A public signing session with the playing squad, visits to 10 schools across the province, a hospital visit and signing sessions at Vodafone and Harvey Norman are all on the schedule during the Vodafone Warriors’ historic trip to Taranaki starting tomorrow (Thursday).
An advance guard from the club led by NRL players Solomone Kata and Jeff Robson arrives later today to begin an intensive Harvey Norman Community Warriors schedule tomorrow morning.
Early on Friday afternoon the club’s NRL squad flies in with Air New Zealand for the first-ever NRL game in New Plymouth when the Vodafone Warriors face Canberra at Yarrow Stadium on Saturday (7.35pm kick-off; match day sponsor: Vodafone).
It’s a chance for the public to greet the Vodafone Warriors as they arrive to anoint New Plymouth as their third home away from home after Eden Park and Westpac Stadium.
Then, after settling in at their hotel, the players selected to face the Raiders will all be at TSB Stadium from 4.00pm-5.00pm for a public signing session (all members and fans are invited to attend).
From tomorrow morning the club will be out and about around Taranaki visiting schools, starting with a trip to Vodafone Warriors hooker Issac Luke’s home town Hawera.
They’ll have two groups in operation headed by star centre Kata – suspended this week – and Robson. Joining them are the club’s NRL ambassadors Jerome Ropati and Georgia Hale along with community relations manager Petrece Kesha.
After starting with Hawera Primary School and Normanby Primary School, the Vodafone Warriors travel to Opunake and Kaponga before heading back to New Plymouth where one group will visit wards at Taranaki Base Hospital and the other will help to dress up Liardet Street for the province’s big NRL weekend.
Six schools are on the schedule in Waitara, Bell Block and New Plymouth on Friday, among them Francis Douglas Memorial College and New Plymouth Boys’ High School. A feature of school visits will be introducing the club’s ACC Everyday Athlete programme.
New Plymouth is the third New Zealand centre outside Auckland that the club has travelled to in the last month and the fifth this year after preseason trials in Whangarei and Nelson.
Taking Harvey Norman Community Warriors programmes to Taranaki follows visits to more than 50 schools in Whangarei, Nelson and Auckland in February plus Wellington and Christchurch in the last few weeks.
VODAFONE WARRIORS IN TARANAKI
May 19-21
Thursday, May 19
10.00-10.45
Hawera Primary School
Hawera
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Jeff Robson, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
10.00-10.45
Normanby Primary School
Normanby
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jerome Ropati
11.30-12.15
Opunake Primary School
Opunake
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Jeff Robson, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
11.30-12.15
Kaponga Primary School
Kaponga
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jerome Ropati
2.30-3.15
Taranaki Base Hospital
New Plymouth
Programme: Visiting kids, surgical and urology wards
Attending: Jeff Robson, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
2.30-3.15
Dressing central city
Liardet Street
Programme: Decorating streets
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jerome Ropati
5.30-6.30
Harvey Norman
23 Smart Road
Waiwhakaiho
Programme: In-store appearance
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jeff Robson, Jerome Ropati, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
7.00-9.00
Quiz Night
Waitara Services and Citizens Club
16 Queen Street
Waitara
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jeff Robson, Jerome Ropati, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
Friday, May 20
10.00-10.45
Francis Douglas Memorial College
New Plymouth
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jerome Ropati
10.00-10.45
Devon Intermediate School
New Plymouth
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Jeff Robson, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
11.30-12.15
Bell Block School
Bell Block
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jerome Ropati
11.30-12.15
Puketapu School
Bell Block
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Jeff Robson, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
1.10
Airport Arrival
New Plymouth Airport
NRL squad due to arrive on NZ5243
2.00-2.45
Marfell School
Marfell
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Jeff Robson, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
2.00-2.45
New Plymouth Boys’ High School
Wellborn
Programme: ACC Everyday Athlete
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jerome Ropati
3.30-4.30
Vodafone
City Centre Shopping Centre
Gill Street
Programme: In-store appearance
Attending: Solomone Kata, Jeff Robson, Jerome Ropati, Georgia Hale, Petrece Kesha
4.00-5.00
Powhiri and public signing session
TSB Stadium
Programme: Signing session
Attending: Full NRL squad selected to face Canberra
7.30-9.00
Coaches’ Session
Devon Hotel
Programme: Session for local coaches
Attending: Justin Morgan, Ruben Wiki, Brendan Inkster, Jerome Ropati
Saturday, May 21
5.00pm
Taranaki v Manawatu
Yarrow Stadium
6.00pm
Vodafone Warriors arrive at Yarrow Stadium
7.35pm
Vodafone Warriors v Canberra Raiders
Yarrow Stadium
BUY TICKETS NOW | VODAFONE WARRIORS v CANBERRA, YARROW STADIUM, MAY 21
