2003 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2003 New Zealand Warriors season was the 9th in the club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2003 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 6th place. The Warriors then came within one game of the grand final, losing to eventual premiers the Penrith Panthers. The coach of the team was Daniel Anderson while Monty Betham was the club captain.

2003 New Zealand Warriors season
NRL Rank6th
2003 recordWins: 15; Draws: 0; Losses: 9
Points scoredFor: 545; Against: 510
Team information
CEOMick Watson
CoachDaniel Anderson
Assistant coachTony Kemp
Captains
StadiumEricsson Stadium
Avg. Attend.16,842
Top scorers
TriesFrancis Meli (23)
GoalsStacey Jones (29)
PointsFrancis Meli (92)
< 2002 2004 >

Milestones
  • The Warriors had the youngest squad out of all the 15 clubs in the 2003 NRL season.[1]
  • 23 March — Round 2: Monty Betham played in his 50th match for the club.
  • 6 April — Round 4: Francis Meli, Wairangi Koopu and Mark Tookey played in their 50th first grade games for the club.[2]
  • 22 June — Round 13: Motu Tony played in his 50th match for the club.
  • 12 July — Round 18: Ali Lauitiiti played in his 100th match for the club.
  • 10 August — Round 22: Richard Villasanti played in his 50th match for the club.
  • 6 September — Round 26: Awen Guttenbiel played in his 100th match for the club.

Jersey & Sponsors

The Warriors launched a new jersey design in 2003, finally removing completely the blue and white colours the owners had inherited when the purchased the company.[3]

Fixtures
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors results

The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 2003, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.

Pre-season

The Warriors played a pre-season trial match against the Penrith Panthers in Invercargill on 28 February. 15,000 fans attended the match, which was sold out.[4]

Regular season
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAttendanceReport
16 MarchRound 1 Newcastle KnightsMount Smart Stadium, AucklandLoss26-36Hohaia (2), Carlaw, Fa'afili, MeliJones (3)16,291
23 MarchRound 2 Canterbury BulldogsMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin24-20Hohaia (2), Fa'afili, Guttenbeil, MeliMarsh (2)16,229
29 MarchRound 3 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval, SydneyWin20-16Toopi (2), Fa'afili, SwannMarsh (2)14,273
6 AprilRound 4 South Sydney RabbitohsMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin38-16Fa'afili (2), Hohaia (2), Meli (2), Seuseu, TonyMarsh (2), Hohaia (1)13,614
13 AprilRound 5 Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium, BrisbaneWin32-12Meli (2), Faumuina, Marsh, Swann, TuimavaveMarsh (3), Tuimavave (1)18,959
21 AprilRound 6 North Queensland CowboysMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin30-24Fa'afili, Jones, Marsh, Meli, Tony, ToopiMarshs (3)19,722
27 AprilRound 7 Penrith PanthersMount Smart Stadium, AucklandLoss14-28Fa'afili, Koopu, TonyJones (1)15,732
2 MayRound 8 BulldogsWestpac Stadium, WellingtonLoss12-18Meli, ToopiWebb (2)21,989
10 MayRound 9 Parramatta EelsMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin18-16Meli (2), Marsh, SwannWebb (1)15,397
Round 10Bye
23 MayRound 11 Canberra RaidersWestpac Stadium, WellingtonLoss10-18Fa'afiliWebb (1)13,130
31 MayRound 12 Penrith PanthersCUA Stadium, SydneyLoss12-34Betham, TonyJones (2)20,280
7 JuneRound 13 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin23-6Faumuina, Jones, Meli, MellarsJones (3 & FG)16,172
14 JuneRound 14 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium, SydneyLoss26-28V.Anderson, Betham, Faumuina, Meli, WebbJones (2), Webb (1)8,076
22 JuneRound 15 Canberra RaidersMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin26-18Swann (2), Tony, Toopi, VillasantiJones (3)18,375
29 JuneRound 16 South Sydney RabbitohsSydney Football Stadium, SydneyWin31-30 (a.e.t)Jones, Meli, Tony, Toopi, WebbJones (5 & FG)9,109
5 JulyRound 17 North Queensland CowboysDairy Farmers Stadium, TownsvilleLoss10-30Swann (2)Jones (1)16,028
12 JulyRound 18 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin20-12V.Anderson, Latu, WebbJones (4)15,528
19 JulyRound 19 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksToyota Park, SydneyWin31-24Toopi (2), Murphy, Villasanti, WebbJones (5 & FG)13,565
Round 20Bye
2 AugustRound 21 Melbourne StormMount Smart Stadium, AucklandLoss12-14V.Anderson, ToopiHohaia (2)15,207
10 AugustRound 22 St. George Illawarra DragonsOki Jubilee Stadium, SydneyWin30-20Carlaw, Hohaia, Lauiti'iti, Leuluai, Villasanti, WebbHohaia (3)12,595
15 AugustRound 23 Newcastle KnightsEnergyAustralia Stadium, NewcastleLoss20-36Toopi (2), Meli, VillasantiHohaia (2)17,198
24 AugustRound 24 Brisbane BroncosMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin22-14V.Anderson, Faumuina, Latu, MeliWebb (3)19,439
31 AugustRound 25 Sydney RoostersSydney Football Stadium, SydneyWin26-24Meli (2), Toopi, VillasantiWebb (5)18,726
6 SeptemberRound 26 Wests TigersMount Smart Stadium, AucklandWin32-16Toopi (3), V.Anderson (2), MeliWebb (4)20,392

