|
|
| Aboriginal sporting superstar and former St George Dragon, Australian super-middleweight boxing champ "the Man" Anthony Mundine (centre) poses with the Warriors during the lead up to his successful decision over NZ champ Sean Sullivan in Auckland February 2003. In September Mundine won a split decision over Antwun Echolls for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight title. pic Warriors.co.nz |
| Warriors 2003 captain Monty Beetham Weight: 94kg Height: 183cm Usual position: Hooker, Lock Tests: 6 Tests NZ 2001-2002, World Cup Samoa 2000 Junior Club: Bay Roskill, Papatoetoe First Grade Debut: Auckland v. Sydney City at SFS, March 8, 1999 Warriors games 48 |
| Lance Hohaia Weight: 83kg Height: 175cm Usual position: Five-Eighth, Halfback Tests: 6 Tests NZ 2002 Junior Club: Taniwharau, Manurewa First Grade Debut: Warriors v. North QLD away April 6, 2002 Warriors games 20 |
| Karl Te Mata Born: 12 Jul 1978, Whangarei, NZ Weight: 103kg Height: 187cm Usual position: Loose Forward Junior Club: Hibiscus Coast First Grade Debut: Warriors v. Wests Tigers Ericsson Stadium, September, 2002 (Rd 26) |
| Brett Webb Born: 8 Nov 1980, Cairns, QLD Weight: 100kg Height: 175cm Usual position: Centre, Wing First Grade Debut: Warriors v. Newcastle at Ericsson, April 1, 2002 (Rd 3) Warriors games 17 |
| Wairangi Koopu Born: 2 Apr 1980, East Coast, NZ Weight: 100kg Height: 190cm Usual position: Centre, Second Row Tests: World Cup NZ Maoris 2000 Junior Club: Tainwharau Previous Clubs: Nil First Grade Debut: Warriors v. Melbourne Ericsson, April 9, 1999 (Rd 6 Warriors games: 51 |
 |
 |
| Vinnie Anderson Born: 14 Feb 1979, Auckland, NZ Weight: 100kg Height: 185cm Usual position: Centre Junior Club: Mount Albert First Grade Debut: Warriors v. Sharks at Toyota Park, July 7, 2002 (Rd 17) |
| Iafeta Palea'aesina Born: 10 Feb 1982, Auckland, NZ Weight: 110kg Height: 183cm Usual position: Prop Junior Club: Papatoetoe First Grade Debut: Warriors v. Northern Eagles at Ericsson, June 1, 2001 (Rd 15) |
 |
| Warriors coach Daniel Anderson on rugby league in NZ |
| P J Marsh Born: 19 Feb 1980, Rockhampton, QLD Weight: 80kg Height: 174cm Usual position: Five-Eighth, Halfback State Of Origin: 2 games Qld 2002 Junior Club: Blackwater Crushers Previous Clubs: Parramatta 2000-2001 First Grade Debut: Parramatta v. Newcastle April 23, 2000 (Rd 12) Warriors games: 60 neck injury mid 2003 back in 04. |
| No. Club P W D L P/D PTS 1 Panthers 24 18 0 6 132 40 2 Roosters 24 17 0 7 235 38 3 Bulldogs 24 16 0 8 283 36 4 Raiders 24 16 0 8 157 36 5 Storm 24 15 0 9 78 34 6 Warriors 24 15 0 9 35 34 7 Knights 24 14 0 10 -3 32 8 Broncos 24 12 0 12 33 28 then the Eels, Dragons, Cowboys, Sharks, Tigers, Eagles, Rabbitohs. P: Played, W: Win, D: Draw, L: Loss |
| Top 8 playoff finalists @ the end of the regular season 7 September 2003 |
| Qualifying Finals week 1 12, 13, 14 September Canberra 18 V Melbourne 30 Roosters 36 V Newcastle 8 Penrith 28 V Broncos 18 |
| star winger Francis Meli scored a finals record 5 tries as the Warriors outmuscled the Bulldogs 48-22. |
| Premininary Finals week 3 Saturday, 27 September 2003 Aussie Stadium Bulldogs 18 v Roosters 28 |
| Semi Finals week 2 Canterbury 30 V Melbourne 0 |
 |
| Warriors prop Paleaasina smashes through the Bulldogs defence |
 |
| 5 October 2003 Telstra Stadium Sydney |
| Saturday, 20 September 2003 Aussie Stadium 7.30pm crowd 31,600 |
 |
| Hard working loose forward Logan Swann departed the the Warriors to take up a spot with Super League champs Bradford Bulls (UK) in 2004. He joins former Warriors and Kiwis Joe Vagana, Robbie Paul and Lesley Vainakola at Bradford. A former Kiwi with 26 tests, Swann joined the Warriors as a foundation player in 1995 along with Stacey Jones. A seasoned professional he has played 145 games in first-grade since 1997. |
 |
 |
 |
| Warriors utility back Motu Tony with "the man" Anthony Mundine. A brilliant attacking player Tony leaves the Warriors to take up a 1 year contract in 2004 with the awesome Brisbane Broncos. |
| click thumbs 2 enlarge |
| The Warriors celebrate another try on the way to thumping the Bulldogs 48-22 |
