2003 New Zealand Warriors season
Rugby league team 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.
Milestones
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
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
Date
Round
Opponent
Venue
Result
Score
Tries
Goals
Attendance
Report
16 March
Round 1
Newcastle Knights
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Loss
26-36
Hohaia (2), Carlaw , Fa'afili , Meli
Jones (3)
16,291
[1]
23 March
Round 2
Canterbury Bulldogs
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
24-20
Hohaia (2), Fa'afili , Guttenbeil , Meli
Marsh (2)
16,229
[2]
29 March
Round 3
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Brookvale Oval , Sydney
Win
20-16
Toopi (2), Fa'afili , Swann
Marsh (2)
14,273
[3]
6 April
Round 4
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
38-16
Fa'afili (2), Hohaia (2), Meli (2), Seuseu , Tony
Marsh (2), Hohaia (1)
13,614
[4]
13 April
Round 5
Brisbane Broncos
ANZ Stadium , Brisbane
Win
32-12
Meli (2), Faumuina , Marsh , Swann , Tuimavave
Marsh (3), Tuimavave (1)
18,959
[5]
21 April
Round 6
North Queensland Cowboys
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
30-24
Fa'afili , Jones , Marsh , Meli , Tony , Toopi
Marshs (3)
19,722
[6]
27 April
Round 7
Penrith Panthers
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Loss
14-28
Fa'afili , Koopu , Tony
Jones (1)
15,732
[7]
2 May
Round 8
Bulldogs
Westpac Stadium , Wellington
Loss
12-18
Meli , Toopi
Webb (2)
21,989
[8]
10 May
Round 9
Parramatta Eels
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
18-16
Meli (2), Marsh , Swann
Webb (1)
15,397
[9]
Round 10
Bye
23 May
Round 11
Canberra Raiders
Westpac Stadium , Wellington
Loss
10-18
Fa'afili
Webb (1)
13,130
[10]
31 May
Round 12
Penrith Panthers
CUA Stadium , Sydney
Loss
12-34
Betham , Tony
Jones (2)
20,280
[11]
7 June
Round 13
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
23-6
Faumuina , Jones , Meli , Mellars
Jones (3 & FG)
16,172
[12]
14 June
Round 14
Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Stadium , Sydney
Loss
26-28
V.Anderson , Betham , Faumuina , Meli , Webb
Jones (2), Webb (1)
8,076
[13]
22 June
Round 15
Canberra Raiders
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
26-18
Swann (2), Tony , Toopi , Villasanti
Jones (3)
18,375
[14]
29 June
Round 16
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Sydney Football Stadium , Sydney
Win
31-30 (a.e.t )
Jones , Meli , Tony , Toopi , Webb
Jones (5 & FG)
9,109
[15]
5 July
Round 17
North Queensland Cowboys
Dairy Farmers Stadium , Townsville
Loss
10-30
Swann (2)
Jones (1)
16,028
[16]
12 July
Round 18
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
20-12
V.Anderson , Latu , Webb
Jones (4)
15,528
[17]
19 July
Round 19
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Toyota Park , Sydney
Win
31-24
Toopi (2), Murphy , Villasanti , Webb
Jones (5 & FG)
13,565
[18]
Round 20
Bye
2 August
Round 21
Melbourne Storm
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Loss
12-14
V.Anderson , Toopi
Hohaia (2)
15,207
[19]
10 August
Round 22
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Oki Jubilee Stadium , Sydney
Win
30-20
Carlaw , Hohaia , Lauiti'iti , Leuluai , Villasanti , Webb
Hohaia (3)
12,595
[20]
15 August
Round 23
Newcastle Knights
EnergyAustralia Stadium , Newcastle
Loss
20-36
Toopi (2), Meli , Villasanti
Hohaia (2)
17,198
[21]
24 August
Round 24
Brisbane Broncos
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
22-14
V.Anderson , Faumuina , Latu , Meli
Webb (3)
19,439
[22]
31 August
Round 25
Sydney Roosters
Sydney Football Stadium , Sydney
Win
26-24
Meli (2), Toopi , Villasanti
Webb (5)
18,726
[23]
6 September
Round 26
Wests Tigers
Mount Smart Stadium , Auckland
Win
32-16
Toopi (3), V.Anderson (2), Meli
Webb (4)
20,392
[24]
Final Series
Date
Round
Opponent
Venue
Result
Score
Tries
Goals
Attendance
Report
13 September
Qualifying Final
Bulldogs
Showgrounds , Sydney
Win
48 - 22
Meli (5), Webb (2), Faumuina , Tony
Webb (5), Faumuina (1)
18,312
[25]
20 September
Preliminary Final
Canberra Raiders
Sydney Football Stadium , Sydney
Win
17 - 16
Fa'afili , Swann , Toopi
Webb (2), Jones (FG)
31,616
[26]
28 September
Preliminary Final
Penrith Panthers
Telstra Stadium , Sydney
Loss
20 - 28
Swann , Toopi , Villasanti , Webb
Webb (2)
43,174
[27]
Ladder
Squad
Twenty eight players were used by the Warriors in 2003, including five players who made their first grade debuts.
Staff
Coaching Staff
Transfers
Gains
Losses
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
External links
The Club Home grounds Important figures League Seasons (30) Other competitions