NRL: Warriors CEO Cameron George confident team will play at Mount Smart next weekend

The chief executive of the Warriors believes the side will play the winner of the Newcastle Knights and Canberra Raiders match at Mount Smart on Saturday night.

However, the exact details, including the time it will be played and where, are yet to be confirmed by the NRL.

Speaking to the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalk ZB this morning following the Warriors’ 32-6 defeat to the Penrith Panthers, Warriors chief executive Cameron George was “pretty sure” the match would be at Mount Smart next week.

“We’re waiting for confirmation on that detail today but Saturday night makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons in New Zealand and Australia. The guys that we’re playing, either Newcastle or Canberra, play today so [the NRL] need to take that into account. That’s why I think Saturday will be the perfect fit for everyone.”

George wasn’t sure what time the kick-off would be but he thought it would be another 6pm match.

“[The 6pm time] was designed to carry right through for us in our games given the viewership and attendance in New Zealand rather than at 10pm. I feel confident that we’ll be around that time slot for next week.”

A dejected-looking Tohu Harris post-game after the Penrith Panthers defeat. Photo / Photosport

The Warriors were mauled by the Panthers on a hot Saturday afternoon in western Sydney, with the hosts taking advantage of the Warriors’ errors to take a big lead in the first half before closing out the game in fine fashion.

At no point against the Panthers did the Warriors really look threatening – their lone try coming through Wayde Egan on some second-phase play after a Mitch Barnett offload. They offered little with ball in hand and errors allowed Penrith to enjoy significantly more time with ball in hand.

Warriors coach Andrew Webster didn’t sugarcoat his assessment of the side’s first NRL finals appearance since 2018, saying the team got a good lesson that you’ve got to build pressure in the finals.

Asked about the loss, George told Rudkin the team knew what it needed to fix.

“It is what it is. You’ve got to move on and dust yourself off pretty quickly but there’s another opportunity next week and that’s the great thing about landing in the top four. So we’ll be ready next week.

“We came up against an exceptional team yesterday and we weren’t on. We made a lot of mistakes during the game which will cost you at this level. They know what they’ve got to fix and they’re already in the zone [for next week].”

George said the club was hopeful star halfback Shaun Johnson, who was ruled out of the match against Penrith with a calf injury at training last week, would be right next week.

“I can’t promise you anything but he’s recovering well; he’s been in rehab over here but we won’t know until later this week.”

Luke Kirkness is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He previously covered consumer affairs for the Herald and was an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019.