Warriors at ease in WA

IT’S the journey no other NRL side has to take yet Warriors boss Stephen Kearney says his troops relish the challenge of crossing the Tasman and Nullarbor to take on Manly.

The Sea Eagles have scheduled Saturday’s Round 17 “home” fixture in Perth, a full 5350km from the Warriors’ Auckland base.

By comparison, a trip from Manly to Jakarta would be only marginally further at 5500km – and wouldn’t require a flight stop-over.

Despite being considerably more arduous than any other regular-season journey – Townsville to Auckland is the furthest at 3350km – it’s a familiar trip for many Australian and Kiwi sporting sides.

Since their 1995 inception, the Warriors have made the trip to Perth eight times, all “away” fixtures, without a single NRL point to show for it. But Kearney is undaunted.

“We understand – there are a fair few Kiwis over there in Perth. It’s a bit like on the Gold Coast a couple weeks ago,” Kearney said.