The Vodafone Warriors' advance guard has arrived in Wellington to kick-start the week-long build-up to The Capital Clash at Westpac Stadium next Saturday night.
A convoy including the Vodafone Warriors modified Suzuki Swift known as Road Warrior left Auckland on Saturday morning with club legends Dean Bell (Warrior #1) and Stacey Jones (Warrior #24) in tow.
Bell, the club's general manager football operations, and Jones, the junior recruitment and pathways coach, will he heavily involved when the Vodafone Warriors start an intensive six-day programme on Sunday morning which will see them involved in as many as 25 community events and sponsor appearances leading up to the ninth-round NRL clash against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs next Saturday night.
The road trip from Auckland to Wellington featured regular stops with the Road Warrior snapped in a number of well-known locations along the route including Tirau, Taupo, Waiouru and Taihape before a break for a Red Bull for the Warrior bulls in Bulls and another at Foxton, Vodafone Warrior Russell Packer's hometown.
The Road Warrior, the big prize in a season-long competition, will be seen throughout the Wellington region this week as it moves from point to point to each of the community events.
The first of them is at Brendan Foot Suzuki in Lower Hutt starting at 10.00am on Sunday when Bell, Jones and the initial Vodafone Warriors party will mix and mingle with members and fans before heading to Lovelock's Sports Bar in central Wellington. There they'll join supporters to watch television coverage of the Vodafone Warriors' NRL match against Gold Coast kicking off at Mount Smart Stadium at 2.00pm. The event at Lovelock's is open to the public; theyll be able to meet Bell and Jones, hear from them in a question and answer session and win prizes in various competitions being run during the afternoon.
The momentum builds to another level on Monday starting with a breakfast function with Vodafone staff before a trip north to Otaki College, a coaching clinic with Harbour City Eagles juniors in Newtown and a quiz night in the central city.
Four players from the Vodafone Warriors' NRL squad will arrive in Wellington on Tuesday morning to join Bell and Jones for the rest of the week.
Vodafone Warriors NRL coaching staff, led by head coach Matthew Elliott, arrive in the Capital on Thursday to run a clinic for Wellington coaches that evening.
Captain Simon Mannering, who lived in Wellington for a short time, and the players in the line-up to face the Bulldogs land at Wellington Airport about 10.00am on Friday before heading to Westpac Stadium for their final pre-match run.
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THE CAPITAL CLASH
COMMUNITY PROGRAMME
SUNDAY, MAY 05-SATURDAY, MAY 11
SUNDAY, MAY 05
10.00amSponsor Event (Suzuki):
Brendan Foot Suzuki
7 Railway Avenue
Lower Hutt
Dean Bell (Warrior #1) and Stacey Jones (Warrior #24) in attendance to meet fans
1.00pmSponsor Event (Lion Red):
Lovelocks Sports Bar
12 Bond Street
Wellington
Dean Bell (Warrior #1) and Stacey Jones (Warrior #24) will join fans to watch coverage of Vodafone Warriors v Gold Coast match, sign autographs and conduct a question answer session
Other activities will include competitions and prize giveaways
