1998 Auckland Warriors season
Introduction The '''1998 Auckland Warriors season''' was the  4th in the club's history. Coached by Frank Endacott and captained by Matthew Ridge, they competed in the 1998 NRL season, finishing the regular season 15th (out of 20 teams).
Milestones *'''10 April – Round 5:''' Joe Vagana plays his 50th match for the club. *'''19 April – Round 6:''' Syd Eru plays his 50th match for the club.
Jersey & Sponsors right For 1998 the Warriors again used a similar style of jersey, produced by Nike, Inc. DB Bitter remained the major sponsor while Bartercard joined as the sleeve sponsor.
Fixtures The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 1997, their only home ground since they entered the competition in 1995.===Pre-season trials===Date Round  Opponent  Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report13 FebruaryTrial 116px North Queensland CowboysEricsson Stadium, AucklandLost22 FebruaryTrial 216px Auckland selectionCarlaw Park, AucklandWin 22–428 FebruaryTrial 316px Canterbury BulldogsQueen Elizabeth II Park, ChristchurchWin20–8Ngamu, Eru, N.VaganaNgamu (4)|=== Regular season ===Date Round  Opponent  Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report13 MarchRound 1 16px South Sydney Rabbitohs Ericsson Stadium, AucklandLoss 18–24 Ngamu, Kearney  Ngamu (5)  9,50021 MarchRound 2 16px Newcastle Knights EnergyAustralia Stadium, NewcastleLoss 4–33 Hoppe   23,50327 MarchRound 3 16px Sydney City Roosters Ericsson Stadium, AucklandWin 25–14Hoppe, Jones, Seuseu, N.Vagana Ridge (4), Ngamu (FG) 9,000 4 AprilRound 4 16px St. George DragonsOki Jubilee Stadium, SydneyLoss 24–28N.Vagana (2), Ropati, Smith Ridge (4)  10,00310 AprilRound 5 16px Melbourne Storm Ericsson Stadium, AucklandWin16–12Hoppe, Jones, Tatupu Ridge (2) 14,503 19 AprilRound 6 16px North Sydney BearsNorth Sydney Oval, SydneyLoss 26–44Jones, Lauitiiti, Tatupu, N.Vagana Ridge (5)  10,94526 AprilRound 7 16px Newcastle Knights Ericsson Stadium, AucklandLoss14–38Ropati, N.Vagana Ridge (3) 7,500 2 MayRound 816px Sydney City RoostersSydney Football Stadium, Sydney Loss 4–22Oudenryn  5,3088 MayRound 9 16px Cronulla Sharks Ericsson Stadium, AucklandLoss 8–20Ropati Ridge (2) 7,500 16 MayRound 10 16px Canterbury BulldogsBelmore Sports Ground, Sydney Win 20–6Jones, Oudenryn, A.Swann Ridge (4)  5,22424 MayRound 11 16px Canberra Raiders Ericsson Stadium, AucklandWin 25–14Hoppe (2), N.Vagana (2) Ridge (4), Whittaker (FG) 8,000 30 MayRound 12 16px Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium, Sydney Loss6–14Kearney Whittaker (1) 13,218 7 JuneRound 13 16px Penrith PanthersEricsson Stadium, Auckland Win15–14Ngamu, Whittaker Ngamu (3 & FG)  7,00013 JuneRound 14 16px Western Suburbs MagpiesCampbelltown Sports Ground, Sydney Loss 16–18 Jones, Oudenryn, Jones Ngamu (2) 5,933 21 JuneRound 15 16px St. George DragonsEricsson Stadium, Auckland Win 31–14Eru, Jones, Kearney, Ropati, L.Swann Ngamu (5 & FG) 8,300 27 JuneRound 16 16px Melbourne StormOlympic Park Stadium, Melbourne Win 24–21Eru, Galuvao, Ngamu, Tatupu Ngamu (4)  13,127 4 JulyRound 17 16px Illawarra SteelersEricsson Stadium, Auckland Loss 17–14Eur, Kearney, J.Vagana Jones (1) 12,500 11 JulyRound 18 16px Gold Coast ChargersCarrara Stadium, Gold Coast Loss 18–31Endacott, Eru, Staladi Ridge (3)  5,49017 JulyRound 19 16px Balmain TigersEricsson Stadium, Auckland Win21–20Ridge, Tatupu, N.Vagana Ridge (4), Jones (FG)  6,00026 JulyRound 20 16px Adelaide RamsHindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide Loss 20–22Ridge, N.Vagana, J.Vagana Ridge (4)  