omc21

Prop forward Karl Temata always has an honest tough game on attack. On defence he laid a huge hit on Storm David Kidwell who spilled the ball on impact and eventually led to the Warriors' second try.

a strong game against the Storm from interchange back Vince Mellars. In a close one a 'ref's call' denied a try set up by Mellars.

Iafeta Paleaasina hits up in the 20-14 win against the Storm. The Warriors fronted with strong defence and toned down their attacking options, having targeted
ball security as an area for improvement

prop Richard Villasanti
scored in the first 2 minutes

v Melbourne Storm Lance Hohaia in his first game back after an 8 month injury layoff had an impressive return

hooker Paul Dezolt had his first start for the Warriors against his old mob the Cowboys

v Cowboys Wairangi Koopu despite the 16-8 loss the hard working Warriors second rower had a top game against the Cowboys

Kiwi and Cowboys prop
Paul Rauhihi had a strong game
against the Warriors

                                                                        42-20 Manly's Steve Menzies says "we had confidence in ourselves"
                                 NRL Rd 10   Warriors 20 v Manly Sea Eagles 42     Sunday 16 May    Ericsson Stadium Auckland Crowd 10,929

Manly captain Steve Menzies summed up his teams 42-20 win over the Warriors by stating in the postgame TV interview "we had confidence in oursleves".

Their was a lot upside in the first half which the Warriors led 14-12 at the halftime break but under a heavy tackle count the marker defence and the line defence that was such a prominent feature in 2003, lapsed tragically in the second half allowing Manly to waltz in for some handy tries.

Manly Sea Eagles 42     tries Scott Donald 2, Albert Torrens 2, Daniel Heckenberg, Chris Hicks, Brett Stewart   goals    Andrew Walker 7
   Warriors 20 tries   Stacey Jones 2,Francis Meli    goals Sione Faumuina 4

Warriors Brent Webb, Francis Meli, Vinnie Anderson, Clinton Toopi, Tony Martin, Stacey Jones, Lance Hohaia, Jerry Seuseu, Paul Dezolt, Richard Villasanti,
                     Epalahame Lauaki, Awen Guttenbeil (c), Sione Faumuina.
Interchange: Wairangi Koopu, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Karl Temata, Vince Mellars

It gets lonely at the bottom where the Warriors are now, given that losing can possibly become a habit for all the wrong reasons. But it wont, because the Warriors are a proud team and because only 3 points separates the last 5 teams and 4 points separates the last 10 teams. Confidence will be the deciding factor in their upward quest.

despite the teams downside Warriors winger Francis Meli had a strong presence on his flank and is hitting back to his best form

Manly prop Kylie Leuluai produced some strong hit ups in a front row that overshadowed the Warriors

v Manly Sea Eagles Brent Webb great defence and brilliant free running attacker.

"we had confidence in ourselves":
stated Manly captain Steve Menzies
after whipping the Warriors 42-20

                                                                      Warriors dump the Rabbitohs 26-21
                                      NRL Rd 11 Warriors 26 v South Sydney Rabbitohs 12     Sunday 23 May   2:30PM Aussie Stadium Sydney

South Sydney touched down twice to lead 8-0 after 12 minutes. The Warriors responded with a sharp kicking game from Lance Hohaia who produced a variety of bombs, grubber kicks and chips in the gaps and behind Souths line when their defence was dragged up. Francis Meli fielded a Hohaia bomb to score a try followed by Vinnie Anderson who pounced on a Hohaia grubber kick in goal to score and level up 12-12 at halftime.

Two minutes after the break the Warriors turned on a brilliant 60 metre play. Hohaia ran on the 6th tackle chipped behind the line regathered and passed to a flying Brent Webb who kicked to the left flank. Vatuvei fielded the ball but when tackled short of the line he slipped it to an unmarked Meli to score.

At 16-12 the Warriors confidence took a hold. Hohaia chipped the ball behind Souths try line in the 54th minute. Fullback Brad Watts fielded the ball but lost it on impact when he was slammed by Richard Villasanti in a big play. Stacey Jones swooped on the loose ball to score and push the Warriors out to 22-12. In the 57th minute Stacey placed a kick over the line for Vinnie to grab his second try for a 26-12 Warriors win.

Tookey, Villasanti, Paleaaesina, Guttenbeil and Te Mata carted up with a strong sense of purpose and dominated up front. It wasn't a riveting game but they were productive in defence and attack keeping Souths scoreless in the second half. They will need more grunt and mongrel against the Roosters next week.

Warriors MVP Lance Hohaia had a big game varying his kicking options intelligently which resulted in 4 of 5 tries off his kicks. Rabbitohs captain Fletcher said of his teams ill-discipline "It was awful, they were there for the taking but we gave them a sniff and they were back to the Warriors of old, running hard."

