Warriors chief executive Cameron George has denied a report claiming that the club is resigned to spending the entire 2021 season in Australia following the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland.
The Kiwi NRL side, who have been based in Australia since the start of the year, had originally decided to play their first four games across the Tasman with an eye to return to Mt Smart Stadium for the April 9 clash against Manly, provided a trans-Tasman bubble was in place.
The detection of 15 community cases in Auckland has left those short-term plans in jeopardy as well as highlighting a lack of certainty at the border that could see the team spend another season away from home.
While New Zealand has yet to relax its border restrictions to overseas visitors, Australia has opened its doors for Kiwis to enter freely only to impose a quarantine whenever an outbreak occurs in this country.
A Newshub report said it was for that reason that the Warriors had given up hope of playing any home games in Auckland this year, even if a trans-Tasman bubble was in place. The report said that the possibility of the borders closing while they were in New Zealand was too great a risk for the competition.
In a statement from the club, George said the report was “inaccurate” but conceded the recent Covid-19 resurgence had placed any immediate return in jeopardy.
George reiterated the club had always planned to review its position in early March and that their desire was still to return home in 2021.
He said the club was still in discussions about plans to extend the team’s stay in Australia, with an announcement likely to be made later this week.
The Warriors kick-off their campaign against the Gold Coast Titans at Central Coast Stadium on March 13.
