Warriors call Redcliffe home as 2022 plans take shape
The Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe will be the Warriors’ base in 2022.
It means the club will spend a third season away from Auckland, though they hope to play a number of “hit and run” games at Mt Smart.
As first reported by the Herald, the home of the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland capital was the club’s preferred choice for next season and the NRL have given the green light.
A return to New Zealand was seen as impossible, given the ongoing border situation and the fact that the Warriors are currently stuck in Australia, unable to secure MIQ spots to come home.
Of all the Australian alternatives, Redcliffe shone like a beacon.
The Warriors already have a relationship with the Queensland Cup team, with their reserve grade players turning out for the Dolphins in 2020 and 2021.
The 11,000-capacity stadium is a perfect size and an ideal venue, having hosted five NRL games this season, including the Warriors’ clash with the Bulldogs.
Most importantly, Redcliffe offers a permanent structure, after two years of using temporary facilities on the Central Coast.
It also means the NRL team can prepare together for pre-season, after having split camps in Auckland and southern New South Wales last year.
“Our dream hasn’t changed. We’d love to be back in Auckland playing at home in front of our families, members, fans and sponsors next year but we also have to ensure everyone here has some stability in their lives,” Warriors chief executive Cameron George said.
“With the pre-season starting in early November we don’t have much time to work with.
“We can’t get our players, staff and families back to New Zealand in the foreseeable future so we need to have a base here, not to mention considering all the needs of our players, families and staff like accommodation, schools and job opportunities for partners.
“We’re just hoping the landscape will settle down to enable us to play five or six of our home games in New Zealand during the 2022 season.”
The club will be based at Redcliffe for the entire season, unlike this year where they only committed to their Australian base for the first third of the campaign, in the hope they could return home.