The Warriors spent the 2020 NRL season playing in Australia due to Covid-19. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors spent the 2020 NRL season playing in Australia due to Covid-19. Photo / Photosport
For the Warriors, 2021 will be another year of rolling with the punches.
The Covid-19 pandemic has dictated the movements of the club since it set in earlier this year, eventually seeing them relocate to Australia's Central Coast to play out the season.
The club is preparing to face asimilar scenario next year despite hopes of returning to Mt Smart Stadium before the season is up, with no indication that a transtasman travel bubble will be established soon.
At the moment, the Warriors will have one pre-season trial match against the Gold Coast Titans in Queensland, before staying in Australia to commence the season, but have plans in place for a number of scenarios.
"We've got a plan, it's just the trigger points that are before us now," Warriors chief executive Cameron George said. "Our plans are subject to the borders being open or closed by early December.
"So, with that in mind we've got plan A and plan B, and whichever one we need to undertake on the basis that the borders are shut or open, we just want to get some certainty and clarity and work towards that."
They are yet to determine where they will be based if they are forced to uproot to Australia for the start of the season, though George said they were looking at establishing a number of options for setting up base, including Redcliffe in Queensland.
However, at this stage, a base in Redcliffe would subject the club to some domestic border issues, causing problems traveling between Queensland and New South Wales.
"Whatever we do and wherever we go will be in the best interests of the team and their welfare, allowing them to live as normal as possible."
Last season, there was plenty said about the struggles of the team being away from home for as long as they were. While some players and staff were able to have their families join them inside the Warriors bubble, others had to go about four months without seeing their loved ones.
However, George was confident it would be different in 2021 and said the playing group and staff had been tremendous around the idea of possibly spending another season in Australia.
"The difference between this year and next season is, at this point in time, families are permitted into Australia so the stress levels of all of us are not what they were this year with the sacrifice the boys had to make away from their families. So, with that being permitted at this point in time there's a lot less pressure in the decision to go to Australia or not."
It will be a new-look Warriors team that fronts for the 2021 season, with new head coach Nathan Brown at the helm and a number of exciting signings joining the fold including Tongan props Addin Fonua-Blake and Ben Murdoch-Masila. Most recently, the Warriors announced the signing of 23-year-old second rower Bayley Sironen.
Bayley Sironen makes a run against the Newcastle Knights. Photo / Getty Images
Sironen joins the club from South Sydney until the end of the 2023 campaign.
