Sir David Dobbyn Booked For Pre-Match Entertainment As Mount Smart Stadium Hosts The Hori Cup

KURT TAPAUELI | QueeNZland | Contact

OVER MY HORI-ZON: Auckland is buzzing today, on the eve of the inaugural Hori Cup at Mount Smart.

The two most Kiwi sides in the NRL, the Warriors and The Dolphins, will take to the hallowed turf of New Zealand rugby league's spiritual home - which is currently branded as Go Media Stadium.

This will be the Warriors first chance to host a home final since they pumped the Knights 40-10 in week two of the 2023 play-offs.

However, this will also be the first time in history that two 'Kiwi' teams have played in New Zealand for an elimination final.

There are currently 9 players in the Dolphins NRL side who were born in New Zealand, many of whom were raised in the ten or so rugby league-friendly suburbs of South Auckland - or further up the North Island in the Benji Marshall touch footy country.

Meanwhile, the Warriors obviously have a 2-1 Kiwi to non-Kiwi ratio.

Despite the fact that one of these teams is actually geographically based in the north of Brisbane is irrelevant, as Redcliffe and it's surrounding suburbs have long been synonymous with Queensland's Maori and Pakeha expats.

These fans are affectionately known as QueeNZlanders, and there are currently packing out Jet Star flights back across the ditch to support their plastic Whānau as they take on the motherlanders.

With famed New Zealand rap star Scribe appearing alongside Australia's First Nations hip hop group 3% at Go Media Stadium during half-time in the New Zealand Warriors win over Penrith Panthers in Round 23 - it was going to be a hard act to follow this weekend for the inaugural Hori Cup.

But the NRL has dug deep in the archives of 1980s New Zealand pop-rock to give both the locals and the Mozzies a 'slice of heaven'.

To celebrate such a momentous occasion, the NRL has decided to drastically up the Kiwi-ness by booking Sir Dave Dobbyn and The Herbs to provide the pre-match entertainment - with famous Auckland DJ, P-Money, booked to play the hits at each break in play.

It is believed that Kiwi Hollywood stars Cliff Curtis and Taika Waiti will also joining the festivities with roving microphones on the sidelines of Mount Smart Stadium, with Lorde rumoured to be playing a club set down the road at The Springs Tavern in Onehunga following the full time whistle.