Player Luke Metcalf

[CWC]

I think Webby always knew he had 2 or 3 games up his sleeve in terms of having a winning record. Knowing the draw get’s easier after the storm game. He had to integrated Metcalf into the team and form a combination with Tanah. And what’s the worst that could happen he get’s injured well you have the backup’s this year where the team should be fine until he get’s back.

Ya he shot for the moon and failed but we got a few questions answered. I prefer this year's game plan of offloading and trying things rather than been conservative and settle for the safe route

 

[Tokyo Warrior]

Out for 2-3 weeks, apparently

 

[Kav1]

Pretty rough calling out the club for extending Metcalf after the trash Boyd dished out for 3 months last year?

Now Linnane is not looking good either, TMM broken leg again, and Jett, Thompson and Inch are not ready

The next month will probably determine if Boyd and CHT get extended and how much of an upgrade

Metcalf went from practicing 7 and clearly told he'll be back at 7 because most of us probably thought we'd be 1:6 by the time he returns and play savior, it went the other way 3:0 topping the table and his return coincides with 2 bad losses and he pulls his hammy. Life eh.

Ps each campaign is different I think 2026 it should be about him getting his body and mind right and prepare to play supersub at the end of the season, and start again fresh and healthy for 2027, it's actually what's best for him

I don't recall the trash Tanah Boyd dished out for three months last year. Apart from the Newcastle game, when he appeared to succumb under pressure, he provided good service to the backline. He benefitted from his time in pre-season and is now regarded as one of the best halves in the NRL.

 

[Cces]

I don't recall the trash Tanah Boyd dished out for three months last year. Apart from the Newcastle game, when he appeared to succumb under pressure, he provided good service to the backline.

He started 8 games against the bottom 9 teams & we won 50% of these. Losses to the 16th, 11th, 10th & 9th placed teams. Victories against the 17th (thanks to Leka), 16th, 15th & 13th placed teams.
Dropped the reserve grade after the defeat to the Dolphins

 

[Kav1]

He started 8 games against the bottom 9 teams & we won 50% of these. Losses to the 16th, 11th, 10th & 9th placed teams. Victories against the 17th (thanks to Leka), 16th, 15th & 13th placed teams

So, it was all down to him? He helped maintain our final position on the ladder, despite the pressure of taking over a key role from a half back who was leading in the Daly Ms. He was thown in at the deep end without the benefit of a pre-season and I think you both do him a disservice in trashing his efforts.

 

[Cces]

So, it was all down to him? He helped maintain our final position on the ladder, despite the pressure of taking over a key role from a half back who was leading in the Daly Ms. He was thown in at the deep end without the benefit of a pre-season and I think you both do him a disservice in trashing his efforts.

I've showcased his record. Not trashed him. He won 50% of his regular season games in 2025. A team doesn't make playoffs winning half their games.
Happy to heap praise on him for his start to 2026, but in the NRL in 2025 he wasn't the same player we see today.
Corrected me if I'm wrong, but I think he did the entire 24/25 preseason so was at the club for 7 months prior to his debut

 

[CWC]

We went from 10:5 under Luke to 4:6 under Boyd with the same team, could have been 3:7 if not for the Leka miracle

He was very good in the playoff loss to the Panthers, and was amazing for the first 3 rounds this year, and I want him extended for another 2-3 years. But I'm not gonna memory hole how awful we were when he was 7 just a few months ago, and we can blame all other factors, but the factual result speaks for itself. The statement wasn't even controversial lol.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Remember our captain and inspirational leader also went down as Boyd came into the team…

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Out for 2-3 weeks, apparently

That will be interesting to see what we do when hes fit.

If, say Tanah plays reasonably well and we either win all 3, or drop the Melbourne game (as is usually expected), do we bring LM straight back in like we did this time?

Or, do we make him play 2-3 games of cup to show his body can hold up?

I get that we want LM fit and firing and ready at the business end of 2026, but we need to get there first and foremost. If we play well and win 2 or 3 out of 3 I think he needs to prove himself, as opposed to immediately giving him the 6.

Jeeze, huge week for Tanah tho hey? Beat Melbourne and theres a good chance you get a 2-3 year contract extention and likely 3x more money than what youre getting now (guessing it gets bumped from around 200k to 600ish)

 

[Muddogz]

Metcalf and Boyd are very different players, Boyd likes things to be very organised and structured where Metcalf prefers to play more instinctively. Both however like their hands on the ball lots which is where it is failing as a combo.

We are paying Metcalf a lot of money over the next few seasons so we need to give him the best opportunity to succeed. However if Boyd plays the next few in the manner of his first three Webster could be faced with some difficult decisions.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

Metcalf is a student of the game, and was developing a pretty decent organiser's game last year. His kicking last year was good and there were plenty of try assists together with his running threat. Tanah is better at the organisational skills, but without the x factor.

