OLA's guide to game day: Round #1 Old Boys Day

Author: warriors.kiwi
Timestamp: Thu 14 Mar 2019, 03:46 PM

New Zealand’s first in-stadia mini golf course, the return of club legends to celebrate Old Boys’ Day and the resurrection of an old club anthem are three key highlights of game day at Mt Smart Stadium as the Vodafone Warriors prepare to kick off their 25th season against the Bulldogs this Saturday.

The match, which gets underway at 5pm, is being billed as the club’s annual “Old Boys’ Day” and a cast of roughly 40 former Vodafone Warriors (including captains John Simon, Monty Betham, Kevin Campion, Steve Price and Simon Mannering) are expected to be on hand for the celebrations.

Old boys will be acknowledged on the field ahead of kick off and will also form a guard of honour for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and this year’s crop of Vodafone Warriors as they take the field in the club’s original colours to launch their 2019 campaign.

On the field, the contest against Kieran Foran and the Canterbury Bulldogs is expected to be an explosive one. And off it, fans and members can expect plenty to keep them entertained, with a Mitre 10 mini golf course one of the more interesting features of an enhanced game day experience which also includes a revamped Woodstock bar and new-look Members’ Clubrooms for 2019.

A sponsor of the Vodafone Warriors since 2018, Mitre 10 has designed and built the mini golf course for fans of the club after the idea was first pitched to them earlier this year.

“We love a good challenge, so when the team came up with the idea of a mini golf course at Mt Smart we jumped on it. It’s been a busy few weeks getting the design and build sorted, but we knew our builder Stan Scott was the right man for the job,” general manager marketing Jules Lloyd-Jones said.

Further adding to the nostalgia this Saturday will be a performance at half-time of Lapi Mariner, the man dubbed “the voice of the Vodafone Warriors”, who will perform his 2001 club anthem “It’s a Matter of Faith” with the Auckland Pacific Gospel Choir.

“We’ve set ourselves the challenge of delivering wow moments to our fans on game day this year,” Vodafone Warriors CEO Cameron George said.

“We are confident we will deliver on that promise this weekend. The Mitre 10 Mini Golf is truly unique and we can’t wait to see our fans playing on it this Saturday.”

Read below to find out everything you need to know about what’s happening this Saturday:

TIMINGS:

Gates open: 2:30pm

Canterbury NSW Cup – Vodafone Warriors v Canterbury Bulldogs: 2:45pm

Old Boys acknowledged on the field: 4:39pm

NRL – Vodafone Warriors v Canterbury Bulldogs: 5:00pm

Match day sponsor: Canterbury of New Zealand

TRANSPORT:

Travel on trains to see the Vodafone Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium is included with your game ticket or membership card. Services can be used from three hours before kick-off of the NRL match. For more info, click this link:https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/events/vodafone-warriors-season-2019/

WHAT’S HAPPENING ON GAME DAY

CCC T-Shirt Canon with $200 golden ticket for one lucky winner
New-look Woodstock venue, Woody’s Bar, will be open in the entertainment precinct from 2:30pm. Everyone is welcome. Get down there early to secure a great seat
New-look Members’ Clubrooms, complete with outdoor beer garden and post-match interviews with members of the coaching staff
New-look Food Alley with some of Auckland’s most-loved food trucks open from 2.30pm
Canterbury of NZ tackle bag challenge for a chance to win $20 off vouchers at CCC
Canterbury of NZ free cardboard head gear handed out at the gates from 2:30pm
Monster Energy Interactive games area with prizes on offer
Try your hand at our Mitre 10 Mini Golf in the entertainment precinct
Check out the band, Cassius, who will be performing on the iHeartRadio sound stage from 3-4.30pm
Get to the Vodafone Warriors Community Corner and try your hand at the passing wall. We’ve also got free face painting and the chance to get a photo at the photo station
Check out the CCC photo frame and giant Vodafone Warriors mannequin. Make sure to tag CCC in photo. Each week, one lucky winner will be invited into CCC’s corporate suite for our game against the Rabbitohs in round 24. One overall winner will also win a trip to the Grand Final
The Mitre 10 Club Relay Race will take place at half-time of the Canterbury NSW Cup game
This Saturday, East Coast Bays Barracudas, Pakuranga Jaguars, Point Chevalier Pirates and Richmond Rovers will compete
Each club has selected an under-6, under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14 and an under-16 (six players in total) to represent their club
The under-6 and under-8 players will run 50m, the under-10 and under-12 players will run 100m and the under-14 and the under-16 players will run 150m
The first team to finish will be invited back to compete in one of the semi-finals and if they are successful again they will join us for our last home game of the season for the grand final
In this Saturday’s mini mods clash, Glenbervie Primary School Girls are playing Waiheke Island Primary School Girls. They will also take part in the first ACC Biggest Warm Up for 2019

FOOD AND BEV

For Saturday only, hot chips, hotdogs and pies will be available for the retro price of just $3.50 each from Stadium catering outlets to celebrate the club’s 25thseason.

Please note, the deal only applies to Mt Smart Stadium’s Epicure food outlets and does not apply to offerings from subcontractors’ food trucks.

Catering options:

North Stand