While the Warriors continue to sink from loss to loss in 2020, speculation has started to turn to what the best course of action is to repay the club in 2021, and a proposal which gets extra footy in New Zealand should be adopted.
Every NRL fan has been touched by the sacrifices the men from Auckland have made to keep this year’s competition going in the face of the COVID pandemic and international travel restrictions.
These issues obviously need to be somewhat resolved for any plan involving games across the ditch to work next year.
But should they see substantial improvement, the NRL, and all 15 Australian clubs must be willing to give back to the Warriors, who have struggled enormously away from home.
In truth, they may have struggled anyway this season, and the sacking of Stephen Kearney, as well as public comments from the club regarding the future of some of their players hasn’t helped the mood.
Blake Green (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
No matter how bad their performance though, the club take the NRL to New Zealand and are an important, almost crucial, part of the competition.
The organisation must be protected.
Speculation has been that the Warriors may be allowed to host 24 home games next year in Auckland, and while on the surface that may seem like the ideal scenario, there are plenty of roadblocks standing in the way.
The idea for what has formerly been one of the NRL’s more entertaining sides not having to leave home all year is intriguing, but it’s not quite right.
Playing in New Zealand or a comfortable location? Yes. Playing all of their games in Auckland? No.
By playing all 24 games in Auckland, crowd fatigue – and lower attendances as a result – would become a major issue. Sure, it would start well as footy-starved fans get out, but – particularly if the club struggle – it would grow stale quickly.
Having certain teams travel to the Land of the Long White Cloud twice in the space of a year wouldn’t be the right option either. Again, crowds could be expected to drop on that second visit.
Instead, the proposal should be split across the next two seasons and also have a keen eye towards expanding rugby league both around New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The NRL, and the sport as a whole, should see this as an enormous opportunity. It’s a chance to do it while the fans, and the clubs, would all be on board.
The basic idea would be that, next year, the Warriors would have 15 games in Auckland, allowing Mt Smart Stadium to host each team once.
The other nine games should then be spread around the rest of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Ideally, it would be six extra games in New Zealand, and one in each of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji.
Imagine the scenes of the Cowboys taking a home game against the Warriors in Tonga with Jason Taumalolo leading the way, or Roger Tuivasa-Sheck running out in Samoa, his place of birth.
Jason Taumalolo for Tonga. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
The possibilities are endless, as is the chance to engage the youth of these countries with clinics and development run by the clubs while they are on location in the week leading up to the game, as clubs often do when taking games to country areas around Australia like Mudgee, Albury or Bathurst.
It almost seems a no-brainer if the NRL can get the facilities in place to accommodate games in these islands.
It’s not as if the grounds don’t exist, with Apia Park able to hold 12,000 in Samoa, the Teufaiva Sport Stadium in Tonga 10,000, and of course the ANZ National Stadium in Suva, Fiji setting its capacity at 19,000.
The other six games could be played between Sky Stadium in Wellington, FMG Stadium in Hamilton, Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, AMI Stadium in Christchuch, Toll Stadium in Whangarei, and either Rotorua or Invercargill as the sixth.
This allows the Warriors to take their product around the country, getting fans far and wide on board, while also spending weeks taking the sport to Pacific Island nations.
Financially, the designated ‘home’ club would still take gate takings from the final three games at Mount Smart Stadium and all other venues, but it allows the NRL to expand the game and begin to get a better idea about where a second New Zealand team may be supported, or if a Pacific Islands-based team could ever happen in Australia’s main competition.
The second part of the proposal would see the clubs who didn’t ‘host’ the Warriors in 2021 take their games back to New Zealand in 2022. Not necessarily in Auckland, but in New Zealand somewhere, allowing all 15 other clubs to have played an extra game in New Zealand over a two-year period, and properly repaying a club who have given up so much to keep the competition going this season.
And sure, some will complain about fairness and the leg up this might give New Zealand, but the NRL draw is never fair. It’s never been less fair than it has this year, and it’s time the NRL acknowledge how important the Warriors are to the competition by repaying the sacrifices they have made.
Some clubs might whinge about a proposal like this, but it would be selfish at best. It’s one extra week of travel across the Tasman, or elsewhere in the Pacific for those clubs. For the Warriors, it’s already been a months-long nightmare that has no sign of ending. Simply put, giving up one home game per club over a two-year period where they still get gate takings is not a huge ask.
It’s a win-win situation for the Warriors, their fans, the sport of rugby league in New Zealand, and the NRL’s long-term aims.
Repayment must happen, but it must be done right.
rden
Roar Rookie
lived on the Sunny Coast for a handful of years, half of Melbourne is between there and the Gold Cost every June - early September - AKA by Qlders as "Mexicans."
Verfel
Roar Rookie
We were up at Twin Towers the other day where the Melbourne Storm are staying, and they have all their families there!
Daniel John
Roar Pro
Brilliant idea - any club that complains would be kidding themselves. Only hurdle we would have with this proposal though is if borders are still shut / no exemptions for Australian-based clubs...
