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If you weren’t aware, history was made on 23 February. This may not help you narrow down the timeframe due to the haze of O-Week. It was the Saturday night. The Warriors came to town, their first ever visit to this delightful metropolis called Dunedin, and offered up our first taste of rugby league against the Brisbane Broncos. We, in turn, offered up their first experience of North Dunedin hospitality.

Although a pre-season fixture, a crowd of 15,000 gave this match the intensity of a semi-final. Some early fireworks from newcomer Todd Lowrie added to the excitement. A late shoulder charge on Broncos half Peter Wallace saw a scuffle break out within minutes of the opening siren, creating a buzz around the crowd that would rival that of a Highlanders versus Crusaders derby. Apart from Lowrie’s blindsider on Wallace, the first half lacked any real excitement apart from the ridiculous amount of tries the Broncos had disallowed. For those of you a bit too drunk to count, or too cool to attend a sporting event, there were a total of four tries disallowed by Mr. TMO. The fourth even brought a deep-throated chuckle from the very bland seventy-something year old man seated beside me. After 40 minutes of Broncos offense, Scarfie stomping and monotonous chants of “MA-NU, MA-NU, MA-NU,” the boys in blue (the Warriors, who wore yet another different match strip), went ahead courtesy of Shaun Johnson’s boot. 2-0 Warriors.

For many fans, this may have been an ideal time to leave, but the heroics of one young man helped bring the crowd to life. Donning his best party suit, a young man evaded security and made his way onto the field just moments after the players had left the field. What added real spice to this man’s entertaining foray into the world of track athletics was Ruben Wiki. The Kiwis legend only briefly hesitated before notching yet another infamous hit. He left the man briefly incapacitated. All credit must go to this trouper who quickly recovered to show off his nifty footwork, only to be caught short at the final hurdle.

Soon after half time, debutant Lachlan Maranta slid over to put the Broncos ahead. You wouldn’t blame even the most faithful Warriors supporter for letting their head drop after the first half. But thankfully the Warriors responded. It might have been the appeal of celebrating in front of all you Scarfies, but Manu touched down after a brilliant grubber from Thomas Leuluai. This sparked a great patch of attacking play from the Warriors. Glen “Fish” Fisiahi quickly capitalised on some sloppy loose ball, and Todd Lowrie barrelled his way over within the next 13 minutes. This essentially wrapped up the game, and ended a ten-match losing streak for the Warriors. Perhaps Dunedin should be the Warriors’ new home? For whatever reason they came, it was a great way to cap off O-Week. Let us not forget our very own Super-Streaker-esque Scarfie. May he live out his life ban from Forsyth Barr in peace.

Note: if you or your mate was the streaker, email sports@critic.co.nz, we want to talk to you.