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Confirmed... the Warriors are coming
The Central Coast will officially be home to the New Zealand Warriors for the resumption of the 2020 NRL season.
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Prior to touching down in Tamworth for their initial quarantine period, Warriors CEO, Cameron George, identified the Coast as an ideal place for the Warriors to setup a home base, and on May 11, Central Coast Council confirmed that a deal had been struck that will see the Warriors train at Central Coast Stadium.
It’s understood that they’ll be staying at Terrigal during their time here and are due to arrive from May 20.
Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy, said council had been working behind the scenes with the New Zealand Warriors to make this happen.
“Council has had a long positive relationship with the NRL.
“Hosting the New Zealand Warriors is recognition of council management of Central Coast Stadium as a high-quality venue delivering for professional sporting codes from its ideal location just outside Sydney,” Murphy said.
“The Stadium is in the best shape it has ever been, with council recently investing in major upgrades, including new seating, change rooms, corporate facilities, accessible amenities, large outdoor screens and sound systems.
“Stadium staff are following all operational guidelines and working closely with the NRL to ensure that there is no health risk to the community.
Central Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews, said the announcement offered significant benefits for the local economy.
“The decision to support the New Zealand Warriors’ training sessions will help to restimulate local employment across many skill sectors,” Mayor Matthews said.
Cameron George said the club hugely appreciates the support from Council and the community.
“Our players and staff are so excited knowing that the Central Coast will be their home away from home as they count down to the resumption of the 2020 season,” he said.
“[The stadium] is a terrific facility with a fantastic surface, which was a critical requirement to ensure that our team is as well prepared as possible each and every week of the campaign ahead.
Central Coast AFL players and fans are eagerly awaiting confirmation from the AFL over a prospective restart of the Hunter and Central Coast competition.
The AFL this week foreshadowed a recommencement of the national AFL season from June 11.
Speaking on Footy Classified on Wednesday night, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the league was pushing for a June 11 start.
He said the season would reopen with a blockbuster clash between the Pies and Richmond.
Source: Press release, May 11 Central Coast Council Media
AFL season restart looms
Some doubt has been cast over the start date however due to uncertainty over interstate travel restrictions on clubs such as the Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide, West Coast Eagles and Freemantle.
Newscorp reported that the South Australia’s SA Covid-19 Transition Committee had rejected an AFL request for players to be able to bypass a 14-day quarantine period when flying in and out of the state, which may mean those clubs will need to establish quarantine hubs on the eastern seaboard.
Here on the Coast, AFL Regional Manager and Chairman of Sports Central coast, Simon Smyth, said local clubs were excited about getting back to playing footy.
“A huge vote of thanks goes out to Mayor Matthews, the council and the Central Coast community for doing so much to support us and for making us feel so welcome,” he said.
“We’re waiting on feedback from the State Government on when Stage B and Stage C of the AIS training framework comes back.
Smyth said he was confident all local clubs would elect to resume the 2020 season.
He said the local AFL clubs did not have the same financial pressure as local rugby league clubs because they did not need to fork out payments for senior players.
Reporter: Ross Barry
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