Warriors take Anzac Day game to Christchurch

Author: Richard Becht warriors.kiwi
Timestamp: Thu 21 Nov 2024, 10:59 AM

After sellout crowds for their NRL match and trial in Christchurch this year, the One New Zealand Warriors will make more history by taking their prestigious Anzac Day NRL fixture to the Garden City next season.

The release of the Warriors' full draw today confirms they will face Newcastle in the round eight game at Apollo Projects Stadium on April 25.

It’s the second year of the Warriors’ three-year partnership with Christchurch with the third match next year scheduled to be played in the new One New Zealand Stadium (Te Kaha).

“We’re so excited to confirm our Anzac Day game in Christchurch next year,” said One New Zealand CEO Cameron George.

“We saw how much the fans from the city and surrounding areas got behind the One New Zealand Warriors for our trial against the Tigers and then our NRL match against the Raiders this year. The same happened again last month when the Kiwis played the Kangaroos.

“With Anzac Day falling on Friday, we’d anticipate even more fans travelling from out of town to make the most of the long weekend. It’s going to be a terrific occasion.”

It’s the second season running and just the third time in history that the Warriors have staged their Anzac Day game in New Zealand; the first two both involved the Gold Coast Titans this year and in 2015 with those games being played at Go Media Stadium.

Moving the match to Christchurch adds even further lustre to a season that marks the 30th anniversary of the Warriors’ introduction to the competition on March 10, 1995.

Just as the original Auckland Warriors blazed a trail that night, so too will the One New Zealand Warriors this year when, just nine days short of the 30th anniversary, they break new ground by playing a game in the United States for the first time.

That comes with their Las Vegas 2025 season opener against the Canberra Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on March 1, kicking off a campaign rich in features, not least the return of the club’s NRLW side which will be involved in doubleheaders with the NRL team on four occasions later in the campaign.

Apart from the Las Vegas venture and the Anzac Day match, another highlight is confirmation the four-times premiership-winning Penrith Panthers will make a rare trip to Go Media Stadium, their first in six years.

Draw features

Historic first game in Las Vegas playing the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on March 1.
Anzac Day match against Newcastle to be played at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch.
Glamour clubs the Sydney Roosters (Rd 3, March 21), Brisbane Broncos (Rd 7, April 19) and Penrith Panthers (Rd 16, June 21) facing the Warriors at Go Media Stadium.
Match against the Panthers – the first in Auckland since 2019 – follows State of Origin II.
Season begins away against the Raiders in Las Vegas and ends on the road against the Sea Eagles in Sydney.
Warriors play 2024 top six sides only once – Roosters and Panthers in Auckland, Storm, Sharks, Cowboys and Bulldogs in Australia.
Four consecutive matches played outside Auckland – Knights in Christchurch (April 25), Cowboys in Brisbane (May 3), Dragons in Wollongong (May10), Dolphins in Brisbane (May 17).
Two byes fall before Origin matches.
No away games in Townsville or Canberra.
First bye is round five (April 3-6) while the second and third are only three weeks apart in round 15 and round 18.
Teams played once:
Home | Roosters, Panthers, Eels, Cowboys.
Away | Storm, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Sharks.
Teams played home and away:
Raiders, Sea Eagles, Tigers, Broncos, Dolphins, Knights, Dragons, Titans.
NRL-NRLW doubleheaders:
July 13 (home) | v Tigers (4.00pm local time) preceded by Warriors-Eels NRLW match (2.00pm local time).
July 20 (away) | v Knights (4.00pm local time) followed by Knights-Warriors NRLW match (6.15pm local time).
July 26 (home) | v Titans (5.00pm local time preceded by Warriors-Titans NRLW match (2.45pm local time).
August 9 (away) | v Bulldogs (7.35pm local time) preceded by Bulldogs-Warriors NRLW match (5.15pm local time).

One New Zealand Warriors | 2025 NRL draw

Regular season

1 Sat March 1 (4.00pm) v Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
2 Fri March 14 (8.00pm) v Sea Eagles, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
3 Fri March 21 (8.00pm) v Roosters, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
4 Sun March 30 (6.15pm) v Wests Tigers, Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
5 April 3-6 Bye
6 Sun April 13 (2.00pm) v Storm, AAMI Park, Melbourne
7 Sat April 19 (7.30pm) v Broncos, Go Media Stadium, Auckland (Easter Weekend)
8 Fri April 25 (8.00pm) v Knights, Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch (Anzac Round)
9 Sat May 3 (5.30pm) v Cowboys, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Magic Round)
10 Sat May 10 (5.30pm) v Dragons, WIN Stadium, Wollongong
11 Sat May 17 (3.00pm) v Dolphins, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
12 Sun May 25 (6.05pm) v Raiders, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Wed May 28 (8.00pm) State of Origin I, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
13 Sun June 1 (2.00pm) v Rabbitohs, Accor Stadium, Sydney
14 Sat June 7 (5.30pm) v Sharks, Shark Stadium, Sydney
15 June 12-15 Bye
Wed June 18 (8.00pm) State of Origin II, Optus Stadium, Perth
16 Sat June 21 (5.00pm) v Panthers, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
17 Sat June 28 (3.00pm) v Broncos, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
18 July 3-6 Bye
Wed July 9 (8.00pm) State of Origin III, Accor Stadium, Sydney
19 Sun July 13 (4.00pm) v Wests Tigers, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
20 Sun July 20 (4.00pm) v Knights, McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
21 Sat July 26 (5.00pm) v Titans, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
22 Fri August 1 (8.00pm) v Dolphins, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
23 Sat August 9 (7.35pm) v Bulldogs, Accor Stadium, Sydney
24 Fri August 15 (8.00pm) v Dragons, Go Media Stadium, Auckland (Indigenous Round)
25 Sat August 23 (5.30pm) v Titans, Cbus Super Stadium, Robina
26 Fri August 29 (8.00pm) v Eels, Go Media Stadium, Auckland
27 Fri Sept 5 (6.00pm) v Sea Eagles, 4 Pines Park, Sydney