Rugby league: New Zealand Warriors pull pin on June homecoming match, still hopeful of Mt Smart games in 2022

Warriors CEO Cameron George. Photo / Photosport

The Warriors remain hopeful of playing games in New Zealand this year, despite the cancellation of their first scheduled homecoming match.

That fixture, set down for June 18 against the Penrith Panthers, was going to be their first game on home soil in more than 1000 days.

But the club reluctantly pulled the pin on Friday, in the wake of last week's government announcement about the phased reopening of New Zealand's borders.

"We've always made the right call based on the facts that are in place now," said Warriors chief executive George. "We can't speculate and the government have given us no confidence that transtasman sport can take place within that timeframe. So in the best interests of stability, our footy team and players we are withdrawing the game from New Zealand in June."

George told the Herald last month that he was already working on a 'plan B' for the five scheduled Mt Smart fixtures, given the ongoing uncertainty.

It's likely that the match will now be played at their 2022 base Redcliffe, though that is still to be confirmed.

George said they had to make the call this week, due to the requirements of stakeholders, broadcasters and opposition teams. He explained that even if NRL teams were able to train within the isolation period – which currently isn't feasible – the June 18 match would still be a non-starter, as the Panthers have only a five-day turnaround leading into that game.

The remaining scheduled Mt Smart matches this year are Wests Tigers (July 3), Melbourne Storm (July 29), Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (August 12) and Gold Coast Titans (September 3).

A decision on the July matches will have to be made in the next two to three months and George is hopeful there will be more clarity around border requirements.

"As it stands now, the only indication we've got is that things will be constantly reviewed," said George. "But being reviewed might mean that it goes to three days, seven days or five days or it could even go up and go back to border shut. So we're going to be in a position where we need to know by April [or] May at the latest for July."

George said even if the entry requirements were reduced to a three-day isolation period, that wouldn't be viable for opposition teams.

"They have their training regimes and it's unfair on them to be expected to go into any isolation," said George. "It starts to mess with their training week and their ability to perform at the level they need."

The Warriors are continuing to work with Sport New Zealand but George said the government needed to take a more holistic approach to transtasman travel.

"[They need to] create corridors for sport and for businesses to come and go in and out of New Zealand for the purpose of providing either an injection into the economy in a business sense or providing live content for the communities to enjoy," said George.

"Having a blanket approach for sporting teams or business-orientated people ain't gonna work under the current circumstances."