Since their debut in the NRL, formerly known as the Australian Rugby League Premiership back in 1995, the New Zealand Warriors have been home to many legends of the game, prompting former coach Tony Kemp to discuss his top five of all time.
As the team approaches 30 years in the competition, they have been a part of many memorable moments, including two grand final appearances in 2002 and 2011, against the Sydney Roosters and Manly Sea Eagles successively.
However, Kemp reveals that across different generations, multiple players have stood out to him as being worthy of the Warriors' list of all-time greats, while others have narrowly missed out on a place in his top five.
“Phil Blake, Greg Alexander, Dean Bell, they were all outstanding players, but they don’t hit my best,” he said on SENZ's The Run Home.
“I’ve sort of had a look around, and have broken it down into the spine, the edges and the middle.
“I think probably the two best fullbacks we have had were Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Brent Webb, and I think Roger makes my top five.”
Tuivasa-Sheck joined the Warriors team in 2016, and went on to be their captain from 2017-2021, in which time he received several accolades for his performance as a fullback and a leader.
With three Dally M awards to his name, including being the outright Dally M winner in 2018, as well as the Rugby League World Golden Boot Award in 2019, and NZRL Kiwis Player of the Year in 2017, Tuivasa-Sheck is an undeniable choice in Kemp’s all-time top five.
“On the edges, I went for Ali Lauiti’iti, I think he’s the best player that we let go in his prime, we never saw the best of him and I think we would’ve won a trophy if we had kept him here.
“Simon Mannering is the other edge player I’ve got up there, he just missed out.”
Mannering was an exceptional captain for the Warriors, guiding them into their second grand final in 2011 and leading from the front with an outstanding work ethic and enviable statistics, however it was Lauiti’iti that Kemp felt was the biggest loss for the Warriors.
“He’s a legend,” he said.
“Ali was in his prime when we let him go, he went over to England and won everything over there, that’s what we missed out on.
“I honestly think that if we could’ve kept Ali, we could’ve won the competition.
“Then when you go to the middle, and we have had some great middles with Pricey (Steve Price), Joe Vagana, he was a man-mountain, but for it goes to Kevin Campion.
“He would be the first guy I would choose in any team, and Michael Luck is the same type of player, but if I had to go with one, it would be Campo.”
With only two spots left, Kemp couldn’t look past the legends that are Ruben Wiki and Stacey Jones, who were both integral to the Warriors in their early playing days, with Jones going on to be a successful coach for the Junior Warriors, as well as becoming the assistant coach to Nathan Brown.
“If you don’t have Ruben in your team you’ve got rocks in your head,” Kemp said.
“I remember my first grade game as a coach was against Canberra, and we had three blokes suspended for spear tackling Ruben.
“My whole focus that week was on him, we actually got that game but we didn’t get any others after that because they were all suspended.”
“Ruben is great, he holds the most games as a Kiwi captain, you’ve got to have him in there.”
Reminiscing on the days before Stacey was a household name for league fans across the nation, Kemp recalls going down to watch a game in Newcastle, where Stacey Jones and fellow Warriors legend Awen Guttenbeil were competing in an under 18’s competition.
“He was just a little kid, with so much speed to burn,” he said.
“I remember looking at him and thinking, man that kid is really good.
“The next time I saw him was when Frank (Endacott) named him in the first Test against Tonga where he took the jersey from Gary Freeman.
“I remember running out with him and just thinking, man this kid has just got it.”
While Jones’ achievements over the years speak for themselves, Kemp believes it is also his character beyond the game that makes him the best player in the top five, with everything that he has done for the club and as a person making him an inspiration to current and future players within the club.
“The difference with Stace was that he was so good, for so long, and a really good bloke as well,” he said.
“He’s the same guy today. All of this fame hasn’t changed Stace one bit, and that’s why everyone loves him.”