NRL: Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors top 20 players of all time
In our series on your team’s Top 20 since 1980, we rank some of the great names from the Newcastle Knights and New Zealand Warriors. Both have some amazing players for both clubs but one real standout.
Warriors
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From Joey, Bedsy, Chief and Butts – the Newcastle Knights have produced some of rugby league’s biggest names since entering the comp in 1988.
After their glorious premiership years in 1997 and 2001 the Novocastrians have struggled in the last decade, with a hat-trick of wooden spoons and just two finals appearances in the 2010s.
But through the good times and the bad, the club has always had some of the games best and toughest players to see them through, including the eighth rugby league Immortal.
While Joey Johns is a standout at the top of this list, the Knights have produced some of rugby leagues best ever, with second and third spots tough to split.
Here is our list of the Knights’ finest stars in order from the best.
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1: Andrew Johns
Two premierships, three Dally Ms, two Golden Boots, Immortal status and dominant records on the Origin and Test stage.
Beyond his resume, though, Johns had the sharpest footy mind, always thinking two plays ahead of everyone while he could tackle like a backrower.
Joey will be forever remembered for his 1997 grand final heroics when he set up the matchwinning try while playing with a punctured lung.
2: Danny Buderus
‘Bedsy’ typifies Newcastle’s ‘Be the player other people want to play with” motto. Tough, reliable and determined, Buderus was the ultimate teammate.
He also added to Andrew Johns’ game with his pinpoint passing and decision-making.
Throw in the 2001 premiership, a Dally M medal in 2004 and enormous success for State and Country and the boy from Taree is a red and blue legend.
3: Paul Harragon
The ‘Chief’ will forever have a fond place in Newcastle fan’s hearts. The big man captained the Knights to the club’s first premiership in 1997. He personified Newcastle’s hardworking culture with his fearless and inspirational leadership, on and off the field.
4: Robbie O’Davis
Two premierships, a Clive Churchill medal, 223 games, including 78 tries and 43 goals.
Robbie ‘O’ played his entire first grade career at the Knights to become a fan favourite with his silky skills and speed from fullback.
5: Ben Kennedy
Kennedy only spent five seasons at Newcastle, but he made a significant impact on the club with his work ethic and winning attitude.
‘BK’ gave the Knights a brutal edge in the forwards, which led to successful seasons including a premiership in 2001.
6: Matthew Johns
Matty’s skill and record at the highest level often gets overlooked because of his Immortal younger brother, Joey, but you can’t deny his legendary status in a red and blue jumper.
He played an influential role in creating success at the Knights in the mid-90s, capped off in 1997 with the club’s maiden premiership.
7: Tony Butterfield
Big ‘Butts’ was literally a giant for Newcastle in a stellar career. He joined the Knights in the club’s inaugural season in 1988 and went on to play 229 games, including a premiership in 1997.
8: Bill Peden
Former Blues coach Phil Gould once famously said, ‘give me 13 Billy Pedens and I’ll win you an Origin series 3-0’. Never a truer word has been said. Underrated yet highly rated by his peers for his never-say-die attitude and work rate.
Throw in two premierships, including two tries in the 2001 grand final win over Parramatta, and this battling lock forward from Cessnock deserves Knighthood.
9: Adam MacDougall
‘Mad Dog’ lived up to his nickname with his aggressive and determined style of play. MacDougall could always be relied on in tough times while he fittingly finished his career at the Knights with two premierships.
10: Aku Uate
As the highest try scorer in Newcastle history, Uate is a must for the top 20 list of Newcastle players ever.
The Fijian flyer scored a remarkable 110 tries in his 161 games for the Knights while he wowed the fans with his freakish speed and skill.
11: Matt Gidley
Who will ever forget the famous Gidley flick?
The older brother of fellow Knight, Kurt Gidley, made an art form out of his one-handed flick pass for Timana Tahu to score.
Gidley won a premiership with Newcastle in 2001 while he scored 16 tries in his 28 appearances for NSW and Australia.
12: Steve Simpson
Retired Rooster Craig Fitzgibbon once compared the impact of tackling Simpson to hitting a railway sleeper with the metal bolts hanging out.
Tough, strong and resilient, Simpson was the ultimate forward and competitor.
13: Kurt Gidley
He didn’t win a premiership, but the youngest Gidley sibling left behind an almighty legacy at Newcastle.
He played 251 games for the Knights, including 80 tries and 452 goals.
