‘Nearly every kid in NZ will be asleep’: NRL tries, and fails, to shift Warriors v Broncos prelim

The NRL has held in-depth discussions with broadcasters and key stakeholders in an attempt to shift the Warriors v Broncos preliminary final to an NZ-friendly time.

Dean Ritchie

@BulldogRitchie

3 min read

September 18, 2023 - 7:51PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

“Nearly every kid in NZ will be asleep” when the Broncos take on the Warriors.

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Sorry New Zealand, but we tried.

Warriors CEO Cameron George said “nearly every kid in New Zealand will be asleep” when his team is fighting for a grand final berth after the NRL’s 11th-hour bid to change the kick-off time for Saturday’s preliminary final fell short.

NRL management on Monday spent hours desperately trying to bring forward the Brisbane Broncos-New Zealand Warriors kick-off to allow thousands more fanatical Warriors to watch the big game.

George had hoped that a 4pm (6pm NZ), 5pm (7pm), 6pm (8pm) or even 7pm (9pm) kick off in Australia were options which could have been considered.

“Being adaptable to that time zone will bring a nation into the NRL finals series,” George said.

The Warriors will kick-off at 7.50pm in Australia – 9.50pm in New Zealand — meaning the match won’t finish until close to midnight.

The NRL had in-depth discussions with its broadcasters on Monday afternoon but couldn’t reach a resolution to alter the kick-off time. The contract between the NRL and Channel 9, the game’s free-to-air broadcaster, couldn’t be altered.

Addin Fonua-Blake and the Warriors are the feel good story of 2023. Picture: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

“We are always looking at ways in which we can maximise our audience and we are always looking at ways of providing a good outcome for our fans,” said NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo.

“But on this particular occasion, we were unable to move from a contractual position.”

While George commended the NRL’s attempts, he called for contingency plans to be put in place in the future.

“We appreciate the NRL listening to us and trying to make the appropriate changes. Maybe in the future, we can have plans A and B ready to go,” George said.

Earlier on Monday, before the NRL attempted to change the timeslot, George spoke about the late kick off time in New Zealand.

“It does present its challenges for our fans and New Zealand as a country. Honestly, it was a standstill in this country the other night waiting for the (Knights) game,” he said.

“Once you tick over into that (late) time frame, 9.50pm kick-off, nearly every kid in New Zealand will be asleep. You’re not finishing until midnight.

“The 6pm kick off, 4pm in Australia, which was perfect, has allowed the country to get in behind us, watch us and be part of it. Everyone would have been sitting in the lounge rooms with their mum, dad, sisters and brothers, grandparents.

“In a way, and I say this genuinely, we have to earn the right to get better timeslots into New Zealand so the country can watch it. And that’s what we’re trying to do – inspire the country to be on the NRL bandwagon and to watch the games at more reasonable times.

“Times have changed and time zones should be taken into account. I appreciate the broadcast commitments and obligations but the thing is we are a different landscape here with a different time zone.”

The Broncos v Warriors preliminary final will finish at almost midnight in New Zealand. Picture: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Daylight savings arrives next Sunday morning with the NRL grand final to kick-off at 8pm, 11pm in New Zealand, meaning a 1am finish, an incredibly late end for Warriors fans, should their team advance.

The kick-off time means the NRL will avoid a scheduling clash with the AFL preliminary final between the Brisbane Lions and Carlton at the nearby Gabba at 5.15pm.

It was looming as a blockbuster cross-code war.

The AFL opted for the earlier start, out of prime time, despite chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s controversial claim that Queensland was “becoming an AFL state”

The AFL was aware of the Broncos’ 7.50pm kick-off, and claims its early timeslot was designed to give the advancing side a seven-day recovery and preparation for the grand final.