D-day looms as Warriors eye return to NZ base
Warriors CEO Cameron George tells David Long the club doesn’t want to take too many risks inside the trans-Tasman bubble.
The Warriors will continue to take a cautious approach on returning to play NRL games in New Zealand, with their next deadline for making a decision coming in a few weeks.
The Wellington Phoenix and NZ Breakers both last week put tickets on sale for games in New Zealand, in the second half of May.
But the earliest the Warriors might play in Auckland will be against the Dragons on July 2, although there’s still no certainty that the game will be played on this side of the Tasman.
The NRL is concerned that if there was a suspension to the trans-Tasman bubble while the Warriors and another team were in New Zealand, it would create havoc to the NRL draw, and the recent three-day lockdown in Perth showed that the situation is still volatile.
‘‘It has been erratic, because they shut down the bubble to Western Australia overnight, so it shows you how quick things can change,’’ Warriors CEO Cameron George said.
‘‘Where we sit right now, we’ve got stability and we don’t have any fear of being separated from families and schools and that’s crucial through this whole process.
‘‘I don’t know about other sports and what they’re doing, but what I do know is that we’re very stable, our families are together and if we get more confidence in what’s happening with the borders, in terms of not being such a risk in our minds, we’d love to be home.
‘‘But we did see last week how quick it can all change.’’
The Warriors have a bye in early June and the club’s management are working through whether they’ll allow the players to come home to New Zealand for a few days during that time.
The Warriors made plans late last year to split this season up into three blocks and once they decided they’d begin the campaign in Australia, they were committed to remaining there until late June.
The next block begins in July and was initially meant to mean that if the Warriors stayed in Australia that date, they’d remain there for the rest of the season.
The club will decide in around three weeks whether the team will continue to be located on the Central Coast, although the NRL will also have a say in it.
However, although no decision has been made, the players have been told to start making plans for being based in Auckland again.
For the Kiwi players that’s no big deal, but the Australian players, including Reece Walsh, who doesn’t even have a passport, they need to sort out where they’re going to live and numerous other things. ‘‘There is going to be a transition phase at any point in time,’’ George said. ‘‘So we’ve told them to not leave everything to the last minute and start thinking about it, like locations of where they’d like to live.
‘‘As we’ve always done, we’re trying to be ahead of the game and it’s important that we don’t pack up one day and the players all say ‘where are we going to live?’
‘‘So we’re working with them on all of that sort of stuff and the intention is on getting home at some stage, it’s just when that stage is. But we don’t want to expose ourselves to personal and commercial risk with it.’’
The Warriors host the North Queensland Cowboys at Central Coast Stadium today. It’s the first time since their round one game against the Gold Coast Titans where they’re not at home against a Sydney club, or the Knights, who are based an hour north up the M1. It’s unlikely many Cowboys’ fans will make the long trip from Townsville, but George says the club have been working hard in the local community, to build up their supporter base.
Auckland fans will be able to watch the game at Mt Smart Stadium today, with the club organising a pitch party.
Spectators will be able to watch the game on the giant screen, from the field or the stands for $10, with gates open at 3pm.