In a week marked by the 30th anniversary of the club’s birth lies a tale of a largely forgotten team – literally the first Warriors side to take the field at Ericsson Stadium on that magical Friday night on March 10, 1995.
This was a team understandably overshadowed by the dramatic war-fuelled pre-game show, the cacophony of sound that greeted the arrival of Dean Bell and his players on the field and then the stunning Winfield Cup contest that followed.
Before all that another game kicked off at 6.00pm in a far more sedate atmosphere – the reserve grade match between the Auckland Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos, a game the Warriors won 36-14.
To look back at it this week is to marvel for so many reasons.
For one, and above all, the Warriors, with Kiwi coach Frank Endacott in charge, had someone in the #7 jersey who would become one of the games legends, none other than Stacey Jones.
Later, along with many players from the reserve grade lineup, he would sit on a packed interchange bench for the Winfield Cup match but ultimately wasn’t called up. At that time, first-grade teams were selected with two fresh reserves while two more players could be selected from those who had played 40 minutes or more in the reserve grade game.
Two of them, Martin Moana (pictured above) and 1993 Kiwi Jason Mackie, were both used by John Monie in the first-grade battle.
Every one of the starting pack had played or would play for the Kiwis – props Joe Vagana and Simon Angell, hooker Syd Eru, second rowers Willie Poching – the captain – and Mackie plus loose forward Logan Edwards.
In the backline Jones made his Kiwi debut later that year, centre Mike Dorreen was a Kiwi in 1994 and fullback Peter Edwards in 1993.
Former Kangaroo Paul Hauff was at fullback for the Broncos, future Kiwi and Kangaroo Tonie Carroll in the centres and legend in the making Shane Webcke in the second row. A number of others went on to first-grade careers, most notably Terry Matterson.
Then for some real gold, check Brisbane’s reserves – Anthony Seibold. He was at Ericsson Stadium on opening night and now he’s back 30 years on coaching the Sea Eagles.
For the record, Eru scored two tries in the Warriors’ win with Solomon Kiri, Moana, Poching and Mackie scoring one each and Jones converting all six tries.
Brett Galea, Brett Green and John Driscoll scored Brisbane’s tries with Leo Dynevor converting one.
