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Warriors CEO Cameron George and coach Nathan Brown wanted to bring some certainty to the team.
Warriors CEO Cameron George has revealed that the government rejected the club’s request that its Australian-based players train in managed isolation in New Zealand when he announced his decision to start the 2021 NRL season in Tasmania.
The Warriors have started preseason training at two separate camps: one in Auckland with new coach Nathan Brown and one in Kiama, New South Wales. But they hoped the Australian contingent would be able to travel to Auckland in early January to join their teammates after the 14-day quarantine rules for the Wallabies were relaxed ahead of this year’s Bledisloe Cup tryouts.
The Australian rugby team, as well as other international sports teams, received permission to train as a group in their bubble four days after arriving in New Zealand, provided that all team members returned a negative Covid-19 test on the third day. .
Regardless of whether they ended up starting the season at home, the benefit would have been double for the Warriors. Having spent the entire 2020 campaign in Australia, it would have allowed the Auckland players and their families to spend more time at home before returning via Tasman for an extended period, while also giving the seven new recruits the opportunity to connect with your new club.
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However, the Warriors did not meet the criteria set by the Health Ministry to receive an exemption from the two-week quarantine period, leaving them with no choice but to relocate to Australia as of January 3.
“We wanted everyone to come here, be part of our club and our fan base in New Zealand. It was crucial. And the Australian players desperately wanted to come back here,” George said.
“Until Christmas, what we tried to do was eliminate the isolation of the players as best we could, for their own well-being and also for the benefit of their own family.
“It would have been great to have everyone here after Christmas for a few months, but it’s not the case.”
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The Warriors will head to Australia for the start of the 2021 season.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said Things that the Warriors’ application was rejected because “it was not associated with any approved event or program, such as an international sports tournament.”
George declined to criticize the process now that they have decided on a plan for the start of next season, with the Warriors playing their first four games in Australia. They will initially be based in Tamworth before returning to their camp at Terrigal on the central coast of New South Wales, where they spent all of last season.
While the NRL had scheduled the Warriors to play their first two games at Mt Smart Stadium, it always depended on a trans-Tasmanian bubble to exist.
The club’s first and second round games against the Titans and Knights will move from Mt Smart to Central Coast Stadium. Even if the borders open while they are away, they will remain in Australia until the end of the fourth round and hope to play their first home game the following week against Manly on April 9.
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Warriors president Rob Croot hopes the Warriors can return home for some of their NRL games.
George said that by making the call now, the team and their families are as confident as possible.
“We are not going to allow players to watch the news and wonder what the borders are doing,” he added. “We are putting certainty in a very uncertain moment, which is crucial for ‘Browny’ and his preparation for the 2021 season.
“As a club, we are leaving again. It is what we have to do, it is not what we want to do. But we have been assigned a task and we are very excited to take it on and continue working in 2020.”
The Warriors will be based in Australia for at least a three-month block. However, the fact that all player families and staff can enter NSW has already alleviated one of the main hurdles of last season, which led to five players returning home.
The club had been designated for 11 home games next year, but now they are hoping to play at least nine at Mt Smart if a trans-Tasmanian bubble sets in the fifth round.
“If anything changes in this first period, we will be very excited to announce our return home,” Warriors president Rob Croot said.
“But in doing so, we will have to make sure that we have border security and can operate normally without the threat of a team entering New Zealand and being forced into isolation, or our team traveling for a weekend and not to be able to go home.
“It’s difficult for everyone, but now we just have to go ahead and make it work for us.”
