The Warriors will remain in Australia for the rest of the NRL season and not return to New Zealand as planned.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George said it was originally hoped the Kiwi club would return to Auckland on June 21 and play their final five regular season home games at Mount Smart Stadium.
“That was the goal but it’s clear there’s still too much uncertainty and risk involved with the Covid-19 situation,” he said.
While a trans-Tasman bubble has been in place for a month, George said it had become clear that heading home was no longer a realistic option.
“We saw a pause in the bubble just two weeks ago after a case in Sydney and that really served as another reminder of how unstable things are.
“While we’ve wanted to come home our priority has been to ensure we have stability for our players and families while also doing what’s best for the competition.
“We’ve been in constant discussions with the NRL keeping abreast of developments and we’ve mutually agreed it’s in our best interests to remain in Australia.
“However, we will continue to explore options to play in front of our fans at home if international border volatility settles later in the season.”
The decision comes after Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck said the players wanted to stay in Australia.
"We all probably think it's best for us to stay on here and just finish because it doesn't seem that easy to just pack up and go home because unfortunately some of the boys don't have homes, they don't have cars there, they don't know how to get around," he said.
"There's a good set-up here, there's a good system here so may as well just finish off the year here and get ready for a life back in New Zealand in the new year."
Tuivasa-Sheck said finding bond and rent for those who needed it would be stressful, instead backing fly-in and fly-out missions and whatever else made the most sense for the club and the NRL overall.
"Of course all of the boys want to come home and want to be back with our fans.
"If we make the call that we are going to stay here in Australia, I'd still love to come back home and get a few games on, I think they'd go off, I think it's only fair we do something back home and I know the clubs all over the NRL would love to go back home and do something for the fans back at the Warriors."
The 11th-place Warriors host Wests Tigers in round 11 at Central Coast Stadium tonight.
-Additional reporting by AAP
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