Former NRL Warriors players

[mt.wellington]

Hi guys. Im embarking on a little mission to find former Warriors players to sign my 2014 Heritage jersey that has all their names on it. I plan on posting them the jersey and getting them to sign it. Gonna be a long and expensive process But worth it once done.

I know the whereabouts of quite a few of them but some are proving very elusive. This forum would be the best out there for information.

I'll do it player by player. If anyone is interested in some of the players I have contacts for let me know.

First up, Sean Hoppe.

Last I knew he was living in the Bundaberg area and was working in construction. Before the he was a ref. His LinkedIn profile says he's now a Real Estate agent but theres no link to it anywhere else.

Anyone know what he's up to now?

Cheers...

 

[Nathraider]

Sean still lives in qld i will try to find where he is for you. My son and his daughter are cousins. I think he may live in brissie now

 

[mt.wellington]

Sean still lives in qld i will try to find where he is for you. My son and his daughter are cousins. I think he may live in brissie now

Cheers mate. Really appreciate it...

 

[Grindnation]

Good luck ! would like to see updates about this if possible etc who you could get to sign it!.
Regards

 

[mt.wellington]

Doing this for another forum (Warriors fan forum) but will also post here if anyone is interested...

We probably arent more aware of any former players current status as we are of Warriors number 1, Dean Bell. Will need to clarification but last I heard he was Head of Recruitment as well as General Manager of Football. Recent articles on new CEO Jim Doyle suggest he may be take less work on to concentrate on one or the other but until we get an official press release we have to run with the current job title.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/7823651/Warriors-promote-Bell-to-general-manager

Read more: http://www.nzwarriors.com/threads/2015-where-are-they-now.40187/#ixzz3KXz7FJKJ

So if you want to get anything signed by Dean Bell best bet would be to send it to the club

Vodafone Warriors
PO Box 12-224
Penrose 1642
Auckland, New Zealand

 

[mt.wellington]

Gene Ngamu...

Last time I updated his status he was head coach of Manly Marlins, a Rugby Union club. Blakey had had some success with his Union coaching.

He was the Defence and Skills Coach for the Wallabies in 2010 under Robbie Deans. He joined the Western Force as defence and skills coach for the 2011 season. When Richard Graham was stood down as head coach of the Force during the 2012 season, Blake became the interim head coach before Michael Foley was appointed for the 2013 season.

Blake returned to Manly as head coach in 2013. In 2014, he was appointed as head coach of the North Harbour Rays for the inaugural National Rugby Championship season. However on 2 June 2014 it was announced that he had been appointed as defence coach for Leicester Tigers in the English Premiership.

Manly and North Harbour Rays coach Phil Blake poached by English club Leicester Tigers
JAMIE PANDARAM EXCLUSIVE
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
JUNE 02, 2014 4:12PM

LEAGUE legend turned rugby coach Phil Blake has been poached by English club Leicester Tigers.

Blake will become Leicester’s defence coach under head coach Richard Cockerill in a deal to be formally announced in a few hours.

Blake has led Manly to a 10-game undefeated start to the Shute Shield season and was recently announced as the inaugural coach of the North Harbour Rays, who will compete in the newly formed National Rugby Championship starting in August.

But the opportunity to coach one of the giant clubs of English rugby is a massive boost for the burgeoning career of Blake, who has previously coached Western Force and was the Wallabies assistant coach in 2010.

Blake’s defection at the end of the Shute Shield season has forced the Rays to scramble for a new coach.

It appears that either Rays assistants Scott Fava or Geoff Townsend will step up to the top job in place of Blake, with a decision to be made this week.

Blake is highly rated in rugby circles and has transformed Manly into the most dominant club team this year with the perfect start which includes victories over last year’s grand finalists Sydney University and Eastwood. They are six points clear at the top of the table over northern beaches rivals Warringah, who they have also defeated this season.

Blake played 272 first grade rugby league games in the 1980s and 90s for a host of clubs including Manly-Warringah, Souths, St George and New Zealand Warriors, while also playing one State of Origin game for NSW and a match for NSW City.

After retiring, he briefly coached the Rabbitohs in the NRL before turning to rugby, where he started as an assistant for Southern Districts in the Shute Shield in 2006.

Blake coached Manly to the semi-finals in 2010, prompting then Wallabies coach Robbie Deans to appoint him to the national side as defence and skills coach.

Blake joined the Force the following year, and when head coach Richard Graham was forced to leave mid-season after agreeing to join Queensland, Blake guided the Force for their final eight games before moving back to Manly.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...leicester-tigers/story-fnii0ksb-1226940329245

Tigers to add Blake to coaching team
2 June 2014 11:16am
By Gary Sherrard

Phil Blake will join the Leicester Tigers coaching staff

Phil Blake will join Leicester Tigers staff as defence coach in time for the new season.

London-born Blake enjoyed a long and successful playing career in rugby league in the southern hemisphere before coaching in both codes, including spells with Western Force and as defence and skills coach with Australia under Robbie Deans.

