| Year: | 2008 |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 8th |
| Cup: | Challenge Cup |
| League Wins: | 15 |
| League Draws: | 0 |
| League Losses: | 12 |
| Points For: | 502 |
| Points Against: | 567 |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Wayne Scurrah |
| Coach: | Ivan Cleary |
| Assistant Coach: | John Ackland |
| Captain: | Steve Price |
| Captain2: | Micheal Luck Ruben Wiki |
| Stadium: | Mt Smart Stadium |
| Avg Attendance: | 12,528 |
| Top Tries: | Manu Vatuvei (16) |
| Top Goals: | Michael Witt (59) |
| Top Points: | Michael Witt (138) |
| Prev Season: | 2007 |
| Next Season: | 2009 |
The New Zealand Warriors 2008 season was the New Zealand Warriors 14th first-grade season. The club competed in Australasia's National Rugby League. The coach of the team was Ivan Cleary while Steve Price was the club's captain.
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors results. The Warriors used Mt Smart Stadium as their home ground in 2008, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 February | Trial 1 | Newcastle Knights | Loss | 14–22 | Witt (1) | 9,000 | [1] | |||
| 23 February | Trial 2 | Auckland Vulcans | Win | 50–0 | Witt (7) | |||||
| 29 February | Trial 3 | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 16–24 | Witt (2) | 8,040 |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September | Qualifying Final | Melbourne Storm | Win | 18–15 | Witt (3) | 15,193 | ||||
| 19 September | Semi Final | Sydney Roosters | Win | 30–13 | Hohaia (2), Henderson, Kirk, Vatuvei | Witt (5) | 25,585 | |||
| 27 September | Preliminary Final | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 6–32 | Hohaia (1) | 32,095 |
See also: List of New Zealand Warriors players. Twenty Six players played for the club in 2008. Eight players made their debut for the club, including five who were also making their first grade debuts.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Warriors Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | SR | 1 March 1997 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 64 | CE / SR | 9 April 1999 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 99 | UB | 6 April 2002 | 26 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 78 | |||
| 102 | PR | 1 September 2002 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| 108 | CE / FE | 31 August 2003 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |||
| 110 | /  | SR | 14 March 2004 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 115 | WG | 23 May 2004 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 | |||
| 121 | PR | 13 March 2005 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 123 | PR | 13 March 2005 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 124 | HK | 13 March 2005 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 125 | CE | 26 June 2005 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |||
| 126 | SR | 12 March 2006 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||
| 127 | HB | 12 March 2006 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 129 | WG | 9 April 2006 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 24 | |||
| 131 | PR | 20 May 2006 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||
| 132 | FB | 17 March 2007 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||
| 133 | WG | 17 March 2007 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||
| 134 | FE | 17 March 2007 | 18 | 5 | 59 | 0 | 138 | |||
| 136 | FB / CE | 17 March 2008 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |||
| 137 | CE | 17 March 2008 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 138 | HK | 23 March 2008 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |||
| 139 | SR | 23 March 2008 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |||
| 140 | CE | 6 April 2008 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||
| 141 | PR | 4 May 2008 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 142 | SR | 14 June 2008 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 143 | WG | 29 June 2008 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Player | Previous Club | Length | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Tate | Brisbane Broncos | |||
| Ian Henderson | Bradford Bulls | |||
| Ryan Shortland | Melbourne Storm |
| Player | Club | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Gatis | Huddersfield Giants | ||
| Todd Byrne | Hull | ||
| Louis Anderson | Warrington Wolves | ||
| Tony Martin | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
In 2008 the Junior Warriors competed in the new Under 20's competition, the Toyota Cup, while Senior players who were not required for the first team played with the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup. The Auckland Vulcans were coached by Bernie Perenara. Wayne McDade was named the Vulcans player of the year with Aaron Heremaia as the runner up and Pita Godinet as the Rookie of the year.[3]
See also: 2008 NRL Under-20s season. The Junior Warriors finished third in the Toyota Cup, making the finals before losing to the Brisbane Broncos in a Preliminary Final. Both Russell Packer and Ben Matulino were named in the Toyota Cup's team of the year.
Simon Mannering won the Player of the Year award.[4]