Recruitment Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention Discussion
key: T = Team option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, D = Development contract

Confirmed Top 30 2024: 28/30
Confirmed Development 2024: 5/6

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 25/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 1/6

2025 Gains: Nil
2025 Losses: Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks)
 
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Remember when he could not make the side at the start of the year? Story was he was late to training and not pushing as hard as the coach wanted.
Vailea was the only other one with that tag in this current set up.
It's a bit hard to swallow when he was the most enthusiastic in the entire side on game day, even when he was being underutilized. He embarrassed the rest of the team in that dolphins loss, did everything he could while most of the team looked half assed. Game day is the only thing we know for sure and he's up there with Jazz in A+ for effort, but with more impact.

As long as this leads to us signing a decent prop it's all good. We're stacked at backrow and desperately need another good prop. Can't move on scrubs because no one will take them.
 
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I think his attitude would be questioned .. he took a ban instead of paying a fine this year. Not the best example of team first.
Definitely would be the biggest concern, that was a bad decision. Seems like a decent person though, not sure if he has a disabled child, but he is the founder of a company that caters for disabled children’s needs. I just mentioned him because I feel like we’re in a win now window after finishing fourth this season and a guy who’s won a title with the roosters and played in a final with the eels in the last 3 years could be of benefit. We seem to have solid youngsters coming through in nearly all positions so recruiting anybody young enough to block their path is pointless, only area we could possibly look for someone young would be in that big prop like Haas/AFB which we don’t seem to have coming through.
 
It's a bit hard to swallow when he was the most enthusiastic in the entire side on game day, even when he was being underutilized. He embarrassed the rest of the team in that dolphins loss, did everything he could while most of the team looked half assed. Game day is the only thing we know for sure and he's up there with Jazz in A+ for effort, but with more impact.

As long as this leads to us signing a decent prop it's all good. We're stacked at backrow and desperately need another good prop. Can't move on scrubs because no one will take them.
Remember at 1 stage the coaches said his enthusiasm can be his downfall because he would at times go too hard for a few plays then miss his next job.
 
I'm disappointed we are letting Curran go. Very competitive player and as an edge forward, with the ability to play lock if required, I thought he was very good for us. If his attitude was poor he wouldn't have played 23 games for us this season. Looking at the top two teams of the Broncos and the Panthers in particular, I feel they have lost players for next season that will bring them back to the pack a little. With RTS giving us potentially more strike in the centres, my thoughts, like many on here is that we were missing an impact prop to help AFB and Barnett. Letting Sironen (who covered hooker well) and Curran go, who are unlikely to be on huge money and provide great bang for buck, seems a bit strange to me. Jazz, for me, is the odd one out on the bench (we looked more balanced and effective when his injury forced us to use our bench differently) and if we could have replaced him with a decent prop I think we would have been in a great position to challenge for the title. I worry that we have just missed a great opportunity for 2024. I get that we can use some juniors but it isn't as easy as that to replace the experience of Sironen and Curran, or the versatility there as well. It will be interesting to see what unfolds with additional signings, who becomes the bench utility that covers hooker, and if we change our bench make up to provide more size. Walker is locked in for 14. Jazz I guess is favoured also to pick up a spot and if he isn't there to provide hooker cover, which he isn't great at anyway, then our bench starts to look light again.

Walker
Prop
Curran
Sironen

is greater than

Walker
Jazz
Utility
Prop

Broncos and Panthers showed the way forward with their bench make up.
 
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I'm disappointed we are letting Curran go. Very competitive player and as an edge forward, with the ability to play lock if required, I thought he was very good for us. If his attitude was poor he wouldn't have played 23 games for us this season. Looking at the top two teams of the Broncos and the Panthers in particular, I feel they have lost players for next season that will bring them back to the pack a little. With RTS giving us potentially more strike in the centres, my thoughts, like many on here is that we were missing an impact prop to help AFB and Barnett. Letting Sironen (who covered hooker well) and Curran go, who are unlikely to be on huge money and provide great bang for buck, seems a bit strange to me. Jazz, for me, is the odd one out on the bench (we looked more balanced and effective when his injury forced us to use our bench differently) and if we could have replaced him with a decent prop I think we would have been in a great position to challenge for the title. I worry that we have just missed a great opportunity for 2024. I get that we can use some juniors but it isn't as easy as that to replace the experience of Sironen and Curran, or the versatility there as well. It will be interesting to see what unfolds with additional signings, who becomes the bench utility that covers hooker, and if we change our bench make up to provide more size. Walker is locked in for 14. Jazz I guess is favoured also to pick up a spot and if he isn't there to provide hooker cover, which he isn't great at anyway, then our bench starts to look light again.

Walker
Prop
Curran
Sironen

is greater than

Walker
Jazz
Utility
Prop

Broncos and Panthers showed the way forward with their bench make up.
Hoping to see someone recruited that has Barnett on the bench to cover prop/second row, if he can cover Sironen in the second row aspect I think CHT covers what Sironen did in terms of dummy half but also covers most positions in the backline. Feeling comfortable if Kalani Going is the one to replace Curran, he’s at a stage of his career where it’s make or break and his numbers suggest he’s making a go of it, not to mention the captaincy accolades he’s got as captain of nsw cup team and Kiwis a team suggest there’s leadership qualities also.
 
