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
 
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Think we need to consider he’s not young and with all the injuries, he potentially needs to take the payday with a young family. I could see the dragons probably throwing the biggest offer his way, so perhaps money is the driver?
I dont blame him one bit, i do think it would be silly for the club to let him go from not offering enough money like it should be throw the book at him, probably the biggest barrier to us winning a comp at this time is having someone like him stay as our halfback.
 

NZWarriors.com

Could you imagine: Metcalf gone, Inch straight into our top 30
Here is some tin foil hat theories for you.

I questioned at the time putting Linnane in the top 30. With Linnane we have 5 halves in our top 30 and there is a genuine opportunity cost to the balance of the squad by having too many of any position.
By putting Linane in the top 30 and MAYBE if you believe 5 and Last we offered Inch a top 30 role - have they known this has been coming for a while or at least had fears of it happening and built in some back up plans.
 
Two camps here: has he delayed signing till after all the chaos surrounding a wedding or he's not got it out of the way beforehand because he's on the move. There are optimistic and pessimistic arguments for both.

I reckon we've tried to lowball him and he's going to test the market.
I doubt he’s going to be released early given he is still rehabbing his knee, quite a punt for another club to take for 26.

The up and down season of dally m leader to ACL can’t have helped negotiations - Warriors may be pricing some injury risk into his value while he probably believes he’s worth top dollar right now given pre ACL form. Sure hope they can find a middle ground.

Is it confirmed his missus is kiwi? Thought she was from Sydney. Where ever she’s from, somebody start buying her brownies asap
 
For Metcalf, if he was gonna bounce surely his agent would have indicated all ready, he would be a hot get by any club interested in a half ( souths / dragons / tigers possibly plus probably many more) and for him to not be drumming up interest atleast works in our favour.
Hope you're right. Would be increadbly dumb of the club to let him go. You're quite a bit less likely to do the same ACL again after surgery as it ends up strengthing it. Plus he had loads of non international playing warrirors at the wedding. It would put some heavy limits on how far we could go next season IMO. Just don't think any junior, boyd or tmm can reach those some highs.
 
I dont blame him one bit, i do think it would be silly for the club to let him go from not offering enough money like it should be throw the book at him, probably the biggest barrier to us winning a comp at this time is having someone like him stay as our halfback.
Bit of a catch 22. Could pay him top dollar and he continues to pick up injuries? Would be great to see him commit but all reasonings seem to be that it’s a return for family reasons with he and his partners new edition, nothing we can do about that if he’s going to get that and the money
 
I won't cry in my beer if he goes. I havn't forgiven him yet for conspiring to get a knee injury when he was tackled around his waist. Needs to learn how to take a hit. You could do the same tackle as hard and as late as it was to either TMM or CNK and they would take the hit and be fine.
 
As soon as Metcalf picked up the ACL, he was always going to wait until 1 November to get all his offers in front of him.

The reason you want a deal done early if you're a player is for security against injury happening and your value dropping.

From that point there was zero downside in him waiting until 1 November and seeing what else was out there.

No idea what he's going to do. But I think he will take the largest offer (whether that's us or another team)

Just have to wait out the next month and a bit.
 
Hope you're right. Would be increadbly dumb of the club to let him go. You're quite a bit less likely to do the same ACL again after surgery as it ends up strengthing it. Plus he had loads of non international playing warrirors at the wedding. It would put some heavy limits on how far we could go next season IMO. Just don't think any junior, boyd or tmm can reach those some highs.

The ACL is never as strong as it was originally so there's always an increased risk of injury, especially if you come back too early.

This is the risk factor that complicates things for us in negotiation. We can't afford another 12 game season from a key player.
 
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