Andy Jackson/Getty Images
Warriors fans cram the stands for their match against the Cowboys at Mt Smart Stadium.
Braving a torrential downpour, more than 20,000 hardy souls poured through the Mt Smart Stadium turnstiles last Sunday to see the Warriors succumb to the Roosters in the rain.
Or 20,395, to be more precise.
That’s the official crowd figure released to the media and the NRL by the Kiwi club, chalked up in match reports and recorded in the league’s history books.
It followed similarly impressive turnouts of 18,595 and 23,695 for the Warriors’ other two home games at their Auckland fortress this season against the Bulldogs and the Cowboys respectively.
So far, so normal. But then some eagle-eyed anoraks noticed a slight curiosity in those figures – all three of them ended in ’95’.
Of course, with a sample size of just three, there’s a chance – albeit it a small one – that it could be an amazing if slightly improbable coincidence.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
It was hard work for the Warriors and Roosters but more than 20,000 people turned out to watch.
Yet when Stuff delved a little deeper into the record books, we discovered that of the last 26 matches played by the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium, 18 of the official crowds ended in ’95’.
That ruled out the possibility of it being merely coincidental. So how then can this peculiar mystery be explained? As is often the case, the answer is refreshingly straightforward.
“We might round it up one or two numbers just to get to ’95’,” Warriors chief executive Cameron George revealed to Stuff, admitting it was done in a nod to the club’s foundation year of 1995.
“I think it’s awesome. That’s where we started and we like celebrating our club’s history.
“A lot of the time it’s not far off it, trust me. Sometimes it might be ’96’ or ’83’ and we round it up or round it down a couple, just to get to ’95’.
“If we’re 20,937, I wouldn’t do it. But if it’s closer to it than not, I’d do it. We just round it up or round it down slightly. A lot of them have been coincidental!”
George has been understandably delighted with the crowd numbers at Warriors’ matches so far this season, particularly when compared with ailing attendances at Super Rugby Pacific matches (just 8700 watched the encounter between finals contenders the Hurricanes and Brumbies in Wellington last Friday).
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Warriors chief executive Cameron George has shed light on the mystery of their home attendances.
He put it down to a range of factors, from fan loyalty to ticket prices and a thirst for live sport in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that kept the Warriors in Australia for almost three years.
“Our fans are great, they are having fun, they rock this stadium. There’s no negativity coming out of this place, it’s all positive,” George said after back-to-back defeats put the brakes on the Warriors’ encouraging start to the season.
“We have a great team on the park, our stadium can cater for everyone’s needs, we have really good entertainment and our ticketing prices are extremely competitive. We are constantly putting out new offers, new initiatives around our pricing.
“We do our best to make money – we’re a business naturally – but we get more excited about having people here. And that’s why we have $10 ticket offers from time to time and they’re getting snapped up.
“It’s about getting people back to live sports as we’ve been away for so long [during Covid-19 pandemic] and we’re really putting some effort into that and encouraging people to get here and enjoy the atmosphere, because it is outstanding.
“The amount of new fans we’ve got and people coming to the games has translated into huge merchandise sales. Everyone’s wearing their Warriors jumpers, everyone’s proud of it and everyone’s having a good time.”
The eighth-placed Warriors (5-4) will look to return to winning ways when they take on two-time reigning premiers Penrith (4-4) in Brisbane in the NRL’s Super Round on Saturday (5pm NZT).
Their next outing at Mt Smart is not until June 3 against the Dolphins (they play the Broncos in Napier on May 27).
The ‘official’ crowd number for that fixture against Wayne Bennett’s newcomers will be viewed with renewed interest.
