Recruitment Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention Discussion
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-​	Player​	2024​	2025​	2026​	2027​	2028​
1	Bunty Afoa	✔	✔
2	Tom Ale	✔	✔
3	Mitchell Barnett	✔	✔
4	The Greatest of All-Time	✔	✔	✔
5	Kurt Capewell	✔	✔	✔
6	Wayde Egan	✔	✔
7	Addin Fonua-Blake	✔
8	Jackson Ford	✔	✔
9	Tohu Harris	✔	✔
10	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔	M
11	Shaun Johnson	✔
12	Edward Kosi	✔	✔
13	Jacob Laban	✔	✔	✔
14	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔
15	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔	✔
16	Zyon Maiu’u	✔	✔	✔
17	Te Maire Martin	✔	✔
18	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔	✔
19	Marcelo Montoya	✔	✔
20	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔
21	Marata Niukore	✔	✔	✔
22	Adam Pompey	✔	✔
23	Demitric Sifakula	✔	✔	T
24	Jazz Tevaga	✔
25	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
26	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔	✔
27	Dylan Walker	✔	✔
28	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔
D1	Ben Farr	D
D2	Etuane Fukofuka	D
D3	Leka Halasima	D	D	✔
D4	Patrick Moimoi	D
D5	Tanner Stowers-Smith	D
-	James Fisher-Harris	-	✔	✔	✔	✔

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: 26/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 1/6

2025 Gains: James Fucking Fisher-Harris baby! (Panthers)
2025 Losses: Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks)
2025 Off Contract: Shaun Johnson, Jazz Tevaga

 

[WahsaurusRex]

Listening closely to Cam George's chat with SENZ this morning, he mentions indirectly that the club has only 1 position to fill for next year (regarding the salary cap discussion) and they have a plan in place for it. You would have to think this means SJ will sign another 1 year deal and Jazz may be on the out?

That's how i interpreted his chat anyway...

Does my head in when CG and Cappy drop random stuff like that lol

Officially, as far as we know, we have 26 contracted players for 4 spots open.

Maybe those three are being "reserved" by SJ and Jazz, and then Leka, leaving one for a free agent or another junior?

Or maybe, like how we currently only have 28/30 spots filled this year, and we went most of last year with 28, he isn't counting two of those spots when he says we have one remaining?

 

[Brightman]

I disagree - this only goes to show that more kiwis will return to their home shores after a spell in the wilderness. The Warriors can't have a mortgage on kiwi talent. The salary cap was introduced for the purpose of evening up the teams so this signing may encourage the NRL to introduce a second NZ team.

I couldn't agree more. Short term expansion in the NRL is actually limited and NZ is a growth market for RL with the added bonus of ready made players ripe to be plucked away from the NZRU..

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

I am targeting mulitalo next season for montoyas spot, and releasing Kosi so those two don't train together.

 

[Tokyo Warrior]

So we'd be looking at a strike winger and an impact middle if we were going to recruit further?

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

So we'd be looking at a strike winger and an impact middle if we were going to recruit further?

I think when fully fit we have impact on the bench.

CHT
Walker
Niukore
Ale

Who knows what Laban, Sifakula, and Zyon Maiu’u could be?

 

[Wheels 2024]

So we'd be looking at a strike winger and an impact middle if we were going to recruit further?

We could put RTS on the wing. He would only get better with more games under his belt as the freedom of being able to roam freely would suit our team better.

 

[sup42]

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C54WEboyERb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

And this is why Andrew Webster and McFadden backed Stacey Jones as Kiwis coach over the legend Wayne Bennet.
Warriors chess, Stacey is not a better coach than Wayne come on....it is joke to compare them...but the Warriors are wanting to control the Market place.

 

[John Nick]

We could put RTS on the wing. He would only get better with more games under his belt as the freedom of being able to roam freely would suit our team better.

No .
He's struggling to get the hang of playing center. While center is the hardest position to get used to wing is a different thing again.
Combinations are everything

 

[Tookey 2.0]

So we'd be looking at a strike winger and an impact middle if we were going to recruit further?

