1997 Auckland Warriors season
# 1997 Auckland Warriors season

The Auckland Warriors 1997 season was the Auckland Warriors 3rd first-grade season. The club competed in Australasia's Super League. The coach of the team was John Monie until he was replaced by Frank Endacott after Round 9 while Matthew Ridge was the club's captain.

## Milestones

* 12 April - Round 7: Sean Hoppe plays his 50th match for the club.
* 19 April - Round 8: Gene Ngamu and Tea Ropati play in their 50th match for the club.
* 27 April - Round 9: Stephen Kearney plays his 50th match for the club.
* 6 July - Round 14: Stacey Jones plays his 50th match for the club.

## Jersey & Sponsors

The Warriors adopted a new jersey in 1997 that matched the Super League style used by the other nine teams in the competition. The jerseys were made by Nike, Inc.

## Fixtures

The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 1997, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 March | Round 1 | Brisbane Broncos | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 2 - 14 | | Ridge (1) | 42,361 |
| 8 March | Round 2 | Hunter Mariners | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 18 - 14 | Hoppe (2), Eru | Ridge (3) | 20,300 |
| 17 March | Round 3 | Cronulla Sharks | Shark Park, Sydney | Loss | 8 - 34 | Betts | Ridge (2) | 16,860 |
| 21 March | Round 4 | Adelaide Rams | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 12 - 16 | Jones, Tuimavave | Ellis (2) | 13,000 |
| 29 March | Round 5 | Penrith Panthers | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 16 - 14 | Betts, Hoppe, T.Ropati | Ellis (1), Ridge (1) | 19,400 |
| 7 April | Round 6 | Canberra Raiders | Bruce Stadium, Canberra | Win | 31 - 24 | Henare, Hoppe, Jones, Kearnery, I.Ropati | Ellis (5 + FG) | 15,061 |
| 12 April | Round 7 | Hunter Mariners | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Loss | 10 - 18 | Hoppe, I.Ropati | Ellis (1) | 7,719 |
| 19 April | Round 8 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 24 - 38 | Eru, Jones, I.Ropati, T.Ropati | Ellis (4) | 17,000 |
| 27 April | Round 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | Stockland Stadium, Townsville | Loss | 22 - 30 | Endacott, Hoppe, T.Ropati | Ellis (5) | 12,464 |
| 4 May | Round 10 | Brisbane Broncos | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 18 - 34 | Hoppe (2), T.Ropati | Ellis (3) | 16,471 |
| 26 May | Round 11 | Canberra Raiders | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Loss | 10 - 20 | Ellis, Ridge | Ellis (1) | 15,100 |
| 1 June | Round 12 | Western Reds | WACA Ground, Perth | Loss | 12 - 24 | Eru, Hoppe | Ngamu (2) | 10,203 |
| 6 June | WCC 1 | St Helens R.F.C. | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | Win | 42 - 14 | Hoppe (2), A.Swann (2), Jones, Kearney, T.Ropati | Ridge (7) | 8,911 |
| 14 June | WCC 2 | Bradford Bulls | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | Win | 20 - 16 | Jones, Ridge, Staladi | Ridge (4) | 13,133 |
| 23 June | WCC 3 | Warrington Wolves | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | Win | 56 - 28 | T.Ropati (4), A.Swann (2), Kearney, Ngamu, Ridge, Vagana | Ridge (8) | 4,428 |
| 29 June | Round 13 | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 22 - 26 | Eru (2), Jones, Staladi | Ngamu (3) | 4,446 |
| 6 July | Round 14 | Cronulla Sharks | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 11 - 8 | Ellis | Ridge (3), Jones (FG) | 12,568 |
| 11 July | Round 15 | Adelaide Rams | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Win | 18 - 8 | Oudenryn, T.Ropati | Ellis (3) | 13,278 |
| 18 July | WCC 4 | Bradford Bulls | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 64 - 14 | T.Ropati (3), Hoppe (2), Betts, Ellis, Eru, Ngamu, Oudenryn | Ngamu (12) | 12,500 |
| 25 July | WCC 5 | St Helens R.F.C. | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 70 - 6 | Ngamu (3), Eru (2), Hoppe (2), Oudenryn (2), Betts, Ellis, Jones | Ridge (11) | 18,354 |
| 3 August | WCC 6 | Warrington Wolves | Lancaster Park, Christchurch | Win | 16 - 4 | Eru, Jones, Kearney | Ridge (2) | 5,500 |
| 11 August | Round 16 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney | Loss | 18 - 40 | Hoppe, Oudenryn, A.Swann | Ridge (3) | 5,126 |
| 16 August | Round 17 | Western Reds | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 30 - 22 | Ridge (2), Betts, Jones, Kearney | Ridge (5) | 13,142 |
| 24 August | Round 18 | North Queensland Cowboys | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 50 - 22 | Ellis (3), Jones (2), Bailey, Hoppe, Oudenryn, A.Swann | Ngamu (7) | 12,000 |

### World Club Challenge Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 October | Qualifying Final | Bradford Bulls | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Win | 62 - 14 | Hoppe (2), Ridge (2), Ellis, Eru, Jones, Malam, Ngamu, A.Swann, L.Swann | Ridge (9) | 12,063 | |
| 10 October | Semi-final | Brisbane Broncos | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 16 - 22 | Oudenryn (2), Endacott | Ridge (2) | 9,686 | |

