Recruitment Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment and Retention Discussion​

Player	2026​	2027​	2028​	2029​	2030​
Mitchell Barnett	✔​	✔​
Rocco Berry	✔​
Tanah Boyd	✔​
Kurt Capewell	✔​
Erin Clark	✔​	✔​
Wayde Egan	✔​	✔​
Kayliss Fatialofa	✔​	✔​
James Fisher-Harris	✔​	✔​	✔​
Jackson Ford	✔​	✔​
Morgan Gannon	✔​	✔​	✔​
Leka Halasima	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔​
Sam Healey	✔​	✔​
Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	✔​	✔​
Alofiana Khan-Pereira	✔​	✔​	✔​
Jacob Laban	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
Ali Leiataua	✔​	✔​
Jye Linnane	✔​	✔​	✔​
Freddy Lussick	✔​
Te Maire Martin	✔​
Haizyn Mellars	✔​	✔​	✔​
Luke Metcalf	✔​
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔​	✔​
Marata Niukore	✔​
Adam Pompey	✔​	✔​
Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔​	✔​	✔​
Taine Tuaupiki	✔​
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔​
Demitric Vaimauga	✔​	✔​	✔​
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔​	✔​
Jett Cleary	S​	U​
Sio Kali	U​
Braelan Marsh	U​	U​	U​
Motu Pasikala	U​	U​

✔ = Signed to Top 30, C = Club option, M = Mutual Option, P = Player option, S = Signed to supplementary list, U = Unclear

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

2027 Top 30: 20/30
2027 Supplementary: 0/6

2027 Gains: Nil
2027 Losses: Nil

Off contract and free to sign elsewhere for 2027: Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Kurt Capewell, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Freddy Lussick, Te Maire Martin, Marata Niukore, Taine Tuaupiki, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Will be off contract and free to sign elsewhere for 2028 from November 1st, 2026: Mitchell Barnett, Erin Clark, Jett Cleary, Wayde Egan, Kayliss Fatialofa, Jackson Ford, Sam Healey, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Ali Leiataua, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Motu Pasikala, Adam Pompey, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Jye Linnaine could be the dark horse of our halves stocks. The club were not put off by two ACL injuries and he moved to Auckland to get a head start on pre season recovery.
It will be interesting to watch his development in Cup.

Who’s playing halves in cup?

Metcalf, CHT, Boyd, TMM are our top 4 with Cleary and Linnaine fighting it out if TMM is 14 in the top team?

6 into 4 will be a challenge.

 

[Wahs_Ultras]

Jye Linnaine could be the dark horse of our halves stocks. The club were not put off by two ACL injuries and he moved to Auckland to get a head start on pre season recovery.
It will be interesting to watch his development in Cup.

He was said to be in a similar mould to fletcher sharpe and was rated higher. He was also on a similar trajectory to first grade as Sharpe but his second ACL injury occurred so the knights offloaded him.

 

[Garry Saloon]

It arranges data, in this case words, into recognisable patterns based on trained and free data sets. “Timeframe from acl surgery” is not alchemy, there’s millions of data points it can pull from to create its most probable.

Yes. But you and I can do it too. And there's a key difference: we care if what we say is true. LLMs do not. Watching grown adults turn over their critical thinking to these products is one of the more depressing things that's happened in my lifetime. Never mind the kids who'll grow up using LLMs for answers and never learn to fact check or critique sources or think about potential biases. These kids are going to be just absolute putty in the hands of the Musks/Zuckerbergs/Altmans. Like if you want to "polish and email" or whatever. Go for it I guess. But using LLMs to do research for you is crazy.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I used ChatGPT to make a smashing Shepards pie last night- kids loved it

iT cAnT mAkE ThInGs up

 

[Garry Saloon]

iT cAnT mAkE ThInGs up

Can't tell which side you're mocking here

 

[Noitall]

So all the talk about Metcalf early release is based on a poster from another forum saying he hopes the Dragons get him, and then saying he hopes that he gets an early release due to the warriors 'strength' in the halves. OK.

Everyone is regurgitating what that guy on the bye round podcast said. A few podcasts/videos/tiktoks have been created off that, and then posters saying they heard it from this other new source too. lol

Long offseason incoming.

Ah well, just posted it thinking someone might be interested. Think many have been wondering what the hold up is regarding an extension, and though an early release hopefully isn’t on the cards, looks like dragons fans were right that he’s the player they will pursue hard. Perhaps the journalists are just reading off these forums too and there’s no interest? Anyway, my humblest apologies for creating a conversation that’s going to make the offseason drag on

 

[Noitall]

Can't tell which side you're mocking here

He’s a lone wolf

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Can't tell which side you're mocking here

Then my job here is done.

In all seriousness I get what you are trying to say, it’s not intelligent, but it can certainly parse and present data better than even humans.

 

[roguei]

Then my job here is done.

In all seriousness I get what you are trying to say, it’s not intelligent, but it can certainly parse and present data better than even humans.

*some humans

 

[Theking267]

I think the Warriors already prepared for Metcalf leaving by re-signing TMM & not releasing Tanah Boyd. When Metcalf leaves they will just extend Boyd

 

[Garry Saloon]

Then my job here is done.

