NRL finals: Warriors-Dolphins qualifying final at Mount Smart sells out within minutes

It took just minutes for Warriors fans to fill Mount Smart Stadium - at least on paper.Tickets for Saturday's NRL qualifying final against the Dolphins sold out almost immediately after going on sale to the general public at midday on Tuesday, ensuring the Warriors will run out in front of a packed house of around 25,000.Warriors members had already snapped up their allocation after sales opened yesterday, while Dolphins members got access from 6pm.General public sales opened at midday on Tuesday and within minutes, the remaining tickets were gone - much to the disappointment of fans.Shortly after tickets went on sale, upset Warriors fans took to social media to vent their frustration at missing out."I missed out on all three sale times, and I'm a member! Not impressed," wrote one fan on the Up the WAHS facebook group."So shit, been trying since yesterday," wrote another.It is unclear whether the Warriors will make any additional seating available.The sell-out crowd sets the scene for a boisterous reception for the Warriors as they begin their NRL finals campaign at home.The Warriors have put themselves in a strong position to contend for a maiden NRL premiership, with their second place finish at the end of the regular season guaranteeing themselves two home play-offs, starting on Saturday against the third-placed Dolphins.If they lose to the Dolphins their next game will be the following week in the semi-finals. If they win, the Warriors will earn themselve a week off and the right to host a preliminary final.The demand for tickets for Saturday's match will likely put further pressure on Warriors' officials to move their final home play-off game to the Eden Park, which, with a capacity of 50,000, can hold roughly double the number of fans as Mount Smart.The finals series is controlled by the NRL, which according to its policy "reserves the right, at its sole discretion to determine venues considered most suitable to host the NRL and NRLW final series matches".Warriors chief executive Cameron George said he was happy the NRL agreed to play their opening play-off game at Mount Smart, but confirmed Eden Park remains on the table for the second game."That was really important to me that I challenge NRL's thinking on taking it away because it's our home, it's where we've got fans that sit there in the rain, hail or sunshine for many, many years and it's so connected to us and our players love it there, our fans love it there and we've earned the right to play it there," George said.George said a decision on where that second game will be played is unlikely to be made until after the Warriors play the Dolphins."My promise to [NRL boss] Peter V'Landys was that after we get through this weekend, we see where we're at and then we can discuss what it looks like moving forward. But just happy it's at home this weekend.""At the end of the day, the NRL own the finals. So the reality is they can tell us where to go and play it and when to play it."V'landys told the Sydney Morning Herald that the expected groundswell of support for the Warriors meant a move to Eden Park was virtually inevitable for the club's second play-off game."I'd say you'd be 90 per cent sure that we'll be going to Eden Park," V'landys said."We've discussed it with the club. They'd like to stay at Mount Smart, but they realise that if all goes to plan, they're going to have a massive audience and they'll be accommodated at Eden Park."Cronulla have been forced to move their game against North Queensland this weekend away from the 14,000 capacity Shark Park and will instead play at the Sydney Football Stadium.