NZ Warriors chief executive Cameron George is urging his club to make the most of their "second chance" in the 2020 NRL season.
The Warriors had to wait until the 11th hour for official confirmation from the Australian Border Force and federal government to allow them into Australia, so they could compete in the revamped NRL competition, starting May 28.
Less than 24 hours later, players and management had to say goodbye to their families, and could go six months without seeing their loved ones, depending on border restrictions.
At times, the Warriors seemed likely to forfeit the season, due to the complicated logistics and processes they had to work through.
The traveling Warriors are now based in Tamworth - more than 400km north of Sydney - where they will isolate and train for two weeks, before relocating to the Central Coast.
After season-opening losses to the Newcastle Knights (20-0) and Canberra Raiders (20-6), the Warriors are at the foot of the NRL ladder, but George feels the setbacks and sacrifices the team have made will be the thing to change their fortunes.
"I feel like we've been given a second chance this year and we're not going to take it lightly," George has told The AM Show.
"We've had lots of people work hard for us over the last two weeks to get us to where we are now. We've turned Tamworth into our second home and the airport had to be turned into an intentional facility.
"There has been hard work from the federal and state governments, and the NRL, so we need to grab this chance, get back on the park and give fans something to smile about.
"What we've had in place for the last 25 years hasn't won us a premiership, but with this challenge ahead of us and the differences in what we have to do could be the thing that rests our club."
On Monday, the players will have a biosecurity and safety protocols briefing, and can resume training on Tuesday.
Reports from Australia suggest players are banned from tackling and wrestling at training, and can only perform non-contact training in groups less than 10 people.
But those restrictions may ease closer to the NRL start date later this month.
