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Ruben WIKI [Player Stats]

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Warriors to celebrate Wiki's 300 achievement
Fri July 11, 2008
by Matthew O'Neill
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Rugby league fans will be able to revel in veteran NRL prop Ruben Wiki's 300-game feat when the Vodafone Warriors clash with the North Queensland Cowboys at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night.

It will be the first time the 35-year-old has played at home since becoming the first New Zealander and just the 10th player to make the 300 appearances in the competition's 100-year history.

The club has organised a number of activities and promotions themed around the 300 number in the lead-up to the match and on the night itself.

Accolades rolled in for Wiki ahead of his historic match against Wests Tigers on June 29.

At a team dinner on the eve of the game, his former Canberra team-mate Laurie Daley presented Wiki with his specially-embroidered match jersey and spoke glowingly of the feat achieved across 16 seasons in the top flight.

After the Vodafone Warriors had beaten Wests Tigers 28-26, coach Tim Sheens - who brought the young Wiki to Canberra - presented a jersey to his former charge signed by the entire Tigers side.

And since then several of the game's greats have lauded the former Kiwi captain.

Bulldogs legend Terry Lamb, who has the all-time record with 349 appearances, sent an email congratulating his one-time opponent.

"There is not a player of your stature that deserves the recognition more than you do mate," he said.

"It was great to see the acknowledgment you received from the Tigers' supporters and the players that you have played with and against. You fully deserved it.

"You should be a very proud man. You have helped young boys turn into men throughout your career and most importantly advised them to respect the game and everyone involved with it."

And Clyde's sentiments were the same.

"You deserve the very finest of accolades as you are an outstanding human being and also a great footballer," he said.

"I enjoyed playing alongside you in the trenches of the fields with you often doing all my defence, which was pretty to watch. Congratulations on a wonderful career so far and as always I will be following your efforts until the day you stop drinking kava and call it a day."

One of the game's hardest players Mark Geyer was effusive in his praise in his column in Rugby League Week.

"Apart from his longevity, the great thing about Ruben is the way in which he has made players around him better," said Geyer.

"Ask any of the young Warriors lucky enough to be playing alongside him in 2008 and they'll tell you how much they've learned from the old pro.

"In my book, Wiki is the best thing to come out of the land of the long white cloud since Split Enz and bungee jumping."

To mark Wiki's 300, the Vodafone Warriors is ensuring his 301st match experience is one to remember on Saturday night:

* Vodafone Warriors great Stacey Jones is voicing a RadioSport advertisement promoting the celebration of his former team-mate's achievement.
* Wiki's mother Tessa is be travelling to Auckland from Melbourne to be part of a big family support crew at the ground.
* A special souvenir T shirt is being manufactured. Costing $35, limited numbers of the T shirt will be available at the ground and purchases will also be possible through www.warriors.co.nz, the Vodafone Warriors' website.
* There'll be a big screen tribute to Wiki at the ground before the match.
* A special guard of honour and a kapa haka group will welcome Wiki and the Vodafone Warriors onto the field.
* Lion will be handing out vouchers for 300 free Lion Red beers at the Container Bar in the D-Zone (for the first 300 people to claim them).
* Match day sponsor Samsung is running a text for the chance to win a 63-inch television competition.
* Former Salmonella Dub Tiki Taane will headline an entertainment package put on by sponsor Vodafone. At halftime he'll perform his hit "Always on my Mind" with the Vodafone Cheerleaders.

Tickets for Saturday night's match are available through Ticketek outlets and Mad Butcher stores. See www.warriors.co.nz for more details and ticket prices.

News Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Warriors make Wiki's 300th memorable
Mon June 30, 2008
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Vodafone Warriors veteran Ruben Wiki had cause for a double celebration at Leichhardt Oval in Balmain on Sunday.

On a personal level he celebrated the achievement of becoming the first New Zealander and just the 10th player in history to play 300 first-grade matches in a season.

And appropriately it happened in a year when the Australian Rugby League is marking its 100th anniversary.

But, most importantly for Wiki and his team-mates, the occasion was iced by a pulsating 28-26 victory in a sparkling match, a victory that might have been far more clear-cut but for some decisions that caused a fair degree of consternation.

