The pre-game nets were hanging, the goal posts were set, the grass was pristine and club scarfs proudly sat on the back of seats.
Played at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, almost 23,000 filled the ‘Cake Tin’ – as it is colloquially known – as the AFL created history when St Kilda and Sydney played in the first home-and-away match for premiership points outside of Australia.
Now cue the push for our friends across the ditch to join the AFL elites.
New Zealand is represented in the A-League, NRL, Super Rugby and NBL so there is no reason the AFL shouldn’t be looking at the country as a long-term option.
After last Thursday’s ANZAC Day clash, deputy CEO of the AFL Gillon McLachlan said a NZ-based team was a long-term dream.
“It’s an important stepping stone.”
Both McLachlan and Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said on the night before the first game in NZ it could already be declared a success in terms of media and public interest and economic impact. A statement you would be hard-pressed arguing against.
With five open-age leagues – in Auckland, Wellington, Otago, Waikato and Canterbury – and around 600 registered players, New Zealand is an appealing market for talent outside the normal limited pool and Hawthorn are the first team to really embrace our closest neighbours as a possible recruiting area.
“We have had four or five years of preparing in New Zealand and knowing that it was going to be a longer-term project and that potentially you might get nothing out of it,” Hawthorn recruiting and list manager Graham Wright said.
Quietly over summer, the Hawks committed to a second New Zealand player, Shem Tatupu, on a multi-year rookie contract after having invested several years on him as an international scholarship player.
Earlier the club had signed Kurt Heatherley to a three-year contract after signing him as a teenage scholarship player at the end of 2009.
Wright described the process as like “gold prospecting”.
“You are out there searching, knowing that potentially you might not find anything.”
Premiership pair Wayne Schwass (North Melbourne) and Trent Croad (Hawthorn) are among a group of players with New Zealand heritage to have succeeded in the AFL.
Christchurch-born Schwass moved to Australia as a youngster but, with a Maori father and a wife from Wellington, considers himself a proud New Zealander.
“I think for AFL to really get itself on the map with regards to New Zealand, and the opportunities that it can provide sportsmen, will be when one of the New Zealand born-and-bred boys actually makes their AFL debut,” Schwass said.
“And I personally don’t think that’s far away, with the progress that Kurt’s (Heatherley) making.
“I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing the development of Shem (Tatupu) over the last 12 months and it’s frightening how good he can be.”
Having conquered Australia’s sporting market, the AFL must now seriously consider making inroads internationally.
If you don’t want to be involved in rugby union, league, soccer or even basketball, there’s another legitimate opportunity.
Only a short trip across the ditch for anyone with the willingness to work hard.
New Zealand selects representative teams at senior level – along with under-15, 16, 17 and 18s – each year for matches against Australian teams. They also hold an annual draft combine which is attended by AFL recruiters.
The game continues to explore Ireland, South Africa and the Pacific Nations; it’s now time to create a pathway for the wealth of talent in New Zealand.
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