Tuivasa-Sheck says Warriors pack equals 2013 Roosters; Eden Park final likely

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck says the Warriors' forward pack matches the 2013 Roosters he played with, and Peter V'landys expects a home final at Eden Park is 90 per cent certain. The Warriors meet the Dolphins on Saturday with top-two hosting rights on the line. ARL Commission chair Peter V'landys said on Monday that he is '90 per cent sure' the Warriors will move a home final to Eden Park as demand builds. The NRL held lengthy discussions about shifting Saturday's Dolphins fixture from Go Media Stadium to Eden Park before backing the Warriors' desire to stay at their regular home ground. A later move to Eden Park would be worth about $1.5 million to the governing body. V'landys said it could produce the largest crowd for any rugby league game ever held in New Zealand. The Warriors face the Dolphins on Saturday at Go Media Stadium after finishing second on the ladder. Their rise has been driven by a generational forward group led by representative props James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett. Victory over the Dolphins would lock in preliminary final hosting rights in Auckland and trigger a surge in ticket demand. The club's second-place finish has already secured two guaranteed home finals. Go Media Stadium has a capacity of 26,000, while Eden Park holds just over 50,000. V'landys said the club would like to stay at Mount Smart but understands that a massive audience may need to be accommodated at Eden Park. He compared the move to Cronulla's shift from Ocean Protect Stadium to Allianz Stadium this Saturday. The Warriors are open to a move in week two or three. Tuivasa-Sheck said he could understand the NRL's desire to 'give that experience to as many people as possible at Eden Park'. A home final at Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not been beaten since 1994, would comfortably outsell the largest Warriors home game on record. That record stands at 38,412 from a 2011 clash against Parramatta at the same venue. The all-time New Zealand rugby league crowd record of 47,363 from the 1988 World Cup final would also be under genuine threat. That would happen if the Warriors host a grand final qualifier at Eden Park. Fisher-Harris, Capewell and Tuivasa-Sheck are the current Warriors with premiership success. Fisher-Harris has four NRL titles, Capewell is a former Panthers back-rower who won with Penrith, and Tuivasa-Sheck was part of the 2013 Roosters side that took the title. Tuivasa-Sheck rates the current forward pack as the equal of any he has played alongside. Defence has been an issue heading into the finals. The Warriors beat Manly, Newcastle and South Sydney across the past three weeks while conceding an average of 29 points. Newcastle were reduced to 12 men for 68 minutes in their meeting with the Warriors. Tuivasa-Sheck has little doubt the Warriors can go all the way in 2026. He points to the influence of Fisher-Harris and Barnett through the middle, along with reigning Dally M lock of the year Erin Clark. Clark is a strong chance to claim that award again this season. Young back-rowers Leka Halasima and Jacob Laban have emerged as two of the most damaging edge runners in the NRL. Demetric Vaimauga, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and Tanner Stowers-Smith have developed strongly from the Warriors bench this year. Jackson Ford is in line to return from a torn pectoral against the Dolphins, a welcome boost for Andrew Webster's side. Ford was in Dally M and NSW Origin contention before going down in late June. Tuivasa-Sheck said of the current pack: 'These forwards at the club now are as good as any I've played with as a pack, and I don't say that lightly. But as a group, they know their roles so well and match up like that Roosters pack in a lot of ways. ' 'Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was our alpha male back then, with big Frank-Paul Nu'uausala and Sam Moa in the middle. Here it's Fish, he's our leader, with Barney busting the door down and Demetric and the boys off the bench. ' 'Erin Clark ball plays in the middle and is so effective and at the Chooks we had Boyd Cordner and Sonny Bill back then, just elite back-rowers. But guys like Leka and Jacob Laban are coming along so quickly, with the experience of Kurt Capewell and Jackson Ford with them too. ' 'It's a really, really well-rounded pack and I'd say it's our strength. '