The Warriors’ rivalry with the Broncos kicked off via an epic contest in their 1995 premiership debut. Competition between the two clubs has consequently held a special place in the Auckland-based club’s narrative ever since, and has produced many thrillers, brutal encounters and memorable blowouts.
Overall record: Played 47 – Brisbane won 26, Warriors won 20, draws 1; Brisbane scored 996 points, Warriors scored 920 points.
Biggest wins: Brisbane – 44-6 at QEII Stadium, 1995; Warriors – 56-18 at Suncorp Stadium, 2013.
Longest winning streaks: Brisbane – 9 matches (1995-2000); Warriors – 4 matches (2002-03).
Finals: Played 1 – Brisbane won 1.
Most appearances: Darren Lockyer (Brisbane) – 25; Corey Parker (Brisbane) – 24; Simon Mannering (Warriors) – 23; Alex Glenn (Brisbane) – 22; Sam Thaiday (Brisbane) – 21; Petero Civoniceva (Brisbane) – 17; Stacey Jones (Warriors) – 17; Josh McGuire (Brisbane) – 17; Manu Vatuvei (Warriors) – 17.
Most tries: Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane and Warriors) – 9; Michael De Vere (Brisbane) – 9; Francis Meli (Warriors) – 7; Manu Vatuvei (Warriors) – 7; Darren Lockyer (Brisbane) – 6; Wendell Sailor (Brisbane) – 6.
Most points: Shaun Johnson (Warriors) – 99; Michael De Vere (Brisbane) – 88; Corey Parker (Brisbane) – 82; James Maloney (Warriors) – 56; Darren Lockyer (Brisbane) – 55; Stacey Jones (Warriors) – 43.
1995-2000 – Broncos unbeatable after maiden classic
Round 1, 1995 – Warriors come up just short in thrilling premiership entrance
The Auckland Warriors’ feverishly-anticipated premiership debut met all expectations, but the match-winning class of Allan Langer was the key factor in Brisbane’s pulsating 25-22 win in front of 29,220 rabid fans at Ericsson Stadium. International three-quarters Willie Carne and Chris Johns propelled the visitors to a 10-0 lead after 15 minutes, before veteran fullback Phil Blake netted the Warriors’ first-ever try five minutes later – a cracking touchdown featuring brilliant work from Manoa Thompson and Whetu Taewa. Subsequent tries to Sean Hoppe, Tony Tatupu and Tea Ropati had the Auckland crowd in raptures, their team leading the heavyweight Broncos 22-10, 10 minutes into the second half. Two quick-fire individual tries by Langer, who had a point to prove after being deposed from the Test team by Ricky Stuart on the ’94 Kangaroo Tour, evened the scoreboard, however, and Julian O’Neill edged the Broncos to victory with a penalty and a field goal – but not before withstanding a furious Warriors attacking foray in the dying seconds.
The Warriors voyaged to Brisbane for the first time in the last round of their debut season, needing a victory to snare a finals berth. But their hopes were dashed by a red-hot Broncos side, pummelled 44-6 as Steve Renouf ran in four tries. The match attracted the Broncos’ biggest home crowd of the season at QEII Stadium – 54,645.
The clubs were drawn to play each other in the opening round of 1996 as the Super League-ARL battle waged on. All rebel clubs forfeited their Round 1 matches – with the exception of the Warriors, who were prepared to send a team of players from the domestic Lion Red Cup competition in the Super League-aligned stars’ stead. The Broncos stood by their decision to forfeit, and Auckland picked up the easiest two premiership points imaginable. The Warriors again headed into the final round with a slim chance of a top-eight spot if they could topple the Broncos, but they were subjected to a 38-6 hiding at home.
Brisbane and Auckland kicked off the 1997 Super League premiership at QEII Stadium, a lacklustre 14-2 win to the hosts, while the Broncos cruised to a 34-18 victory in the return clash at Ericsson two months later. Those results – and the teams’ comparative performances that year – offered no indication of the epic struggle that was to unfold in the maligned World Club Challenge competition’s knockout stages.