In all seriousness I get what you are trying to say, it’s not intelligent, but it can certainly parse and present data better than even humans.

Maybe
And a mobility scooter can get me to the dairy easier. I'd rather use my legs.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Maybe
And a mobility scooter can get me to the dairy easier. I'd rather use my legs.

It would probably help you come up with a better analogy, because that one is rubbish.

I can’t write HTML code, so I got it to redo 950 webpages which increased my organic traffic 300%

 

[Noitall]

I think the Warriors already prepared for Metcalf leaving by re-signing TMM & not releasing Tanah Boyd. When Metcalf leaves they will just extend Boyd

Yeah it’s hard to imagine that he and the club aren’t on the same page. I’m always reluctant to want a player to stick around with them leaving the following year because I don’t feel that you generally get the best out of the player, but I think I’d feel differently with Metcalf and feel he’d give his genuine best being the person and acknowledging the clubs input into him. There’s also the conundrum of how much of the season are we getting him for coming back from injury? Would imagine the dragons would be very cautious after the Volkman situation

 

[Hitro]

Report on DT from Brent Read and Michael Carayannis headlined

Here's hoping this is all just part of his agent pushing the club hard and taking them down to the wire to get as much as they can. I can only assume this is a well trodden path by an agent close to the end of October to leak info to the press about going to the market, use all the leverage you can and make them sweat to get top dollar. Get it done Cappy, only two more weeks!

Warriors staff and players at the wedding can only be a good thing though.

 

[Hitro]

Yeah it’s hard to imagine that he and the club aren’t on the same page. I’m always reluctant to want a player to stick around with them leaving the following year because I don’t feel that you generally get the best out of the player, but I think I’d feel differently with Metcalf and feel he’d give his genuine best being the person and acknowledging the clubs input into him. There’s also the conundrum of how much of the season are we getting him for coming back from injury? Would imagine the dragons would be very cautious after the Volkman situation

Agree - I would've thought clubs would want to wait and see how he comes back from the ACL. Maybe the club knows that and is trying to leverage that themselves.

He's been vocal in saying he wants to win premierships and representative selection. Wouldn't have thought Dragons would be that attractive for him, not exactly a great start under Flanagan and handly a premiership window opening. Bit of a wildcard Perth but they could throw the kitchen sink at him to kickoff their roster build.

 

[Noitall]

Here's hoping this is all just part of his agent pushing the club hard and taking them down to the wire to get as much as they can. I can only assume this is a well trodden path by an agent close to the end of October to leak info to the press about going to the market, use all the leverage you can and make them sweat to get top dollar. Get it done Cappy, only two more weeks!

Warriors staff and players at the wedding can only be a good thing though.

Really don’t think we can discount the wanting to return home scenario because I think we would have extended by now. We’ve finally found out the length of the deal offered is 2 years beyond 2026 so could be salary or length of deal the issue? I don’t think it’s either and he wants to be closer to family personally. Might be a time to follow the bulldogs lead and prepare for the future in our halves? But I hope that anyone that we have in mind to play in the halves or anyone that we see as our future is committed and we’re not just a springboard to return home

 

[Boston Boy]

Jye Linnaine could be the dark horse of our halves stocks. The club were not put off by two ACL injuries and he moved to Auckland to get a head start on pre season recovery.
It will be interesting to watch his development in Cup.

He seems to have all the qualities of a very good first grade half. I would probably rather develop him than play Boyd.
Boyd is not the future. Jye maybe, but again if he has a break out season, the Ozzies will start calling.

 

[Noitall]

Agree - I would've thought clubs would want to wait and see how he comes back from the ACL. Maybe the club knows that and is trying to leverage that themselves.

He's been vocal in saying he wants to win premierships and representative selection. Wouldn't have thought Dragons would be that attractive for him, not exactly a great start under Flanagan and handly a premiership window opening. Bit of a wildcard Perth but they could throw the kitchen sink at him to kickoff their roster build.

I think there’s so much going on behind the scenes currently with contracts easily broken by just agitation for release or clubs releasing players and I wouldn’t discount eels? If Pezet was to stay at storm with eels thinking they’ve got him, Dylan Walker could have a word and tell him that it’s a good place to be? They’ve got some coin and looking for a five eighth

 

[Leon Black]

Who’s playing halves in cup?

Metcalf, CHT, Boyd, TMM are our top 4 with Cleary and Linnaine fighting it out if TMM is 14 in the top team?

6 into 4 will be a challenge.

And you left out Hanson

 

[Hitro]

I think there’s so much going on behind the scenes currently with contracts easily broken by just agitation for release or clubs releasing players and I wouldn’t discount eels? If Pezet was to stay at storm with eels thinking they’ve got him, Dylan Walker could have a word and tell him that it’s a good place to be? They’ve got some coin and looking for a five eighth

Got to hope that he's built up some goodwill with us supporting him through various injuries. He was vocal when he resigned last year that we wanted someone to back him and Webby + Wahs did that big time.

Appreciate talk is cheap and things change but this was only last year: