NRL: Warriors aim to represent whole nation

Lewis Brown of the Warriors runs in for a try against the Brisbane Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium. Photo / Getty Images

They will be hoping to capture the nation's attention and affection as they embark on another finals campaign - but just how New Zealand are the Warriors?

Sure, they changed their name from Auckland almost a decade ago, but are they really a team worthy of a national identity and following? Or are they just a bunch of Aucklanders with a (good) few Aussies thrown in?

It depends how you look at it. They might play in Auckland, but the Warriors' player roster is hardly chock full of Jafas. Of the 27 used in first grade this season, just eight were born in Auckland.

Eight were born in Australia, one is Tongan and one born in England.

The remaining nine are from Kiwi backwaters such as Huntly, Levin and Christchurch.

With the likes of Lewis Brown (Christchurch), Ben Matulino and Alehana Mara (Wellington) and Russell Packer (Levin) filtering through to join captain Simon Mannering (Napier/Nelson) and Lance Hohaia (Huntly), the club's core talent is increasingly representative of the nation.

That is no accident, says chief executive Wayne Scurrah.

"The direction of our development and recruitment reflects what we think about the team's position in the country," he says.

"We don't see ourselves as the national team. We respect the Kiwis' place as that, but we certainly see ourselves as the national team in the NRL. We want to represent all Kiwis, both here and residing in Australia. And a lot of our development has been about developing outside of Auckland."

Recruitment manager Dean Bell has established a national scouting network, while the club also plans to hold more trials outside Auckland.

Considering Auckland's position as the powerbase of the game in this country, its contribution is, if anything, a bit on the light side. Fringe prop Upu Poching and young backrower Sione Lousi are the only Auckland-born forwards in the senior ranks.

Part of the reason is undoubtedly the high quota of Australians at the club. While Scurrah and coach Ivan Cleary want to make the club as Kiwi as possible, the reality is that, under Cleary, the number of Australians has been at historically high levels.

In the inaugural 1991 season there were just two Aussies, Greg Alexander and Phil Blake (Manoa Thompson was Fijiian).

In Cleary's first season (2006) the number was nine.

The following year it peaked at 11, and it has bounced between 11 and 10 ever since. In fairness to Cleary, he has to balance a long-term desire to field more Kiwis with the need for results.

History suggests relying too heavily on local talent hasn't worked. Throughout the club's first five seasons, when it had a maximum of five foreigners on its books, the finals were a pipe dream.

When it first cracked the finals in 2001 - coincidentally the year the club changed its name from Auckland to New Zealand - there were nine Aussies in the ranks.

In 2002, the likes of Kevin Campion, PJ Marsh and Cleary were key figures in the club's most successful season, when they took out the minor premiership and reached the grand final.

With Cleary as coach, the side has now qualified for the finals in three out of the last five seasons. Had it not been for a points deduction in 2006, it would have been four out of five. Only powerhouses such as Manly, the Dragons, the Storm and the Broncos have done better.

"We are a proud Kiwi club, but you have got to recruit according to your needs," says Bell.

"If you need more Aussie players because the succession line of Kiwi players is not good enough, then you have to do that."

The success of Aussie halves Brett Seymour and James Maloney this year is a classic case in point. But there are signs the reliance on imports may be waning.

With stalwart Micheal Luck injured, just four of the 17 players who thrashed Brisbane last Friday night were Australians. Next year, with Steve Price retiring, Brent Tate leaving and Feleti Mateo coming in, there will be just eight Aussies on the books.

Now in its third year, the club's NYC programme is producing a conveyor belt of NRL-quality talent. After a strong U20s campaign, the Warriors are on the brink of sealing the NRL's club championship - awarded to the club that tops a combined first grade and NYC ladder.

On 65 points heading into the final round, the Warriors are two clear of the Sydney Roosters and require just one win.

Although Newcastle-bound centre Siuatonga Likiliki was the only player named in the NYC team of the year, the Warriors' system is stacked with talent.

"There has always been a development system at the Warriors, but with the development of the U20s there is now a genuine pathway," Bell says. "We should see the benefits of that with more New Zealand players coming through into the NRL team."

It's not just the Warriors who are loading up on local talent. The Roosters' first-grade squad contains six Kiwis, with seven more in the club's NYC ranks. The Storm have eight Kiwi first-graders and seven juniors, while Newcastle and Brisbane both recruit heavily from New Zealand.

While Auckland remains the home of the Warriors, the rest of the country may be about to see a lot more of them.

The success of this season's match between the Roosters and Warriors in Christchurch, which pulled a crowd of more than 20,000 despite atrocious weather, paves the way for more clubs to bring their home matches to New Zealand.

Next season could see three Warriors matches played outside Auckland. The Roosters appear likely to return to Christchurch, Cronulla will host a match in Taupo and a third club is expected to follow suit.

After a season of largely below-budget gates, the Warriors are also exploring the possibility of moving some home games out of Auckland, or at least away from Mt Smart.

While it might not be popular with club members, playing occasionally at a redeveloped Eden Park is seen as a way to open matches to a new audience.

"We have a commitment to our members to play the majority of our games at Mt Smart," Scurrah says, "but we also have an obligation to be able to grow the game around the country."