League: Aussies expected to swell NRL crowd

Tohu Harris

More than 200 people are expected to fly from Australia to Napier as the final push goes in to pack McLean Park for Saturday night's NRL rugby league match between Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons.

New Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy confirmed the biggest influx will be a chartered Virgin Australia aircraft carrying about 150 passengers from Melbourne to Napier, via a Wellington stopover for border formalities.

Arriving at 5.30pm tomorrow, it will include the Melbourne team and corporate supporters. A Dragons party of more than 30 will arrive the same day.

Because of other business commitments, Mr Donaghy, a 32-year-old former journalist who was promoted from the role of Storm strategy and communications director just three weeks ago, will travel separately, as will unknown numbers of supporters from both clubs.

Mr Donaghy said, from Melbourne, the travelling numbers, a chartered transtasman flight and at least a three-night stay for many of the visitors, highlight the importance of the match to the Hawke's Bay economy. He hopes it will attract other major sports events.

"There are certainly more opportunities for more NRL clubs to venture to Napier, so it is now most important for the people of the area to get to the game and show their support," he said.

Some of the world's biggest rugby league names are expected, including Australian Kangaroos and Queensland State of Origin skipper Cameron Smith.

Smith a former World Player of the Year who, last Friday, played his 300th match for the Storm, and teammate and former Hastings Boys' High School rugby player Tohu Harris, are expected to play on Saturday.

Seating and general admission embankment tickets are still available through Ticketek.

McLean Park has a capacity of about 17,400 although with extra seating about 23,000 were packed in for last September's rugby test between the All Blacks and Argentina.

The biggest crowd for a league match in Hawke's Bay is thought to have been the January 1992 Sunday afternoon attendance of about 12,500 for an NRL pre-season game between then glamour side Manly Sea Eagles and an invitation side of mainly Wellington and Hawke's Bay players.

Hawke's Bay District Rugby League Manly match manager Denis O'Reilly said staging an NRL match in Hawke's Bay was huge.

The possibility 23 years ago that Hawke's Bay could ever stage a match in what was then most popularly known as the Winfield Cup was "absolutely nil," he said.