Warriors 26    V Anderson 2, F Meli 2, S Jones tries; L Hohaia 3 goals
   South Sydney Rabbitohs 12     L MacDougall, S Rigon tries; B Watts 2 goals

Warriors    Brent Webb, Manu Vatuvei, Vinnie Anderson, Tony Martin, Francis Meli, Stacey Jones, Lance Hohaia, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Paul Dezolt,
                      Richard Villasanti, Sione Faumuina, Awen Guttenbeil (C), Wairangi Koopu.
        Interchange:    Epalahame Lauaki, Mark Tookey, Karl Temata, Thomas Leuluai

Warriors archive match reports, previews, MVP, teams and pics from round 8 to round 13 of the 2004 NRL season.

fearsome Warrior Karl Te Mata consistently adds a touch of mongrel and grunt to the pack

big Mark Tookey in his first NRL match since the season opener against the Broncos had an imposing game in the Warriors 26-12 win over the Rabbitohs

speedy Souths winger Luke MacDougall denies Vinnie Anderson a runaway try.

2 try Warrior Francis Meli
braces himself to outsmart
his opposite

despite defensive mishaps in the first half Warriors rookie winger Manu Vatuvei from Otara settled into a solid hit out, slipping a pass for Meli to score in the second half.

v South Sydney Rabbitohs Lance Hohaia

                                                                    Roosters strangle the Warriors 58-6
                                       Rd 12   Warriors 6 v Sydney Roosters 58     Sunday 30 May   Aussie Stadium Sydney Crowd 10,000

It was a relentless ruthless performance from the Sydney Roosters who strangled the Warriors 58-6 to run up the biggest score of the year. The competition leaders completely dominated the match from the first minute to the last, there was no letting up in their aggression as they set about dismantling the Warriors defence.

Play by play the Roosters speed in the forward pack hustled and bustled the Warriors pack forcing crazy handling errors that turned over possession far too easily. Out of that chaos the Roosters ran up 22 points in the last eight minutes of the first half to lead 30-0 at halftime. Hodges bagged 3 tries as they ran riot in the second half to shut out the Warriors 11 tries to 1.

   Sydney Roosters 58 T. Byrne 2, R. Cross, P. Cusack, J. Hodges 3, M. Crocker, G. Lester, B. Finch, L. Ricketson tries, C. Fitzgibbon 4, C. Walker 3 goals
   Vodafone Warriors 6      I. Paleaaesina try, S. Faumuina 1 goal
   Halftime 30-0

a fast moving up & in your face Roosters defence targeted the side of rookie winger Manu Vatuvei

Roosters Nick Cuzak is halted

returning from injury Rooster

v Sydney Roosters Richard Villasanti

v Canberra Raiders Stacey Jones se

Wairangi Koopu and Monty
provide some starch in defenc

Monty's elated postgame rap with Warriors boss Eric Watson
& CEO Mick Watson

in his 2nd game back captain Monty Beetham gets a pass away in a strong game against Canberra after a
long injury break in Rd 1

Warriors congratulate try scorer
Lance Hohaia 2nd left

new coachj Tony Kemp salutes the Ericsson fans after the Warriors
snatched a 20-14 heartstopper
over Canberra in Rd 13

Raiders centre Jason Bulgarelli is
monstered by some ferocious
Warriors defence courtesy of
Seuseu, Te Mata & Paleaaesina

                                                                            Warriors snatch a 20-14 heartstopper
                                                      NRL   Rd 13    Warriors 20 v Raiders 14 Sunday 6 June     Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Crowd 6967

Despite laying up the money passes for 2 tries, a humble Stacey Jones played down his part in the Warriors 20-14 heartstopper in which they scored three tries in the final 10 minutes to come from behind against the Raiders. He spoke of how important it was to play with passion and intelligence after a series of horrible performances this season had resulted in Daniel Anderson leaving by "mutual agreement" three days prior. The atmosphere was more relaxed without him.

Restored to halback after weeks of confusing positional switches Stacey said "It was embarrassing the last time we played at home (42-20 loss to Manly), and the way we played last week (58-6 thrashing by the Roosters), everyone came to play today. We were desperate we just wanted to give it a go for each other and our fans."

Inspirational Kiwis captain Ruben Wiki made some devastating tackles for Canberra. In the 18th minute Crocker offloaded to Adam Mogg to set up Wiki for quick sprint to score under the posts. Gaffa converted.   The Warriors replied in the 27th minute. From 30 out, Stacey stepped out, drew the defenders then popped an inside ball to Vinnie Anderson who steamed through the gap to score by the posts. A fiery first half closed off at 6-6. It was riddled with high shots, several warnings from the ref, hard tackles and stinging hits including one from Guttenbeil on fellow Kiwi Ruben Wiki, which jolted the ball clear.