He has been head coach of Australian club Manly since 2013 and led them to a 10-game unbeaten start to the Shute Shield season as well as being appointed head coach of the North Harbour Rays for the inaugural National Rugby Championship season.

Blake, 50, will join the Tigers coaching team alongside director of rugby Richard Cockerill and coaches Paul Burke, Richard Blaze and Geordan Murphy.

Director of rugby Cockerill said: "I'm delighted that Phil has agreed to join us in the role of defence coach. He is very well thought of in the game and very experienced, and has worked in a number of different environments, including Super Rugby and at Test level in Australia.

"He joins a very strong group of coaches at this club and we look forward to working with Phil in his new role."

http://www.leicestertigers.com/news/19510.php#.VHZ6vTGUf4d

Leicester Tigers are an English Rugby Union team that plays in the Aviva Premiership. That is the English Premier competition and the Tigers are the most successful team to ever play in it. They face off against teams like Sam Burgess' Bath team. For more info on the Tigers follow the links below...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester_Tigers
http://www.leicestertigers.com/

Read more: http://www.nzwarriors.com/threads/2015-where-are-they-now.40187/#ixzz3KXzpnKZg

This is the address for the Tigers training ground...

Oval Park Leicester Tigers
Wigston Road,
Oadby
Leicester
LE2 5QG

 

[mt.wellington]

Manoa Thompson...

Manoa Thompson is still listed as a self employed truck driver. Still listed as the Vice Chairman of the Australian Fijian Rugby League though the last known entries for this were last updated in 2011. Here's a screen shot from one of the links below.



http://www.afrl.com.au/afrl_boardmembers.htm
http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/person?personId=1316171770&targetid=profile

Page has current news and info on its home page so hopefully the Board Member list is also current.

Still living in St Peters, Sydney, Australia.

Thompson is the father of Parramatta, NSW, Fiji and Australian representative Jarryd Hayne. He married Tamara Regan and they have 3 children, Evie born in 2002, Jonah born in 2005 and Julius born in 2010.

Read more: http://www.nzwarriors.com/threads/2015-where-are-they-now.40187/#ixzz3KY0XDSHj

Not sure what company he works for but he can be found on Facebook so you can stalk him that way...

https://www.facebook.com/manoa.thompson?fref=ts

 

[mt.wellington]

Whetu Taewa...

Still listed as a builder on his LinkIn page. Working with ATD Building in Cromwell, Otago where he also resides.

http://www.atdbuilding.co.nz/index.php
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/whetu-taewa/79/149/43

One thing that may surprise some is that Whetu is doing really well at speedway racing in the Production class.

Ex Kiwi Whetu Taewa in a league of his own
NEIL REID

Whetu Taewa blitzed the opposition with pace and power throughout his international league career.

Now, 12 years after hanging up his footy boots, Taewa is gassing rivals on the speedway track.

Taewa, 43, was last month named Production Saloon Competitor of the Year at Speedway New Zealand's 2014 awards.

"I had friends who were into it [speedway] so I jumped into a car one day and had a blat and enjoyed it, " Taewa, who began racing four years ago.

"From there, it got bigger and bigger. I was very surprised when I was nominated [for], let alone won that [national] award."

Taewa is a regular competitor on Cromwell's Central Motor Speedway circuit of Greymouth, Dunedin and Invercargill. He is also on the circuit's organising committee. While many of his former league team-mates were surprised at his new sporting direction, Taewa said: "I think everyone is into cars in one way or another."

Taewa has four production saloon race cars numbered 99t.

Production saloons are regarded as an ideal entry to speedway as they cost less than vehicles in other classes and because few modifications are allowed to the former street cars, putting the emphasis on driving skills.

While Taewa is now associated with his race cars, he drove a distinctive vehicle during his footy career in New Zealand.

"I worked for the Mad Butcher for a while and had a [Mitsubishi] Mirage and it had Mad Butcher logos stuck all over it."

Taewa is set to make an impact behind the wheel.

He is preparing a driving mentoring scheme to encourage more responsible behaviour on the roads.

"I have identified where some of the young ones sort of get a little bit enthusiastic in their cars," Taewa said.

"If they learned a bit more about them [cars], and drove as fast as they can in a controlled environment, then they will get rid of that urge to squirt around the streets."

During a league career in which he played six tests for the Kiwis, Taewa was a star of the West Coast and Canterbury provincial teams, and played for the Auckland Warriors and North Queensland Cowboys from 1995-96.

In 1997 he played for UK Super League side the Sheffield Eagles, who won the 1988 Challenge Cup, before joining Hull Kingston Rovers in 1999.

After retiring as a player, he was HKR's assistant coach in 2003, before returning to New Zealand.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/10301729/Ex-Kiwi-Whetu-Taewa-in-a-league-of-his-own

You can follow his progress on the news section of the Central Motor Speedway website or their Facebook page...

http://www.centralmotorspeedway.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/CentralMotorSpeedway

Read more: http://www.nzwarriors.com/threads/2015-where-are-they-now.40187/#ixzz3KY1AEO7U

Best bet would be to send cards to his work place...

Whetu Taewa
PO Box 333
Cromwell, Central Otago

[email protected]