Sports
Auckland's Sport Weekend: Footy, Fillies, Fans and Flops
Wassup gangstas, shoutout to Rosie, westside, westside, wassup sports fam.
by Cam Schuster I 12th March 2026
Shoutouts to the viral Jizza the owner vids, and for stamping that intro into my brain (I needed that like I needed another Blues loss to the Crusaders), but anyways, it was an Auckland weekend of sports with home games for the NZ Warriors, Blues, and Auckland FC, plus a day at the trots for Champions Day, Ellerslie. This was called “Footy, Fillies and Fans,” a brainchild of NZ Warriors CEO Cameron George, who got together with the CEO’s of the Blues and Auckland FC to promote the event. A great idea for promoting professional sport for Auckland teams and a chance for Auckland sports fans to engage. One thought: if this event can be done in April, we could include the Northern Mystics when their season begins and call it Footy, Fillies, Ferns, and Fans. We like to be inclusive here at The WesWes Network.
THE 135 FOOTY SHOW PODCAST
The fan engagement made me wonder if this promotion will spark a response from a Blues organisation that needs to catch up with what’s going on at Go Media Stadium, where the stadium experience is on another level. To be fair, Go Media is a much better venue to host Rugby and Soccer because the stands are much closer to the action. But that means the Blues at Eden Park have to compensate, and right now the fan experience sucks. But a little about that later, let me first touch on the first of the Footy, Fillies and Fan events: NZ Warriors vs Sydney City Roosters.
It’s been too long between drinks, Wahs fans, but the season is here, whether it’s your year again, we shall see, but Friday night's opener couldn't have gone any better with a 42-18 fasi of the boys from Bondi. The Warriors' home matches continue to be the hottest show in town, and this night was no exception. I’m loving the atmosphere, the laser shows and lighting are amazing, Savage performing at halftime rockin’ the crowd to top it off, even Sean Johnson turned his back on his Sky commentary panel to join in the rockin'.’ (The fact that Johnson stopped working for a moment on live TV shows us how fun it was, I mean c’mon, Savage singing his hits with a crowd already hyped at the Wahs up 22-6 at halftime?) The sold-out crowd was treated to a dominant Warriors performance at the expense of a seemingly stacked chooks team that looked anything but. DCE’s first game in Eastern Suburb colours with a ‘glad he’s not with Manly’ performance finishing with 8 runs for 53 meters, 1 tackle break, and 3 errors. Compare that to his opposite, Chanel Harris-Tevita, who finished with 6 runs for 57 meters, 2 tries, 1 try assist, 1 line break, and zero errors. What a way to start Footy, Fillies, and Fans with a strong home win and an explosive start to Auckland’s sporting weekend.
EMPTY OUT THA CLIP PODCAST
Saturday, and it's race day at Ellerslie with a pot of 4 million dollars up for grabs. Now, I don’t really bet on horses, but I dig the festivity it brings, and I saw while I was at breaky with my lovely other half at Devonport Wharf, a group of punters all dressed up in school ball outfits in line for the ferry ready for Champagne, Protests, and witnessing a white wash from a Fillie named “Well Written” at Champions Day.
Saturday night, I had the privilege to attend the Blues vs Crusaders match as a guest at Gib Wallboards corporate box, and proud sponsors of the evil Crusaders. (A message to Gib staff: just because your employer is a major sponsor doesn't mean you agree to wear the red jersey… disgusting!) The only difference between going to Warriors and Blues matches is the atmosphere. Firstly, the capacity of Eden Park has 25k more seats than Go Media’s regular capacity of 25k, so more chances for Wahs fans to feel the energy of their peers at a packed house. NZ Warriors matches have sold out more times in a season than the Blues in 10 years (fact check that please, even though it sounds about right). My view from the box looked towards the ASB stand and a sprinkling of fans; you couldn't help notice empty seats. Because of low numbers, they like to pack the ASB side up for the cameras, so they’ve shut down the East Stand, which is now draped with Blues banners, not a good look on TV when taking conversions, and it's just an empty stand behind the posts.
Good game though, Blues come away with a rare win against their arch nemesis 29-13. A hat trick to Caleb Clark who I have a bone to pick with (everytime I put you down for any time scorer I lose but when I don't bet, you score?) - and an acrobatic corner try to youngin Codemeru Vai (lil bro of Melani-Nanai) which the media calls the try of the season, but I don't think so, it can't better than the Round 3 Chiefs vs Crusaders match where Leroy Carter runs it from his own goal line, beats defenders, broken play, chiefs play hot potato, Crusaders scramble, ball ends up in Etene Nanai-Seturo’s hands to finish the 80 meter try. Code’s try would definitely be the solo try of the season. Blues win, Crusaders lose for the 3rd time in 4 rounds. Auckland can celebrate 2 from 2 home games for both rugby codes.
I don’t normally watch soccer; I usually reserve my football watching until the Fifa World Cup, when my attention turns to the Brazilian national team. But here in the City of Sails, my home town of Auckland, where a brand new professional sports team represents this fine metropolis, and does it in winning style. I’m talking about the A League's newest expansion team, Auckland FC. The Black Knights round off 3 days of Footy, Fillies and Fans with a Sunday afternoon match against their “bogey” team, Perth Glory, and what do you know, they come away with a 2-all draw. FC’s new signing, Englishman and Striker Sam Cosgrove, scored both points as he tied his goal tally with his teammate Jesse Randall. For all Auckland’s momentum of attack, they couldn’t seal the 3 competition points to close the gap at the top of the standings. FC face table leaders Newcastle Jets this weekend for a top-of-the-table clash. Looking at the stadium attendance, there were a few empty seats, but the section where FC’s fanatical fan base, named ‘The Port’ were in full effect. That’s the thing about soccer, the loyal fans build their own culture and identity as an extension to the team they support, The Port does this well, they have an official bar in the city where they congregate before the games then head to the stadium beating drums and chanting, they occupy a section at Go Media and ruck it up, for any sports fan looking in from outside you want to be part of the culture. The NZ Warriors have this, the Blues don't have this.
There's an old saying: if Auckland Rugby is strong, then the All Blacks are strong. This meant something back in the day, but right now I’d like to remix this a bit: If Auckland Rugby is strong, then Auckland Rugby fans are strong. The Blues should look at the Footy Fillies and Fans promotion as a case study in how to build culture within their fan base. The only crowd you see at Eden Park is the pure Auckland Rugby fans who have followed the team from day dot. No new fans, no growth. Warriors and FC build their fan base by catering to them, giving them the entertainment they want to see and feel. Everybody wants to be a part of it, and so their fans grow. And, might I remind you if you think winning makes a difference, the Warriors haven't won a Premiereship in their history, but the slogan ‘This is Our Year' keeps that hope alive and keeps the Wahs fan culture alive. So, to the Blues organisation, I will finish by saying this: Don’t copy the Warriors and record a chant to be played on the loudspeaker at Eden Park, don't copy Auckland FC and put a kids zone in the stands. Listen to us, Blues fans, give us what we want, help us build our own identity, and let us grow