In the second half Canberra struck first after a Brad Drew kick hit the upright and Luke Davico pounced on the rebound to score. Then came the Warriors three try clawback in the final 10 minutes. Down 14-6, Stacey switched the attack to the left to help set up Francis Meli's try in the 70th minute. Then from a scrum 30 metres from the Canberra line Stacey ran then passed to Lance Hohaia, who had a clear run to the posts to equal it 14-14. Richard Villisanti nailed the final try after the ball scrambled in goal to lock up a tough bruising 20-14 Warriors win.

Villasanti, Jerry, Monty, Koopu, Louis Anderson and Guttenbeil lifted themselves with better go-forward over the advantage line, more commitment in defence and increasing authority. Stacey's kicking was spot on, he sharpened the attack and sparked with confidence. Overall a huge turnaround that indicates the Warriors true desire to win, but it came at a cost. The downside of their renewed aggression was the 7 match ban given to prop Jerry SeuSeu for a reckless high tackle, lifting his knee and a careless high tackle. Francis Meli got a 5 week ban and Sione Faumuina 4 weeks for a dangerous throw after lifting. All 3 pleaded guilty.

New coach Tony Kemp has brought in former Kiwi coach Graeme Norton, and former Kiwis Duane Mann and Richard Blackmore to help out. Obviously the feel good factor amongst the boys contributed to a better spin on trust, confidence and enthusiasm which showed in their 80 minute commitment.
"It was something we spoke about this week and I'm very happy with their effort" says Kemp.

   Warriors 20    Vinnie Anderson, Francis Meli, Lance Hohaia, Richard Villasanti tries; Sione Faumuina 2 goals)
Canberra Raiders 14 Ruben Wiki, Luke Davico tries; Matthew Gafa 3 goals       Halftime: 6-6

Warriors
Brent Webb, Henry Fa'afili, Vinnie Anderson, Sione Faumuina, Francis Meli, Stacey Jones, Lance Hohaia, Jerry Seuseu, Monty Betham (c), Iafeta Paleaaesina, Richard Villasanti, Awen Guttenbeil, Wairangi Koopu,
Interchange:     Louis Anderson, Mark Tookey, Manu Vatuvei, Hame Lauaki

lock Rueben Wiki showed a clean pair of heels to
grab the first try under the post after 18 minutes

point the Warriors had won 4 and lost 8. The team, the coach, the fans and everybody was worried about them. After the huge achievements of previous years their losing performances attracted a sour reception from the local media. It's origins lie in the Kiwi sporting mentatlity born of a healthy but obsessive expectation to beat the Aussies. Despite the huge hype the Warriors seemed focussed on their task but struggled to hit their rythmn.

During Rounds 8-13 the Warriors won 3 real close games by 6 points at home against Melbourne, dumped 5 points on the Rabbitohs in Sydney and choked the Raiders by a 6 point margin in Auckland. They lost 3 games, the first by 8 points to the Cowboys (a), 22 to Manly (h) & conceded a 48 point whipping to the Roosters in Sydney.

The week after the Roosters thumping Daniel Anderson resigned having won 3 and lost 8, and left assistant coach Tony Kemp to steer the team to a tight 20-14 win over the Raiders. The player were candid in expressing that "the atmosphere was more relaxed" when Kemp took over.

click ARCHIVES 3 for Warriors match reports, previews, pics, MVP and news from Round14 to Round 20 in the second half of the 2004 NRL season.

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                                                                                                       Warriors hang in for 20-14 win
                                                                        NRL Rd 8   Sunday 2 May 2pm Ericsson Stadium   Auckland Crowd 9,637
Match Report
Despite 2 weeks of demoralising crisis and drama's the Warriors posted a gutsy 20-14 win over the Melbourne Storm. They started aggressively and held the lead throughout, something they've failed to do in previous matches. After 2 minutes prop Richard Villasanti posted the first try off a Lance Hohaia break.

Melbourne Storm playmaker Scott Hill replied with a try in the 10th minute then Sione Faunuina charged over the line to take the Warriors to 12-4. In the 72nd minute Melbourne centre Steve Bell scored out wide to close the margin to 12-10 at halftime.

Faumuina landed a penalty goal to hold a desperate 14-10 lead till the 68th minute when Warriors half Lance Hohaia chip kicked towards the line. The ball bounced badly for three Storm defenders who messed up and allowed forward sensation Epalahame Lauaki to swoop on an opportunist try in the right place at the right time. Steve Bell's late second try and Melbourne's surge failed to deny the Warriors their first hometown win in 2004 by 20-14 .

