Luke Metcalf, Adam Pompey and Tom Ale review Wendy's new Warriors-themed range
Playing top-flight league can build a mean hunger.
When burger chain Wendy's, a supporter of the Warriors for 18 years, this week launched a new range of menu items themed around the team, the Herald turned to the squad for to get their ratings of the food.
Five new Warriors-inspired
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RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
NRL: NZ Warriors young gun Demitric Vaimauga ready to shine in Barnett's absence
Demitric Vaimauga is signed with the Warriors through 2028. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport About half-an-hour after losing co-captain and kingpin Mitch Barnett for the season, NZ Warriors fans got a glimpse of how their team might fill that void this year and into the future. Barnett hobbled off with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after 20 minutes against South Sydney Rabbitohs, and - although nobody knew it then - his 2025 NRL campaign was over . Soon after halftime, hooker Wayde Egan ran from dummy half inside Souths territory and found young second-rower Demitric Vaimauga on the 30-metre line. He fended off one tackler and rolled away from another, before offloading back to Egan from his knees. Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad sliced towards the posts and passed back to Egan - his third touch of the ball in the same movement - before teenager Leka Halasima propped off his right foot and found a yawning path to the tryline. The NRL proclaimed the sequence 'Try of the Week' and it was certainly reminiscent of the entertaining Warriors of yesteryear, when Stacey Jones and Ali Lauiti'iti were in full flight. His contribution only lasted a couple of seconds and gained about five metres, but this cameo by Vaimauga suggested he had far more to offer his team in their moment of need. "I think they gave Leka the try," he deflected. "I don't really like to look into it, but it is good to see us on the Instagram page, I guess." A common thread through the Warriors 9-3 start to their season has been 'next man up'. Another has been harnessing a fresh wave of talented young forwards to provide the nucleus of the roster moving forward. While Halasima, 19, has captured the headlines and - along with Jacob Laban - earned a contract extension through the 2029 , Vaimauga, 21, has quietly come off the bench for every game this season and is starting to pick up momentum. In 29 minutes against Souths, he ran nine times for 83 metres, offloaded three times and made 17 tackles - good for 43 fantasy points, if you're that way inclined. Last month against St George Illawarra Dragons, he was even better, logging 39 minutes, running nine times for 108 metres and making 29 tackles. That's 45 fantasy points and, at this point in the season, he may be worth a quick pick-up while his price is still right. Coach Andrew Webster has been at pains to stress no one player can make up for Barnett's loss and it will take a collective effort . Still, the skipper's absence leaves a gaping hole in the rotation and Vaimauga seems best placed to take advantage of the opportunity, as Halasima did when NZ Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris went down earlier in the season. "I feel like I'm going well, but there's a lot more to come," he reflected. "I've just scratched the surface. "I'm still adapting to game speed, still a bit raw and new to it. I'm trying to build my minutes and my engine for NRL. "I feel like my understanding of the game is there and my physicality, but adapting to the game speed... "I'm just happy to be on the field. The coach has put trust in some of the young boys and I'm glad to be one of them, so I want to put my best foot forward whenever I can." Vaimauga played the first seven games of his Warriors career as Demitric Sifakula, but adopted his mother's surname during this past off-season, when he re-signed through 2028, so he has at least three more seasons alongside Halasima and Laban. "It's good to have a crop of boys that I grew up playing with and to be on the big stage with them," he said. "It's a lot for our up-and-comers, especially at grassroots footy as well… giving them someone to look up to." This is the perfect time for the young guns to learn from hardened veterans like Barnett, Egan, Fisher-Harris and Origin veteran Kurt Capewell. "I think their footy brains… to be so young, but mature in footy sense," lock Erin Clark enthused. "I'm pretty blown away - when I was that age, I had no idea. "With Leka, you see his footwork and strength, but we see out on the field how smart he is and Demitric as well. Good to see them doing well, and Demi and Leka played good games on the weekend, "They're going in the right direction, and hopefully, they'll just get better and better as games go on." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- RNZ News
Sevens star Michaela Brake braces for NRLW impact with Warriors women