Super League World Club Challenge Semi-Final, 1997 – Broncos outlast gallant Warriors
Rank disappointments in the Super League premiership, Auckland produced its best performance of the year in a courageous loss to dominant champs Brisbane in the semi-final of the World Club Challenge. The high-profile clubs produced the finest match of the unpopular tournament – and one of most intense contests of the Super League season – despite the paltry 9,686 turnout in Brisbane. Halfback Ben Walker, deputising for Allan Langer, scored two tries for the Broncos to cancel out Warriors winger Lee Oudenryn’s double as the home side turned a 10-all halftime scoreline into a 22-16 victory.
Despite their ever-worsening plight on and off the field during the late-1990s, the Warriors regularly saved some of their best efforts for perennially high-flying Broncos, but still remained winless in the rivalry at the end of 2000 after nine premiership meetings.
2001-03 – Reborn Warriors break Broncos bogey
The Warriors came of age in 2001, and they used a landmark victory over defending premiers Brisbane as a springboard. A Stacey Jones field goal seven minutes from fulltime proved the difference in a 13-12 triumph in Auckland – the Warriors’ maiden win over the Broncos. Coach Daniel Anderson described the victory as a “big psychological breakthrough”, while the club qualified for its belated first finals series that season. Rugged forward Kevin Campion had joined the Warriors after featuring in the Broncos’ 2000 grand final success and co-captained the Warriors with Jones in the win over his former club.
The Warriors’ burgeoning status was helped along by two wins over the Broncos in the second half of 2002. Cairns junior Brent Webb, who spurned the Broncos to take up a contract in Auckland, scored a scintillating double off the bench in his ninth NRL appearance to spearhead a 26-16 win in Round 16 as the Warriors broke their duck in Brisbane.
In Round 23, the Warriors’ irresistible attacking flair and newfound defensive steel set up an 18-4 victory at Ericsson as they surged towards the minor premiership. Campion memorably decked former Brisbane and Queensland teammate (and renowned tough guy) Shane Webcke during a play-the-ball altercation.
The Warriors’ physicality and unstoppable adlib play caused further problems for the Broncos in 2003, chalking up back-to-back victories for the second straight season. Enigmatic winger Francis Meli ran riot in an early-season win at QEII Stadium, scoring a freakish first half double before setting up Queensland Origin hooker PJ Marsh for a long-range try in an emphatic 32-12 result that was capped by Sione Faumuina’s audacious no-look overhead pass for Evarn Tuimavave to dot down.
Round 24, 2003 – Warriors prevail in brutal Auckland showdown
NRL contenders the Warriors and Brisbane produced arguably the most physical and fiery clash of 2003 as the clubs desperately jostled for finals spots. Richard Villasanti set the tone early with a thunderous hit that left Australian Test prop Shane Webcke dazed, while Warriors pair Monty Betham and Wairangi Koopu, and Broncos duo Casey McGuire and Carl Webb, were despatched to the sin-bin later in the first half following a wild brawl that saw noted pugilist Betham pummel diminutive utility McGuire. Brent Tate was stretchered off with a season-ending shoulder injury after being ironed out by Francis Meli. But when the fireworks settled, the Warriors were too strong, turning a 4-all halftime deadlock into an important 22-14 victory to leapfrog the Broncos into sixth spot.
2004-11 – Remarkable ebb and flow as rivalry blossoms
The Warriors-Broncos rivalry settled into a fascinating pattern, with one side winning two games then the other winning two games, and so on, for the next eight seasons. Auckland-born 17-year-old Karmichael Hunt made his first-grade debut in the fullback spot vacated by Darren Lockyer in a 28-20 opening-round thriller in 2004 as the Broncos broke a four-match losing streak against the New Zealanders. Another Auckland product, Broncos utility Greg Eastwood, returned home to burn the Warriors with two tries off the bench in a hard-fought 23-18 win in 2006.
