Touch Football /

The NRL Touch Premiership, created in 2018, initially featured six clubs before being expanded to eight in 2019 with the Warriors and the Sydney Roosters coming on board to boost the season to 26 games.

The other six clubs involved are the Brisbane Broncos, Parramatta Eels, Gold Coast Titans, Wests Tigers, North Queensland Cowboys and Newcastle Knights.

The introduction of two Warriors teams is a joint venture between Touch New Zealand and the Vodafone Warriors.

Vodafone Warriors CEO Cameron George said joining the NRL Touch Premiership enabled the club to appeal to a new audience and add to the game day experience.

“Our aim is to engage and entertain as many people as possible at our games and significantly grow our fan base. Not everyone can play contact sport so our partnership with Touch New Zealand is really important as it now provides a pathway for touch footy players to play in the NRL at the elite level for the Warriors. It’s really fantastic for New Zealand.”

Touch New Zealand general manager sports operations Micheal King said the code is thrilled to have New Zealand touch players having the opportunity to compete on the NRL stage and represent the Vodafone Warriors.

Player Kris Middleton said: “It’s been a long time coming for touch to enjoy the exposure it’s getting from the NRLTP. It’s not only good for those in the teams but for touch itself and the future of touch in New Zealand. “

Both the men’s and women’s sides made a good first impression in their inaugural season winning their first games against fellow newcomers the Roosters at Mount Smart Stadium on May 5 with the men prevailing 8-7 and women 10-5.

The Warriors were also at home for their second set of games against the Wests Tigers on May 25.5th of May. The men lost a close encounter 5-6 while the women had a good 8-7 win.

The first away games of the season saw the Warriors travel to Australia’s Gold Coast to play the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium on June 2. The men had a tough loss against a strong Titans side, going down 5-11 while the women had a very close game, eventually going down 4-5.

Back home on June 30, the men triumphed 8-6 against the Parramatta Eels but the women came up against the competition-leading Eels and went down 2-9.

In their fifth outings, the men edged Brisbane 8-7 to hold a spot in the top four with one game to go until the finals while the women lost 4-6.

2019 NRL TOUCH PREMIERSHIP

WARRIORS MEN

• Michael Cavanagh (replaced by Josh Quinn)
• Mita Graham
• Ifor Jones
• Pokaiaua Kurukaanga
• Sean Law
• Tiaan McIntyre
• Danyon Morgan-Puterangi (replaced by Kristopher Middleton)
• Awa Morris
• Andy Bergin
• Ashton Robinson (replaced by Tiwi Davis)
• Carlos Savage
• Matthew Sinclair
• Finlay Barnett
• Maurice Stone
• Shaquille Stone

Head coach: Rahul Das

Results

v Sydney Roosters | Won 8-7

v Wests Tigers | Lost 5-6

v Gold Coast Titans | Lost 5-11

v Parramatta Eels | Won 8-6

v Brisbane Broncos | Won 8-7

 

WARRIORS WOMEN’S SQUAD

• Tay-a Antonievic
• Savarna Asafo-Tavita
• Charlotte Davis
• Nicole Drummond
• Princess Elliot
• Jaymie Kolose
• Hayley Lee
• Jessica Mahar
• Isla Norman-Bell
• Victoria Pone
• Janelle Cavanagh
• Meg Sycamore
• Ariia Tainui-McIntyre
• Codie Taute
• Dayna Turnbull

Head Coach: Leana Fox

Results

v Sydney Roosters | Won 10-5

v Wests Tigers | Won 8-7

v Gold Coast Titans | Lost 4-5

v Parramatta Eels | Lost 2-9

v Brisbane Broncos | Lost 4-6