Recruitment Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention Discussion​

-	Player	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
1	Bunty Afoa	✔
2	Tom Ale	✔
3	Mitchell Barnett	✔	✔	✔
4	Rocco Berry	✔	✔
5	Tanah Boyd	✔	✔
6	Kurt Capewell	✔	✔
7	Erin Clark	✔	✔	✔
8	Jett Cleary	✔	S	S
9	Wayde Egan	✔	✔	✔
10	James Fisher-Harris	✔	✔	✔	✔
11	Jackson Ford	✔	✔	✔
12	Leka Halasima	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
13	Morgan Harper	✔
14	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
15	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
16	Edward Kosi	✔
17	Jacob Laban	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
18	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
19	Jye Linnane	✔	✔	✔	✔
20	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
21	Te Maire Martin	✔	✔
22	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
23	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔	✔
24	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
25	Adam Pompey	✔	✔	✔
26	Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔	✔	✔
27	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
28	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
29	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔	✔
30	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Kayliss Fatialofa	S	✔	✔
S2	Kalani Going	S
S3	Luke Hanson	S
S4	Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	S	✔	✔
S5	Sio Kali	S
S6	Patrick Moimoi	S
-	Kahu Capper	T	T
-	Morgan Gannon	-	✔	✔	✔
-	Motu Pasikala	T	?	?

C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, S = Supplementary contract, T = Train & Trial contract

Top 30 2026: 28/30
Supplementary 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Morgan Gannon (Leeds Rhinos)
2026 Losses: Edward Kosi (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Morgan Harper
Can negotiate with other clubs from Nov 1, 2025 (Entering final year) : Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Kurt Capewell, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Freddy Lussick, Te Maire Martin, Luke Metcalf, Marata Niukore, Taine Tuaupiki, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

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[Milking!]

Crystal ball gazing, where do we see all these second rowers in three years or so? Capes probs gone, Niukore probs a prop by then.
I’d imagine:
Leka/Laban - starting second rowers
Clarke/Gannon - lock rotation
EIT - regular bench rotation (could he pitch in at centre if required or nah?)
Kayliss - role EIT has now? Knocking on the door/18th man?

Out of that, it’s be ideal to have one of them trending towards back-up centre and another for helping out in the middle.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Yup Kali will get one and we will go into preseason with the last one open I think

TSS had done far less than Kali prior to him getting promoted to top 30 last year (tbh I thought he was going to spend another year on dev contract). The club has been pretty good about promoting from the development contract list if you've shown enough at Cup level.

Obviously Moimoi won't be getting promoted (hasn't played enough cup). And there's no room for Hanson (we are overcrowded for halves, but i think the club will try keep him next year on another dev contract)

Its pretty standard to carry up to 6 front rowers in your top 30 no?

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Yup Kali will get one and we will go into preseason with the last one open I think

TSS had done far less than Kali prior to him getting promoted to top 30 last year (tbh I thought he was going to spend another year on dev contract). The club has been pretty good about promoting from the development contract list if you've shown enough at Cup level.

Obviously Moimoi won't be getting promoted (hasn't played enough cup). And there's no room for Hanson (we are overcrowded for halves, but i think the club will try keep him next year on another dev contract)

This Jye Linnane must be the goods.

 

[Billyspleen75]

Crystal ball gazing, where do we see all these second rowers in three years or so? Capes probs gone, Niukore probs a prop by then.
I’d imagine:
Leka/Laban - starting second rowers
Clarke/Gannon - lock rotation
EIT - regular bench rotation (could he pitch in at centre if required or nah?)
Kayliss - role EIT has now? Knocking on the door/18th man?

Out of that, it’s be ideal to have one of them trending towards back-up centre and another for helping out in the middle.

I had this conversation this afternoon, and thought it was pretty easy

11. Leka
12. Laban

16. EIT - covers middle and edge, similar to Niukore.
17. Fatialofa - primarily edge, covers centre similar to Capewell.

But I completely forgot about Gannon. If he's the 15, that seems too light a middle rotation.

