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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
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