2023 New Zealand Warriors season
NRL rugby league season
Avg. attendance
← 2022 | List of seasons | 2024 → |
The 2023 New Zealand Warriors season is the 29th in the club's history. They are competing in the National Rugby League's 2023 Telstra Premiership. The Captain Tohu Harris retains his club role for the 3rd consecutive season and Head Coach Andrew Webster joins to coach the club for the 2023 NRL Season.
Player Movement
These movements happened across the previous season, off-season and pre-season.[1]
Gains
Player/Coach | Previous Club | Length | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Marata Niukore | Parramatta Eels | 2026 | [2] |
Luke Metcalf | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2024 | [3] |
Dylan Walker | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 2025 | [4] |
Mitchell Barnett | Newcastle Knights | 2025 | [5] |
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Canberra Raiders | 2025 | [6] |
Te Maire Martin | Brisbane Broncos | 2025 | [7] |
Jackson Ford | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2024 | [8] |
Brayden Wiliame | USA Perpignan | 2024 | [9] |
Losses
Player/Coach | New Club | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Euan Aitken | Dolphins | [10] |
Reece Walsh | Brisbane Broncos | [11] |
Eliesa Katoa | Melbourne Storm | [12] |
Aaron Pene | Melbourne Storm | [13] |
Jack Murchie | Parramatta Eels | [14] |
Ben Murdoch-Masila | St. George Illawarra Dragons | [15] |
Taniela Otukolo | Redcliffe Dolphins | [16] |
Otukinekina Kepu | Redcliffe Dolphins | [16] |
Pre-Season Challenge
The Warriors played two pre-season matches.[17]
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, 9 February | Trial 1 | ![]() | Mount Smart Stadium | 48 – 12 | Marcelo Montoya (3) Viliami Vailea (2) Jackson Ford Luke Metcalf Moala Graham-Taufa Solomon Vasuvulagi | Luke Metcalf (3/5) Viliami Vailea (1/1) Edien Ackland (2/3) | 4,000 |
Sunday, 19 February | Trial 2 | ![]() | Orangetheory Stadium | 6 – 24 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Shaun Johnson (1/1) | 11,817 |
Regular Season
Source:[18]
League table
| ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
1 | ![]() | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42 |
2 | ![]() | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42 |
3 | ![]() | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38 |
4 | ![]() | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38 |
5 | ![]() | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35 |
6 | ![]() | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34 |
7 | ![]() | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32 |
8 | ![]() | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32 |
9 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30 |
10 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30 |
11 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30 |
12 | ![]() | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29 |
13 | ![]() | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24 |
14 | ![]() | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24 |
15 | ![]() | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20 |
16 | ![]() | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16 |
17 | ![]() | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 385 | 675 | −290 | 14 |
Matches
Finals
Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||||
9 Sept – BlueBet Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||
1 | ![]() | 32 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | ![]() | 6 | 16 Sept – Go Media Stadium Mt. Smart | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | 40 | ||||||||||||||||||
10 Sept – McDonald Jones Stadium | ![]() | 10 | 22 Sept – Accor Stadium | ||||||||||||||||
5 | ![]() | 30 | ![]() | 38 | |||||||||||||||
8 | ![]() | 28 | ![]() | 4 | 1 Oct – Accor Stadium | ||||||||||||||
![]() | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||
9 Sept – PointsBet Stadium | 23 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | ![]() | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | ![]() | 12 | ![]() | 42 | |||||||||||||||
7 | ![]() | 13 | 15 Sept – AAMI Park | ![]() | 12 | ||||||||||||||
![]() | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
8 Sept – Suncorp Stadium | ![]() | 13 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | ![]() | 26 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | ![]() | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Matches
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 9 September | Qualifying Final | ![]() | BlueBet Stadium | 32-6 | Wayde Egan 56' | Adam Pompey (1/1) | 21,525 |
Saturday, 16 September | Semi Final | ![]() | Go Media Stadium | 40-10 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 1' Addin Fonua-Blake 6' Marcelo Montoya 11' Dylan Walker 46' Rocco Berry 59' Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 63' Bailey Sironen 75' | Adam Pompey (6/7) Dylan Walker (0/1) FG | 26,083 |
Saturday, 23 September | Preliminary Final | ![]() | Suncorp Stadium | 52,273 |
Squad
Top 30 squad - 2024 NRL season | Supplementary list | Coaching staff | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Extended squad
| Head coach
Assistant coaches
Updated: 6 November 2023 |
Debutants
Player | Round | Opponent | Cap Number | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mitchell Barnett | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #273 | Club Debut |
Jackson Ford | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #274 | Club Debut |
Te Maire Martin | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #275 | Club Debut |
Marata Niukore | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #276 | Club Debut |
Dylan Walker | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #277 | Club Debut |
Brayden Wiliame | Round 1 | Newcastle Knights | #278 | Club Debut |
Taine Tuaupiki | Round 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | #279 | NRL Debut |
Demitric Sifakula | Round 9 | Sydney Roosters | #280 | NRL Debut |
Luke Metcalf | Round 13 | Brisbane Broncos | #281 | Club Debut |
Ali Leiataua | Round 15 | Canberra Raiders | #282 | NRL Debut |
Milestones
Player | Round | Opponent | Milestone |
---|---|---|---|
Shaun Johnson | Round 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 250th NRL Game |
Tohu Harris | Round 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 100th Club Game |
Jackson Ford | Round 21 | Canberra Raiders | 50th NRL Game |
Shaun Johnson | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 200th Club Game |
