Simon Mannering looks back on a stellar career at the Warriors
New Zealand sports fans will be doing quite a bit of channel surfing on Saturday night.
The NRL finals were confirmed last night with the Warriors making their return to the playofffs for the first time since 2011.
The Warriors' road to the NRL Grand Final will begin in Sydney on Saturday against the Panthers - at the same time as the All Blacks' clash against Argentina in Nelson.
It will be the first instance the Warriors and All Blacks are playing at the same time this year.
And our NZME poll, which received over 5000 votes, showed that the Warriors playoff match is slightly more popular.
As of 4.20pm, 42 percent of the 5170 people polled indicated the Warriors match will be their priority, with 40 percent nominating the All Blacks and 18 percent suggesting they will switch between the two.
While the Warriors will be playing to keep their season alive, the All Blacks will be looking to put one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy with a win over the Pumas. Argentina have never beaten the All Blacks and their closest margin of defeat of New Zealand soil is 15 points.
This season, match-up between the Warriors and Panthers have been crowd-pleasers, with 92 points scored in 160 minutes of football.
The sides split their season series with a win each, both winning on home soil.
A win on Saturday and the Warriors will advance to the semifinal round where they would face the loser of Saturday's other clash between the Roosters and the Sharks.
Round one of the NRL playoffs (all times NZT) Melbourne Storm v South Sydney Rabbitohs. AAMI Park Melbourne. 9:40pm Friday September 7
Penrith Panthers v NZ Warriors. ANZ Stadium, Sydney. 7:30pm Saturday September 8
Sydney Roosters v Cronulla Sharks. Allianz Stadium, Sydney. 9:40pm Saturday September 8
Brisbane Broncos v St. George Illawarra Dragons. Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. 6:00pm Sunday September 9.
