Warriors rout Bears in State Championship

Tobey Lewis

Warriors rout Bears in State Championship image

The New Zealand Warriors have been crowned the 2025 state champions.

After winning the New South Wales Cup just seven days ago, the Warriors feeder side have backed up and beat the Burleigh Bears 50-20.

The writing was on the wall early as the Auckland-based club jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first 30 minutes.

The Bears put up some resistance on either side of the half, but the NRL experience in David Tangata-Toa's side proved to be too much on the day.

Ali Leiataua, Tanah Boyd and Taine Tuaupiki all crossed the stripe, with Boyd knocking over seven of his nine conversion attempts.

After the pain of being eliminated in the first week of the NRL finals, Warriors fans should take solace in the fact that this season still yielded silverware.

Despite the wide margin of victory, this is not the first time Burleigh have had 50 points put on them in a State Championship match.

Back in 2016, a Dragons team which featured Kurt Mann, Taane Milne, Drew Hutchinson, Josh McCrone, Chris Lewis, Jacob Host and Siliva Havili defeated the Bears 54-12.

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Biggest margin of victory in a State Championship game?

RankResultYear
1Dragons 54 def. Bears 122016
2Panthers 44 def. Devils 102022
3Warriors 50 def. Bears 202025
=4Panthers 42 def. Hunters 182017
=4Bulldogs 42 def. Dolphins 182018
Editorial Intern

Tobey Lewis

Tobey Lewis is a content producer for Sporting News Australia, specialising in rugby league and combat. He combines a passion for sport with a commitment to telling the stories behind the action.