Stacey William Jones (born 7 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He played as a , but he has also briefly played at during his distinguished career, which includes 46 Tests for New Zealand (1995–2006). Stacey Jones is the first and only life member of the New Zealand Warriors club whose records for most appearances, tries and points he held at the time of his retirement.
Jones' vision and ability to control the game when his team was on attack earned him the sobriquet "the little general", a reference also to his small stature in comparison to that of most rugby league players. Jones was often able to find players with a high bombing kick at either sides of the field or place a sneaky through ball for oncoming players to pounce on.
Early years
Of Māori descent, Stacey Jones was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 7 May 1976, a grandchild to New Zealand rugby league great Maunga Emery. He played junior grades for the Ponsonby Ponies and Mt Albert Lions before moving to the suburb-Pt Chev Pirates when he was 9. Jones attended St. Paul's College, Auckland. In 1994 he played for the Auckland City Vulcans side in the Lion Red Cup. In July 1994 he captained the Junior Kiwis as they toured Australia. Here he played against Darren Lockyer, who was playing for the Junior Kangaroos at the time.
Playing career
Auckland Warriors
Jones was spotted by the new Auckland Warriors franchise and made his first grade debut in 1995 against the Parramatta Eels in their inaugural year in what is now the National Rugby League (NRL).
On 23 April 1995 Jones made his first-grade début in Sydney, coming off bench to score a try in the Warriors' 40–4 win over the Parramatta Eels. The Warriors' halfback Greg Alexander missed Rounds 10 and 11 through injury which resulted in Jones taking over at halfback. Jones played well enough to retain the position and force Alexander to move to fullback upon his return. He also quickly established his place in the international scene, replacing Gary Freeman as the New Zealand national rugby league team halfback during the 1995 World Cup.
Over the next several years Jones cemented his spot in both the Warriors and Kiwis, sticking with the Warriors despite the lack of success on and off the field. Between 1995 and 1999 he played over 100 consecutive first grade games for the Warriors. In 1999 he broke his arm playing for the Kiwis against Tonga, and as a result missed the first half of the 2000 NRL season, breaking his consecutive streak. At the end of 2000 the Warriors were bankrupt and were sold for the second time in their short history. Jones was the first signing by the new franchise, with owner Eric Watson, and it was his signing that convinced many other players to re-sign with the club.
It was under the new management where he first became club captain – in 2001 co-captaining with Kevin Campion – and although already considered in the top reaches of halfbacks in the NRL, he started to show he was on an equal par with the games' best halfbacks at the time. In the 3-year period 2001-03 he led the Warriors to 3 successive finals appearances. In 2002 the club not only won the Minor Premiership, but also reached the 2002 NRL grand final against the Sydney Roosters. Playing at scrum half back, Jones captained the losing side that evening but scored a great try in which he beat 3 Roosters defenders from 30 metres out to go over from dummy half. He was then selected to go on the 2002 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France and won the George Smith Medal as player of the series against Great Britain. Also in 2002, Jones became only the second New Zealand player to win the Golden Boot Award for the best international rugby league player.