Roger Tuivasa-Sheck says the current Warriors forward pack is the equal of any he has played alongside – including the 2013 premiership-winning Roosters – as a move to Eden Park with a $1.5 million windfall looms for the next final the Kiwi club hosts.
The Warriors will take on the Dolphins this Saturday at their regular home ground Go Media Stadium after finishing second on the ladder, thanks in no small part to a generational group of forwards led by representative props James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett.
Victory over the Dolphins would lock in preliminary final hosting rights in Auckland and a surge in demand for tickets from fans, though the club’s second-place finish has secured two guaranteed home finals.
The NRL held lengthy discussions with the Warriors about shifting the Dolphins clash to Eden Park (capacity just over 50,000) from Go Media Stadium (capacity of 26,000) before backing the club’s desire to stay put at their regular home ground.
Based on the average $50 cost of an NRL finals ticket, the difference in host venue would be worth around $1.5 million to the governing body, which collects gate takings for all finals games.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys said on Monday that the predicted groundswell of support for the Warriors meant a move to Eden Park, and potentially the largest crowd for any rugby league game ever held in New Zealand, was virtually inevitable.
“I’d say you’d be 90 per cent sure that we’ll be going to Eden Park,” V’landys said, forecasting a move that would match Cronulla’s shift from Ocean Protect Stadium to Allianz Stadium this Saturday.
“And we’ve discussed it with the club. They’d like to stay at Mount Smart, but they realise that if all goes to plan, they’re going to have a massive audience and they’ll be accommodated at Eden Park.”
Warriors CEO Cameron George is open to a move in week two or three and Tuivasa-Sheck said he too could understand the NRL’s desire to “give that experience to as many people [as possible] at Eden Park.”
A home final at Eden Park – where the All Blacks haven’t been beaten since 1994 – would comfortably outsell the largest Warriors home game on record, which stands at 38,412 from a 2011 clash against Parramatta at the iconic venue.
The all-time New Zealand rugby league crowd record of 47,363 from the 1988 World Cup final would also be under genuine threat if the Warriors were to host a grand final qualifier.
Along with four-time title-winner Fisher-Harris and former Panthers back-rower Kurt Capewell, Tuivasa-Sheck is the only other Warriors player to have tasted premiership success.
The Kiwi side has also had its defensive issues leading into the finals. Wins over Manly, Newcastle (who were reduced to 12 men for 68 minutes) and South Sydney came while conceding an average of 29 points across the past three weeks.
But Tuivasa-Sheck has little doubt the Warriors can go all the way in 2026 thanks to the influence of Fisher-Harris and Barnett in the middle, along with reigning Dally M lock of the year Erin Clark, who is a strong chance to claim the award again this season.
Young back-rowers Leka Halasima and Jacob Laban have emerged as two of the most damaging edge runners in the NRL, while Demetric Vaimauga, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and Tanner Stowers-Smith have matched their development from the Warriors bench this year.
In a welcome boost for Andrew Webster’s side, Jackson Ford is in line to return from a torn pectoral against the Dolphins, having been in Dally M and NSW Origin contention before going down injured in late June.
“These forwards at the club now are as good as any I’ve played with as a pack, and I don’t say that lightly,” Tuivasa-Sheck said.
“But as a group, they know their roles so well and match up like that Roosters pack [from 2013] in a lot of ways. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was our alpha male back then, with big Frank-Paul Nu’uausala and Sam Moa in the middle.
“Here it’s Fish [Fisher-Harris], he’s our leader, with Barney busting the door down and Demetric and the boys off the bench.
“Erin Clark ball plays in the middle and is so effective and at the Chooks we had Boyd Corder and Sonny Bill [Williams] back then, just elite back-rowers.
“But guys like Leka and Jacob Laban are coming along so quickly, with the experience of Kurt Capewell and Jackson Ford with them too. It’s a really, really well-rounded pack and I’d say it’s our strength.”
Dan Walsh is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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