‘It’s not the same as playing at home’: Wahs fans divided over Eden Park elimination final

The Warriors’ are taking their fight for the National Rugby League (NRL) grand final to Eden Park but not every Wahs fan is confirmed leaving home is the right call.

The club has confirmed it will host the Newcastle Knights at the Auckland stadium this coming Sunday after last Saturday night's dramatic 26-16 loss to the Redcliffe Dolphins at Go Media Stadium.

Eden Park can hold close to 50,000 fans, aslomost twice the capacity of their home ground at Go Medi Stadium.

This will give the Warriors the chance to put on one of the biggest NRL crowds New Zealand has seen.

But the move has quickly split fans online. One commenter questioned why the Warriors would give up home ground advantage.

“Why leave your home ground, yeah more fans, but it’s not the same as playing at home.”

Crowd attendance number. Photo/Brett Phibbs/Photosport.

Another saw the move less as a Warriors opportunity and more as another money-making exercise for the NRL.

“NRL just getting another cash grab before the Wahs get eliminated.”

Others welcomed the chance for more fans to be there after Saturday’s match sold out earlier in the week, with reports of scalpers being resold at higher prices.

“Not where we want to be but hopefully scalpers don't mess it up again because I saw a lot of empty seats last night,” one commenter wrote.

Another fan was already looking ahead: “Just another stretch of grass boys man up and go forward warriors 💙❤️💚 .”

For Eden Park, the fouc is on turning the elimination final into a major occasion for Warriors fans.

Nick Sautner, Eden Park Chief Executive Officer, said the stadium wants supporters to feel at home despite the change of venue.

“We want every Wahs fan to feel at home at Eden Park. From the moment the gates to the Outer Oval open at 1.00pm, the precinct will come alive with music, activities and entertainment as we build towards kick-off,” Sautner said in a media release.

“With close to 50,000 fans expected, this has the potential to be the biggest NRL game in New Zealand history and one of the most memorable sporting occasions our country has witnessed.”

Eden Park holds around 50,000 fans, nearly double the capacity of Go Media Stadium, which holds around 25,000-26,000.

For the Warriors, though, the bigger venue comes after a painful night.

They were in control of Saturday’s match against the Dolphins, leading 16-8 after 60 minutes and looking set to earn a week off and a home preliminary final.

Instead, the Dolphins hit back with two tries in six minutes to claim their first finals win in their debut finals campaign.

Head coach Andrew Webster says his side cannot afforst to spend too long thinking about what went wrong.

“I don’t think we can sulk for long, there’s another path for us, it’s not the direct path, it’s going to be a different one. We got to move on quick.

“Still did a lot of good things tonight, and there’s some moments that we lost there and it was costly against a very fast team. But, we’re in control of our own destiny.”

The Warriors will take their NRL elimination final against the Newcastle Knights to Eden Park after their dramatic loss to the Dolphins. Photo/Photosport/Brett Phibbs

Tickets for Sunday’s elimination final go on sale on Monday, 14 September, at 12pm (NZ time).

The question now is whether the Warriors can turn Eden Park into a new home for one night and whether their supporters will fill it.