The Vodafone Warriors will return to the team's original colours when they celebrate the club's 25th season in the first-grade competition in 2019.
The Canterbury of New Zealand-designed home strip was launched today, evoking memories of the original Auckland Warriors' debut in the then-Winfield Cup in 1995.
The distinctive blue jersey with green, red and white trim is being recreated as the club eyes a campaign packed with special moments and an array of initiatives.
"The original 1995 strip is one of the most iconic and distinctive in New Zealand sport," said Vodafone Warriors CEO Cameron George.
"It signifies a time when the sporting landscape in this country changed forever, opening the way for professional sporting franchises as we know them today.
"We couldn't be more excited looking ahead to our 25th season. It's going to be huge and we know our players will be honoured to mark the major milestone in the colours that mean so much to us."
Designing the 1995-inspired home kit brings Canterbury of New Zealand full circle.
"Canterbury of New Zealand is delighted to be at the heart of this historic moment. We've been committed to the Warriors since their launch 25 years ago, as foundation apparel partner, and we're proud to have supplied playing kit every year since 2009," said Canterbury of New Zealand managing director Jamie Meikleham.
"With this design, we're taking a step into the future with the Warriors, built on cues from the past. We're excited and proud to see the mighty blue, red, white, and green come to life on the field again."
The Vodafone Warriors kick-started their 25th season celebrations in September by launching a one-size-fits-all membership makeover, setting the price for reserved seat memberships at $199. This represents a reduction of as much as $200 for some categories under the previous structure.
At the same time, a new Super Membership category was foreshadowed, the details of which will be revealed when it goes on sale to the public this week (November 1).
George has confirmed the Vodafone Warriors will play 10 home games at Mount Smart Stadium in 2019 with another set for Wellington's Westpac Stadium (against the Sharks on July 19) and the remaining home game locked in for the first NRL Magic Round against the Dragons on May 11 when all 16 teams will play at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane).
"We can assure our members and fans that 2019 will be a season to remember," George added.
"We had two sold out games in 2018 and we're striving to have our ground sold out every time we play next year.
"We also have so much planned to make our game days bigger and better than ever before. It's our mission to be the most entertaining and engaging club in the NRL."
A number of individual milestones are set to be achieved in the 25th season. Among them, veteran forward Adam Blair is 11 games short of joining the NRL's 300-game club while new signing Kiwi prop Leeson Ah Mau (179) and Gerard Beale (176) are closing on 200 appearances and others are in line for their 150th or 100th games.
Pre-orders for next season's home jersey are now being taken with the new kit expected to land in store on December 14 – just in time for Christmas.
Click here to pre-order
2019 Vodafone Warriors Home Jersey
ON FIELD RANGE STORY: 2019 brings about the 25th season for the Vodafone Warriors since their inception into the NRL in 1995. To celebrate the occasion, the 2019 on-field jersey focuses on the significance of the foundation colours. The jersey features the re-interpreted deep chevron representative from the 1995 jersey and re-designed to a modern shape. The team logo celebrates the 1995 club colours while the jersey also features the 25th season 1995- 2019 commemorative logo on the lower back.
