Manu Vatuvei of the Warriors signs his autograph for fans as he arrives home at Auckland International Airport. Photo / Getty Images
The Warriors were greeted in Auckland with a noisy welcome home from Melbourne, after making it through to the NRL grand final.
About 300 fans gathered at Auckland airport and the "Warriors" chant reverberated through the arrivals terminal as they waited for the players to come out.
When the first of them, prop Russell Packer, appeared, the decibel levels shot up.
Fan favourite Manu Vatuvei was taken aback by the turnout.
"I don't have any words at the moment," he told NZ Newswire.
"I didn't really expect this. It just shows how much support we've got."
The cheering reached ear-splitting proportions when coach Ivan Cleary came through the sliding doors.
Cleary, who was fullback in 2002 in the Warriors' only other appearance in a grand final, remembered the reception was similar nine years ago.
"For these people to give up their time and come out here is fantastic," he said.
However, probably the biggest cheer erupted when the Junior Warriors made it out.
The under-20s team, who are defending the NYC title, thumped Canterbury 64-0 in their preliminary final on Saturday night.
The Warriors will not have long back in Auckland.
Bidding to win the NRL title for the first time in the club's 17-year history, they head to Sydney on Wednesday ahead of their showdown with Manly on Sunday.
The Warriors will remarkably feature in all three grand finals next Sunday, after the Auckland Vulcans NSW Cup team also made it through to the decider with a win over Cronulla on Sunday.
- AAP
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