The Warriors won the praise of their relieved coach Daniel Anderson for a match winnning performance in a game of missed opportunities that kept the spectators on edge. In his first game back after an 8 month injury layoff, 21 year old half Lance Hohaia had a big one as did forwards Wairangi Koopu and Karl Te Mata who produced some awesome hits that led to tries. Faumuina's four goals proved the difference after both sides scored three each.

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy believed his side did enough to win the game "our effort was great, but we lacked a bit of patience and little bit of execution." adding also that the bye had helped the Warriors regroup.

    Warriors 20 R Villisanti, E Lauaki, S Faumuina 1 try 4 goals)
    Melbourne Storm     14    S Hill, S Bell 2 tries, C Smith goal           Halftime: Warriors 12-10

Warriors     Brent Webb , Francis Meli , Vinnie Anderson , Clinton Toopi , Tony Martin, Lance Hohaia, Stacey Jones,
   Jerry Seuseu, Tevita Latu, Richard Villasanti, Epalahame Lauaki, Awen Guttenbeil (c), Sione Faumuina.
Interchange : Wairangi Koopu, Iafeta Paleaasina, Vince Mellars, Karl Temata.

                                                                                                                 Cowboys hold on 16-8
                                           NRL Rd 9   Warriors 8 v North Queensland Cowboys 16   Saturday   8 May 7.30pm   Townsville Crowd 13062

It was a dull way to mark Stacey Jones' 200th game. The Warriors mistake riddled first half was an uninspiring blur made up of 14 handling errors and a tragic 9 of 22 completions. At halftime it was tied 2-2. The Cowboys were just as terrible in the first half but kicked on in the second half with 2 tries to Ty Williams and one to Nathan Fien to win their first home game 16-8.

With 25 errors and only 21 of 45 sets completed in total its no wonder the Warriors frustrated themselves out of the game. That unforgivable situation partly explains why they failed to hammer the Cowboys after leading 8-6 with 15 minutes to go. The excellent form of Matt Bowen and Nathan Fien ensured the Cowboys would hold out and bring home the bacon.

North Queensland 16         T Williams 2 N Fien tries; J Hannay 2 goals
   Warriors 8              V Anderson try, S Faumuina 2 goals.

Warriors      Brent Webb, Francis Meli, Vinnie Anderson, Clinton Toopi, Tony Martin, Stacey Jones, Lance Hohaia, Jerry Seuseu, Paul Dezolt, Richard Villasanti, Epalahame Lauaki, Awen Guttenbeil (c), Sione Faumuina.
Interchange: Wairangi Koopu, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Karl Temata, Vince Mellars.

                                                Warriors coach Daniel Anderson resigns       3 June 2004

Daniel Anderson resigned as coach of the New Zealand Warriors rugby league club.    After a meeting with the players at Ericsson Stadium, Auckland franchise owner Eric Watson announced that Anderson, who had done a "fantastic job" at the club will be replaced by assistant Tony Kemp who will take over as head coach for the rest of 2004.

A unique coach Anderson, who is also the Kiwi test coach, thanked Eric and Mick Watson for the opportunity at the Warriors. "I also want to thank the club, my coaching staff, the players, sponsors and fans for the tremendous support over three very special years," he said. "I will now focus all my attention on delivering a successful result in the Tri-Nations series for the Kiwis."

Recommended by League immortal Bobby Fulton he arrived in Auckland after Eric Watson bought the Warriors in late 2000. He tasted previous success coaching Parramatta lower grades in Sydney. In 2001 his inaugural year as a top notch coach, the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time in their history. The Parrammatta Eels thrashed them in the playoffs.

In 2002 the Warriors achieved awesome honours winning the NRL minor premiership and making the grand final, where they were beaten by the Sydney Roosters 30-8. In 2003 the Warriors made the last four, going down to eventual premiers Penrith.

Daniel Anderson 37, stacked up an impressive 59 percent winning ratio, 48 victories from 81 games with the Warriors.   2004 has been a disaster with the sacking of star player Ali Lauitiiti and winning just 3 of 11 matches. His decision to resign was made in the interests of the team.

Warriors under fire after Manly loss ... courtesy TV ONE

Anderson quits

up to this ....

Rd   7 Bye
Rd   8    won Warriors 20   v   Storm 14           Auckland
Rd   9    lost Warriors    8   v   Cowboys 16    Townsville
Rd 10   lost   Warriors 20   v   Manly    42        Auckland
Rd 11   won Warriors 26 v   Rabbitohs 12    Sydney
Rd 12    lost Warriors    6   v   Roosters 58    Sydney
Rd 13   won Warriors 20   v   Raiders 14      Auckland