14: Mark Hughes
‘Boozy’ Hughes never dominated the headlines, but his contribution was always significant.
A two-time premiership-winner and fan favourite because he could always be relied upon.
15: Adam Muir
This Belmont-born backrower was as tough as they come. Muir played a vital role in helping the Knights create a winning culture in the 1990s, and he was rewarded in 1997 with a premiership before he left for the North Sydney Bears.
16: Darren Albert
‘Albert will score, Newcastle have won the grand final’. It’s a line that will be forever etched in Knights’ history. Albert’s try to seal the 1997 premiership over Manly on the buzzer is the club’s brightest moment.
The flying winger would have won another premiership in 2001 if injury didn’t intervene.
17: Timana Tahu
One of the most gifted outside backs in Newcastle history. Tahu scored tries for fun during his peak. He won a premiership with the Knights in 2001 while he excelled in the big moments with the big plays.
18: James McManus
The Newcastle faithful loved this Scotland-born flyer because of his ability to find the try line.
McManus scored 72 tries in his 166 games for the Knights.
19: Marc Glanville
A foundation Knight who won a premiership in 1997 and batted above with 17 tries as a front-rower.
20: Mark Sargent
A proud Newcastle junior who helped to lay the foundations for the Knights during the early 1990s.
WARRIORS TOP 20: SJ, RTS MISS OUT ON TOP SPOT
—Nick Campton
One of the youngest teams in the competition, the Warriors have still seen the highs and lows of the NRL with some star players getting them through the tough times.
Joining the competition as the Auckland Warriors in 1995, the best of the modern era is a bit easier to choose with about 15 years worth of players less to choose from than other teams.
Still yet to taste premiership glory, the Warriors have come agonisingly close with grand final appearances in 2002 and 2011.
In recent years, the players like Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Scheck have made the Warriors one of the most exciting yet still nerve wracking teams to watch, but neither of these two hold the crown as the Warriors best ever.
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20) Monty Betham
The aggressive hooker/lock was restricted to just 101 matches for the Warriors between 1999 and 2005 through a variety of injuries, but when Betham was on the field he was always a force to be reckoned with. Aggressive and powerful, Betham helped transform the Kiwi club into premiership contenders in the early-2000s and remains an important figure in the team’s history despite missing the 2002 grand final.
19) Steve Price
Better known for his exploits as a Bulldog, Price joined the Warriors on a big-money deal for 2005 and although he could not propel New Zealand to a premiership he did play great football until the day he retired in 2009. One of the best yardage props of the NRL era.
18) James Maloney
While Maloney went on to greater heights at the Roosters and Sharks, it was as a Warrior where he established himself as a first grader and his combination with Shaun Johnson was crucial in the club’s run to the 2011 finals. Despite playing just 75 matches in Auckland, Maloney’s 547 points puts him fourth on the club’s all-time list.
17) Michael Luck
An unsung hero, Luck was the kind of player the Warriors always need - a hardworking toiler who can balance out the club’s flashier side. Luck was a tower of strength for the club between 2006 and 2012, and packed down in the 2011 grand final. The rugged Queenslander was the sort of player who never gave anything less than his best.
16) Kevin Campion
An underrated factor in the Warriors rise to prominence in the early 2000s, Campion gave the club a professionalism and intimidation factor they lacked in their early years. Despite playing just two seasons with the club, Campion helped propel the Warriors to their first-ever finals berth in 2001 and was one of the club’ most important players in their run to the grand final in 2002.
15) Ivan Cleary
Cleary joined the Warriors for three years at the end of his career and made a difference right off the bat, helping push the club to the finals in 2001 and to the grand final in 2002. Safe as houses and an underrated attacking player, Cleary helped bring stability to the club’s wonderful backline before retiring after the grand final loss to the Roosters. That season he scored 242 points, which remains a club record.
14) Ruben Wiki
Wiki joined the Warriors after a long career with the Raiders and despite playing just four years in New Zealand he remains a club legend to this day. The Kiwi Test legend was a terror in the middle of the field to the end of his days, and his role in galvanising the team during their legendary run in the finals in 2008 puts him at the heart of some of the club’s greatest moments.
13) Francis Meli
As fearsome and destructive a winger as there ever was, Meli’s athleticism, speed and power made him a menace from 1999 to 2005. Meli is still the club’s fifth highest tryscorer with 60, and his 23 in 2003 remains a club record, as do the five he scored in the qualifying final win over the Bulldogs that year. Meli went to England early once the Warriors fortunes began to fall after the glory days of 2002 and 2003, but had he stayed he would have featured even higher on this list.
12) Clinton Toopi
The best centre in the world in 2002 and 2003, Toopi was the club’s most destructive outside back in their glory years with his speed and footwork making him a constant threat out wide. Toopi couldn’t maintain the rage, and fell off in his final years with the club but to this day they have never had a better centre and it could be some time before they ever do again.
11) Jacob Lillyman
One of the club’s quiet achievers, Lillyman is the club’s sixth-most capped player of all time, churning through 188 first grade matches from 2009 to 2017. A no-nonsense prop who played with unerringly consistency, Lillyman was one of the club’s few constants in their lost years after the 2011 grand final defeat.
10) Awen Guttenbeil
The fiery, hard-hitting backrower was a fixture for the club from 1996 to 2006, becoming one of the Warriors first homegrown stars. Guttenbeil came into his own in the early 2000s, securing a Kiwi Test berth and playing in the 2002 grand final. To this day he is one of just a handful of players to appear in over 150 games for the Warriors.
9) Logan Swann
An unsung hero during some of New Zealand’s best and worst days, Swann is the fifth-highest capped player in Warriors history. He played a key role in the finals runs of 2002 and 2003 before spending four years in England and returning for two more finals campaigns in 2007 and 2008.
8) Lance Hohaia
The only player to appear in both Warriors grand final teams, Hohaia played all over the field during his long career and remains one of the club’s highest-capped players. Be it as a half in his younger days, as a fullback in the middle or as a hooker at the end, Hohaia was always an attacking threat from 2002 to 2011.
7) Ali Laui’titi
For the brief window where the Warriors were a true premiership force in the early 2000s, it was easy to make the case that Ali Laui’titi was the best forward in the world. Powerful and skilful, Lau’ititi was at the heart of New Zealand’s high-octane, offload heavy style and had he stuck around he could have been one of the best forwards of the modern era. Unfortunately, Laui’titi’s left the club in acriomnoius circumstances in 2004 for a long career in England.
6) Ben Matulino
One of the club’s modern success stories, Matulino was one of the top front-rowers in the competition for several years in the early 2010s. Light on his feet but thunderously powerful, Matulino was also a fine offloader and played a crucial role in getting the club to the 2011 grand final. With 212 NRL matches to his credit, Matulino remains the fourth-most capped Warrior of all time.
5) Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Tuivasa-Sheck is yet to play 100 games for the Warriors but his impact since joining the club in 2016 has been enormous. Not only did he captain the club to their drought-breaking finals appearance in 2018, he became the first Warrior to win the Dally M - an achievement of which he and the club should be very proud. While the team has not experienced further success since, not once has it been the fault of Tuivasa-Sheck, who’s effort has never wavered.
4) Shaun Johnson
It will forever be a rugby league tragedy that Johnson was not a one-club player. A jaw-droppingly gifted attacking player, Johnson was the club’s best player in the 2011 grand final (setting up both tries in their unsuccessful late charge) and all too often was forced to bear the weight of a club, and a nation, on his shoulders in the lean years that followed. The club’s failures were not always his fault, but their success couldn’t have happened without him.
3) Manu Vatuvei
The only player to score ten tries or more in ten consecutive seasons, Vatuvei is one of the great tryscorers of all time and his attacking output was made all the more remarkable given his prime coincided with some of the club’s leanest years. With 152 tries to his credit, Vatuvei is the club’s leading tryscorer by a huge margin (second-place is Stacey Jones on 82) and with his rocks and diamonds nature perhaps no player is more emblematic of the best and worst of the Auckland club.
2) Simon Mannering
The Warriors are so often trapped in a chaotic prison of their own making and for a long time the only thing they could rely on was Simon Mannering. A centre in his younger days, Mannering eventually settled into the backrow for the remainder of his long career, and when he retired at the end of 2018 he was the first man to appear in 300 games for the club. He captained the club in the 2011 grand final and after he hung up the boots the club’s player of the year award was renamed in his honour.
1) Stacey Jones
One of the best players to ever come out of New Zealand, Jones was the club’s first homegrown star and their last foundation player to leave. When the Warriors were flying high, Jones was their best player and when the Warriors were struggling, Jones was their shining light. He remains the club’s second-highest tryscorer and is second only to Mannering in terms of games played. A marvellous halfback, they rarely come better than Jones.
Originally published as NRL: Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors top 20 players of all time