Warriors chief executive Cameron George has taken aim at the New Zealand Government after the NRL franchise cancelled its latest homecoming attempt in June.
The Warriors were set to host the Penrith Panthers at Mount Smart Stadium on June 18, the club's first at the stadium in 1023 days.
But the franchise has canned the homecoming, with George saying it was "impossible" for NRL teams to cross the Tasman with the expectation of self-isolating for seven days.
“We remain desperate to bring the team home to play at Mount Smart but it’s not possible to do so in June with the obstacles this Government has put in place. We’ve been forced into a corner," George said.
“All we can do is work with the facts and the fact is it’s impossible to expect NRL teams to isolate for seven days after arriving in New Zealand. Penrith, for example, plays the previous Sunday so it can’t even do the seven days before our game."
George hit out at the Government's re-opening strategy, claiming there was no room for "speculating" during a pandemic.
“While the Government can speculate all it likes about these timings, it has, however, been proven over and over that there’s no place for guesswork in navigating this pandemic,” he said.
“We can’t sit around speculating so once again, our fans, sponsors and the people of New Zealand miss out on live sporting content. The Government needs to correct the isolation process so trans-Tasman sport can happen in New Zealand again.”
George remained hopeful the Warriors would still play at Mount Smart Stadium at some stage during the 2022 season with four other games scheduled for the venue against Wests Tigers on July 3, Melbourne Storm on July 29, Canterbury Bulldogs on August 12 and Gold Coast Titans on September 3.
“Hopeful is all we can be. July is meant to be the next step towards reconnecting the world to New Zealand but no one can be certain that will work out,” George said.
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