| Sunday, 28 September 2003 3:30 PM Telstra Stadium |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tevita Latu Brett Webb Vince Mellars Evarn Tuimavave click thumbnails to enlarge |
| Richard Villasanti Francis Meli Vinnie Anderson |
| The year was a mix of emotions, still 3rd place wasnt quite so bad, following on their awesome achievements of 2002 winning the NRL Minor Premiers & Grand Final runners-up. The Warriors finished strongly considering injuries hampered their ability to field their top team together at any one time during the season. Lauititi was out for the first 12 weeks, PJ Marsh sustained a serious neck injury in June that put him out for 2003, Stacey, Lance, Carlaw & others were all down with different injuries at different times during the year. These factors were the difference between 2003 and 2002. On the positive side rookies Thomas Leuluai, Tevita Latu, Vince Mellars, Karl Te Mata, Vinnie Anderson, Ervan Tuimavave and others such as Paleaasina and Faumuina all stepped up to the job when circumstances forced the coach's call. The way they went about their business explains why they finished 2003 with 12 other teams below them. Roll on 2004. NRL 2003 Warriors 3rd in the Telstra Premiership. Played 27 games won 17 lost 10. Warriors Awards 2003 Player of the Year Francis Meli Players Player of the Year Brett Webb Rookie of the Year Thomas Leuluai Footy Show Top Winger Francis Meli |
| Craig Gower |
| Henry Faafili scores |
| Bulldogs centre Nigel Vagana |
|
| Vilasanti nabs Al Masri |
| What an awesome display by the Warriors. More than any other this was the game of the Finals week 1. A humbling experience for the the Dogs who were blasted out of it due to their own high error rate mixed with a confident Warriors side that played with authority and sense of purpose. Braith Anasta's comments were that the Dogs had played for all the wrong reasons; trying to give a good send-off to their departing mates Vagana, Reardon & Norton rather than play for themselves first & foremost. |
 |
| Luke Davico |
| Another ripper that wasnt decided until the final whistle. Canberra took the Warriors all the way down to the wire at 16-16 only to watch Warriors captain Stacey Jones slot the deciding drop goal in the 77th minute, the heartbreaker that snatched it 17-16. Champion players will always find a way to make the "big money plays" that win and bring home the bacon. They can't do what they do in a team situation if the other team members aren't playing their part or the front rowers aren't doing the hard yards....... (Wayne Bennett) Fittler, Johns, Lockyer, Kimmorley, Stacey.... thats the way it goes. |
|
|
| Vinnie Anderson |
| Sione Faumuina |
| Maybe Canberra smashed it out of them, but the urgency, the momentum was lacking, the Warriors never opened with authority. A 10-10 lock at halftime, the game was there for the taking....if only they could hit their rythmn but the Panthers struck with a lethal attack unexpectedly, and once their forwards rolled on catch up came too late. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Awen Guttenbeil |
 |
|
| H = Warriors home game at Ericsson Stadium Auckland lost H 26 v Knights 36 won H 24 v Bulldogs 20 won A 20 v Sea Eagles 16 won H 38 v Rabbitohs 16 won A 32 v Broncos 12 won H 30 v Cowboys 24 lost H 14 v Panthers 28 lost A 12 v Bulldogs 18 won H 18 v Eels 16 BYE lost A 10 v Raiders 18 lost A 12 v Panthers 30 won H 23 v Sharks 6 |
| A = Warriors away at opponents home ground lost A 26 v Eels 28 won H 26 v Raiders 18 won A 31 v Rabbitohs 30 lost A 10 v Cowboys 30 won H 20 v Sea Eagles 12 won A 31 v Sharks 24 BYE lost H 12 v Storm 14 won A 30 v Dragons 20 lost A 20 v Knights 36 won H 22 v Broncos 14 won A 26 v Roosters 24 won H 32 v West Tigers 16 |
 |
|
|
| check the Warriors archive articles 2003 / 2002 |
|
|
| since NRL debut 1995 Year P W D L Finished 2003 27 17 - 10 3rd 2002 27 19 - 8 2nd-Minor Premiers & Grand Finalists 2001 27 12 2 13 8th 2000 26 8 2 16 13th 1999 24 10 - 14 11th 1998 24 9 - 15 15th 1997 18 7 - 11 7th *Superleague 10 team comp 1996 21 10 - 11 10th= 1995 22 13 - 9 8th= *Docked two points includes semifinals and finals games |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
| 2003 Warriors average home crowd 16,902 |
 |
|
 |
| 2003 |
|
|
|
 |
|