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It was a problem that plagued rugby league last season and in just the second game of the new campaign a pitch invader disrupted the process.
The Warriors returned home for the start of the 2023 season on Friday night, taking on the Newcastle Knights with both sides aiming to build on their turgid 2022 performances.
But video footage from the game at Sky Stadium in Wellington showed a Warriors fan taking the shine off his team as they entered the field.
The fan can be seen dodging security before showing off a fair set of heels on the slippery surface.
However, he was eventually shot down by billboards in embarrassing scenes as he was rushed away by security.
An NRL fan invaded the pitch during the Warriors’ win over Newcastle Knights
But he was brutally taken down by the most unlikely source son on Friday night.
The fan ran into a billboard before being picked up by security
The New Zealand NRL team were stunned by a Lachlan Fitzgibbon try after just 111 seconds and were second-best over long periods at Wellington’s Sky Stadium, but they overcame that turbulent start to take all four points.
With the game on the line, Bradman Best and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad managed try-saving tackles before Wayde Egan’s 73rd-minute try sealed the points.
The result gives Andrew Webster a win in his senior coaching debut and condemns the Knights to their first first-round loss in six seasons.
Edward Kosi, Bunty Afoa, Nicoll-Klokstad and Egan scored the Warriors’ tries, with Fitzgibbon and Hymel Hunt coming through for the Knights.
The Warriors’ homecoming after three COVID-plagued seasons started out terribly.
Nicoll-Klokstad dropped a high ball in the first minute to give up possession, and the Knights made him pay.
Fitzgibbon crossed after receiving the handoff from Kalyn Ponga, calming the crowd.
The Warriors were lifeless until the 25th minute, when ex-Knight Mitchell Barnett sparked his return.
The second row found a gap between his former teammates and ran clear in a move that eventually got to Kosi, who scored with a one-handed dive into the corner.
The Warriors marked their homecoming with a win over Newcastle at Sky Stadium
Fans returned to their homeland after being banned due to Covid
Four minutes later, the Warriors were ahead when Afoa broke through the three to score under the posts.
The hosts were riotous and would have had three tries in under 10 minutes, only for Marata Niukore to fall behind over the line.
Halftime couldn’t have come any faster for the Knights, down 10-6 and also without Tyson Frizell, who was caught high by Nicoll-Klokstad.
The break worked, and the visitors started again with more force.
Ponga’s quick hands were instrumental once again as Hunt ran, with Jackson Hastings’ second conversion putting the Knights back on top.
The upside down contest continued as Brayden Wiliame ran wild and found Nicoll-Klokstad to score, making amends for his initial mistake.
Another young fan is escorted off the pitch during Friday night’s game in Wellington.
From that moment on, the score stopped and the brawl began.
Phoenix Crossland was called for a professional foul and when Wayde Egan was pinned to the turf, a riot broke out.
But the Knights defended fiercely at 12 and could have moved on.
Ponga unleashed magic to outlast all four and cross the line, only for Nicoll-Klokstad to produce heroics once more.
It wasn’t going to be Newcastle’s night, with Egan goofing around on a play to seal the victory for the Warriors.
Tohu Harris was huge for the Warriors, producing 51 tackles.