Montoya finishes up end of 2025, I'd be throwing 500k and a spare room at JFH's new whare to Sunia Turuva.

Montoya would likely only be on 250-300k surely. Another 200k to have a great tackle busting and pacey winger who comes from great structures and won't jam in on defence, and who can fill in at fullback when needed...

I feel spending 200k more on Montoyas wing would largely be the biggest area of improvement we need

 

[francis]

We could put RTS on the wing. He would only get better with more games under his belt as the freedom of being able to roam freely would suit our team better.

agree..i'd pass on Muli.... lol

 

[Ozwarrior]

NRL news: What James Fisher-Harris signing really says about New Zealand Warriors | Matty Johns​

James Fisher-Harris leaving a four-peat-chasing Panthers side to join the Warriors is a scary proposition for rival teams for more reasons than they realise, MATTY JOHNS writes.
Matthew Johns

NRL

Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
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The Warriors entered the ARL competition in 1995 to enormous fanfare.
By now, they should’ve won a couple of premierships but have been hurt, hindered and smashed by various challenges; the financial collapse of the Auckland Warriors, enormous coaching instability, Australian clubs not just pinching New Zealand talent, but also having a greater presence in the Pacific, and, of course, the pressure that New Zealand rugby union has exerted.
It was predicted the Warriors would rival the powerhouse Brisbane Broncos in size and stature, yet in 30 years they’ve barely had enough clear air to get close.
But that’s changing, the potential is being realised.

Soon-to-be Warrior James Fisher-Harris. Picture: NRL Photos
The James Fisher-Harris signing from Penrith is probably the biggest in the club’s history. The fact the New Zealand skipper is leaving a club shooting for four successive NRL premierships says everything about the Warriors and where they are heading.
Speaking to former New Zealand Test coach Michael Maguire during the week, he described Fisher-Harris as close to the best leader with whom he’s ever worked.
This club is booming.
WHY WAHS ISN’T A FAD
They’ve had plenty of false dawns but this feels different. You see the ‘Wahs’ have had an erratic existence, boom years are normally followed by a bust.
The big test of coach Andrew Webster’s Warriors was going to be if they could double up on last year’s success.
They’re better than last season.

The Warriors had the potential to manage the Broncos when they joined the competition in 1995.
People are saying the Warriors are a smoky to win this year’s title. Just a smoky? They’re better than that.
But it’s not just the Warriors who are booming, the code in New Zealand has never enjoyed anything like the support it’s getting.
SILVER LINING OF GOING THROUGH HELL
If we go back to those enormously difficult Covid years, they were numerous factors which lifted the respect and profile that rugby league got across the ditch. Out of all the clubs, the Warriors were by far the most dramatically affected, but there’s been a substantial silver lining.
The sacrifices and the class in which the Warriors club and its players dealt with their circumstance drew praise and admiration from all. The Warriors were, at one point, based in The Central Coast town of Terrigal, where the locals fell in love with the team, through the respect and kindness the players showed to the people of the community.
All this while those players were experiencing great emotional hardship, dragged away and kept away from their families back home.

Across Australia, rival supporters took on the Warriors as their second team, while a neighbour of mine abandoned the club he’s supported his whole life and can now be seen most weekends in his ‘WAHS’ T-shirt and hat.
In New Zealand, the Warriors, once a symbol of underachievement, were now a symbol of national pride.
And there was also the fact that the NRL was close to the first sport in the world to restart its competition. The code was given a whole fresh set of eyes, people who were desperate for any respite and entertainment while enduring lockdown.
In Las Vegas, I spoke to Americans and Canadians who first saw the game during these times and quickly became diehard fans. One young American fellow told me and Gorden Tallis that he actually wrote a book on the rules of rugby league and distributed it around his town. Likewise at Magic Round last year, there were a large groups of travelling supporters from Dunedin, in New Zealand’s South Island, an area renowned for its rugby union fanaticism, and potentially the NRL’s next expansion destination.

