| Year: | 2002 |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 1st |
| Cup: | Challenge Cup |
| League Wins: | 17 |
| League Draws: | 0 |
| League Losses: | 7 |
| Points For: | 688 |
| Points Against: | 454 |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Mick Watson |
| Coach: | Daniel Anderson |
| Assistant Coach: | Tony Kemp |
| Captain: | Stacey Jones |
| Captain2: | Ivan Cleary Monty Betham |
| Stadium: | Ericsson Stadium |
| Avg Attendance: | 16,529 |
| Top Tries: | Clinton Toopi (18) |
| Top Goals: | Ivan Cleary (105) |
| Top Points: | Ivan Cleary (242) |
| Prev Season: | 2001 |
| Next Season: | 2003 |
The New Zealand Warriors 2002 season was the New Zealand Warriors 8th first-grade season. The club competed in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Daniel Anderson while Stacey Jones was the club captain. The club finished the year as minor premiers and made the grand final for the first time, however they were defeated 30–8 by the Sydney Roosters.
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors results.
The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 2002, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 February | Cronulla Sharks | Jade Stadium, Christchurch | Draw | 30–30 | http://www.rugbyleague.co.nz/game.aspx?id=1732 | ||||
| 24 February | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Carlaw Park, Auckland | Win | 24–20 | Guttenbeil, Campion, Villasanti, Faumuina | Cleary (4) | 14,000 | http://www.rugbyleague.co.nz/game.aspx?id=1731 | |
| 9 March | West Auckland Cowboys | Waitakere Stadium, Auckland | Win | 66–24 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=1190909http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=1190655 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 September | Qualifying Final | Canberra Raiders | Win | 36–20 | Cleary (6) | 25,800 | http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/NRL_2002/Qualifying_Final/Warriors-vs-Canberra/summary.html | |||
| Semi Final | Bye | |||||||||
| 29 September | Preliminary Final | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 16–10 | Carlaw, Tony, Toopi | Cleary (2) | 45,702 | http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/NRL_2002/Prelim_Final/Warriors-vs-Sharks/summary.html |
See main article: 2002 NRL Grand Final.
| Sydney | Position | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| WG | Justin Murphy | |
| CE | Clinton Toopi | |
| Francis Meli | ||
| Brad Fittler (C) | ||
| Stacey Jones (C) | ||
| PR | Jerry Seu Seu | |
| PJ Marsh | ||
| Mark Tookey | ||
| SR | Ali Lauiti'iti | |
| Awen Guttenbeil | ||
| LK | Kevin Campion | |
| Bench | Lance Hohaia | |
| Bench | Logan Swann | |
| Bench | Wairangi Koopu | |
| Bench | Richard Villasanti | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | |
First Half
In the 23rd minute, Sydney opened the scoring with a try to Shannon Hegarty with Craig Fitzgibbon converting taking Sydney to a 6–0 lead. Not long after, Ivan Cleary got New Zealand on the board with a penalty goal making the score 6–2, which remained that scoreline until halftime.
Second Half
In the 46th minute, New Zealand took the lead for the first time through a Stacey Jones try and an Ivan Cleary conversion taking the scoreline to 8–6. Approaching the 60th minute, Sydney regained the lead with Craig Wing scoring the try and Craig Fitgibbon converting another to make the score 12–8 after a spectacular 40/20 kick from Sydney captain Brad Fittler. In the last 15 minutes Craig Fitzgibbon, Chris Flannery and Bryan Fletcher scored tries for Sydney with Craig Fizgibbon converting all three to take Sydney to a 30–8 win. By winning the grand final the Roosters also received A$400,000 in prize money.
| width=100 | 30 | width=200 | Sydney Roosters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tries | Hegarty, Wing, Fitzgibbon, Flannery, Fletcher | ||
| Goals | Fitzgibbon 5/5 | ||
| Field Goals | |||
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | ||
| Tries | Jones | ||
| Goals | Cleary 2/2 | ||
| Field Goals | |||
Craig Fitzgibbon
When They Scored
23rd Minute: Sydney 6–0 (Hegarty try; Fitzgibbon goal)
29th Minute: Sydney 6–2 (Cleary goal)
46th Minute: New Zealand 8–6 (Jones try; Cleary goal)
58th Minute: Sydney 12–8 (Wing try; Fitzgibbon goal)
65th Minute: Sydney 18–8 (Fitzgibbon try; Fitzgibbon goal)
71st Minute: Sydney 24–8 (Flannery try; Fitzgibbon goal)
75th Minute: Sydney 30–8 (Fletcher try; Fitzgibbon goal)
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors players.
Twenty-nine players were used by the Warriors in 2002, including six players who made their first grade debuts.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | HB | 23 April 1995 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 49 | |||
| 33 | /  | SR | 14 April 1996 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 42 | SR | 1 March 1997 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| 50 | /  | PR | 16 August 1997 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 55 | / | SR | 19 April 1998 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 | ||
| 61 | / | HK / LK | 8 March 1999 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 64 | CE / SR | 9 April 1999 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||
| 65 | / | WG | 2 May 1999 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 66 | CE | 2 May 1999 | 26 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 72 | |||
| 73 | FB / CE | 6 February 2000 | 26 | 8 | 105 | 0 | 242 | |||
| 76 | PR | 6 February 2000 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||
| 77 | CE | 14 February 2000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 80 | CE | 18 March 2000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 81 | / | WG | 26 March 2000 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | ||
| 86 | / | LK | 18 February 2001 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 87 | / | PR | 18 February 2001 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 88 | PR | 25 February 2001 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| 90 | / | UH | 9 March 2001 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 92 | WG | 7 April 2001 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 93 | / | PR | 1 June 2001 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 95 | CE | 24 March 2002 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | |||
| 96 | HB / HK | 24 March 2002 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 97 | FB | 1 April 2002 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |||
| 98 | CE / LK | 1 April 2002 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||
| 99 | UB | 6 April 2002 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 36 | |||
| 100 | / | CE | 7 July 2002 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 101 | FE / LK | 21 July 2002 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 102 | PR | 1 September 2002 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 103 | PR / SR | 6 September 2002 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Club | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retired | |||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||
| Barrow Raiders | |||
| Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | |||
| Retired |
Players not required by the Warriors were released to play in the 2002 Bartercard Cup. This included Iafeta Paleaaesina and Karl Temata for the Hibiscus Coast Raiders, Sione Faumuina for the Glenora Bears, Evarn Tuimavave for the Marist-Richmond Brothers, Vinnie Anderson for the Mount Albert Lions, Jeremiah Pai for the Otahuhu Leopards, Logan Swann for the Eastern Tornadoes and Henry Fa'afili and Lance Hohaia for the Manurewa Marlins.
Ali Lauiti'iti won the club's Player of the Year award.[3]