Although they were well out of top-eight contention, the Warriors downed the front-running Broncos twice in 2005. They also won sole clashes in 2007 and ’08 as they returned to contender status. The Warriors achieved a major coup midway through ’07, trumpeting the signing of Brisbane’s representative stalwart Brent Tate on a three-year deal. After a strong first-up year in Auckland, however, Tate suffered a season-ending knee injury against his former club just three weeks into the 2009 premiership.
But Tate starred as the Warriors subjected Brisbane to two embarrassing defeats in 2010. Unheralded half James Maloney chalked up a club record-equalling 28 points from three tries and eight goals in the Warriors’ stunning 48-16 win in Round 3 – the highest score ever conceded by the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium at the time.
On the penultimate weekend of the regular season, the Warriors produced an astounding exhibition of wet-weather football at Mt Smart in a 36-4 rout, effectively consigning the Broncos to their first non-finals finish since 1991.
Round 22, 2011 – Broncos pip Warriors in late-season gem
A late Peter Wallace field goal thrust Brisbane to a heart-stopping 21-20 victory over the ever-dangerous Warriors in one of 2011’s best matches at Suncorp Stadium. Broncos talisman Darren Lockyer set up fellow veteran Justin Hodges for the first try in just the fifth minute, but rookie Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson – making just his eighth NRL appearance – responded with the arguably the individual try of the year, a searing 75-metre effort. Fullback Kevin Locke finished off an equally stunning four-pointer after a James Maloney chip-and-chase to set up a 12-4 lead, delighting the large Kiwi contingent in the crowd, but the home side ran in three unanswered tries to craft their own eight-point advantage. Former Broncos star Shaun Berrigan, who linked with the Warriors in 2011 after three seasons at Hull, plunged over at his old home ground to narrow the gap and Maloney equalised with a penalty. Johnson’s long-range 77th-minute field goal attempt fell agonisingly under the cross-bar, before Wallace’s 21-metre snap with 100 seconds left sealed the win.
Qualifying final, 2011 – Broncos spank error-riddled Warriors
Little more than a month after their classic encounter at the same ground, Brisbane walloped the woefully inept Warriors 40-10 in a qualifying final mismatch in front of 48,943 supporters at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos were in irresistible touch, posting the first four tries of the match to lead 24-0. A brief second-half rally – featuring back-to-back tries to Feleti Mateo and Manu Vatuvei – briefly raised hopes of a miracle comeback, but it was quickly doused by three Broncos tries inside the final 10 minutes. Vatuvei’s unfortunate performance typified the Warriors’ night, making five handling errors as the Broncos relentlessly targeted the erratic wing powerhouse.
2012-14 – Warriors get traction
The Warriors crafted an impressive 30-20 win at home in 2012, before the Broncos snapped the two-win, two-loss sequence with a gripping 10-8 victory later that season as the Warriors tumbled down the ladder. After starting the following campaign in disastrous fashion – winning just three of their first 11 games – the Warriors returned to form in an incredible away win in Brisbane.
Round 12, 2013 – Warriors rocket back to prominence in record road romp
The previously out-of-form Warriors emphatically announced their 2013 campaign was not dead and buried, destroying an Origin-depleted Broncos side 56-18 in a spectacular Monday night display. Glen Fisiiahi, Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei and Thomas Leuluai each bagged doubles in the 10-try drubbing, which featured the Warriors at their unstoppable offensive best. Both of Leuluai’s first-half tries came from backing up remarkable kick-and-regather efforts, by Feleti Mateo and Kevin Locke respectively, while Vatuvei’s 75-metre runaway try just after halftime was arguably the highlight. Burly prop Russell Packer also scored from close range, but attracted more attention for urinating on the field prior to kick-off in what would be his second-last appearance for the club before an ill-fated move to Newcastle. Two late Warriors tries saw the overpowered Broncos concede 50 points at home for the first time in their history.
The match was also notable for the debut of the famous ‘Lets Gone Warriors’ sign, which has enjoyed a niche in club folklore ever since – despite its appalling grammar.