Ultimately the result rested on Wests Tigers captain Brett Hodgson's conversion attempt of Kiwi winger Taniela Tuiaki's try in the final seconds of the match, his third four-pointer of the day. Hodgson needed the conversion to take the contest into golden point extra time but he was just astray to the relief of the Vodafone Warriors and their fans.

The win was richly deserved as the Vodafone Warriors put together a display high on quality on both attack and defence.

The major obstacle for them was a lopsided penalty count awarded by referee Steve Lyons which favoured the home side 7-3. In fact, the Vodafone Warriors received their three penalties in the early stages of the match but then went without another one - including the entire second half - while the Tigers received seven straight.

That resulted in the Tigers having 21 sets in the second half to just 15 for the Vodafone Warriors. The Vodafone Warriors also had to make 168 tackles in the second 40 minute period, 72 more than the Tigers.

But they defended heroically against the odds, especially when they were under heavy attack on their own line. Having repelled multiple attacks by the Tigers, the Vodafone Warriors staged a compelling two-try breakout in the 66th and 69th minutes that enabled them to jump to a 28-16 lead and hang on to win the game, the second in their last three away matches.

The first of the tries was a long-range stunner, the ball shifted wide to the left edge where huge back rower Sonny Fai - who was used in the centres for this match - sped down the touchline, kicking clear of his marker and then feeding Grant Rovelli who was backing up inside. He in turn fed fullback Lance Hohaia alongside him to round off a brilliant try. Three minutes later the man of the day Wiki provided a perfect pass for fellow prop Sam Rapira to surge onto for his first try of the season.

Earlier the Vodafone Warriors had played almost perfectly in the opening 30 minutes.

They started with a line-up that differed significantly from the one named earlier in the week. Rovelli, not used against Manly, was recalled at halfback with Nathan Fien moving out to standoff while Michael Witt, selected at No 6, went to the bench. Fai was brought off the bench to play in the centres on the left edge while Simon Mannering was shifted back to his preferred second rower's spot.

With those changes, the Vodafone Warriors ran at the Tigers with zest, their attack looking a lot sharper. That manifested itself in yet another try for hooker Ian Henderson in the ninth minute before Fai was set free in the 24th minute on a thrilling 35-metre dash to the line for his second career try. Five minutes later Fien scythed through for his first try of the season. With Hohaia converting two of the tries, the Vodafone Warriors had a 16-0 edge, reduced to 16-6 at halftime after Benji Marshall's skills arranged a dazzling try for Tuiaki.

Facing a possession drought in the second half, the Vodafone Warriors yielded tries to Robbie Farah and Chris Lawrence that had the game tied up at 16-16 with 24 minutes to play.

It was then that the Vodafone Warriors' goal-line defence was outstanding before they rebounded to take a critical 12-point lead, which proved to be just enough for their sixth win this season.

Their defence was again sound with just 20 missed tackles in the match compared to 34 for the Tigers. And after struggling to make line breaks against Manly, they came up with seven this time.

Rovelli laid on two of the five tries while Wiki excelled in his landmark game, carrying the ball 13 times for 95 metres. Other big contributors were Jerome Ropati (18 runs, 180 metres), impressive debutant winger Malo Solomona (11 runs, 104 metres), Hohaia (12 runs, 114 metres), Fai (8 runs, 120 metres), Aidan Kirk (10 runs, 93 metres) and Mannering (9 runs, 89 metres).

Captain Micheal Luck was the defensive glue as usual with 49 tackles and only one miss while Mannering (28), Henderson (24), Rovelli (23) and Rapira (23) were not only busy but had no missed tackles marked against them.

The Vodafone Warriors have moved to 14 points and will climb to 16 with the second of their byes next weekend. Their next outing, a celebration at home of Wiki's 300-game feat, is against North Queensland on July 12.

Match details:

At Leichhardt Oval, Balmain
Wests Tigers 26 (Taniela Tuiaki 3, Robbie Farah, Chris Lawrence tries; Brett Hodgson 3 conversions).
Vodafone Warriors 28 (Ian Henderson, Sonny Fai, Nathan Fien, Lance Hohaia, Sam Rapira tries; Lance Hohaia 2 conversions; Michael Witt 2 conversions).
Halftime: 16-6 Vodafone Warriors.
Referee: Steve Lyons.
Crowd: 15,027.

