by Peter Williams

I did something on Saturday I’ve never done before.

I went to a Warriors game.

The poor old home team, the Titans, didn’t have a price in this contest. Yes, the Warriors ran red hot bouncing back from a disappointing loss in Sydney last week but the near capacity 25,000 strong crowd was overwhelmingly in support of the Warriors.

The merchandise shops told a story. Hardly any business at the Titans store but the six strong staff behind the Warriors counter looked run off their feet trying to satisfy the queue of fans.

Has there been another Maori migration in the 21^st century? Is there a new iwi called Ngati GC? To an old Pakeha man now firmly ensconced in the South Island, the number of Maori wearing Warriors regalia around the streets of Robina was quite extraordinary.

I talked to a few of them when we were waiting for our bus afterwards. They’re living here because it’s a fun place. Decent jobs paying pretty well, warm weather, good roads, buses and trams that run all day, reasonable housing costs – what’s not to like?

Mind you, a few of them are still doing their political bit for the homeland. Down in front of us amid the flags supporting the Warriors was the familiar red, white and black Tino Rangatira banner. There was a time when political statements weren’t allowed inside sports stadia. Maybe that rule doesn’t apply on the GC, or maybe the Aussies just don’t know the significance of that flag?

(As an aside I note the same flag featured in TV coverage of the netball final at the Commonwealth Games. That sort of campaigning is an absolute no-no at the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. The flag wavers either take it down or have it confiscated. )

Back to the Warriors game. This is Australia and it’s rugby league. It’s the game of the working man and woman. The off field entertainment is not too bothered with sophistication.

So before the start we had a WWE style “wrestling” bout complete with a female in suspenders getting into the action with three blokes in a tag-in contest. I guess these guys know how to cope with the full force body slams but even up close it looked pretty painful. All the combatants walked away fully intact so they must know what they’re doing. One of them even ran out with the match ball before kick-off.

Then at half time there was a hot dog eating contest! To be honest I didn’t pay too much attention to the result but the event, broadcast on the big screens around the stadium showed four rather overweight young men stuffing their faces with as many sausages-in-a-bun as they could in the allotted time period – with an occasional slurp of water. No doubt the contestants retired to drink some more beer afterwards.

And just to complete the throwback to the 1990s, there were a few routines pre-match and at half time from a group of cheerleaders. It was slick, entertaining and fun.

To the game itself. You know the result. The Warriors turned on one of their best shows of the season and it was great seeing the likes of the star wingers Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Alofiana Khan-Pereira scoring tries in front of us.

For someone who hasn’t watched that much rugby league in the flesh, it’s easy to understand why the NRL is easily winning the battle for the eyes and minds of oval ball sports fans on both sides of the Tasman. The ball is constantly in play. No mucking round setting scrums, refeeding lineouts or looking at too many replays before deciding on a try. The game just seems to move faster than its 15-a-side competitor and the great advantage of competitive rugby league in this part of the world is its simplicity. One season-long competition at weekends from March to September with the three mid-week breakouts for State of Origin matches.

Who could be surprised the 2028-2034 NRL broadcast rights deal is worth an eye-watering $5.3 billion ?

International rugby league has always been the poor relation to the loyalties and excitement generated by the NRL competition.

Rugby Union has it all the wrong way round, this year especially, with its main events at home done and dusted by mid-July.

I loved the experience of this Warriors game. We were here as part of a package tour arranged by Dunedin Venues who operate Forsyth Barr stadium. I know competition is hot to host Warriors games out of Auckland but I’d love to have them in Dunedin again, this time to play an official NRL match rather than a pre-season game.

They don’t drop the ball as much as the Highlanders do!

POSTSCRIPT: My wife and I went up to Brisbane the day after the match. We took the Gold Coast tram and then a Queensland Rail service to Bowen Hills. It’s about a two and half hour trip each way. Total fare?

Fifty cents each way.

Seriously.

Originally published on PeterAllanWilliams.