Signs of the times as fans pack the fortress

Last Saturday, less than 18 hours on from beating the Sea Eagles in Round 25, the Warriors hit send on a social media post that summed up just how popular the club has become in 2023. 

It confirmed a sell-out at Go Media Stadium for the fifth time this season, but the difference this time was that they had reached capacity a full six days before gates were even due to open for Friday night's 18-6 victory over the Dragons. 

On the back of a team that is on track to have arguably their most successful season ever – with a top-four spot secured and a record-equalling eighth straight win in sight in Round 27 – the Warriors are receiving huge levels of support and reaching historic highs off the field as a result.

With six total sold-out home games in 2023 and an average home attendance of 20,909 – not factoring in their 'home' game during Magic Round – the club coffers are burgeoning. 

Through their opening seven home fixtures they've generated the highest game-day revenues for merchandise in the club's 28-year history, while ahead of the 2024 season there are already 45 businesses on the waitlist for corporate hospitality packages. 

The Kiwi club's average home attendance after Round 25 – again removing the anomaly of Magic Round – trailed only the Broncos (32,932) and Dolphins (23,786).

And the numbers are only part of the story.

Look around Go Media Stadium lately and you'll see a fanbase that's highly engaged, with hundreds of unique signs now part of every game.

It is a trend day-one fan Robert Harris, who has been coming to games with signs since the early 2010s, is loving, and it's now become a challenge to think of the most creative sign possible. 

Among his collection this year have been plenty of cheeky digs at visiting sides, as well as one directed at the All Blacks, who earlier in the year used Go Media Stadium for a Test match on the same weekend as a Warriors game was being played.

But they also tell the story of what has been a remarkable year for the club following four seasons in the finals wilderness, most of which was spent in Australia due to the pandemic. 

"The ones for this season certainly paint a picture of how things have been going at that particular time, so it's pretty cool to look back at photos of them," Harris tells NRL.com. 

"It's been trippy the last few weeks; there are signs everywhere.

"There are hundreds of them and it's really encouraging. It was just my way of bringing vibe to the crowd and now it's taken off. 

"Now there is a bit of pressure to make sure I have a sign at every game."

Night matches in particular have become about more than just the game too, with the Warriors investing heavily in improving the game-day experience in 2023, from blacking out the stadium for team entries to refreshing the club song for all in attendance to sing on the big screen. 

It's made for more fans like the Spi-Wah-Men, a group from a local rugby league club who attended a game dressed in spiderman outfits for a buck's party and then decided to make it a tradition. 

With a spot in the top four now confirmed, home ground advantage beckons at some point in the finals series and shapes as being a big advantage for the Warriors. 

"Auckland is just happy to see the Warriors win," prop Bunty Afoa said.

"The atmosphere at the games, it is just an awesome feeling... those are the fans you want. 

"They bring the energy in games even when things aren't going our way."