Michaela Brake became the top tryscorer on the World Rugby sevens circuit in February. Photo: PhotoSport NZ Barely a week into her rugby league career, sevens superstar Michaela Brake experienced her 'Welcome to the Warriors' moment. Just months after becoming the most prolific tryscorer on the World Rugby circuit, passing former Black Ferns ally Portia Woodman-Wickliffe at Vancouver in February, the two-time Olympic champion is preparing for perhaps her biggest challenge, when NZ Warriors return to the NRLW competition , after a three-year absence. Sevens exponents are renowned for their fitness levels, but nothing could have prepared the pint-sized speedster, at 1.65m (5ft 5in) and 65kg, for the pounding she has already received at the hands of her new teammates. "If you watched our training on Saturday, holy, it got to the point where I was crying, because I was so exhausted, so taken aback by the physicality of the training," Brake (formerly Michaela Blyde) said. "You've really got to mentally get up for these kind of trainings, because it's very, very different. It's safely controlled, but you've got to seriously be tough, with the different dynamics of the contact area, how you used your body smartly to try to be the winner in the contact area. "I'm learning a lot about that the hard way, which is great. Just chuck me in the deep end with no floaties, and we'll see if I sink or swim. "It's a challenge I'm having to adapt to very quickly." Sevens-to-league converts aren't exactly rare, especially in the women's game, where several others have successfully transitioned previously. Two years ago, Tyla King (formerly Nathan-Wong) starred for the Kiwi Ferns in a rare test victory over Australia Jillaroos and, days later, was named World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year. Last year, Stacey Waaka set the NRLW alight early, scoring six tries in her first six outings, before fracturing a fibula in her right leg. Her performance was still good enough to earn Dally M Winger of the Year honours in her debut season. Most of those who have gone before Brake, 29, have at least some 15s background to draw on, when it comes to confronting much bigger players at close quarters. Waaka was a member of the NZ team that won the last Rugby World Cup and has chosen that pathway again this season. "I definitely need to work on my toughness in contact." Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Brake's previous attempts at the expanded format have usually ended badly, once at the hands of new flatmate and former Black Ferns Sevens teammate Shakira Baker. "I played three games for Bay of Plenty Volcanix in 2016, after not making the Rio Olympics, and we played against Wellington, who Shakira was playing for. "I decided to run it straight at her and she gave me a haematoma." More recently, another stint with the Bay team ended with a broken jaw, trying to tackle a prop in pre-season training. If nothing else, these failed forays into provincial rugby have sharpened her survival instincts in rugby league. "I definitely need to work on my toughness in contact," she admitted. "It's very different." "Obviously, in sevens and union in general, there are strict rules about where you can tackle, but in league, you can kind of bend those rules a little. I'm just trying to find the balance of where I can use my strength with my upper body in league, without getting bunted off by girls that are far bigger than myself. "Of course, my speed is not going to hide. As soon as I catch the ball, I'm just going to run hard into space and hopefully that will work out well for me in the Warriors jersey." On the other hand, Baker has an extensive pedigree in both forms of rugby union, with 13 tests for the Black Ferns - including the 2014 World Cup - and sevens gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. In 15s, she is a hard-hitting midfielder, but at the Warriors, she may find herself among the forwards. Brake and Baker represent intriguing projects for new Warriors coach Ron Griffiths, who has already won two NRLW crowns with Newcastle Knights. Most of his squad have never played in the competition before - many have been plucked from domestic competition - so he has his work cut out moulding them into championship contenders in his first campaign. Teaching his rugby converts the finer points of the code will be key to his success. "We're probably a week-and-a-half in with Michaela and I think determination to succeed is probably what rings true the most," Griffiths said. "She came, as a fulltime professional athlete, into a semi-professional environment and the first day, she asked questions. "That's important - it showed everyone she wanted to invest and needed to understand what the game was about. It let people know that, if you don't know, it's ok to ask questions." Brake will probably start out on the wing, which seems a safe place to learn the positional intricacies of the game, before testing the waters at fullback or centre. Despite her abundance of sevens success, she is not putting pressure on herself to excel immediately in her new environment. "I'm not coming in here with the mindset of wanting to win all the time, because I'm so new to this game," she said. "I'm just taking it day by day, learning as much as I possibly can without putting too much pressure on myself to being the best. "I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by players who have played Kiwi Ferns and NRLW for a while now, so learning off them has been very valuable. "Also remembering I'm one of the older girls in the squad, so another purpose is to encourage these young girls to make the most of this opportunity. A lot of them have never signed a piece of paper before, so this is their first opportunity to really stamp their mark on NRLW. "I'm hoping I can help them make the most of it by being professional, making the most of the resources we have here, so for their long-term career, they're locked in for a long time with the Warriors and can play fulltime professional league for as long