Dylan Walker | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 200th NRL Game |
Addin Fonua-Blake | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 150th NRL Game |
Wayde Egan | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | 100th NRL Game |
Joshua Curran | Round 17 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 50th Club Game |
Joshua Curran | Round 15 | Canberra Raiders | 50th NRL Game |
Marcelo Montoya | Round 10 | Penrith Panthers | 100th NRL Game |
Shaun Johnson | Round 6 | Newcastle Knights | 1000 Club Points |
Marata Niukore | Round 4 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 100th NRL Game |
Tohu Harris | Round 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 200th NRL Game |
Club Awards
Player | Award |
---|---|
Shaun Johnson | Simon Mannering Medal (Player of the year), Players' Player, Peoples Choice |
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Clubman of the year |
Taine Tuaupiki | Rookie of the year |
Kalani Going | NSW Cup Player of the year |
Ronald Volkman | NSW Cup Players' Player |
Ali Leiataua | NSW Cup Man of the year |
Demitric Sifakula | NSW Cup Man of the year |
Dally M Awards
Player | Award |
---|---|
Shaun Johnson | Dally M Halfback of the year, RLPA Dream team Halfback, RLPA Players' Champion (Player of the year) |
Andrew Webster | Dally M Coach of the year |
Addin Fonua-Blake | Dally M Prop of the year, VB Hard Earned Player of the year, RLPA Dream team Prop |
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Dally M Winger of the year, RLPA Dream team Winger |
Statistics
Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Tries | Try Assists | Goals | Goal Kicking Percentage | Field Goals | Points | Runs | Run Metres | Line Breaks | Tackle Breaks | Offloads | Kicks | Kick Metres | Tackles | Missed Tackles | Errors | Penalties | Sin Bins | Send Offs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bunty Afoa | 20 | 15 | 592 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 4 | 124 | 1,006 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 399 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Tom Ale | 18 | 1 | 443 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 4 | 131 | 1,104 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 254 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Mitch Barnett | 11 | 9 | 646 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 0 | 8 | 157 | 1,309 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 305 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
Rocco Berry | 12 | 12 | 848 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | 0 | 8 | 84 | 789 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Josh Curran | 19 | 5 | 891 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 16 | 120 | 949 | 5 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 416 | 42 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Addin Fonua-Blake | 23 | 23 | 1,378 | 8 | 3 | 0 | - | 0 | 32 | 379 | 3,618 | 8 | 65 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 567 | 25 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Tohu Harris | 20 | 20 | 1,363 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | 0 | 12 | 243 | 2,047 | 4 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 714 | 45 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Shaun Johnson | 23 | 23 | 1,821 | 8 | 30 | 71 | 79% | 2 | 176 | 71 | 579 | 9 | 40 | 8 | 383 | 11,863 | 405 | 37 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 17 | 17 | 1,349 | 21 | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | 84 | 252 | 2,313 | 21 | 67 | 15 | 4 | 54 | 50 | 24 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
References
- ^ "2023 Warriors Signings". NRL.com. 3 March 2023.
- ^ Lewis, Brad (11 November 2021). "Rugby league: NZ Warriors recruit Parramatta Eels second-rower Marata Niukore for 2023 NRL season". Newshub. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Burgess, Michael (15 November 2021). "NRL: Warriors land second recruitment target Luke Metcalf from the Cronulla Sharks". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Pengilly, Adam (2 March 2022). "Dylan Walker to join the Warriors after signing second contract since grand final". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Long, David (26 January 2023). "Moving to Warriors from Knights takes Mitch Barnett out of comfort zone". Stuff. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Powell, Alex (14 September 2022). "NRL 2022: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad aims to turn NZ Warriors into title contenders in 2023 return". Newshub. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "NRL 2022: Kiwis half Te Maire Martin signs three-year deal with NZ Warriors". Newshub. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "NRL: Warriors 'thrilled' to snap up Dragons back rower Jackson Ford". The New Zealand Herald. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Powell, Alex (8 March 2023). "NRL: NZ Warriors newcomer Brayden Wiliame paying back coach Andrew Webster's faith after unlikely switch from France". Newshub. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Dual threat Aitken adds versatility to Dolphins squad". Dolphins. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "NRL: Warriors fullback Reece Walsh signs three-year deal with Brisbane Broncos from 2023". The New Zealand Herald. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Long, David (8 August 2022). "Eliesa Katoa to leave Warriors for Melbourne Storm next season". Stuff. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Gabor, Martin (12 October 2022). "Storm continues signing spree by landing Warriors big man". News.com.au. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Proszenko, Adrian (16 February 2023). "How Michael Cronin steered Jack Murchie to the Parramatta Eels". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ St John, Mark (1 January 2023). "Dragons lock up former Warriors prop on multi-year deal: NRL Transfer Centre". Fox Sports. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ a b St John, Mark; Jackson, Andrew (21 January 2023). "'He has a real presence': Kevvie hands veteran lifeline; NRL's worst-kept secret confirmed: Transfer Centre". Fox Sports. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "2023 NRL Pre-Season Challenge". NRL.com. 3 March 2023.
- ^ "2023 NRL Regular Season/Telstra Premiership". NRL.com. 3 March 2023.
External links
- Website for the New Zealand Warriors