Second rower Ryan Hoffman spoke to Vodafone Warriors TV about his first season with the club after a 245-game NRL career with the Melbourne Storm.
He reflected on the challenges, about young players who impressed him, what the club needs to improve and his impressions of living in New Zealand.
The 31-year-old arrived in Auckland boasting premiership success with the Storm, a State of Origin series win with New South Wales, Wigan’s Challenge Cup triumph in 2011 and Melbourne’s victory in the World Club Challenge in 2013.
He started his first year with the Vodafone Warriors impressively, initially in the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines and the trials before beginning the NRL season outstandingly.
He scored a try in each of his first three games of the season, immediately forging a potent back row combination with captain Simon Mannering and fellow newcomer Bodene Thompson.
Hoffman’s 250th NRL career appearance coincided with his new club’s fifth-round clash against his old Melbourne team-mates.
He went on to retain his place for the Blues in the 2015 Origin series, performing superbly in the first two matches only to be forced off the field with a calf injury early in the decider. It was a setback which impacted significantly on the Vodafone Warriors with Hoffman forced to miss five games before returning for the final four matches of the year.
It meant he ended his year with only 18 games, the fewest number of appearances he had made in a season since 2010.
Hoffman averaged 108 metres, 13 runs and 20 tackles a game; as a comparison his average numbers for Melbourne in 2014 were very similar – 112 metres, 13 runs and 24 tackles.
RYAN HOFFMAN | 2015 NRL STATS
Games | 18
Points | 12
Tries | 3
Total runs | 229
Total metres | 1937
Average runs per game | 12.7
Average metres per game | 107.6
Line breaks | 3
Tackle breaks | 30
Off loads | 17
Decoy runs | 97
Support runs | 102
Total tackles | 360
Average tackles per game | 20
Watch a collection of Hoffman's 2015 highlights in the video below.
