May 04, 2018
Warriors’ sale boosts options for locals
A change of ownership for the Warriors could create fresh opportunities for young Maori league players.
Majority owner Eric Watson has accepted an offer form the Carlaw Heritage Trust and Auckland manufacturer Autex Industries for the National Rugby League franchise.
Greg Whaiapu from Auckland Rugby League says preliminary talks have already been held how the grassroots game here can work better with the club.
He says most young players aspire to reach the NRL, and there has been a steady stream of Maori players across the Tasman to the other 15 NRL clubs.
"They seem to think opportunities here are few and far between and now we are aligned to the Warriors or we will become aligned to the Warriors the scope for them becomes wider and just keeping our paylers here in Aotearoa New Zealand and Auckland so they can come through the right pathways and stay in our beautiful country with their whanau and play the beautiful game of rugby league," Mr Whaiapu says.
There could be changes to the Fox Cup, and perhaps another tier of competition created that to create a pathway to the Warriors.
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