Warriors won’t be drawn on NRL plans
Warriors chief executive Cameron George has refused to get ahead of himself over the Kiwi club’s draw for the 2021 NRL season, admitting they have some ‘‘significant calls’’ to make in the coming days.
After a 2020 campaign played entirely in Australia due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Warriors have been scheduled to play 11 home games at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium next year, including the first two rounds, if a trans-Tasman travel bubble is in place.
Speaking at Thursday’s announcement in Sydney, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo was confident the borders would be open in time for the start of the season in March. But the Warriors cannot afford to wait too long for the Australian and New Zealand governments to come to a decision.
Of utmost importance to George is giving Nathan Brown’s squad the best chance to prepare.
The club has begun pre-season training in two camps – one in Auckland and the other across the Tasman – which is far from ideal.
But they are expected to make a call next month whether the Auckland-based group will relocate to Australia in early January for the rest of the pre-season, and possibly, the start of the season proper.
‘‘I learned a long time ago not to speculate, not to hope, just deal with what’s in play today, and as a result it will always put the players, their families and the club first,’’ George told Stuff. ‘‘We need to prepare the best we can for the season and we’re going to have to make some significant calls in the days ahead.
‘‘We’d love nothing more than to be at home, that’s our preferred option. But there will come a point where we have to be sensible in executing a plan that gives us the best chance to start the competition the best we can. So that will happen in the days ahead with consultation with the NRL, the players and so forth.’’
The NRL has contingencies in place should the trans-Tasman border remain closed, including the Warriors playing blocks of games in Australia.
If that is the case, George said they had yet to decide whether the squad would return to last season’s base on the NSW Central Coast or set up in Redcliffe, near Brisbane, where they have a partnership with local club Redcliffe Dolphins.
But Abdo was confident the Warriors would play in Auckland at some point in 2021, if not at the start of the season.
‘‘At the moment the borders are closed but we’re optimistic,’’ Abdo said.
‘‘At this stage, based on infection rates and the information available to us, we’re confident the borders will be open. If they’re not we’ll be ready for it and the Warriors will be ready for it.’’
As for the rest of the draw, the Warriors have been handed a tricky start, with games against the upand-coming Titans followed by three finals teams from 2020 in the opening month.
They also play premiers Melbourne and fellow heavyweights Canberra twice and have three fiveday turnarounds.
But George had no complaints. ‘‘The draw’s good. You’ve got to play who you’ve got to play and you’ve got to win, that’s the way I look at it,’’ he said.
‘‘Just where those homes game are, that’s yet to be determined.’’