{"id":883662,"date":"2026-09-07T21:04:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883662\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T21:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:04:24","slug":"the-warriors-bandwagon-is-set-to-break-records-this-is-why-they-can-go-all-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883662\/","title":{"rendered":"The Warriors\u2019 bandwagon is set to break records. This is why they can go all the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dan<\/p>\n

September 8, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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Roger Tuivasa-Sheck says the current Warriors forward pack is the equal of any he has played alongside \u2013 including the 2013 premiership-winning Roosters \u2013 as a move to Eden Park with a $1.5 million windfall looms<\/a> for the next final the Kiwi club hosts.<\/p>\n

The Warriors will take on the Dolphins this Saturday at their regular home ground Go Media Stadium after finishing second on the ladder, thanks in no small part to a generational group of forwards led by representative props James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett.<\/p>\n

Victory over the Dolphins would lock in preliminary final hosting rights in Auckland and a surge in demand for tickets from fans, though the club\u2019s second-place finish has secured two guaranteed home finals.<\/p>\n

The NRL held lengthy discussions with the Warriors about shifting the Dolphins clash to Eden Park (capacity just over 50,000) from Go Media Stadium (capacity of 26,000) before backing the club\u2019s desire to stay put at their regular home ground.<\/p>\n

Based on the average $50 cost of an NRL finals ticket, the difference in host venue would be worth around $1.5 million to the governing body<\/a>, which collects gate takings for all finals games.<\/p>\n

ARL Commission chair Peter V\u2019landys<\/a> said on Monday that the predicted groundswell of support for the Warriors meant a move to Eden Park, and potentially the largest crowd for any rugby league game ever held in New Zealand, was virtually inevitable.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew Zealand Warriors fans have had plenty to cheer.Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say you\u2019d be 90 per cent sure that we\u2019ll be going to Eden Park,\u201d V\u2019landys said, forecasting a move that would match Cronulla\u2019s shift from Ocean Protect Stadium to Allianz Stadium this Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019ve discussed it with the club. They\u2019d like to stay at Mount Smart, but they realise that if all goes to plan, they\u2019re going to have a massive audience and they\u2019ll be accommodated at Eden Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warriors CEO Cameron George is open to a move in week two or three<\/a> and Tuivasa-Sheck said he too could understand the NRL\u2019s desire to \u201cgive that experience to as many people [as possible] at Eden Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

A home final at Eden Park \u2013 where the All Blacks haven\u2019t been beaten since 1994 \u2013 would comfortably outsell the largest Warriors home game on record, which stands at 38,412 from a 2011 clash against Parramatta at the iconic venue.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The all-time New Zealand rugby league crowd record of 47,363 from the 1988 World Cup final would also be under genuine threat if the Warriors were to host a grand final qualifier.<\/p>\n

Along with four-time title-winner Fisher-Harris and former Panthers back-rower Kurt Capewell, Tuivasa-Sheck is the only other Warriors player to have tasted premiership success.<\/p>\n

The Kiwi side has also had its defensive issues leading into the finals. Wins over Manly, Newcastle (who were reduced to 12 men for 68 minutes) and South Sydney came while conceding an average of 29 points across the past three weeks.<\/p>\n

But Tuivasa-Sheck has little doubt the Warriors can go all the way in 2026 thanks to the influence of Fisher-Harris and Barnett in the middle, along with reigning Dally M lock of the year Erin Clark, who is a strong chance to claim the award again this season.<\/p>\n

Young back-rowers Leka Halasima and Jacob Laban have emerged as two of the most damaging edge runners in the NRL, while Demetric Vaimauga, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and Tanner Stowers-Smith have matched their development from the Warriors bench this year.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Fisher-Harris is leading arguably the best pack in the NRL.Getty Images<\/p>\n

In a welcome boost for Andrew Webster\u2019s side, Jackson Ford is in line to return from a torn pectoral against the Dolphins, having been in Dally M and NSW Origin contention before going down injured in late June.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese forwards at the club now are as good as any I\u2019ve played with as a pack, and I don\u2019t say that lightly,\u201d Tuivasa-Sheck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as a group, they know their roles so well and match up like that Roosters pack [from 2013] in a lot of ways. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was our alpha male back then, with big Frank-Paul Nu\u2019uausala and Sam Moa in the middle.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Harry<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHere it\u2019s Fish [Fisher-Harris], he\u2019s our leader, with Barney busting the door down and Demetric and the boys off the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cErin Clark ball plays in the middle and is so effective and at the Chooks we had Boyd Corder and Sonny Bill [Williams] back then, just elite back-rowers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut guys like Leka and Jacob Laban are coming along so quickly, with the experience of Kurt Capewell and Jackson Ford with them too. It\u2019s a really, really well-rounded pack and I\u2019d say it\u2019s our strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"DanDan Walsh<\/a> is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 8, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-883662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}