A dramatic 95-metre intercept try by Hurrell in the 71st minute snatched an 18-16 win at Mt Smart four weeks later, while they chalked up a tough 19-10 win at the same venue midway through 2014. Just four weeks separated the keen rivals’ return clash once again, with the Ben Hunt and Dale Copley-inspired Broncos grabbing a momentous 28-22 upset at home.
Three Broncos players had been dumped in the lead-up for an ill-advised midweek drinking session, but the embattled hosts overturned an early 12-0 deficit to run out deserving winners – largely thanks to Copley’s brilliant second-half double.
The Round 19 result proved crucial to teams’ respective finals hopes; the Broncos scraped into eighth spot courtesy of a for-and-against figure a mere 13 points superior to that of the ninth-placed Warriors.
In December 2014, a 20th anniversary match between the Warriors and Broncos at Mt Smart was announced for Round 4 of the 2015 premiership. But it was ultimately a tough day for New Zealand sports fans – the Warriors’ 24-16 loss preceded the Black Caps’ crushing defeat to Australia in the Cricket World Cup final at the MCG.
The Broncos powered to a 25-10 home win over an injury-hit Warriors side early in 2016, but a trademark mid-season revival by the Auckland-based club kicked off with a rampant 36-18 victory over the Origin-weary Broncos highlighted by a dazzling David Fusitu’a double.
After a highly-rated stint as assistant coach with Brisbane, 1995 original Stephen Kearney returned to the Warriors as coach in 2017. The Broncos were missing their Origin stars when they crashed to a 28-10 loss in Auckland that season.
But the Broncos chalked up just their second win in nine visits to Mount Smart in Round 6 of 2018, prevailing 27-18 to end the Warriors’ stunning unbeaten start to the season. Rookie Kiwi winger Jamayne Isaako scored 18 points for the Broncos from two tries and five goals.
The Warriors put on one of their finest exhibitions of the season at Suncorp Stadium, however, with Issac Luke, Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck magnificent in a 26-6 romp.
The Broncos prevailed 8-2 in a Mt Smart slugfest in Round 11 this year, after the teams were locked 2-all at halftime.
Anthony Milford scored the only try of the match in the 59th minute.
The teams met just seven weeks later at Suncorp Stadium and played out a remarkable 18-all draw. The Warriors coughed up a 16-6 halftime lead but showed character to stay in the contest and force golden point after being on the receiving end of some tough calls.
In a herculean performance that also saw him go agonisingly close to producing a couple of match-winning tries, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck broke the NRL’s all-time record for most running metres in a game with 368.
The COVID-jettisoned Warriors enjoyed their first win under interim coach Todd Payten in Round 8 of the 2020 season, a 26-16 result in Gosford with soon-to-depart half Blake Green and huge engine-room efforts from Tohu Harris and Adam Blair crucial. Ken Maumalo picked up a double in a big second-half display.
The languishing Broncos grabbed a 24-22 win in a 2021 late-season thriller at Suncorp that proved a hammer blow to the Warriors’ razor-thin finals hopes.
In his second game back in Warriors colours, Shaun Johnson steered the Warriors to a clinical 20-6 victory over the improving Broncos early in the 2022 campaign, while Addin Fonua-Blake was a monster up front and Broncos loan player Jesse Arthars scored two tries against the club he would rejoin at the end of the year.
The reborn Warriors went into their mid-2023 clash with an Origin-depleted Broncos outfit in Napier as warm favourites, but in one of their patchiest displays of the season they found themselves 26-10 down with eight minutes left.
In a thrilling finish – amid frequent pitch-invader interruptions – the Warriors scored two late tries and appeared to nab a last-gasp equaliser, only for Adam Pompey to be pinged for grab an opponent’s jersey and hand the gutsy Broncos a 26-22 win.
