35 |
| 3 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 721 | 533 | +188 | 35 |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 692 | 583 | +109 | 35 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 578 | 564 | +14 | 35 |
| 6 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 561 | 520 | +41 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 711 | 587 | +124 | 31 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 686 | 567 | +119 | 31 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 620 | 623 | -3 | 30 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 618 | 584 | +34 | 28 |
| 11 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 519 | 532 | -13 | 26 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 526 | 630 | -104 | 21 |
| 13 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 512 | 638 | -126 | 21 |
| 14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 394 | 666 | -272 | 17 |
| 15 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 480 | 721 | -241 | 16 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 455 | 696 | -241 | 15 |
| Qualifying finals | Semifinals | Preliminary finals | Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Canberra Raiders | 43 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 28 | 1W | Canberra Raiders | 18 | |||||||||||||
| 4W | Parramatta Eels | 22 | St. George Illawarra | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | NZ Warriors | 47 | 2L | St. George Illawarra | 23 | |||||||||||||
| Canberra Raiders | 28 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane Broncos | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 2W | Brisbane Broncos | 28 | |||||||||||||
| 6 | St. George Illawarra | 20 | 3W | NZ Warriors | 38 | NZ Warriors | 26 | |||||||||||
| 1L | Penrith Panthers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Bulldogs | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Gold Coast Titans | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
Simon Mannering won the Player of the Year award. [4]
Lance Koro Hohaia, also known by the nickname of "The Huntly Hurricane", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative utility back, he played in the NRL for the New Zealand Warriors and the Super League for St Helens, with whom he won the 2014 Super League championship. In 2008 Hohaia was a member of the World Cup winning New Zealand team.
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