Scott Pryde
Expert
Sorry mate, missed this... I don't mind it, I just think it needs to be even on the Aussie clubs, even if split over the course of two years,.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
tweaks no good?? :unhappy:
Jacko
Guest
sell outs still lose millions tho Scott. The All Blacks have taken the odd game to the PI nations at horrendis expense....Its not a profitable exercise
Jacko
Guest
Why do you think they moved to Aus in their teens and ended up at schools like mareebra college? Because the NRL convinced themit would be a good move and PAID for them and their families to come to Aus and in many cases they organise houses and Jobs for their families.....Remember this sort of expence is not part of any salary cap....Having said that I dont care if the Warriors are not part of the NRL as with the constant travel schedule they will never be a success anyway
Jacko
Guest
So far Jimmy...but the second wave is growing bigger in size every day and yesterrday was the biggest day yet for new cases surpassing the worst day in the initial outbreak
Sylvester
Guest
Spruce, you're missing my point. They may not be signing up for U10s league if there's no buzz around a NZ team in the NRL. League here would be even more of a niche sport than it is without the Warriors. Pre 95, there'd be fewer than 30 Kiwis playing 1st grade in Australia, I reckon. Many many more now.
Nick
Roar Guru
Let's avoid hyperbole. There's not been "experiential" increases. None of those players played for the warriors either. All three of your examples are just shocking to your argument as well. SBW - his dad played league Benji - moved to Australia as a teenager JT13 - moved to Australia as a teenager. Actually, an extraordinary amount of kiwi or Islander talent in the NRL moved to Australia in their teens.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
But when the NRL play regional games in NZ they seem to get packed houses. Rotorua, Dunedin, Christchurch, Hamilton plus acceptable crowds in Wellington.
adam smith
Guest
With or without the Warriors, the NRL League scouts will still be racking up the air miles travelling to New Zealand to scour the greatest Rugby Union/Rugby League nursery there is, Auckland Schoolboy Rugby. The only major difference since the Warriors joined the ARL is the amount of money poured in to schoolboy Rugby in Auckland. Which has benefitted both sports immensely.
robbo
Guest
In premise I agree. I chose an expat life 20 years ago. Has been good. Has been challenging at times but I always can opt out. same as these boys or the club. The NRL bucket of water is full. Pull your hand out. Bucket is still full. We are very precious these days
Jeff
Guest
Only problem with your dream about playing NRL all over NZ is that they only play Rugby over there.
Sylvester
Guest
Is it coincidence the number of Kiwi players (who have added immense value) in the NRL has grown exponentially since the Warriors entered the comp? It's quite possible without them there's no Benji, no SBW, no JT13 etc etc
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Don't like the should, coulda ,woulda. Australia has done Exeptionally well. It's an event unlike any other. Gratitude is the right response.
Carlin
Roar Rookie
I really rate this idea. I think it is a really fair solution for a team that has sacrificed a lot to ensure the competition was able to continue especially in a time where the Warriors are going through some major issues with coach sackings, players going home and contracts not being renewed. The one thing other NRL clubs need to do is be a little more generous in the loaning of players. Todd Payton was on the news tonight saying clubs are happy to say they will help out when the cameras are on them but behind the scenes it is a different story.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Heard it on good authority PV's "Plan C" for a lockdown is the Players will be playing in masks. Problem is NSW Health and QLD Health can't agree on which type of mask is appropriate for NRL players. Just on the Warriors -if the NRL are fair dinkum then they should do what ever - to get SBW turning out for the Warriors for the rest of the season.If any club needs salary cap relief it the Warriors -I don't think its the struggling Roosters .
Nick
Roar Guru
As much as I vehemently tend to disagree with anything Max Power writes, he's not wrong about this. The NRL would not change one iota with them in or out of the competition. There is no timezone benefit to the Australian audience. The Warriors played a lot of their games in a decent 8pm timeslot on Friday in NZ, but that meant it was the forgotten 6pm timeslot in Australia. Check the ratings of games in NZ - they are crap with a capital C if there is a competing super rugby game on at the same time. The primary financiers of the game - Channels 9 and Fox never give them a good run. The talent that NZ produces will still be there. It's ridiculous to think the absence of the Warriors would impact that. Kiwis are noted economic emigrants and work prolifically overseas to earn the bacon. The pacific island community in particular view the rugby codes as a pathway to financial security. There's no super league team in NZ, and yet kiwi's will still go to the UK. No Japanese rugby team in NZ, but yet players will still go to Japan. No top 14 team in NZ but they still go to Europe... There may be no Warriors, but players will still come to Australia. Conversely, the absence of the Warriors would solve a problem for the NRL and be able to simply create a new 16th team in Brisbane...which would be a job opportunity for any NZ rugby league player, just like the other 15 teams. They are that forgotten anyway. They never get anywhere near to sufficient exposure in Australia. They are chronic under performers, and years away from any legitimate shot at a premiership. I like them, and if they are still in the NRL, great. But we wouldn't miss them if they left.
Dave
Guest
The 1st game the Raiders flew up on was the Rooster last Friday. The rest have been by bus to Campbelltown. Ironically when they played the Kights it was a quicker drive back to Newcastle than Canberra.