A small piece of NRL history will be made this weekend, when New Zealand will host two matches in a single round for the first time on Saturday.
The games will take place in Auckland and Napier, with the New Zealand Warriors hosting Manly Sea Eagles at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday afternoon and, immediately afterwards, Napier’s McLean Park hosting its first ever NRL match when the Melbourne Storm go up against the St George Illawarra Dragons.
All four teams are packed with Kiwi internationals including the Warriors’ Shaun Johnson and Simon Mannering, Storm’s Jesse Bromwich, Kevin Proctor and Tohu Harris, Dragons’ Jason Nightingale and Benji Marshall and Sea Eagles’ Kieran Foran and Steve Matai.
NRL Head of Marketing Lewis Pullen urged fans in New Zealand to take advantage of this Super Saturday of Rugby League with all four teams capable of producing extraordinary play.
“These two high quality matches will be even better if big crowds are on hand to create an electric atmosphere,” he said.
“We all know Kiwis love their NRL, and Rugby League is even better when you’re at the game, so I urge fans to get along.”