Report Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Tue June 24, 2008

Wiki set to become first Kiwi to play 300 NRL games

Tue June 3, 2008

Wiki returns for Warriors

======================================================================================================

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership

New Zealand Warriors 
19 games; 1 tries, 4 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [17 Mar 08] L 18-32 v Storm (A). [BE] 
[View] Round 2 [23 Mar 08] W 30-16 v Eels (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 3 [31 Mar 08] L 6-52 v Sea Eagles (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 4 [06 Apr 08] W 26-20 v Knights (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 5 [13 Apr 08] W 36-16 v Bulldogs (H). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [19 Apr 08] L 20-48 v Cowboys (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 7 [27 Apr 08] L 24-36 v Gold Coast (A). [BE] 
[View] Round 10 [18 May 08] L 22-46 v Panthers (A). [BE] 
[View] Round 13 [06 Jun 08] L 28-35 v Rabbitohs (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 14 [14 Jun 08] L 8-24 v Sharks (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 15 [22 Jun 08] L 14-20 v Sea Eagles (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 16 [29 Jun 08] W 28-26 v Tigers (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 18 [12 Jul 08] W 24-14 v Cowboys (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 19 [19 Jul 08] W 40-22 v Bulldogs (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 20 [27 Jul 08] W 8-6 v Storm (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 21 [02 Aug 08] L 16-18 v Rabbitohs (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 22 [09 Aug 08] W 16-12 v Broncos (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 23 [16 Aug 08] W 18-4 v Sharks (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 24 [24 Aug 08] L 6-34 v Dragons (A). [PR] 
======================================================================================================

2007 NRL Telstra Premiership

New Zealand Warriors 
19 games; 1 tries, 4 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [17 Mar 07] W 34-18 v Eels (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 2 [25 Mar 07] W 24-14 v Broncos (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 3 [01 Apr 07] L 12-30 v Storm (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 4 [08 Apr 07] L 10-13 v Sea Eagles (A). [BE] 
[View] Round 5 [15 Apr 07] W 34-14 v Cowboys (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 7 [29 Apr 07] W 18-16 v Rabbitohs (A). [SR] 
[View] Round 8 [05 May 07] L 20-22 v Sharks (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 9 [12 May 07] L 18-24 v Knights (A). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 10 [20 May 07] L 26-30 v Tigers (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 11 [28 May 07] L 6-30 v Eels (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 13 [10 Jun 07] L 2-4 v Storm (H). [PR] 
[View] Round 16 [30 Jun 07] W 22-6 v Gold Coast (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 17 [07 Jul 07] L 12-18 v Cowboys (A). [PR] 
[View] Round 18 [15 Jul 07] W 44-16 v Dragons (H). [SR] 
[View] Round 19 [22 Jul 07] W 28-16 v Tigers (A). [SR] 
[View] Round 20 [28 Jul 07] W 52-10 v Knights (H). [SR] 
[View] Round 21 [05 Aug 07] D 31-31 v Roosters (A). [SR] 
[View] Round 23 [18 Aug 07] L 24-26 v Raiders (A). [SR] 
[View] Round 24 [26 Aug 07] W 36-14 v Sea Eagles (H). [SR] 
======================================================================================================

2006 Tri-Nations Test Series

New Zealand Kiwis 
4 games; [View] Tri-Nations Match 1 [14 Oct 06] L 18-30 v Australia (H). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Match 2 [21 Oct 06] L 15-20 v Australia (A). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Match 3 [28 Oct 06] W 18-14 v Great Britain (H). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Final [25 Nov 06] L 12-16 v Australia (A). [PR]
======================================================================================================