Individual rivalries
Allan Langer v Stacey Jones: ‘Alfie’ was established as one of the all-time great halfbacks when teenaged rookie Stacey Jones burst onto the premiership scene in 1995. The brilliant, instinct-driven linchpins waged several memorable battles, but Langer came out on top in all 10 of their meetings – for Brisbane, Super League Queensland, Super League Australia and the Australian Test side – prior to his shock retirement in 1999. Langer’s return for one last NRL season in 2002 gave Jones an opportunity to finally get one up on the old master, which he did in the Warriors’ watershed 26-16 victory in Brisbane, prior to winning that year’s Golden Boot award.
THEY PLAYED FOR BOTH CLUBS
Kevin Campion: Former Gold Coast, St George and Adelaide journeyman Campion won premierships with the Broncos in 1998 and 2000, before joining the Warriors. He was a key factor in the Warriors’ rise to credibility, helping the club to its maiden finals series in 2001 and a landmark grand final appearance the following season – consequently becoming just the fourth player ever to play in deciders for three different clubs. The tough, versatile forward played four Origins for Queensland during his two-year stint in Auckland and finished his career with the Cowboys.
Motu Tony: Livewire utility Tony made his NRL debut for the Warriors and his Test debut for the Kiwis in 2001, and featured at five-eighth in the club’s watershed grand final appearance the following season after scoring a memorable try in the previous week’s prelim triumph. After scoring 23 tries in 55 games for the Warriors, Tony became the first ex-Warriors player to turn out for the Broncos, but his stint in Brisbane garnered just three games in 2004. He went on to play for Castleford, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity in Super League, finishing with 13 Test appearances for New Zealand.
Brent Tate: The courageous Tate, who overcame multiple serious injuries to carve out an admirable and decorated career, played 114 games for the Broncos and featured in the club’s 2006 premiership triumph. He linked with the Warriors in 2008 for three seasons, becoming just their third Australian Test player, before joining the Cowboys and enjoying a remarkable representative renaissance until yet another season-ending knee injury brought the curtain down on his career in 2014.
PJ Marsh: Gladstone (Qld) product Marsh emerged as a livewire half/hooker for Parramatta in 2000, playing 34 NRL games in two seasons. After featuring in the Eels’ 2001 grand final loss, Marsh joined the Warriors and helped spearhead the club’s drive to the ’02 grand final, as well as breaking into the Queensland Origin side. But the brilliant dummy-half suffered a career-threatening neck injury midway through 2003, halting his Warriors tenure at 35 games. Marsh returned to the Eels in 2005 and extended his appearances tally for the club to 108, before earning a surprise Origin recall in 2008 while at the Broncos. After 15 first grade games for the Broncos, Marsh’s NRL career wound up in 2009.
Denan Kemp: After debuting for the Broncos in 2007, elusive winger Kemp enjoyed a stunning breakout year in ’08 with 19 tries in 24 games – including a four-try haul and the last-second match-winner in an unforgettable win over Parramatta. Kemp joined the Warriors for the following season but he was unable to recapture that form, departing after only 10 appearances and just one try, though he did land a clutch conversion to sink defending premiers Manly early in the year. He rejoined the Broncos for 2010 and scored the winning try in their season-opening defeat of the Cowboys, but injuries derailed his campaign and he played his last NRL game before his 23rd birthday. Kemp now runs the highly successful video podcast series The Locker Room.
Joel Moon: Versatile back Moon played 31 games for the Broncos from 2006-08 before being snapped up by the Warriors. A regular at centre or five-eighth, Caloundra-born Moon played 51 games for the Warriors to the end of 2011, and has spent the past six seasons with Leeds Rhinos after a bridging year with Salford City.
Brett Seymour: Regarded as Allan Langer’s heir apparent after debuting for the Broncos as a 17-year-old in 2002, injuries dictated that classy halfback Seymour played just 62 first grade games for the club before linking with Cronulla in 2007. Seymour played 22 games for the Warriors in 2010-11, then joined Super League club Hull FC.
Shaun Berrigan: One of the great utilities, former Test centre and Origin half Berrigan won the Clive Churchill Medal at hooker in the Broncos’ 2006 grand final victory. After 188 games for Brisbane, 15 Origins for Queensland and 14 Tests for Australia, Berrigan spent three years in England with Hull, but returned to the NRL with the Warriors in 2011. He managed 19 games, but slipped out of first grade contention late in the season and missed the club’s charge to the grand final, joining Canberra the following season.
