New Zealand Warriors to relocate to Australia again

The denied request came as a shock to the club after the Wallabies were granted permission to travel to New Zealand in October for two Bledisloe Cup matches.

“I don’t know why [it was denied] there wasn’t much detail on it,” George said. “The world ain’t fair at the moment and we’ve just got to deal with it.”

Due to the border being closed between Australia and New Zealand, the Warriors have been split into two pre-season groups since mid-November with 14 of the NRL squad training in Kiama and the rest in Auckland.

After spending the first four rounds in Australia, the Warriors hope to return to New Zealand to play a home game at Mt Smart Stadium for the first time since 2019.

The Warrior’s round 1 and round 2 games against the Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle Knights have now been relocated from Mt Smart to Central Coast Stadium.

NRL boss Andrew Abdo once again thanked the Warriors for their the 2020 season which saw the club relocated to the Central Coast after the game’s restart post-COVID-19.

“The Warriors are a special club to all of us,” Abdo said.

“They have again put the competition ahead of their own personal interests.

“Their sacrifices cannot be overstated, on behalf of the Australian Rugby League Commission and the game I want to thank the players and staff for what they are doing for the competition.”

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Abdo said one of the biggest priorities of the 2021 season was to ensure the Warriors were at home for the majority of the season.

“Recent news regarding a vaccine and a near-zero infection rate in Australia is very positive,” he said.

“The decision of the club and the playing group provides them with some certainty.”

New Warriors coach Nathan Brown said the current split-group scenario was “not ideal” but had been the only option up until this point.

“At the same time the focus pre-Christmas is always on physical conditioning and some skill work,” he said.

“It’s not until the new year that we really concentrate on structure, game style and our combinations leading into the trials.

“It’s critical, getting together as a group, which the camp in Tamworth is all about.”