Hoping to see someone recruited that has Barnett on the bench to cover prop/second row, if he can cover Sironen in the second row aspect I think CHT covers what Sironen did in terms of dummy half but also covers most positions in the backline. Feeling comfortable if Kalani Going is the one to replace Curran, he’s at a stage of his career where it’s make or break and his numbers suggest he’s making a go of it, not to mention the captaincy accolades he’s got as captain of nsw cup team and Kiwis a team suggest there’s leadership qualities also.
Still leaves us light on the bench if Jazz is there. CHT hasn't played or trained for nearly 18 months and will be a whole season behind the new systems and doesn't strike me as being able to play second row like Sironen could when not needed for injury cover or to spell Egan. I really like Going but he isn't a strike edge second rower like Curran IMO, better suited to the middle work.

Using your suggestions above gives us a bench of Walker, Jazz, Barnett, CHT. Or if you drop Jazz out Walker, Going, Barnett, CHT. If Jazz stays and you drop CHT out then we have a very poor option to cover Hooker. None of those really appeal for me.

Additional signings are going to be the key IMO. Lets see what unfolds in that space over the coming month or two
 
Joining the chorus of those disappointed about Curran. When he first came into the team I honestly thought he was a plodder, but he turned that around big time in that breakout season under Brown. Moreso than his contribution on the field though I liked that he truly wanted to be here, and always gave off the impression that he loved being a Warrior. Played his guts out and always seemed proud to represent us. Rare in an Aussie import. Will miss him.

Bit concerning that we feel we can't get anything out of him, but time will tell.
 
Still leaves us light on the bench if Jazz is there. CHT hasn't played or trained for nearly 18 months and will be a whole season behind the new systems and doesn't strike me as being able to play second row like Sironen could when not needed for injury cover or to spell Egan. I really like Going but he isn't a strike edge second rower like Curran IMO, better suited to the middle work.

Using your suggestions above gives us a bench of Walker, Jazz, Barnett, CHT. Or if you drop Jazz out Walker, Going, Barnett, CHT. If Jazz stays and you drop CHT out then we have a very poor option to cover Hooker. None of those really appeal for me.

Additional signings are going to be the key IMO. Lets see what unfolds in that space over the coming month or two
Don’t see any room for Jazz in the 17 and like mentioned in the post, think Barnett can cover Sironen’s role off the bench at second row, not CHT. I just see CHT covering the dummy half aspect of Sironen’s role. New recruits get up to speed pretty quickly as seen with Walker and others this season so have every faith that CHT can slot in after one season away, for Webster to reach out to him doesn’t strike me for him to sit in nsw cup. Curran’s numbers dropped in pretty much all aspects this year and Ford benefited hugely, I think the Curran in competition with Ford we had this year just becomes Kalani Going in competition with Ford for that role next year, probably Going stays depth. Either Bunty manages to add something and adds the size we need in that last role off the bench, or Zyon Maiu’u is ready to step up if we are in need of a starting prop and a big bench player.
Could be a bench of
Walker
CHT
Barnett
Afoa.
Or Walker
CHT
Barnett
Zyon Maiu’u
Or Walker
CHT
Barnett
Recruit
 
Losing Siro concerns me more than losing Curran.

Siro covered second row and hooker.

We can't trust Egan to stay healthy for 80 minutes each week so now we almost have no choice other than to play Lussick or CHT on the bench to cover hooker.

Any bench combo that has Walker, Jazz and CHT/Lussick on it is more than a little iffy imo.
 
Bit concerning that we feel we can't get anything out of him, but time will tell.
I’m probably in a minority but I haven’t been hugely impressed with him since Brown left and he had that great form under him where he was a possibility of playing origin. Certainly had some great moments like the sharks game, but for his salary and Ford overtaking him I think his output has been limited. Good luck to him
 
It's a bit hard to swallow when he was the most enthusiastic in the entire side on game day, even when he was being underutilized. He embarrassed the rest of the team in that dolphins loss, did everything he could while most of the team looked half assed. Game day is the only thing we know for sure and he's up there with Jazz in A+ for effort, but with more impact.

As long as this leads to us signing a decent prop it's all good. We're stacked at backrow and desperately need another good prop. Can't move on scrubs because no one will take them.
Should move bunty on too.
Free up a touch of skrilla.
 
Was told he’s free to look around too. I think they’d be happy if he stayed and took the role of someone like Gavet in nsw cup who shows the young guys what’s required in training habits etc.
I'm not sure where you got that information, Bunty has not been told he's free to look around too (this time).

1698270143729.png


Screenshot from this article: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/leagu...bs-bunty-afoa-staying-brayden-wiliame-retires
 
Was told he’s free to look around too. I think they’d be happy if he stayed and took the role of someone like Gavet in nsw cup who shows the young guys what’s required in training habits etc.
Yeah you're probably right not enough coin to even worry but he definitely would bring good experience.
 
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