Nathan Friend: Toowoomba product Friend made his NRL debut in the famous Origin-depleted ‘Baby Broncos’ defeat of Wests Tigers in 2002 under Brisbane assistant coach Craig Bellamy – which would ultimately prove his only top grade appearance for the club – before joining Bellamy at Melbourne in 2003. The hooker played 34 games across four seasons, culminating in an appearance off the bench in the Storm’s 2006 grand final loss. A mainstay during the Titans’ first five seasons, Friend joined the Warriors in 2012 and played 86 games in four years – including a club record 72 starts at hooker – a stint perhaps best remembered for his freakish upside-down pass against the Storm that won the Headline Moment of the Year at the 2015 Dally Ms. Friend finished an admirable 242-game career back at the Titans in 2016.
Todd Lowrie: A highly-rated member of Melbourne’s 2012 grand final side, former Newcastle and Parramatta lock Lowrie played 64 games for the Storm before heading to the Warriors in 2013. The move lasted just one season, however, seeking a compassionate release to join the Broncos after 21 games in Warriors colours. The Scone-born workhorse played 18 games for the Broncos in 2014.
James Gavet: Bruising forward Gavet made a solitary appearance for Canterbury in 2012, and arrived at the Warriors via stints at Wests Tigers and Brisbane, with a season-ending injury restricting him to just one game for the latter. Gavet made 10 first grade appearances and made his Test debut for Samoa during 2016, then established himself as a permanent member of the Warriors’ pack in 2017. He played 42 first-grade games for the Warriors before linking with Newcastle in 2019. Gavet returned to the Warriors via their NSW Cup side in 2023.
Adam Blair: Northland product Blair became a grand final winner and Kiwi Test regular during six seasons at the Storm, before joining the Tigers for an ill-fated three-season stay in 2012 that saw him losing his New Zealand jumper and become one of the NRL’s most maligned players. But he regained his international spot at the end of 2014, just before linking with Brisbane. The enforcer played 74 games for the Broncos from 2015-17 – including a grand final loss in his first season at the club – before signing a deal to join the Warriors. Featuring prominently in the Warriors’ return to the finals in 2018, Blair helped lead the club through the arduous, COVID-impacted 2020 campaign before hanging up the boots. His 331 NRL appearances since debuting in 2006 – a record for a non-Australian since overtaken by Benji Marshall – included 74 for the Warriors. Blair extended his Kiwis record to 51 Tests, captaining a disastrous World Cup campaign at the end of 2017 and holding his spot throughout 2018-19. He is currently the Warriors’ SG Ball coach.
Gerard Beale: Brisbane-born Beale made his NRL debut with the Broncos in 2009 and broke into the Kiwis side two years later. After 63 games for the Broncos, the versatile back had two seasons with St George Illawarra then joined Cronulla in 2015 and played 70 games across three seasons – including the 2016 grand final triumph. The veteran of 11 Tests for New Zealand signed with the Warriors ahead of the 2018 season but a broken leg suffered during the previous year’s World Cup delayed his start with his new club. Beale played 32 games in three seasons with the Warriors – largely called upon as an injury fill-in – before finishing his career back at the Dragons in 2021.
Kodi Nikorima: Palmerston North-born Aspley junior Nikorima was the star of the Broncos’ NYC side that went down to the Warriors in the 2014 grand final. Twelve months later, he was coming off the bench in an NRL decider for Brisbane and being handed a Kiwis debut by Stephen Kearney. But after 86 games for the Broncos, the livewire half/hooker fell out of favour and accepted a deal to join the Warriors midway through 2019. Nikorima, already a veteran of 15 Tests, was one of the Warriors’ best in 2020 but it was ultimately a mixed stint and after 59 games for the club he switched to Souths midway through 2022 before becoming a foundation player for the Dolphins.