I suppose the answer is that there are 5 guys fighting for 4 positions which is probably about the right balance

Also, Niukore better be long gone by 3 years.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

I had this conversation this afternoon, and thought it was pretty easy

11. Leka
12. Laban

16. EIT - covers middle and edge, similar to Niukore.
17. Fatialofa - primarily edge, covers centre similar to Capewell.

But I completely forgot about Gannon. If he's the 15, that seems too light a middle rotation.

I suppose the answer is that there are 5 guys fighting for 4 positions which is probably about the right balance

Also, Niukore better be long gone by 3 years.

Niukore would be lucky to be here beyond next season. He ain't getting any better than he has already.

 

[Five&Last]

I had this conversation this afternoon, and thought it was pretty easy

11. Leka
12. Laban

16. EIT - covers middle and edge, similar to Niukore.
17. Fatialofa - primarily edge, covers centre similar to Capewell.

But I completely forgot about Gannon. If he's the 15, that seems too light a middle rotation.

I suppose the answer is that there are 5 guys fighting for 4 positions which is probably about the right balance

Also, Niukore better be long gone by 3 years.

A bit much overlap with EIT and Kayliss as the utility option. Probably one or the other. Need two props on bench and probably hooker cover for Egan.

As others have mentioned it’s probably EIT as bench utility and Kayliss to start at center, at least next year or the start of their careers. Or maybe it’s Laban to prop with Kayliss starting second row.

Also Gannon doesn’t crack 17. He’s spending most of the year in NSW cup unless injuries.

 

[Warriorsfan92]

There seems to be a few people under the impression that gannon walks into the starting 17. This is not the case. Hes been identified as walkers replacement, as a bench utility, but no spot is guaranteed. He will start in cup next year, unless he has a stellar pre season & work his way in. There’s probably only 7-8 players that are locks in the 17 imo, Charnze, RTS, Egan, fish, Barnett, Capewell, Leka & Clarke. Although i believe players like Laban, dwz, Pompey etc will get their spots, I don’t like to assume a player walks into the 17.

 

[JustLikeStartingOver]

Well, they announced the Kayliss resigning for two years so that’s good, accompanied with a nice highlight reel, but has he ever played center in any serious amount of games at any level, or has he always been a back rower?

 

[Riz]

Well, they announced the Kayliss resigning for two years so that’s good, accompanied with a nice highlight reel, but has he ever played center in any serious amount of games at any level, or has he always been a back rower?

He did in age group footy at De la Salle, I believe he was MVP in the Schools Nationals final at centre.

 

[CWC]

I had this conversation this afternoon, and thought it was pretty easy

11. Leka
12. Laban

16. EIT - covers middle and edge, similar to Niukore.
17. Fatialofa - primarily edge, covers centre similar to Capewell.

But I completely forgot about Gannon. If he's the 15, that seems too light a middle rotation.

I suppose the answer is that there are 5 guys fighting for 4 positions which is probably about the right balance

Also, Niukore better be long gone by 3 years.

Might be
11. Leka
12. EIT

14. Healey/Gannon
15. Prop
16. Laban (prop/second row)
17. Kayliss

 

[Five&Last]

Well, they announced the Kayliss resigning for two years so that’s good, accompanied with a nice highlight reel, but has he ever played center in any serious amount of games at any level, or has he always been a back rower?

He's played there in NSW cup last year. Started one game there. And also came off the interchange to play there a number of times last year.

This game he came on and played 70 minutes at center and scored a try


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FDimfwhBRHk

 

[Five&Last]

There seems to be a few people under the impression that gannon walks into the starting 17. This is not the case. Hes been identified as walkers replacement, as a bench utility, but no spot is guaranteed. He will start in cup next year, unless he has a stellar pre season & work his way in. There’s probably only 7-8 players that are locks in the 17 imo, Charnze, RTS, Egan, fish, Barnett, Capewell, Leka & Clarke. Although i believe players like Laban, dwz, Pompey etc will get their spots, I don’t like to assume a player walks into the 17.

Not even Walker replacement. That implies regular spot on the bench. Gannon is very much a development project. Laban, EIT and Kayliss are all ahead of him for me. If Clark gets injured, I think they go Barnett/Vaimauga (in prop reshuffle) and then EIT in number 13, and then Gannon.