Warriors boss lashes out at NRL over 'appalling' act: 'Falls on deaf ears'
Cameron George has been outspoken over what he considers to be the paltry offerings for New Zealand.
New Zealand Warriors boss Cameron George has slammed the NRL over what he considers to be the paltry offerings made to the club in the wake of the two-year stint they spent in Australia to help keep the league afloat during the Covid-19 crisis. The Warriors spent a total of 1073 days in Australia, unable to return to their home base, solving a massive problem faced by the league amid both domestic and international travel restrictions at the height of the pandemic.
The Warriors celebrated their return to New Zealand towards the end of 2021, and have since gone on to enjoy a major NRL resurgence. Despite this, only the Wests Tigers have agreed to host a home game in New Zealand as a sign of thanks and respect to the club, who forfeited nearly two years worth of their own home fixtures in order to help keep the competition run smoothly.
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Now sitting third on the ladder with 12 wins so far this season, the Warriors have emerged as a surprise contended in 2022, and George believes the NRL should be looking towards New Zealand rather than Adelaide or Las Vegas as the league looks to expand and promote the game. The NRL's only notable move with regards to the Warriors was holding the annual pre-season clash between the Indigenous All-Stars and New Zealand Māori to Rotorua.
George has fired up about what he considers to be a weak offering from the league, calling for the nation to be considered for a State of Origin fixture or the NRL Magic Round, as well as criticising the reluctance to host an Anzac Day fixture in New Zealand. He told SENZ Radio there had been a major missed opportunity to utilise New Zealand more given various stadiums are unavailable due to the FIFA Women's World Cup being hosted between Australia and New Zealand.
“Well there’s nothing... it’s disappointing,” George said. “The game had the opportunity to really enforce it upon a lot of clubs because the World Cup is currently on, a lot of stadiums are shut.
“We tried every angle as a club to deal directly with clubs and so on and the only thing that the NRL came up with for New Zealand was the All-Stars game and it should be here. Like don’t think you’re some sort of hero because you’ve brought a New Zealand culture team back to New Zealand to play in their country.
“It’s like, you’re not going to give New South Wales a State of Origin? It should be here. Hugely disappointed that we didn’t get more.”
Cameron George calls for New Zealand to host Magic Round
While the prospect of an Origin fixture being played outside of Australia might be a more difficult sell, George argued the significant resources being dedicated to hosting matches in Las Vegas amounted to something of a slap in the face for the Warriors. Crowd numbers for the club have blossomed since their return to Auckland last year, aided by the club's compelling rise up the NRL ladder.
George also argued there was a major missed opportunity to grow the burgeoning NRLW in New Zealand, given it is a natural market for the sport. In addition to calling for the NRL to host Magic Round there, he said there was a clear opportunity to showcase the women's game in a part of the world where a significant number of players are drawn from.
“They should be trying to get it here,” George said. “It’s a new market, they take it to Adelaide. How many Adelaide or South Australian born people are playing in the NRL? Compare that to New Zealand and the Islands.
“This is their market. They’re going to Las Vegas. At least come to New Zealand and give us something we deserve. I think the State of Origin would be unbelievable here. I’ve said it before, it should be Sunday afternoon here, forget the timeframe.
"Let’s be different. We’re allowed to be different, Covid showed us that. Six o’clock kick-off here, four o’clock in Australia leading into Channel Nine news. It’d be bigger than the Grand Final. It’d be awesome.”
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