## Ladder

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Brisbane (P) | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 481 | 283 | +198 | 29 |
| 2 | Cronulla | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 403 | 230 | +173 | 24 |
| 3 | Canberra | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 436 | 337 | +99 | 22 |
| 4 | Canterbury | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 453 | 447 | +6 | 20 |
| 5 | Penrith | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 431 | 462 | -31 | 18 |
| 6 | Hunter | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 350 | 363 | -13 | 14 |
| 7 | Auckland | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 332 | 406 | -74 | 14 |
| 8 | Perth | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 321 | 456 | -135 | 14 |
| 9 | Adelaide | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 303 | 402 | -99 | 13 |
| 10 | North Queensland | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 328 | 452 | -124 | 12 |

* (P) - Premiers

### WCC Australasia Pool A

| Club | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Diff. | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brisbane Broncos | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 270 | 52 | 218 | 12 |
| Auckland Warriors | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 268 | 82 | 186 | 12 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 230 | 54 | 176 | 12 |
| Penrith Panthers | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 256 | 120 | 136 | 12 |
| Canberra Raiders | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 302 | 108 | 194 | 10 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 218 | 121 | 97 | 8 |

## Squad

The Warriors used 29 players in 1997, including four players making their first grade debuts.

| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Phil Blake | | FB / HK | 10 March 1995 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Sean Hoppe† | | WG | 10 March 1995 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 6 | Gene Ngamu† | | FE | 10 March 1995 | 17 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 24 |
| 10 | Hitro Okesene | | PR / HK | 10 March 1995 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Stephen Kearney† | | SR | 10 March 1995 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 | Tony Tuimavave† | / | PR / LK | 10 March 1995 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Tea Ropati† | / | CE / FE | 10 March 1995 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 18 | Joe Vagana† | / | PR | 18 March 1995 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Syd Eru† | | HK | 28 March 1995 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 24 | Stacey Jones† | | HB | 23 April 1995 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 29 |
| 28 | Denis Betts† | | SR | 4 June 1995 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 29 | Marc Ellis† | | FB / WG | 31 March 1996 | 16 | 5 | 25 | 1 | 71 |
| 30 | Mark Horo† | | PR / SR | 31 March 1996 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Awen Guttenbeil† | / | SR | 14 April 1996 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Iva Ropati | | CE | 19 April 1996 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 36 | Anthony Swann† | / | CE | 23 June 1996 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 37 | Brady Malam† | | PR | 23 June 1996 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Bryan Henare | | SR | 23 July 1996 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 40 | Matthew Ridge† | | FB | 1 March 1997 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 48 |
| 41 | Grant Young | | PR | 1 March 1997 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Logan Swann† | | SR | 1 March 1997 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Steve Buckingham | | FE | 17 March 1997 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Shane Endacott† | | FE | 29 March 1997 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 45 | Paul Staladi† | | WG | 27 April 1997 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 46 | Meti Noovao | | CE / LK | 1 June 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Lee Oudenryn† | | WG | 6 July 1997 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 48 | Aaron Whittaker | | HB | 29 June 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | David Bailey | | CE | 11 August 1997 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 50 | Jerry Seu Seu | / | PR | 16 August 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

* A cross (†) next to a name denotes that the player played in the 1997 World Club Championship.

## Staff

* Chief Executive Officer: Ian Robson, replaced by Bill MacGowan in February 1997

### Coaching Staff

* Head Coach: John Monie, replaced by Frank Endacott in late April 1997.
* Reserve Grade Coach: Frank Endacott, replaced by Gary Kemble.
* Under 19 Coach: John Ackland

## Transfers

### Gains

| Player | Previous Club | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| Matthew Ridge | Manly Sea Eagles | Had initially signed and trained with the side in 1996, until the Super League season was postponed. |
| Grant Young | South Queensland Crushers | |
| Shane Endacott | Canterbury Country Cardinals | |
| Lee Oudenryn | Gold Coast Seagulls | |

### Losses

| Player | Club |
| - | - |
| Aaron Lester | Whitehaven |
| Doc Murray | Wigan Warriors |
| Nigel Vagana | Warrington Wolves |
| Mark Carter | Auckland Rugby Football Union |
| Andy Platt | Salford City Reds |
| John Kirwan | NEC Green Rockets |
| Tony Tatupu | Warrington Wolves |
| Gavin Hill | Retired |
| Greg Alexander | Penrith Panthers |
| Richie Blackmore | Leeds Rhinos |

## Awards

Stacey Jones won the club's Player of the Year award.

## Other Teams

The Warriors fielded teams in both Super League's reserve grade and the Under-19 competition (The Mal Meninga Cup). The Reserve Grade side finished fourth and then beat Cronulla, Perth and North Queensland to make the Grand Final while the Under 19's finished the regular season as minor premiers, beating Penrith to make the Grand Final. Ultimately however both sides lost their respective Grand Finals, with the reserve grade going down 12-40 and the Under-19's losing 12–27.

### Grand Final Teams

Reserve Grade: Glen Coughlan, Iva Ropati, David Bailey, Joe Galuvao, Paul Staladi, Meti Noovao, Aaron Whittaker, Hitro Okesene, Steve Buckingham, Grant Young, Tony Tuimavave, Jerry Seu Seu, Bryan Henare. Bench: Ben Fahey, Frank Watene, Paul Rauhihi, Ricky Henry. Coach: Gary Kemble.

Under-19: Junior Lemafa, Odell Manuel, Tai Savea, Peter Lewis, Mark Fakahua, Monty Betham, Anthony Clyde, David Solomona, Lee Wetherill, Pewhairangi Jones, Kylie Leuluai, Filimone Lolohea, Ali Lauitiiti. Bench: Steve Murray, Scott Dewhurst, Fale Falemoe, Jonathan Smith. Coach: John Ackland.