Metcalf has some parts to his game Tanah will never have. Tanah has skills that Metcalf was on a pathway to obtaining last year. Metcalf is the one the club has put its money and time behind, so it makes sense to give him the keys and let him develop (which imo he can only do as the chief 7 with CHT as support).

Despite the last game, Metcalf defended well last year, and I'd trust him to do a better job than Tanah on that front. Perhaps he is a little light at the mo.

However, Metcalf can't stay on the pitch and Tanah can. If he gets his hammy's right then my support is behind Metcalf for 7 (after a game in NSW Cup). That sucks for Tanah, but he is not the future we plumped for. Unless he is planning on staying for a mid-contract I think we focus on Luke and have Tanah as back up.

Just got to be prepared to give Metcalf time to blow off some rust, which is not always easy to do.

 

[Worried2Death]

That will be interesting to see what we do when hes fit.

If, say Tanah plays reasonably well and we either win all 3, or drop the Melbourne game (as is usually expected), do we bring LM straight back in like we did this time?

Or, do we make him play 2-3 games of cup to show his body can hold up?

I get that we want LM fit and firing and ready at the business end of 2026, but we need to get there first and foremost. If we play well and win 2 or 3 out of 3 I think he needs to prove himself, as opposed to immediately giving him the 6.

Jeeze, huge week for Tanah tho hey? Beat Melbourne and theres a good chance you get a 2-3 year contract extention and likely 3x more money than what youre getting now (guessing it gets bumped from around 200k to 600ish)

I'm leaning to giving him a couple weeks off the bench in cup to get his legs back, he looked hesitant to trust his hammies at top speed in space in the weekend.

 

[John Nick]

I'm leaning to giving him a couple weeks off the bench in cup to get his legs back, he looked hesitant to trust his hammies at top speed in space in the weekend.

He was hesitant also when he missed Douhei in the Tigers game l thought

 

[WarriorsNrlFanatics]

Metcalf is the future no doubt about. I think people can be quite harsh after two games! Yes he wasn’t great. But you can’t expect that after being out for so long and only getting limited training sessions with Boyd to work on the combination. I do believe if he’s gets more time with Boyd. The combination will gel. Just got to give it time! Let’s not forget how good he was last year. Shame he’s out again. But hopefully it’s not a very long time on the sidelines

 

[Cces]

Rather than continuing to clog up the Recruitment thread, I'll post my thoughts on the Metcalf situation here.

Everything points to him initially signing for us to be the heir to Shaun Johnson's #7 jersey. In '23 & '24, when fit, he was happy to learn on the job from his friend & mentor. Once '25 rolls around he finally gets the keys. He becomes more of an on the ball player, gets to defend on his preferred right side & is the primary choice last tackle option. He never really looks like an out & out 7, but with both him & CHT each playing like 6.5's it works despite it not always looking fluid. He makes try saving tackles, provides some highlight reel plays & comes up clutch on multiple occasions before getting injured with a 10W-5L record, for a team that only won 9 games the previous complete season.
His understudy is underwhelming (in the NRL) for the remainder of 2025 & he extends his contract another 2 seasons then '26 rolls around with great positivity.
The back up #7 then starts 2026 on a heater going 4 & 0. Metcalf recovers faster than expected so he is put straight back into the team as the #6 on the same week that he, a palangi fella, is used by the club to promote Pasifika Round. Expectations are high. He takes a back seat on the playmaking (27 less touches than Boyd), defends poorly on his less preferred side and isn't first choice goal kicker anymore despite the current guy sitting at 74%. The forwards get pumped & the team take their first L. The next week rolls around & he takes even more of a back seat (40 less touches than Boyd), does his hammy late, the team register another L and all of a sudden a large section of the fan base think he's the issue.
He comes across as a level headed guy who isn't lacking in confidence, but even so, the ego must've taken a hit.
Where to from here? Barring an injury to Boyd coinciding with his return to fitness, his comeback will be via NSW Cup where I can almost guarantee he'll wear the #7, defend on the right & kick goals. Not the ideal preparation for a NRL recall in the second fiddle #6 role that our top side might offer

 

[CWC]

Rather than continuing to clog up the Recruitment thread, I'll post my thoughts on the Metcalf situation here.

