League: Warriors among NRL clubs struggling for membership as season approaches

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will captain the Warriors again in 2018. Photo / Photosport.

Are New Zealanders still keeping the faith?

Despite an off-season recruitment drive and some quality signings, the Warriors have not done enough to entice fans to sign up for club membership.

The New Zealand franchise had the second-lowest membership count to end the month, down some 4000 members from the same time last year.

The Warriors (8305) were above only the Gold Coast Titans (5335).

At the same time in 2017, the Warriors had the sixth-highest number with 12,074, but have seen a 31 per cent drop in 2018.

The lack of members is a developing trend for the Warriors. After a huge spike from 10,962 at the end of 2015 to 18,350 in 2016, numbers dropped off in the 2017 season.

The pre-season membership drive tends to account for a large chunk of the final number. In 2017, the Warriors had 12,074 members in January, and finished the season with 17,786. The drop off in numbers saw them fall from having the seventh most members in 2016 to the 10th most the year later.

Ben Matulino was one of a number of players to depart from the Warriors following the 2017 NRL season. Photo / Photosport.

The Warriors go into the 2018 season looking to turn around their poor results over the best part of the last decade.

Since reaching the Grand Final in 2011, the Warriors have failed to qualify for the playoffs. Their best result of the past seven seasons was a ninth-placed finish in 2014.

The side have cleaned house between the 2011 season and now. Just two players who took in the match-day squad for the 2011 Grand Final remain in the squad heading into their 2018 campaign - halfback Shaun Johnson and lock Simon Mannering.

For 2018, they've brought in a number of players with big-game experience as they look to right the ship.

Five-eighth Blake Green comes into the side with a Super League title and an NRL runner-up medal to his name. He's joined by Kiwi forward duo Adam Blair and Tohu Harris who have both won NRL titles with the Melbourne Storm - Blair in 2009, though that title was later stripped due to salary cap breaches, and Harris in 2017.

The NRL season gets underway on March 8, with the Warriors beginning their campaign on March 10 away to the South Sydney Rabbitohs - who have consistently been one of the league leaders in membership numbers over the past few years.

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