Four games in NZ in first six weeks for Warriors in 2019
ton’s Westpac Stadium in round 18 on Friday, July 19 with the kickoff at 8pm.
Visiting Mount Smart Stadium during the season will be four of 2018’s other top eight clubs — Melbourne, South Sydney, Penrith and Brisbane — while there will be four Friday night home games against the Titans, Raiders, Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs.
Of the other six games at Mount Smart, four are Saturday fixtures and two are Sunday matches.
A breakdown of the 24 regularseason matches shows the Warriors have 12 Saturday games, seven on Friday night, four on Sunday and one on Thursday night (the annual Anzac Day encounter against the Melbourne Storm).
The Warriors will not travel to Perth this season after a run of seven successive appearances there since 2012 and they will not have to make the trek to Townsville to face the Cowboys.
Of 2018’s top eight teams, the Warriors face the premiershipwinning Sydney Roosters (away) and the Dragons only once.
The other teams they do not play home and away are the Bulldogs (in Auckland), Wests Tigers (away), the Cowboys (in Auckland) and the Parramatta Eels (away).
The Warriors’ first five matches of the season are against sides which failed to make the finals in 2019 but they have consecutive games against topeight teams the Dragons, Panthers, Broncos and Storm in May through to early June. —
AUCKLAND: Four games in New Zealand in the first six weeks and ‘‘home’’ games against St GeorgeIllawarra in Brisbane and CronullaSutherland in Wellington are features of the Warriors’ 2019 NRL draw revealed yesterday.
As well as having a rare firstround home game at Mount Smart Stadium, the club has two other matches in Auckland and one in Christchurch in the opening six rounds.
Coming off their first taste of finals football in seven years, the Warriors start their landmark 25th season against the CanterburyBankstown Bulldogs with a 5pm kickoff on Saturday, March 16.
They have another 5pm Saturday kickoff for their away clash against the ManlyWarringah Sea Eagles in round three at Christchurch’s AMI Stadium on March 30 while they are back at home in round four for their first taste of Friday night football when they take on the Gold Coast Titans on April 5 at 8pm.
After a fifthround road trip to Gosford to play South Sydney, the Warriors have a 7.30pm kickoff at home against the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday, April 20.
It has been confirmed that the club’s scheduled home game against St George Illawarra will be one of the eight matches on the bill for the first NRL Brisbane Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium in May.
The Cronulla Sharks will be the Warriors’ opponents for their other home game played outside Auckland, at Welling