Six straight sellouts for the Warriors. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
One of the group, a large fellow with hands like baseball mitts told me: “I’ve packed into a few rugby union scrums in my day”. His nose gave that away.
“The only reason I started watching rugby league was because it was the only bloody thing on, now I’m hooked.”
PROOF WEBSTER’S WARRIORS ARE DIFFERENT
All that could’ve wore off quickly if the Warriors didn’t deliver.
Boy, deliver they have. Too often the Warriors’ wins and successes had been built on sand, relying on offloads and high-risk passing to attack and get results. When the passes stuck, they won. When they didn’t, they didn’t.
Talented, flamboyant, erratic, inconsistent. The Warriors are now the most deliberate team in the competition; every player knows their role and what the team is trying to achieve on every play, in every set.

The Warriors fought their way back into their match with the Sea Eagles. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
The foundation of their success is attacking discipline and high-energy defence. The balance of the squad is close to perfect, with two key men the glue.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Grand final-winning coach Chris Anderson would say “give me a great front-rower and a great halfback and I’ll win you a title.”
I bet Anderson would like his chances with Shaun Johnson and Addin Fonua-Blake.
Fonua-Blake is the competition’s best front-row forward, barely have we seen a big man with such speed and delicate late footwork.
And Johnson? What more can be written … Amazing.
Losing Fonua-Blake could have been a major blow for the Warriors. In proof of their new-found status, they got the best possible replacement in Fisher-Harris.
DRAWN TO A TITLE-WINNING CONCLUSION
The Warriors could easily be undefeated this season. Their only poor performance in 2024 came against Manly in Round 6.
Ironically, it’s that performance which has me convinced this team can greet the chequered flag.
For most of that game, the Warriors were completely out of sync and had no rhythm. High on errors, low on energy. It clearly wasn’t their day. Yet, somehow they were able to pull themselves together with only minutes remaining and snatch a draw.
Title-winning teams do that.

https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?te...s/news-story/7999c36ee892bb205ce040d5d798e03f

 

[CWC]

Should we just hire Matty Jones as our ambassador, with Jack Black?

Seriously though, coming out of the pandemic, the Warriors are the ones that united the nation

Not the heroes we deserve, but the one we need right now

 

[Kav1]

I am targeting mulitalo next season for montoyas spot, and releasing Kosi so those two don't train together

I am targeting mulitalo next season for montoyas spot, and releasing Kosi so those two don't train together.

Montoya is very safe under the high ball and doesn't get the opportunities that Dalin gets through Shaun's kicking. I can't see the Sharks releasing Mulitalo anyway

 

[cock_o]

Does my head in when CG and Cappy drop random stuff like that lol

Officially, as far as we know, we have 26 contracted players for 4 spots open.

Maybe those three are being "reserved" by SJ and Jazz, and then Leka, leaving one for a free agent or another junior?

Or maybe, like how we currently only have 28/30 spots filled this year, and we went most of last year with 28, he isn't counting two of those spots when he says we have one remaining?

Yeah exactly right! Leaves as all guessing.

 

[cock_o]

Manly's forward pack seem so much bigger than ours.
Would love to add another big forward to use off the bench like Wiremu Greig. Can't crack the Parra 17 at this stage.

 

[Mr Drag]

Cherry-Evans thinks he's Spock with the old Vulcan nerve pinch! ​

 

[run_it_str8_again]

Ok let's have the Cleary recruitment talk. There are no longer any off limits targets after yesterday

 

[Wrighty]

Here is some low level news that will create a mixture of mirth and nodding heads of acknowledgement

Big Ken is being shopped around

Titans winger granted permission to speak with rival clubs

He is a former Dally M Winger of the Year.

www.zerotackle.com

 

[Worried2Death]

Here is some low level news that will create a mixture of mirth and nodding heads of acknowledgement

Big Ken is being shopped around

Titans winger granted permission to speak with rival clubs

He is a former Dally M Winger of the Year.

www.zerotackle.com

Hope he finds a gig, love Big Ken.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

Leo Thompson is off contract in 25. Given how influentialJFH has been in his professional development, I can see him being persuaded to come here.