The resurgence of the Warriors has been one of the best stories in the NRL but amidst the club’s sudden success, CEO Cameron George has not forgotten the heartache of the past few years.
It is what makes the team’s rapid rise this season all the more surprising, having only returned to Auckland late last year after a Covid-enforced stay in Australia saw the Warriors spend 1,038 days away from home.
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It was expected that the NRL would do something to repay the Warriors for their sacrifice, but George has been left underwhelmed by the results.
So far, the Wests Tigers are the only NRL team to have committed to taking a home game across the ditch in a gesture of gratitude, set to play the Warriors at FMG Stadium Waikato in Round 24.
The NRL, on the other hand, took its annual pre-season game between the Indigenous All Stars and New Zealand Māori to Rotorua earlier this year.
For all the Warriors had given up to help keep the competition running, what the club has so far received in return now that the NRL is operating as normal has left George incensed.
“Well there’s nothing… it’s disappointing,” George said on SENZ Radio.
“The game had the opportunity to really enforce it upon a lot of clubs because the World Cup is currently on, a lot of stadiums are shut.
“We tried every angle as a club to deal directly with clubs and so on and the only thing that the NRL came up with for New Zealand was the All-Stars game and it should be here. Like don’t think you’re some sort of hero because you’ve brought a New Zealand culture team back to New Zealand to play in their country.
“It’s like, you’re not going to give New South Wales a State of Origin? It should be here. Hugely disappointed that we didn’t get more.”
George said the team’s strong results this season make it even harder to accept, while also questioning why the Warriors are yet to be given an opportunity to host their annual Anzac Day clash against Melbourne.
“You’ve only got what’s going on now, you’ve only got to look at what this environment and what this country does for the game of rugby league,” George said.
“Trying day and night to get more and more content here, sometimes it just falls on deaf ears. I’ve spoken all about Anzac Day but Melbourne Storm seem to think that they own Anzac Day.
“I think it’s appalling we don’t have a game in New Zealand on Anzac Day. So hopefully next year that changes.”
George also claimed that he had pitched an idea to the NRL about hosting an NRLW Magic Round in New Zealand but did not get any “real response” in return.
The Warriors were foundation members of the NRLW back in 2018 but were forced to withdraw their team in 2021, largely due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The club is hoping to rejoin the league in 2025 but in the meantime George was hoping an NRLW Magic Round could benefit both New Zealand and women’s rugby league in general.
“I’ve talked to the NRL about a Magic Round for the NRLW. Let’s give the NRLW their own market. No real response around that,” George said.
“Like this year, we could have had an NRLW Magic Round. How cool would that have been for women’s sport and New Zealand to have that here in this country and for the NRLW girls and players?
“You know, there’s so much they can do.”
George even suggested the NRL look into playing one State of Origin game in New Zealand, declaring it would be “bigger than the grand final”.
“They should be trying to get it here,” George said.
“It’s a new market, they take it to Adelaide. How many Adelaide or South Australian born people are playing in the NRL? Compare that to New Zealand and the Islands.
“This is their market. They’re going to Las Vegas. At least come to New Zealand and give us something we deserve.
“I think the State of Origin would be unbelievable here. I’ve said it before, it should be Sunday afternoon here, forget the timeframe. Let’s be different. We’re allowed to be different, Covid showed us that.
“Six o’clock kick-off here, four o’clock in Australia leading into Channel Nine news. It’d be bigger than the Grand Final. It’d be awesome.”
Originally published as ‘It’s appalling’: Warriors boss slams NRL, calls for Origin move that would be ‘bigger than GF’