as they can." Brake considered following several of her sevens teammates into the 15s programme, but decided the league option fitted better into her lifestyle. "It was the perfect opportunity for me to leave the sevens nest and really test myself as a footy player," she said. "The main attraction was that I'm essentially home for a lot of it. "It was a matter of weighing up what was best for me and my career and my family, and being part of the Warriors ended up being the winning opportunity for me." Brake said the game has grown over the past few years and the fan engagement is "insane". "What the Warriors have here at Go Media Stadium is second to none, when it comes to a crowd and atmosphere here in New Zealand. I wanted to be a part of that energy with the Wahine Warriors." The Warriors women kick off their NRLW season against defending champions Sydney Roosters on 6 July across the Tasman, with their first home game against Parramatta Eels a week later. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
NZ Warriors take collective approach to replacing injured kingpin Mitch Barnett
Mitch Barnett is now waiting for his knee to stabilise, before undergoing surgery. Photo: Anthony Kourembanas/NRL Photos Warriors v Sharks Kickoff 7.30pm Saturday, 7 June Sharks Stadium Sydney Live blog updates on RNZ Sport NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster was warned his players not to try filling the void left by injured co-captain Mitch Barnett alone. Barnett's season is over, after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the 36-30 win over South Sydney last weekend, leaving a giant void in the pack, as the Auckland side seek to build on a promising 9-3 start to their NRL season. In his third season at Mt Smart, the inspirational front-rower has taken his leadership to a new level, while fellow skipper James Fisher-Harris was sidelined with a pec (chest) injury. Now an automatic State of Origin selection for New South Wales, Barnett and Fisher-Harris formed a one-two punch that is probably one of the best front-row combinations in the competition, but Webster stressed no one player could be expected to step into his place. "You can't try and be Mitch, or say we've all got to do extra," he said. "Once you start doing that, you start failing at your job - everyone's just got to do their job better. "Whatever your job description is as a player, you have to make sure you improve at that, rather than trying to add workload or different stuff to your game. Everyone agrees with that. "If you try and be Mitch, it won't work out. Everyone's just got to be themselves and find their own way to improve." That blueprint already exists. When Fisher-Harris was missing, Webster moved Marata Niukore into the middle of the park and Leka Halasima off the bench. He's named Jackson Ford to start against Cronulla Sharks this week - as he did in the next game after Fisher-Harris' injury - but don't be surprised if that changes. Webster admitted his loss is a major blow, but also another test of the programme's 'next up' mentality . The Warriors have already endured injuries to marquee players like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, while continuing to juggle players through a depleted midfield. This one hits differently though, with the knowledge that Barnett will not be back this season. "There are mixed emotions," Webster admitted. "We want to celebrate Barney too, where he is in the game and what he's achieved for us at the club, playing Origin and for Australia, and finally getting in those circles that you want to be in as a player. "It's pretty heartbreaking, but Barney's been grateful for all the well-wishers he's got, particularly from his teammates and all around the world. "We're gutted, because he's such a good player, but there's optimism that somebody gets to stand up and take his spot and it's a challenge for the whole group." With scans confirming the extent of his injury, Barnett is now waiting for the injury to stabilise, before undergoing surgery. He has been around the team this week, as they prepare to take on the Sharks and now faces a different role than planned. "He was really good at training yesterday with his leadership stuff and talking to the boys about what they have to do next was very impressive," Webster said. "He's very frustrated and emotional about it, but sometimes life's not fair. We're all gutted for him, but he's a tough cookie, Mitch. "He's started that role already, mentoring and helping people. I think you'll find he initially needs to get his knee to the point where the operation can happen and we'll have to let him go for a little bit, then he'll start his rehab process and come back around the boys. "It's pretty raw at the moment, but we all know Mitch has a pretty good footy brain and loves mentoring people, so we'll just get a bit more of that, which is pleasing." Sometimes losing a key player can galvanise his teammates and elevate them to greater heights collectively. "He's been around the club and he's in good spirits," lock Erin Clark said. "We'll definitely miss his hard-nosed footy, his aggression and work ethic, but we're looking forward to the person who gets to step up and wear the jersey next to us. "No-one has to do anything more, maybe just do our job better, now that Barney's out. "He's definitely a smart footy player and, no doubt, he'll sit around with the coaches and help dissect other teams, and help us middles get better." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
