Warriors regroup after conceding a try to Newcastle Knights. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport
NZ Warriors coach Ron Griffiths has called on the NRLW and Rugby League Players Association to reconsider rules that place unrealistic travel demands on the team for away fixtures.
The Auckland-based side will cross the Tasman for their 'Magic Round' encounter with North Queensland Cowboys at Newcastle on Sunday - the second time they have travelled to the New South Wales coastal town this season.
Two weeks ago, they fell 36-20 to the hometown Knights, whom Griffiths guided to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, before switching allegiances to the Warriors, as they returned to the NRLW after a five-year hiatus.
He believes his new team were not only outclassed by one of the competition's top teams, they also fell victim to a travel schedule forced upon them by welfare guidelines.
To maintain the integrity of their semi-professional programmes, NRLW clubs can only call on their players for training, media/sponsorship commitments or travel outside the hours of 8am-4pm during the week, so they can also balance education or careers with rugby league.
"You can't travel inside the protected hours for the players," Griffiths said. "You can't travel on the Friday, because they don't get paid for the day off work."
For their season-opener against Sydney Roosters, the wahine flew across the ditch late on Friday night for an 11.50am Saturday kickoff in Sydney.
Last time they travelled to Newcastle, they gathered in Auckland on Saturday and conducted their 'captain's run' at home, before flying to Sydney, then bussing almost three hours to their destination.
By the time they arrived, it was late evening, but their bodies were still on NZ time two hours ahead. Griffiths reported players receiving massage at midnight local time.
"I was in the last group getting a massage in Newcastle," lock Laishon Albert-Jones confirmed. "It was late - if it's midnight there, then it's 2am at home, so we were essentially going to bed at 2am.
"I actually did fall asleep on the table, 100 percent. At one point, I thought I just might be sleeping there.
"I get that we had a late game, but your body clock still wakes you up at 6am, when you have to go to work, so it doesn't feel like you're rested properly."
The Warriors women played after the men on that occasion, kicking off at 6.15pm Sunday local time, so rules were probably bent getting them home the next day and the same will apply this time, despite an earlier 11.50am game.
"This time, we've done it differently," Griffiths said. "We're going to leave early Saturday morning and we're in Newcastle by lunchtime, which gives us the whole afternoon to reset.
Laishon Albert-Jones fell asleep on the massage table at Newcastle. Photo: Brett Phibbs/www.photosport.nz
"We'll frame our captain's run as it needs to be, particularly after a double travel - it only needs to be small anyway."
When he said "early", the flight leaves Auckland at 7am, so Albert-Jones has her alarm set for 3am.
"After the game, we're in Newcastle for that night, we'll drive to Sydney the next morning and travel on the Monday," Griffiths said, "Really - for us, internationally - you lose two days."
Surely, that's cutting into protected time under the rules?
"Great question," he winked. "Something we need to ask about."
That kind of itinerary seemingly detracts from the players' onfield performance and threatens the very wellbeing those rules were designed to safeguard.
"I don't want to give any excuses, because there should be no excuse why we couldn't put in a decent performance, but it does take a toll," Albert-Jones said. "At some point, you can't just keep going - you get burnt out and it is hard.
"As a team, if you think about it, it's a lot to do in the space of 36 hours - I don't even think it's a full 40 hours that we were in Newcastle.
"This week is better. We get to Newy a little bit earlier, but it would have been ideal if we got there on Friday night.
"We have a real busy day on Saturday, but it does mean we get to bed at a decent time and we do have the early game."
Meeting North Queensland on neutral ground at least spares the Warriors the dreaded round trip to Townsville, even more of an ordeal than the Newcastle jaunt.
Griffiths pointed out the Warriors weren't the only team figuring out the logistics of trans-Tasman travel.
"It's a year of firsts for us, understanding what that looks like, but it's also a year of firsts for other teams, who are feeling the same thing coming over here," he said.
"The only difference is we're doing it every second week - we do it this weekend and then we go again next week [against Canterbury Bulldogs], so two weeks in a row.
"There's been some key learnings for us as staff to make sure we get that right, but at the end of the day, if we're talking from a player perspective and best performance, we should be travelling Friday, captain's run on Saturday and play Sunday.
"The collective certainly need to get together and talk through what that looks like, and now that we're back in the competition, there are enough questions being asked that I'm sure that will happen."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
