Then-Prime Minister Helen Clark congratulates Ruben Wiki after the NRL semi final between the Warriors and the Sydney Roosters in 2008. Photo / Getty Images
Then-Prime Minister Helen Clark congratulates Ruben Wiki after the NRL semi final between the Warriors and the Sydney Roosters in 2008. Photo / Getty Images
The Warriors defied all expectation this season. They have earned themselves a home playoff for the first time since 2008 against the Newcastle Knights this Saturday. Ruben Wiki joined The Big League Podcast to have a look back 15 years.
Everywhere Ruben Wiki goes this week, the memories will comeflooding back.
The former Warriors captain isn’t one to seek the limelight but it has been hard to avoid over the last few days.
The first home final in 15 seasons has prompted plenty of nostalgia, as people cast back to the last playoff match at Mt Smart in 2008.
And what a game it was, one of the most memorable in Warriors’ history, as they overwhelmed the Sydney Roosters 30-13 to progress to the preliminary final.
Wiki was already a cult figure – for his deeds across the previous three seasons – but his legend was enhanced with a brutal charge into Kiwis’ teammate Iosia Soliola in the second half, which ended the loose forward’s night. That moment sent an already feverish atmosphere sky high among the sell out crowd.
“Across the whole buildup, there was a lot of hype,” Wiki tells The Big League podcast. “We had the black jerseys, the old school Puma and the crowd got right behind us. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take one off the back fence and lead the way.”
The Warriors trailed 13-6 at halftime but were unstoppable after the break, helped by a seething cauldron inside Mt Smart, bringing back memories of the rugged atmosphere at Carlaw Park in the 1980s.
“Going into halftime we believed in what [coach] Ivan [Cleary] had planned for us and everyone stuck to it,” said Wiki. “They did their job and the crowd got behind us. Sia had been smashing everybody so it was just like ‘mate, stop being a bully’. I had to return the favour.”
The physical impact of the collision – at full speed – was frightening, a true ‘what did I just see moment’ and the Roosters never really recovered. It was a special night and YouTube highlights and archived articles don’t quite do justice to the feeling at the Penrose venue.
Former Warriors' captain Ruben Wiki. Photo / Getty Images
The 2008 season was the mid point of the Warriors’ second great era, after the Daniel Anderson-inspired success between 2001-2003. But it didn’t feel that way in late June, after a 20-14 home loss to Manly in front of 7,000 people. It was their seventh defeat in nine games, leaving them 13th. But they embarked on a remarkable run – with eight wins from their last 10 games – booking eighth spot with their last round win in Parramatta.
That felt like a booby prize, with a trip to Melbourne. What came next still defies belief, as the Storm – featuring Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater, Greg Inglish and Israel Folau – along with Kiwis stars Adam Blair and Jeremy Smith – were beaten, thanks to a 77th minute long range try, finished off by Michael Witt. It was the first time in NRL history that the eighth placed team had beaten the minor premiers and was arguably the greatest upset in NRL finals history.
That set the scene for the Roosters clash. The Bondi team had finished fourth in the regular season but were swimming against the tide, with the Herald Supersport cover summing up the feeling. It depicted Wiki on a KFC bucket – labelled Mt Smart Fried Chook – with the sub heading promising ‘Warriors ready for a feed’.
Supersport cover from September 19, 2008.
Wiki had become a central focus. He was 35-years-old – and had become the first New Zealander to achieve 300 NRL games earlier in the season. Aware of his impending retirement, the team’s mid-season charge was partly inspired by the desire to give him the best possible farewell.
“It was a great night for it, everything bought into the hype of it,” said Wiki. “It could have been my last game, it was just endless, so we kept on believing.”
“I wanted to do my job for the team. It was an up and down season, they wanted me to retire and I didn’t want to retire. I wanted to finish on my own terms, there was a lot of politics, as happens to the older dinosaurs of the team.”
That match is brought up regularly, especially around this time of year.
Then-Prime Minister Helen Clark congratulates Ruben Wiki after the NRL semi final between the Warriors and the Sydney Roosters in 2008. Photo / Getty Images
“[People] remember that night vividly and all these highlights going across social media,” laughs Wiki. “I feel sorry for my buddy; I’m trying to get it out of my memory but it always keeps coming back up when they talk about finals footy.”
The Warriors’ first home final came in 2002, with a comfortable 36-20 win over the Canberra Raiders, with Stacey Jones and a returning Ali Lauiti’iti to the fore, before their preliminary final in Sydney two weeks later.
The run to the 2003 preliminary final was all across the Tasman – with successive games against the Bulldogs, Canberra and Penrith in Sydney – before a three year finals hiatus.
That was snapped in 2007, when the Warriors finished fourth to earn a home final against fifth placed Parramatta. The Friday night fixture drew a huge 28,000 crowd – the biggest since 1995 – but the match was an anti-climax, as the Warriors were edged 12-10, before they were knocked out the following week in Townsville.
But they made amends the following year, with tries to Ian Henderson, Aidan Kirk, Manu Vatuvei and a double to Lance Hohaia, in a match that will always be part of club folklore.
“It’s pretty surreal,” admits Wiki. “You look back and man, time has flown but the way the boys are playing there is great hype around the town.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has reported on the Warriors and the NRL for more than a decade.
