Warriors v Broncos: Napier soaks up the vibe of its biggest gameday in nine years

The vibe in Napier. with Ava Sweatman, 13, from Napier Intermediate School, one of 1000 children at the Warriors' Friday captain's run at McLean Park, and getting the autograph of Warriors player Demitric Sifakula. Photo / Paul Taylor.

There’s a little chill in the air but a warm vibe’s being felt all around as Napier looks forward to its biggest sports event in nine years today.

With the One NZ Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos booked for a key NRL match with a sell-out crowd of over 15,000 at McLean Park starting at 7.30pm, nationwide weather agency Metservice was light winds and afternoon northwesterlies ahead of the game, with temperatures ranging from a maximum 19C during the day to 10-11C by match-end.

In Wellington, meteorologist Jessie Owen forecast “a pretty good day, remaining dry, high cloud, not going to see the sun much, but pretty benign all-round.”

She couldn’t forecast a score, but at the TAB, the Warriors, placed ninth on a tightly-headed NRL ladder, were warm favourites at $1.42 to win, with the Broncos, on the upper rung but missing five players headed for State of Origin 1 in Adelaide on Wednesday, were at $2.80.

Warriors legend and coaching crew member Stacey Jones talking with media ahead of the NRL match at McLean Park Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor

It’ll be the biggest crowd for a sports event in Napier since the All Blacks and Argentina played a Rugby Championship match at McLean Park in 2014 with a fully-seated audience of totalling 21,329 – albeit reduced by at least one during the night after the apprehension of a naked female streaker who patted Hawke’s Bay All Blacks star Israel Dagg on the bum during her dash across field before being tackled by ground security staff.

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise was among those urging spectators to “get there early” to minimise congestion at the gates and that the possibility some spectators might miss the Warriors or Broncos’ opening tries.

Conceding she prefers watching rugby league over watching rugby union – “it’s so fast-moving” – she was short of predicting a winner, but said: “I believe the Warriors will give it a good crack.”

“The vibe is definitely there,” she said. “The timing is perfect, having a game like this now.”

It comes amid the ongoing recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle, which claimed eight lives in Hawke’s Bay on February 13-14, closed all the roads in and out of Napier and isolated many devastated rural and semi-urban communities.

The key roads to the game are now open, but with limitations and years of work to fully restore vital links, and with at least a third of the crowd coming from outside Hawke’s Bay some traffic congestion is expected both before and after the game.

State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō is open 24/7 but with traffic management in place, including stop-go lights, and a daily 5am-9pm opening of State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa will be extended by three hours today to midnight for guided northbound traffic heading home after the match.