Final Series
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAttendanceReport
13 SeptemberQualifying Final BulldogsShowgrounds, SydneyWin48 - 22Meli (5), Webb (2), Faumuina, TonyWebb (5), Faumuina (1)18,312
20 SeptemberPreliminary Final Canberra RaidersAussie Stadium, SydneyWin17 - 16Fa'afili, Swann, ToopiWebb (2), Jones (FG)31,616
28 SeptemberPreliminary Final Penrith PanthersTelstra Stadium, SydneyLoss20 - 28Swann, Toopi, Villasanti, WebbWebb (2)43,174

Ladder
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Penrith 2418062659527+13240
2 Sydney 2417072680445+23538
3 Bulldogs 2416082702419+28336
4 Canberra 2416082620463+15736
5 Melbourne 2415092564486+7834
6 New Zealand 2415092545510+3534
7 Newcastle 24140102632635-332
8 Brisbane 24120122497464+3328
9 Parramatta 24110132570582-1226
10 St George Illawarra 24110132548593-4526
11 North Queensland 24100142606629-2324
12 Cronulla 2480162497704-20720
13 Wests Tigers 2470172470598-12818
14 Manly 2470172470791-32118
15 South Sydney 2430212457758-30110

Squad
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors players

Twenty eight players were used by the Warriors in 2003, including five players who made their first grade debuts.

No.NameNationalityPositionWarriors DebutAppTGFGPts
24Stacey JonesHB23 April 199522329474
33Awen Guttenbeil / SR14 April 1996201004
42Logan SwannSR1 March 19972390036
50Jerry Seu Seu / PR16 August 1997241004
55Ali Lauitiiti / SR19 April 1998121004
61Monty Betham / HK / LK8 March 1999242008
64Wairangi KoopuCE / SR9 April 1999251004
65Francis Meli / WG2 May 199927230092
66Clinton ToopiCE2 May 199922170068
76Mark TookeyPR6 February 2000170000
81Henry Fa'afili / WG26 March 200024100040
87Richard Villasanti / PR18 February 20011660024
90Motu Tony / UH9 March 20011870028
92Justin MurphyWG7 April 200181004
93Iafeta Paleaaesina / PR1 June 2001240000
95John CarlawCE24 March 2002102008
96PJ MarshHB / HK24 March 200211312036
97Brent WebbFB1 April 200221826084
98Sione FaumuinaCE / LK1 April 20022451022
99Lance HohaiaUB6 April 20021678044
100Vinnie Anderson / CE7 July 20022760024
102Evarn TuimavavePR1 September 200291106
103Karl TemataPR / SR6 September 2002100000
104Mark RobinsonHK2 May 200310000
105Thomas LeuluaiHB2 May 2003121004
106Vince MellarsCE7 June 200341004
107Tevita Latu / HK7 June 200372008
108Jerome RopatiCE / FE31 August 200310000

Staff

Coaching Staff

Transfers

Gains
PlayerPrevious ClubLengthNotes
Mark RobinsonNorth Harbour Rugby Union

Losses
PlayerClubNotes
Jeremiah PaiWests Tigers
Justin MorganToulouse Olympique
Kevin CampionNorth Queensland Cowboys
Shontayne HapeBradford Bulls
David MylesNorth Queensland Cowboys
Ivan ClearyRetired

Other Teams

Players not required by the Warriors were released to play in the 2003 Bartercard Cup. This included Motu Tony and Jerome Ropati at the Marist Richmond Brothers, Mark Robinson at the North Harbour Tigers and Richard Villasanti at the Canterbury Bulls.

Awards

Francis Meli won the Player of the Year award.[5]

References
  1. John Coffey Warriors youngest in NRL The Press, 30 November 2002
  2. Francis Meli will play his 50th NRL match for the Warriors Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Western Leader, 4 April 2003
  3. John Coffey Warriors' new strip The Press, 29 November 2002
  4. We're first - angry Roosters call for ad to be dropped Sydney Morning Herald, 28 February 2003
  5. Vodafone Warriors RED BALL Awards warriors.co.nz, 16 September 2014
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