Warriors v Broncos: ‘Away’ game at Suncorp turns into massive home crowd takeover at Magic Round
You can guarantee that will be the last time the Brisbane Broncos play the New Zealand Warriors at Magic Round.
Sunday night’s main event at the Magic Round was an absolute embarrassment for the “away” team, who were greeted with boos at their home ground before even entering the field – followed by offering little on the pitch in a 42-12 defeat.
Heading into the fixture, the talk from many Warriors fans was how unfair it was that this was deemed a home game for Andrew Webster’s side – they return to Suncorp Stadium in round 24 to face the Broncos a second time.
But there was no doubt who the true home team was on Sunday night. In the preceding match between the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans, the big screens showed a shot of former Warrior Reece Walsh warming up in the Broncos changing rooms – and it was greeted with boos.
It was the first sign this was not going to be Brisbane’s day.
When the teams were announced, every Broncos player was booed while massive cheers went around the 50,000-odd fans for their Warriors rivals.
Caxton St, where all the fans mingle before the games, was a total Warriors takeover from early in the day, before culminating with a 3pm hīkoi to the ground. The Lord Alfred pub was packed in beautiful scenes, with Warriors CEO Cameron George looking happy to soak in the atmosphere.
But it started on the flight over on Thursday, three days before their game, with more than half the plane decked out in Warriors gear. The pop-up Warriors store in the centre of Brisbane sold more than $100,000 of merchandise each day, with massive lines to enter.
This is the sort of fandom rugby could only dream to have. These hard-nailed fans were a stark contrast from the Boomer-laden tour groups and OEers that gather before an All Blacks away test. I’ve been to Warriors home playoff games but this was even better.
From kickoff, the Warriors fans were turned up to 11, with the sad injury to Tanah Boyd briefly taking the air out of the atmosphere. It was noticeable that the patch of turf where the injury happened had taken a bit of a battering after six previous games and some rain in the days leading up to the Magic Round.
But once the Warriors finally crossed over through some Dallin Watene-Zelezniak magic, and with the “home” team enjoying a huge penalty advantage, it became clear it was not Brisbane’s day.
Heads were quickly down among the Broncos faithful. One fan shaking his head was overheard saying: “What is going on? This is our ground?”
At the break, with the score 22-0, Pukana Cam scanned the crowd while Sir Dave Dobbyn and Herbs played on the PA. When the final whistle blew, Savage led the fans in the team’s victory song, We Are The Warriors.
Every other game at Magic Round had a fanzone behind the goalposts. For this clash, the whole stadium was a Warriors fanzone, with massive pockets of supporters spread throughout. Welcome to GoMedia North!
It may just be one of the Warriors’ best away performances, even if it was up there with the Cronulla Sharks preliminary final in 2002 in terms of supporter numbers. It was great to see the Warriors spend time celebrating with the fans directly after the win, even getting a team photo in front of a main section of supporters.
The Sunday middle game seems like the perfect spot for the Warriors at the Magic Round – they are the main event in Brisbane. Many Warriors fans attend all three days and there was a noticeable exodus ahead of the final clash between the Penrith Panthers and the St George Illawarra Dragons. Some Broncos fans who only wanted tickets for the Sunday, missed out on better ticket options - because they’d already been snapped up.
The NRL may have to move the Broncos to Friday or Saturday to see if they can recapture their home.
Cameron McMillan has been a sports journalist since 2003 and is NZME’s Deputy Head of Sport.