Bold Warriors launch record supporter bid to boost grassroots rugby league

Much has been made of the struggles the Warriors went through to complete an NRL season like no other.

But after gaining a new level of admiration on both sides of Tasman for the way they dealt with the adversity, the Warriors want to pass that support on to the grassroots.

"I know at a professional level the financial hit it cost us and I can only imagine what it means for the community-based levels," chief executive Cameron George told Stuff. "If we can generate revenue to put back into the local game next year that either offsets cost or makes it cheaper for families and kids to get involved in our great game we’re really keen to do so."

The support and goodwill the Kiwi club received for their sacrifice in Australia has shone a light on the potential to grow their fan base. As a result, George has set an ambitious target of becoming the most-supported sports organisation in Australasia for 2020.

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To realise this goal, the Warriors have launched a $10 supporter offer for October with $5 from each purchase being returned to junior rugby league across the country, as well as to areas in Australia where the club has a close connection, such as Tamworth.

A strong junior foundation is essential to any future success for the club but the grassroots level across all sports, not just rugby league, has been left reeling by the affects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Community sport relies heavily on class four gaming money (gaming in pubs and clubs, outside a casino), which pumps in more than $150 million annually into the national sports sector. With restaurants and bars closed during lockdown and gaming machines turned off, community groups will see a much smaller return this year.

The community rugby league season was also heavily disrupted by the lockdowns, with some clubs opting not to field teams in the mini/mod (under 6-under 12) grades.

The big fear is that youngsters who did not take part this year may be lost to the game for good.

"All the jurisdictions have done their absolute best to continue to be engaged with the grassroots levels,” George said. “I just hope that everyone gets back out on the park next year and has a bit of fun. If this initiative can help that, we’ll feel really proud to be a part of a resurgence of junior rugby league in all of New Zealand and parts of Australia."

Half of the proceeds from all Warriors supporter subscriptions purchased will be disbursed evenly across New Zealand Rugby League’s seven zones as well as junior programmes at rugby league clubs in Central Coast, Redcliffe, Tamworth and Tenterfield.

It will be a welcome boost to the junior game, even if the Warriors can simply get close to the record for the largest supporter base in Australasia, which is currently held by AFL's West Coast Eagles at 100,776.

It's a lofty goal. The Warriors currently have 18,543 members, which ranks them sixth in the NRL. South Sydney leads the competition with 29,670.

But they are well up on 2019 and in many ways, the Warriors have been the feel-good sports story of the year after overcoming a number of hurdles, including being stuck in Australia all season, to just fall short of the finals.

George said their efforts have "awoken the rugby league world as to who we are" and is determined to build on their new support.

"The way this year was unfolding was pretty well set out to have the club fail. The only people that didn’t expect the club to fail was those within it," he added. "So by us responding in the manner that we did defined what our club was about.

"I genuinely believe everyone took a deep breath and went ‘wow, the New Zealand Warriors are certainly a force to be reckoned with in the future’.

"We are so many people’s second team. We’re not asking them to leave their first team but we want to formalise how many supporters we actually have out there in the world and this is a really great way of doing it."