Saturday, 14 May 2016

1995 - The Year a Dream Became Reality

A new era in Rugby League was officially born at Ericsson Stadium on the 10th of Match against the Brisbane Broncos in front of 29,220 fans.
The team was led into battle for the first time from the tunnel, through an avenue of fire and drums by the inaugural captain, Dean Bell. With Ray "Rabbits" Warren calling the game he had the following to say as his first words as the Warriors emerged; "and here they come, Dean Bell will cherish and remember this magic moment in his Rugby League career like no other".

After trailing 10-0 early on the Warriors started to show signs that the nerves were settling and began to slip into their groove and produce the flamboyant style of Rugby League that has been accustomed to the Warriors over the years.

Auckland skipped away to a 22-10 lead heading into the final quarter of the match and the fairy tale beginning to the dream that had become a reality was within reach. Alfie Langer had other ideas though and spoiled the party by bagging himself a couple of tries towards the end of the game to lock the scores up before knocking over the field goal to put the game beyond doubt.

A lack of knowledge for the interchange rules saw the Warriors docked 2 competition points in round 3. Officials admitted to not being aware of the blood bin rules and this mistake would prove to be costly with the Warriors eventually missing out on the finals at the end of the season by 2 points. 

CEO: Ian Robson
Head Coach: John Monie

Reserve Grade Coach: Frank Endacott
Under 16 Coach: John Ackland
Under 16 Co-Coach: Brian "Bluey" McClennan

The Warriors participated in the ARL's Reserve Grade Competition that mirrored the senior draw. The reserve grade side made the top 8, finishing 8th, but lost to Penrith 14-8 in the Quarter Finals. In the Club Championship the Warriors finished 7th overall.

Player of the Year: Tea Ropati
Leading Try Scorer: Sean Hoppe (19 from 22 games)
Leading Points Scorer: Gene Ngamu (3 tries, 36/60 goals, 84 points)

1995 Record

Position: 10th
Win/Draw/Loss: 13/0/9
Points for: 538
Points Against: 501

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