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership

New Zealand Warriors 
22 games; 6 tries, 24 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [12 Mar 06] L 16-22 v Storm (H). [PR]
[View] Round 2 [18 Mar 06] L 14-22 v Eels (A). [PR]
[View] Round 3 [25 Mar 06] W 26-10 v Tigers (A). [PR]
[View] Round 4 [02 Apr 06] W 26-22 v Knights (A). [PR]
[View] Round 5 [09 Apr 06] L 8-22 v Sea Eagles (H). [PR]
[View] Round 6 [15 Apr 06] L 14-18 v Raiders (A). [PR]
[View] Round 7 [22 Apr 06] W 46-14 v Rabbitohs (H). [PR] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 10 [13 May 06] L 16-22 v Dragons (A). [PR]
[View] Round 11 [20 May 06] W 34-12 v Tigers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 12 [27 May 06] L 20-34 v Sharks (A). [PR]
[View] Round 13 [04 Jun 06] L 18-23 v Broncos (H). [PR] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 14 [11 Jun 06] W 22-12 v Roosters (A). [PR]
[View] Round 15 [18 Jun 06] W 30-18 v Knights (H). [PR]
[View] Round 16 [25 Jun 06] W 66-0 v Rabbitohs (A). [PR]
[View] Round 17 [01 Jul 06] W 28-22 v Panthers (H). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 18 [09 Jul 06] L 18-22 v Bulldogs (A). [PR]
[View] Round 19 [15 Jul 06] L 12-20 v Eels (H). [PR]
[View] Round 21 [29 Jul 06] L 6-36 v Panthers (A). [PR]
[View] Round 23 [12 Aug 06] W 26-0 v Cowboys (H). [PR]
[View] Round 24 [19 Aug 06] W 24-20 v Storm (A). [PR]
[View] Round 25 [27 Aug 06] W 42-16 v Roosters (H). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 26 [03 Sep 06] L 12-36 v Broncos (A). [PR]
======================================================================================================

2005 Tri-Nations Test Series

New Zealand Kiwis 
5 games; [View] Tri-Nations Match 1 [15 Oct 05] W 38-28 v Australia (A). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Match 2 [21 Oct 05] L 26-28 v Australia (H). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Match 3 [29 Oct 05] W 42-26 v Great Britain (A). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Match 5 [12 Nov 05] L 12-38 v Great Britain (A). [PR]
[View] Tri-Nations Final [26 Nov 05] W 24-0 v Australia. [PR]
======================================================================================================

2005 NRL Telstra Premiership

New Zealand Warriors 
19 games; 4 tries, 16 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [13 Mar 05] L 20-26 v Sea Eagles (H). [PR]
[View] Round 2 [19 Mar 05] W 24-12 v Broncos (A). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t (29th)
  Judiciary: High Tackle, Careless Grade 3 Guilty, 4 matches
[View] Round 8 [01 May 05] L 14-16 v Panthers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 9 [07 May 05] L 24-28 v Sharks (A). [PR]
[View] Round 10 [15 May 05] L 6-10 v Roosters (H). [PR]
[View] Round 11 [21 May 05] W 34-16 v Souths (A). [PR]
[View] Round 12 [29 May 05] W 21-4 v Tigers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 13 [04 Jun 05] L 18-32 v Dragons (A). [PR]
[View] Round 14 [12 Jun 05] W 24-16 v Storm (H). [PR]
[View] Round 16 [26 Jun 05] W 30-18 v Broncos (H). [PR]
[View] Round 17 [02 Jul 05] L 16-24 v Cowboys (A). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t (43rd)
[View] Round 18 [10 Jul 05] L 24-26 v Bulldogs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 19 [16 Jul 05] W 24-22 v Roosters (A). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t (6th)
[View] Round 20 [23 Jul 05] W 24-16 v Raiders (H). [SR]
[View] Round 21 [30 Jul 05] L 34-42 v Panthers (A). [BE]
[View] Round 22 [06 Aug 05] L 20-38 v Eels (H). [PR]
[View] Round 23 [13 Aug 05] L 10-22 v Storm (A). [PR]
[View] Round 24 [20 Aug 05] L 4-16 v Knights (H). [PR]
[View] Round 25 [27 Aug 05] W 22-20 v Sea Eagles (A). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t (19th)
======================================================================================================

2005 International Test Matches

New Zealand Kiwis 
1 games; [View] Bundaberg Rum Test [22 Apr 05] L 16-32 v Australia (A). [PR]
======================================================================================================

2004 NRL Telstra Premiership

Canberra Raiders 
2 games; [View] Round 1 [14 Mar 04] W 21-12 v Dragons (A). [SR]
[View] Round 2 [19 Mar 04] L 18-34 v Panthers (H). [SR]
======================================================================================================

Wiki, Ruben

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