New Zealand Warriors were just six months away from quitting the NRL during the Covid pandemic

The New Zealand Warriors have revealed the stunning toll the Covid pandemic had on the team, admitting that at one point they were just six months away from pulling out of the competition.

The Warriors have defied all expectations this season by winning four of their opening five matches to sit second on the NRL ladder.

That includes the classic, get-out-of-jail effort against Cronulla on Sunday that saw the Kiwis rally from 20-0 down to win 32-30 off in-form half Shaun Johnson’s boot.

But not long ago things the Warriors were in dire straits after being forced to relocate to Australia under difficult circumstances to ensure the competition went ahead for the duration of Covid lockdowns.

The team lived in Australia permanently for the better part of three seasons, using the NSW Central Coast and Redcliffe in Queensland as their home venues, taking players away from family and friends for months at a time.

The New Zealand Warriors saved the NRL by basing themselves in Australia during the pandemic – but it came at a staggering cost

The Warriors have defied all expectations this season by winning four of their opening five matches to sit second on the NRL ladder

‘The NRL were pretty good to us, but they had to be,’ Warriors owner Mark Robinson told News Corp.

‘If it (remaining in Australia) went on for another six months I think it would’ve come to the point of packing up and pulling out of the competition.

‘The morale was at rock bottom.

‘But that would’ve cost the NRL a lot of money if we pulled out.

‘It was worth $20million to the NRL if we pulled out, due to TV rights, so we actually did the NRL a favour.’

The immense sacrifices from the team led to the resignations of players and staff when the stress of the situation became too much.

‘Families were kept apart and it definitely took its toll on the staff and players and families,’ said Warriors CEO Cameron George.

‘You can take it as read that there were some significant personal challenges.

The immense sacrifices from the team led to player resignations of players and staff. The stress of the situation was too much

At one point, while the side was based on the NSW Central Coast, players and staff loaned dogs from an animal shelter so they could go for walks in public while adhering to the strict NRL protocols at the time

‘You saw it time and time again, where players were getting off the phone from family and they felt lost.

‘A lot of us didn’t want to finish work for the day, because you had no family to go home to.’

At one point, while the side was based on the NSW Central Coast, players and staff  loaned dogs from an animal shelter so they could go for walks in public while  adhering to the strict NRL protocols at the time.

‘I don’t think another club, that didn’t have the strong family culture that we have, say like Manly or the Panthers, if you told them to go and live in New Zealand for a year in a one building, with no family, half of the team would be back in Australia within a month, I’m sure,’ said Robinson.

The Warriors’ start to the season – winning four out of five –  is their best since 2018, and just the second time they’ve achieved it since 2003.