Despite just missing out on the minor premiership, fans are daring to dream as the Wahs emerge as the most-loved rugby team in the city
From the concourse above Go Media Stadium’s northern bank, in the hour before kick-off, the New Zealand Warriors final game of the regular season seems almost incidental. The late-afternoon, early-spring sunshine paints the deep shadow of the Colin Kay Stand over the turf far below, where the NRLW fixture splutters to its conclusion, and the talk of fans leapfrogsbeyond the upcoming men’s game against Manly.
Paul Miller, a Warriors fan since the team’s inaugural 1995 season, leans against a metal railing, a grin playing on his lips. He won’t quite claim it to be “our year” just yet, but his wallet has already spoken for him. He will be in the stands of Sydney’s Accor Stadium come 4 October – and he anticipates that his team will be with him. “We’ve already got grand final tickets, so we’re pretty hopeful.”
