More than 48,000 people will pack into Eden Park on Sunday night to watch the Warriors fight for their season, after tickets for the sudden-death NRL semifinal against the Newcastle Knights sold out within two days.
The match kicks off at 6.05pm on Sunday 20 September. It is the first NRL final ever played at Eden Park, and the loser goes home. If the Warriors win, they head to Australia for a preliminary final against the Penrith Panthers, with a place in the grand final on the line.
The NRL moved the game from the Warriors’ usual home at Mount Smart Stadium, also known as Go Media Stadium, because demand was always going to swamp a ground that holds roughly half as many people. The qualifying final against the Dolphins last Saturday sold out within minutes at Mount Smart. Doubling the capacity did not ease the scramble.
According to the NZ Herald, club members bought about 30,000 tickets on Monday before the general public snapped up the rest on Tuesday. RNZ reported that disappointed fans were already posting on social media about missing out within an hour of the public sale opening.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said the speed of the sale spoke for itself. “To see all tickets sold in less than 48 hours at Eden Park highlights the popularity of the Warriors and of Rugby League in New Zealand,” he said.
Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner told the Herald that more than 3000 casual staff were preparing for the sellout, with the outer oval opening from 1pm on Sunday. He described the fixture as “the biggest event in league history in New Zealand.” 1News reported the crowd is likely to set a record for a rugby league match in this country, passing the attendance for the Kiwis’ 1988 World Cup final loss to Australia at the same ground.
The players have felt the demand at home too. Centre Ali Leiataua told RNZ his family had managed to get around 15 tickets, which he said was modest compared with some teammates. “Dallin requested like 60 tickets, like holy hecka!” he said. Second-rower Jacob Laban said his own family order came to about two thousand dollars. “I’m happy they’re paying, I’m not paying for that!”
Not everyone buying was a fan. By Tuesday afternoon, resale listings had already appeared on Trade Me, and RNZ reported that some tickets for the Dolphins match were resold for up to five times their original price. Ticketmaster warned that tickets bought through unauthorised resale sites could be cancelled. Warriors chief executive Cameron George threatened to ban scalpers from Warriors games for good. “They’ve just got to pull their heads in, those people, let the genuine people buy the tickets and come to the game and enjoy it with their family,” he said.
George has framed Sunday as something bigger than a club fixture. The Warriors are the only New Zealand side among the NRL’s 17 teams, and he told RNZ earlier in the week that “It’s us versus Australia.” He also called the match “our New Zealand grand final in the NRL.”
On the field, the biggest question is whether leading try scorer Dallin Watene-Zelezniak can play. The 31-year-old winger broke his right collarbone on 22 August in the 45-26 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs and had surgery. He has been named in the extended squad less than four weeks later. A return would mark his 250th NRL game, after a career spanning 13 seasons with the Panthers, Bulldogs and Warriors, RNZ reported.
Coach Andrew Webster said Watene-Zelezniak, who has scored 20 tries this season, was ahead of schedule and had a chance of returning. “He’s fearless; he just wants to play so badly for the team,” Webster said, before adding a note of caution. “The science is probably against him and might not get there, but we’ll give him an opportunity.”
Centre Leka Halasima is also back in the extended squad after pulling out of the Dolphins match with a hamstring injury picked up in the warm-up. Prop Jackson Ford is ruled out with an ankle injury, a setback in his comeback from a torn pectoral muscle in June. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava comes onto the bench in his place.
The Warriors have named Taine Tuaupiki at fullback, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Ali Leiataua, Adam Pompey and Alofiana Khan-Pereira in the outside backs. Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin are the halves. The forward pack is James Fisher-Harris, Wayde Egan, Mitchell Barnett, Kurt Capewell, Jacob Laban and Erin Clark. Pompey is available after escaping a ban this week.
The Warriors have beaten Newcastle twice this season, including a 46-32 win in round 25. But the Knights arrive in form after upsetting the Rabbitohs 20-10 in their elimination final last Friday. Fullback Kalyn Ponga leads a side that also includes Dane Gagai, Bradman Best and Dominic Young. Warriors forward Sam Healey told RNZ the Warriors could not afford more defensive lapses against such a dangerous attack.
Laban saw a silver lining in the loss to the Dolphins, describing it to RNZ as a blessing in disguise that keeps the side sharp for a longer run. The Warriors will need that sharpness. They have not reached a grand final since 2011, and a win on Sunday would leave them one game away from doing so again.
Were you lucky enough to get a ticket for Eden Park, and do you think the Warriors can get past the Knights? Tell us in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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