Issac Luke: Brilliant former South Sydney hooker Luke linked with the Warriors in 2016. After a patchy first couple of seasons back in his homeland, ‘Bully’ was at the forefront of the Warriors’ 2018 charge and finished in the Dally M Medal top 10. The 43-Test Kiwi fell out of favour during an injury- and suspension-tinged 2019, leaving unwanted after 83 games and joining St George Illawarra. Luke played just three games in the Red V before taking up a mid-2020 offer to join the injury-plagued Broncos, who he turned out for in 12 top-grade matches to take his NRL career tally to 286 games before retiring aged 33.
Sean O’Sullivan: The half made a tryscoring debut for the Roosters in 2018 before heading to Brisbane for two seasons, playing eight NRL games for the Broncos. The son of Warriors recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan, he linked with the club in 2021 and made a sparkling club debut extraordinary comeback against Canberra. After 12 games for the Warriors he proved a handy back-up at Penrith in 2022 and became the fledgling Dolphins’ foundation halfback.
Matt Lodge: Controversial ex-Tigers prop Matt Lodge left the Broncos, who he played 65 games for after being thrown a 2018 lifeline, for the Warriors midway through 2021. He provided outstanding on-field value for the jettisoned club in 14 games but a falling-out with club owner Mark Robinson during 2022 resulted in an abrupt mid-season exit to the Roosters. Lodge played nine games for the finals-bound but injury-ravaged heavyweights, leading to an extension with the Bondi-based outfit.
Ashley Taylor: Gifted half Taylor played one NRL game for the Broncos in 2015 before being snapped up by the Titans and collecting the 2016 Dally M Rookie of the Year award. Struggling to build on that brilliant campaign, Taylor eventually left the Gold Coast for the Warriors in 2022 but managed only one game for the club before a hip injury forced him into retirement at just 27.
Jesse Arthars: Former Titan Arthars linked with the Broncos in 2020 and played 17 first-grade games across two seasons at wing and centre. He joined the Warriors on loan in 2022 and scored five tries in 12 top-grade appearances before returning to Brisbane, where he has managed eight tries in 19 games in 2023 and forced his way onto a wing for their finals campaign.
Dunamis Lui: Former NYC star Lui played 32 NRL games for the Broncos from 2010-13 before embarking on short stints with Manly and St George Illawarra. Five seasons at Canberra garnered a grand final appearance in 2019 and an Origin jersey for Queensland in 2020, while he joined the Warriors midway through 2022 and played four first-grade games for the embattled side.
Te Maire Martin: Waikato product Martin was an NYC gun for Wests Tigers but made his NRL debut at Penrith – breaking through for a Kiwis debut after just six first-grade games in 2016 – before switching to North Queensland midway through 2017 as an injury replacement for Johnathan Thurston. The five-eighth played a key role in the Cowboys’ remarkable run from eighth spot to that year’s grand final. A brain bleed discovered in 2019 saw Martin retire at just 23, but he eventually returned to the field in the relatively anonymity of the Waikato club competition and eventually to the NRL with Brisbane in 2022, making 13 impressive appearances at fullback. He was a prized signing for the Warriors for 2023 and immediately became an integral part of their line-up at five-eighth, but a fractured leg suffered in Round 6 put him on the sidelines for two months before he returned in time for the club’s finals run.
Reece Walsh: Controversially allowed to leave the Broncos early in 2021, brilliant 18-year-old Walsh made an immediate and spectacular impact in the NRL with the Warriors. He scored nine tries in 16 games at five-eighth and fullback amid countless highlights during his rookie campaign, while he was a wholehearted performer in 22 of the struggling outfit’s 24 games in 2022. Granted a release to return to Brisbane on compassionate grounds, Walsh was at the forefront of the Broncos early-2023 surge missed the clash with his former club in Napier due to being called up to make his debut for Queensland in the State of Origin series opener. Starred for the Maroons (despite being sent off in the dying stages of the second clash) and rivalled Shaun Johnson as the NRL’s standout player of the season.
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