Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck says he's prepared to be without his family for five months if need be to play in the National Rugby League again.
Warriors leave Auckland Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The squad flew out from Auckland yesterday after getting clearance to resume training ahead of a resumption of the competition at the end of the month.
They were without two players, hooker Nathaniel Roache, who felt unwell on the morning of departure and centre David Fusitu'a, who was given permission to delay his departure on compassionate grounds.
The players said their farewells as they were dropped off at Auckland airport.
"Yeh that was definitely the tough part saying good-bye to the family in the car park and seeing my two kids go away, but they're at the young age where they still don't understand what's going on," Tuivasa-Sheck said.
"I'm just grateful for my partner that her family and my family are around in New Zealand, so I'm lucky".
But just when the players might get to see their families again in person is not known.
"Once the risk level is zero then I'll be happy to bring my family over (to Australia), at this stage I'm prepared to go for five months pretty much and go to work and if they can come over during a safe zone then I'm happy to do that cause it'll be tough to not see them for that long."
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The side is now in Tamworth in northern New South Wales where they'll go into quarantine for two weeks before heading to the Central Coast.
Because the players have been training on their own in recent weeks, they'll go through fitness assessments, before heading onto the training field training in groups of no more than ten.
Tuivasa-Sheck says they've got to try and get comfortable (in their new base) as soon as they can.
"That's going to be the new norm for the next couple of weeks, we can't have it as an excuse for us, we're still hungry to play for our families, our fans and all the members."
The skipper does hold hope that at some stage this season they may be able to play at home again.
"Yes that's the big hopeful question, we go over there and put in the work and the government and the risk level turns down and we're able to come back and play at Mount Smart Stadium and play back in Auckland New Zealand and we're wishing for that to happen but again we're taking it week by week and we'll see how we go."
The NRL hopes to have the competition starting on May 28th.