| Year: | 2006 |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 10th |
| Cup: | Challenge Cup |
| League Wins: | 12 |
| League Draws: | 0 |
| League Losses: | 12 |
| Points For: | 552 |
| Points Against: | 463 |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Wayne Scurrah |
| Coach: | Ivan Cleary |
| Assistant Coach: | John Ackland |
| Captain: | Steve Price |
| Captain2: | Ruben Wiki (4) |
| Stadium: | Ericsson Stadium |
| Avg Attendance: | 8,829 |
| Top Tries: | Brent Webb (11) |
| Top Goals: | Tony Martin (68) |
| Top Points: | Tony Martin (160) |
| Prev Season: | 2005 |
| Next Season: | 2007 |
The 2006 New Zealand Warriors season was the 12th in the club's history. The club competed in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Ivan Cleary while Steve Price was the club captain.
Before the season started the Warriors were investigated by the National Rugby League over alleged salary cap breaches committed by the team's previous administrators. The club admitted to inflating its salary cap to the tune of nearly $1 million during the 2005 season. As punishment, the National Rugby League fined the Warriors club $430,000 and stripped the team of four competition points prior to the beginning of the season. It was the first time in 99 years of rugby league in Australia that a team has started a season on less than zero premiership points.
The Warriors appealed the decision by the NRL to strip the four competition points but accepted the financial penalty. Prior to the beginning of the season, the National Rugby League confirmed that the points penalty would stand. The penalty would prove the decisive factor in the Warriors missing the finals for the third year in succession.
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors results.
The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 2006, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995. On 12 July, the stadium reverted to its original name: Mt Smart Stadium.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 February | Trial 1 | Canberra Raiders | Loss | 16 - 28 | Martin (2) | 11,000 | [1] | |||
| 18 February | Trial 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | Loss | 10 - 26 | Manu Vatuvei, George Tuakura | Martin (1) | 15,000 | |||
| 25 February | Trial 3 | Bulldogs | Win | 24 - 20 | Nathan Fien, Ruben Wiki, Tony Martin, Jerome Ropati | Martin (4) | 12,380 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 March | Round 1 | Melbourne Storm | Loss | 16 - 22 | Martin (2) | 10,035 | [2] | |||
| 18 March | Round 2 | Parramatta Eels | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Loss | 14 - 22 | Martin (3) | 16,089 | [3] | ||
| 25 March | Round 3 | Wests Tigers | AMI Stadium, Christchurch | Win | 26 - 10 | Martin (3) | 14,675 | [4] | ||
| 2 April | Round 4 | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | Win | 26 - 22 | Martin (5) | 18,359 | [5] | |||
| 9 April | Round 5 | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 8 - 22 | Martin (2) | 7,888 | [6] | |||
| 15 April | Round 6 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Loss | 14 - 18 | Martin (3) | 7,174 | [7] | ||
| 22 April | Round 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 46 - 14 | Martin (9) | 8,015 | [8] | |||
| 30 April | Round 8 | Bulldogs | Loss | 16 - 30 | Martin (4) | 11,604 | [9] | |||
| Round 9 | Bye | |||||||||
| 13 May | Round 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Illawarra | Loss | 16 - 22 | Martin (2) | 10,117 | [10] | ||
| 20 May | Round 11 | Wests Tigers | Win | 34 - 12 | Anderson, Faumuina, Mannering, Rovelli, Tuimavave, Webb | Martin (5) | 8,210 | [11] | ||
| 27 May | Round 12 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Park, Sydney | Loss | 20 - 34 | Martin (2) | 9,490 | [12] | ||
| 4 June | Round 13 | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 18 - 23 | Martin (3) | 7,746 | [13] | |||
| 11 June | Round 14 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Win | 22 - 12 | Martin (1) | 6,806 | [14] | ||
| 18 June | Round 15 | Newcastle Knights | Win | 30 - 18 | Fien (2), Faumuina, Price, Ropati | Martin (5) | 6,240 | [15] | ||
| 25 June | Round 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Telstra Stadium, Sydney | Win | 66 - 0 | Hohaia (3), Ropati (2), Webb (2), Ah Van, Mannering, Martin, Price, Tuimavave | Martin (9) | 6,597 | [16] | |
| 1 July | Round 17 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 28 - 22 | Mannering (2), Martin, Webb, Wiki | Martin (4) | 8,723 | [17] | ||
| 9 July | Round 18 | Bulldogs | Telstra Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 18 - 22 (a.e.t) | Koopu, Mannering, Vatuvei | Martin (3) | 14,076 | [18] | |
| 15 July | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | Loss | 12 - 20 | Martin (2) | 14,499 | [19] | |||
| Round 20 | Bye | |||||||||
| 29 July | Round 21 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 6 - 36 | Martin (1) | 9,725 | [20] | ||
| 5 August | Round 22 | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 12 - 10 | Martin (2) | 4,850 | [21] | |||
| 12 August | Round 23 | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 26 - 0 | Hohaia (2), Mannering, Rapira, Vatuvei | Hohaia (3) | 5,425 | [22] | ||
| 19 August | Round 24 | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne | Win | 24 - 20 | Hohaia (4) | 13,477 | [23] | ||
| 27 August | Round 25 | Sydney Roosters | Win | 42 - 16 | Hohaia (5) | 12,711 | [24] | |||
| 3 September | Round 26 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Loss | 12 - 36 | Hohaia (2) | 47,193 | [25] |
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors players.
Twenty five players were used by the Warriors in 2006, including several players who made their first grade debuts.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | SR | 14 April 1996 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 64 | CE / SR | 9 April 1999 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||
| 66 | CE | 2 May 1999 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 87 | PR | 18 February 2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 97 | FB | 1 April 2002 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 | |||
| 98 | CE / LK | 1 April 2002 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 99 | UB | 6 April 2002 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 48 | |||
| 102 | PR | 1 September 2002 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 108 | CE / FE | 31 August 2003 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |||
| 109 | CE | 14 March 2004 | 20 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 160 | |||
| 110 | SR | 14 March 2004 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 112 | LK | 28 March 2004 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 115 | WG | 23 May 2004 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 | |||
| 118 | WG | 21 August 2004 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 121 | PR | 13 March 2005 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |||
| 122 | WG | 13 March 2005 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| 123 | PR | 13 March 2005 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||
| 124 | HK | 13 March 2005 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 125 | CE | 26 June 2005 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |||
| 126 | SR | 12 March 2006 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 127 | HB | 12 March 2006 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 128 | HK | 25 March 2006 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| 129 | WG | 9 April 2006 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 130 | WG | 22 April 2006 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 131 | PR | 20 May 2006 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Previous Club | Length | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Queensland Cowboys | ||||
| Sydney Roosters | ||||
| North Queensland Cowboys |
| Player | Club | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalans Dragons | |||
| Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | |||
| St Helens R.F.C. | |||
| Wigan Warriors | |||
| Harlequins RL | |||
| Cronulla Sharks |
| Player | Club | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Villasanti | Cronulla Sharks | granted an early release on 3 May after 96 appearances for the Warriors since arriving in 2001. | |
| Clinton Toopi | Leeds Rhinos | granted an early release on 17 July. | |
| Sione Faumuina | Harlequins RL | contract terminated by the Warriors on 30 Augustafter another case of serious misconduct. |
Players not required by the Warriors were released to play in the 2006 Bartercard Cup. These included Misi Taulapapa for the Mount Albert Lions and Cooper Vuna for the Tamaki Titans. Sam Rapira and Lance Hohaia both made appearances for the Waicoa Bay Stallions while Richard Villasanti played for the Canterbury Bulls.