Everything points to him initially signing for us to be the heir to Shaun Johnson's #7 jersey. In '23 & '24, when fit, he was happy to learn on the job from his friend & mentor. Once '25 rolls around he finally gets the keys. He becomes more of an on the ball player, gets to defend on his preferred right side & is the primary choice last tackle option. He never really looks like an out & out 7, but with both him & CHT each playing like 6.5's it works despite it not always looking fluid. He makes try saving tackles, provides some highlight reel plays & comes up clutch on multiple occasions before getting injured with a 10W-5L record, for a team that only won 9 games the previous complete season.
His understudy is underwhelming (in the NRL) for the remainder of 2025 & he extends his contract another 2 seasons then '26 rolls around with great positivity.
The back up #7 then starts 2026 on a heater going 4 & 0. Metcalf recovers faster than expected so he is put straight back into the team as the #6 on the same week that he, a palangi fella, is used by the club to promote Pasifika Round. Expectations are high. He takes a back seat on the playmaking (27 less touches than Boyd), defends poorly on his less preferred side and isn't first choice goal kicker anymore despite the current guy sitting at 74%. The forwards get pumped & the team take their first L. The next week rolls around & he takes even more of a back seat (40 less touches than Boyd), does his hammy late, the team register another L and all of a sudden a large section of the fan base think you're the issue.
He comes across as a level headed guy who isn't lacking in confidence, but even so, the ego must've taken a hit.
Where to from here? Barring an injury to Boyd coinciding with his return to fitness, his comeback will be via NSW Cup where I can almost guarantee he'll wear the #7, defend on the right & kick goals. Not the ideal preparation for a NRL recall in the second fiddle #6 role that our top side might offer

In a weird but possibly useful twist, he's the only guy out of the 3 who can play well at both 6 and 7, and use to defend on the left when SJ was playing 7.

Our current halves will get hurt during the season, so he needs to prepare his body and rhythm right in Cup so he can slot straight back in for either positions, either due to injuries or form slump.

At that time nobody will point the finger at him regardless of the results, if he kills it he might keep the jersey, if he stays on the field.

 

[Cces]

In a weird but possibly useful twist, he's the only guy out of the 3 who can play well at both 6 and 7, and use to defend on the left when SJ was playing 7.

He would've had Ford or Curran defending inside and Pompey outside in '23 & a mixture of Ford/Capewell as his backrower in '24.
Maybe being reunited with Capewell & Pompey would provide more comms & confidence if he plays there again this year. Combos do matter plus he was obviously rusty in his first 2 appearances back

 

[j_p]

Rather than continuing to clog up the Recruitment thread, I'll post my thoughts on the Metcalf situation here.

Everything points to him initially signing for us to be the heir to Shaun Johnson's #7 jersey. In '23 & '24, when fit, he was happy to learn on the job from his friend & mentor. Once '25 rolls around he finally gets the keys. He becomes more of an on the ball player, gets to defend on his preferred right side & is the primary choice last tackle option. He never really looks like an out & out 7, but with both him & CHT each playing like 6.5's it works despite it not always looking fluid. He makes try saving tackles, provides some highlight reel plays & comes up clutch on multiple occasions before getting injured with a 10W-5L record, for a team that only won 9 games the previous complete season.
His understudy is underwhelming (in the NRL) for the remainder of 2025 & he extends his contract another 2 seasons then '26 rolls around with great positivity.
The back up #7 then starts 2026 on a heater going 4 & 0. Metcalf recovers faster than expected so he is put straight back into the team as the #6 on the same week that he, a palangi fella, is used by the club to promote Pasifika Round. Expectations are high. He takes a back seat on the playmaking (27 less touches than Boyd), defends poorly on his less preferred side and isn't first choice goal kicker anymore despite the current guy sitting at 74%. The forwards get pumped & the team take their first L. The next week rolls around & he takes even more of a back seat (40 less touches than Boyd), does his hammy late, the team register another L and all of a sudden a large section of the fan base think he's the issue.
He comes across as a level headed guy who isn't lacking in confidence, but even so, the ego must've taken a hit.
Where to from here? Barring an injury to Boyd coinciding with his return to fitness, his comeback will be via NSW Cup where I can almost guarantee he'll wear the #7, defend on the right & kick goals. Not the ideal preparation for a NRL recall in the second fiddle #6 role that our top side might offer

Could he work at fullback. Would he offer more then our current fullbacks if he's willing to change positions.
Plus there's a few other clubs that have had fullbacks as the face of the club (Walsh, ponga, tedesco?) so might help with the ego bit.

 

[Boston Boy]

Could he work at fullback. Would he offer more then our current fullbacks if he's willing to change positions.
Plus there's a few other clubs that have had fullbacks as the face of the club (Walsh, ponga, tedesco?) so might help with the ego bit.

I thought the same thing, he would be dynamic in support play and playmaking role probably similar to Paps from the Storm BUT the high balls and metre eating is the question I suppose.

 

[CWC]

Just interested to compare objective stats and results of peak Metcalf 7 last year with Boyd’s non-Metcalf games this year, to see what the risk reward looks like if a direct swap happens

More likely he trains or plays cup until a half is injured, say CHT concussed, will we still have to get his combo with Boyd right or go straight to TMM as 6 later?