7,44531 JulyRound 21 16px North Queensland CowboysEricsson Stadium, Auckland Win34–18N.Vagana (3), Iro (2), Staladi Ridge (5) 4,500 9 AugustRound 22 16px South Sydney RabbitohsSydney Football Stadium, Sydney Loss 18–20Lauitiiti (2), Seuseu Ridge (3)  3,73316 AugustRound 23 16px Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium, Brisbane Loss 4–16 Ridge (2)  16,45623 AugustRound 24 16px Manly Sea EaglesEricsson Stadium, AucklandLoss 12–38Kearney, Lauitiiti Ridge (2) 12,000 ===Kiwi Trial matches===After the National Rugby League season had finished the Warriors played in two trial matches against a New Zealand XIII. These matches acted as a trial for the New Zealand national rugby league team before the October test against Australia and the tour of Great Britain.Date Opponent  Venue Result Score Report17 September16px New Zealand XIIIRugby Park, New PlymouthWin66–423 September16px New Zealand XIIICarlaw Park, AucklandWin60–16
Ladder
Squad Twenty nine players were used by the club in 1998, including four players who made their first grade debuts.No.NameNationalityPositionWarriors DebutAppTGFGPts 3WG10 March 19951550020 6FE10 March 199517319353 11SR10 March 19952150020 12SR10 March 19951940016 13PR / LK10 March 199590000 15CE / FE10 March 19951540016 18PR18 March 1995222008 19HK28 March 19951340016 24HB23 April 19952461127 29FB / WG31 March 199620000 32CE4 April 199623130052 33SR14 April 1996100000 36CE23 June 199691004 37PR23 June 1996240000 38SR23 July 199610000 40FB1 March 1997182510110 42SR1 March 1997241004 44FE29 March 1997171004 45WG27 April 1997112008 47WG6 July 19972030012 48HB29 June 199771117 50PR16 August 1997172008 51CE13 March 1998162008 52PR13 March 1998180000 53SR13 March 1998101004 54HK13 March 199850000 55SR19 April 1998840016 56FB / CE2 May 1998111004 57PR23 August 199810000
Staff * Chief Executive Officer: Bill MacGowan===Coaching Staff===* Head Coach: Frank Endacott
Transfers ===Gains=== Player  Previous Club  Length  NotesWarrington Wolves|Warrior 1995–1996Warrington Wolves|Warrior 1996Hunter Mariners|Canberra Raiders|North Queensland Cowboys|===Losses=== Player  Club  NotesWhitehavenRetiredWigan WarriorsWigan WarriorsRetiredRetiredLondon BroncosMount Albert LionsAdelaide Rams====Mid-Season Losses==== Player  Club  NotesNorth Harbour Rugby Union
Other Teams Due to the axing of the Reserve grade competition the Auckland Warriors reserve team played in a series of matches against New Zealand Provincial sides.Date Opponent   Result Score Venue ReportMarch–April  Auckland Win 26–24 AucklandMarch–April  AucklandWin 26–24 Auckland26 April Waikato CougarsWin 54–0 Ericsson Stadium, Auckland2 May  Canterbury RedsWin 35–0 Rugby League Park, Christchurch24 May Canterbury RedsWin 38–14 Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Northland Wild BoarsWin54–12 Jubilee Park, WhangareiWaikato CougarsWin 76–0 Resthills Park, Hamilton Coastline MarinersWin 66–6 Tauranga Domain, TaurangaWest Coast ChargersWin 56–2 Ericsson Stadium, Auckland West Coast ChargersWin 46–8 Wingham Park, West CoastHawkes Bay UnicornsWin 90–10 Nelson Park, HastingsManawatu MustangsWin 32–10 Ericsson Stadium, AucklandManawatu MustangsWin 54–4 FoxtonWellington PumasWin 50–18 Ericsson Stadium, AucklandWellington PumasWin 44–10 Hutt ValleyTaranaki SharksWin 42–8 New PlymouthTaranaki SharksWin 56–10 Ericsson Stadium, AucklandAugust  Auckland Win 28–24Ericsson Stadium, Auckland
Awards Joe Vagana was the Player of the Year.
References
External links *  Warriors official site*  1998 Warriors Season at rugbyleagueproject.org