NRLW: NZ Warriors wāhine take path less travelled to Wagga Wagga

About 6am Friday, NZ Warriors players and staff began their journey to face Gold Coast Titans in the NRLW 'Magic Round'.

Destination: Wagga Wagga in provincial New South Wales. Population 57,000.

Ask anyone at the club what they know about their final port of call and you'd likely be greeted by blank looks.

"Never been there," admitted coach Ron Griffiths, who was born in the same state, but 590km away in the Hunter Valley.

"It'll be cold. No doubt it will be a beautiful, scenic country town and it's a very strong group in terms of rugby league, so there'll be a great crowd there. It's an area steeped in rugby league tradition and it's a very strong competition down that way.

"There will no doubt be lots of supporters there, and my understanding is every motel in Wagga Wagga is sold out, so it will be a great weekend for them to experience something different."

That's a lot more than his players could tell you.

"Absolutely nothing," conceded half-turned-hooker Patricia Maliepo. "Apparently, it's in the middle of nowhere, that's what I've been told, but I'm excited to take women's rugby league there.

"Hopefully, the place will be known after this round."

Back-rower Kaiyah Atai said: "I know it's a very long drive from the airport, and that's about it."

The Warriors wāhine have become accustomed to arduous travel itineraries. Last year, Magic Round was in Newcastle, which required a trans-Tasman flight to Sydney and a couple of hours in a bus.

Last month, they took a road trip to face Canberra Raiders in the Australian capital. Again, that entailed a flight to Sydney and about three hours' bus.

"The big thing for us is, 12 months on, we're better versed in travel," Griffiths explained. "Understanding what we need to do in terms of our [training] session the night before, understanding the travel requirements and, when we get down there, what we need to do."

In fact, Wagga Wagga is exactly midway between Sydney and Melbourne, which is the very definition of the middle of nowhere, located on the Murrumbidgee River.

The major regional city of the Riverina region is known for its shopping malls and the team wouldn't have to drive the 450km, about five hours, to get there - the NRL is springing for charter flights to transport the teams from Sydney.

The city is also known for the 'Wagga Effect', which accounts for the extraordinary number of elite sportspeople it produces. Former Australian cricket captain Mark Taylor is perhaps the most famous, but also professional golfer Steve Elkington, tennis icon Tony Roche, many AFL stars, and league stars Peter Sterling and the four Mortimer brothers, Chris, Steve, Glen and Peter.

Still, factoring in the semi-professional nature of the Aussie women's competition, which restricts players' availability to their clubs, the Warriors knew they faced a long day in the saddle to get to this remote paradise.

The club has had to gain NRL dispensation to assemble early for the trip, but after the game, which kicks off at 1.25pm local time Sunday, they must fly back to Sydney, where they will overnight, before completing their return journey to Auckland the next morning.

"It'll be far better than we've had previously and the club has managed that pretty well," Griffiths said. "Credit to the NRL for organising charter flights for the teams to fly down there, because it's not easy to get to.

"The thing with Wagga Wagga is, once you get off an international flight, you've probably got an hour before you collect all your luggage and transfer across, so there's waiting time.

"Then you get on another flight, which takes a far bit of time, and once you're in Wagga Wagga, you transition out and go through Customs there, so it's always going to be a process.

"No doubt, for us, it's not ideal. It's a fair day's travel for the squad."

Some teams travel better than others. The best genuinely enjoy each other's company and see a road trip as an adventure, not a challenge.

The Warriors tend towards the former.

"When you've got someone like Stacey Waaka in your team, you travel well," Griffiths said. "She's great and, further to that, we get different people like Mele Hufanga travelling with us this week, so they create good energy.

"They are good travellers and have a good connection."

While logistics are smoother than they have been previously, Griffith admitted his team still hadn't fully adapted to the international travel element of their campaign.

"I thought we struggled on the weekend at periods of the game and I've got no doubts that was part of the reason," he admitted, after their 14-12 escape against Parramatta Eels in Sydney.

"We've tried to adjust our travel this year, but on the weekend, we didn't quite nail it. We left later in the afternoon, rather than an earlier flight, which is something we've amended for the next two.

"I've got no doubt it catches up on you, but that's just the way it is. In the NRL, they're professional athletes, they train all day and they're used to the travel.

"For us, people are still going to work Thursday, training Thursday night and getting out of bed to travel Friday morning, so it will always be different and, at some stages, it will catch up with you."

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