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	Leka Halasima	✔	✔	✔	✔
10	Tohu Harris	✔	✔
11	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔	M
12	Shaun Johnson	✔
13	Edward Kosi	✔	✔
14	Jacob Laban	✔	✔	✔
15	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔
16	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔	✔
17	Zyon Maiu’u	✔	✔	✔
18	Te Maire Martin	✔	✔
19	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔	✔
20	Marcelo Montoya	✔	✔
21	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔
22	Marata Niukore	✔	✔	✔
23	Adam Pompey	✔	✔
24	Demitric Sifakula	✔	✔	C
25	Jazz Tevaga	✔
26	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
27	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔	✔
28	Dylan Walker	✔	✔
29	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔
D1	Ben Farr	D
D2	Etuane Fukofuka	D
D3	Patrick Moimoi	D
D4	Tanner Stowers-Smith	D	D
-	Jett Cleary	-	D	D	D
-	James Fisher-Harris	-	✔	✔	✔	✔
-	Kalani Going	-	D
-	Motu Pasikala	-	✔	✔	✔

key: C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, D = Development contract

Confirmed Top 30 2024: 29/30
Confirmed Development 2024: 4/6

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 28/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 4/6

2025 Gains: James Fisher-Harris (Panthers), Jett Cleary (Panthers Pathways), Kahu Capper (Roosters Pathways)
2025 Losses: Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks), Jazz Tevaga (Contract Expired), Shaun Johnson (Retirement)
2025 Off Contract: Nil

 

[Up the guttz]

AFB leaving is what it is but I can’t stand the fact that he is going to get a pay rise out of this!!!!!!

 

[peewee]

AFB leaving is what it is but I can’t stand the fact that he is going to get a pay rise out of this!!!!!!

What we dont really know is this
AFB is here for 2024 but does he really want to stay or was it just some sweet talking from Cappy etc.
Would we be better off letting him go if he wants, and going after the likes of Jason Taumalolo, JT has proved he can be a real good player in a happy team. All this for this season too

 

[Worried2Death]

What we dont really know is this
AFB is here for 2024 but does he really want to stay or was it just some sweet talking from Cappy etc.
Would we be better off letting him go if he wants, and going after the likes of Jason Taumalolo, JT has proved he can be a real good player in a happy team. All this for this season too

If he wanted to move his family here, he would be a pretty good consolation prize. Long contract to take over though if his form drops off

 

[Defence]

Taumalolo’s a risky one isn’t it.
On one hand u get one of the most damaging ball runners of all time.
On the other, there’s the age, the length and cost of the contract and u just wonder if he has the hunger anymore.
I saw his fight with rcg and it didn’t even look like he’d been training- u just wonder what’s motivating him these days.
Maybe that’s what he needs- a new challenge, change of scenery…. A new coach probably wouldn’t hurt- it never looked like he got on with Payton.
Guess it all comes down to Webby- if he thought he could get the best out of jt I wouldn’t doubt him.

 

[Noitall]

Taumalolo’s a risky one isn’t it.
On one hand u get one of the most damaging ball runners of all time.
On the other, there’s the age, the length and cost of the contract and u just wonder if he has the hunger anymore.
I saw his fight with rcg and it didn’t even look like he’d been training- u just wonder what’s motivating him these days.
Maybe that’s what he needs- a new challenge, change of scenery…. A new coach probably wouldn’t hurt- it never looked like he got on with Payton.
Guess it all comes down to Webby- if he thought he could get the best out of jt I wouldn’t doubt him.

AFB through his career has had better defensive stats than Taumalolo, his aren’t bad but his average run metres are an upgrade if we can get the best out of him. I agree regarding his relationship with Payten and a change of scenery. Taumalolo had one of his worst years this year for average run metres at 140m or so a game, AFB had his best year as far as average run metres at 170m or so. Was only in 2020 that Taumalolo averaged 200m a game which he’s done twice in his career. With him playing predominantly lock throughout his career, to come over as a ball playing prop with Tohu lock would be insane.

 

[Horriors2013]

Taumalolo hasn't been a force for some time now. Has the odd good run of form then gets injured. But he's been overpriced for a while. Was the best lock of all time in his prime.

 

[UpTheWahs]

That’s the total contract over multiple years, not $800k per season. However as others have highlighted, Papalii signed for $600k a season, Koroisau is on about $700k and Klemmer is on huge money.

Ah yes, correct.

But I'm sure he's much closer to that $800k figure per season now than in 2019, specially after his origin squad selection.

 

[ROCCO]

Taumalolo is past his best. Your better off investing in young bulls coming up the ranks. Don't waste all that cap on a player whom is headed towards retirement. Would be a complete retard move imo.

 

[shuffle]

i think for 2025 the Warriors go for JFH. I know he’s under contract but what is a contract these days!

 

[Tookey 2.0]

i think for 2025 the Warriors go for JFH. I know he’s under contract but what is a contract these days!

Are we getting Cleary too?

 

[shuffle]

Are we getting Cleary too?

Why when we have Webster?

 

[Noitall]

Taumalolo is past his best. Your better off investing in young bulls coming up the ranks. Don't waste all that cap on a player whom is headed towards retirement. Would be a complete retard move imo.

Who’s this bull that averages anything close to 171m per game AFB did this year? Or looks like they are about to crack that? Capewell a good signing but not going to add big metres to cart us up the field and considering he’s our only forward addition to go with debutants, we’re going to need someone to cover what AFB has been to some degree. Taumalolo is about the only one who I can see would get close. Could be another premiership winner like Capewell to add some good leadership qualities to the next wave while still playing at a high level.

 

[Makasene]

Taumalolo’s a risky one isn’t it.
On one hand u get one of the most damaging ball runners of all time.
On the other, there’s the age, the length and cost of the contract and u just wonder if he has the hunger anymore.
I saw his fight with rcg and it didn’t even look like he’d been training- u just wonder what’s motivating him these days.
Maybe that’s what he needs- a new challenge, change of scenery…. A new coach probably wouldn’t hurt- it never looked like he got on with Payton.
Guess it all comes down to Webby- if he thought he could get the best out of jt I wouldn’t doubt him.

Taumalolo today ain't an AFB replacement - no way.

He could be however an excellent component to a well drilled and already strong forward back.

The crux of it that the cost to get him to move is not in keeping with the role we require for him

 

[unclesteve]

We will know in March whether Addin wants to be here or not. Anything else is pure speculation, I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt up to the point he starts dialling it in.
I am sure the brains trust has an alternative solution if and when that happens.

 

[Roons75]

We will know in March whether Addin wants to be here or not. Anything else is pure speculation, I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt up to the point he starts dialling it in.
I am sure the brains trust has an alternative solution if and when that happens.

I can't see how a player who doesn't want to be here plays out the season. He will go in 2024, it's just a question of when.

 

[snake77]

Some of the recent articles in Australia have worded it like we have recruited Capewell to prepare for the loss of AFB. Experience wise maybe but listening to Webster they were looking for a forward anyway. That would have moved up higher on the priority list once Curran was released as Webster has mentioned the experience hole of losing Sironen and Curran. That seems a bit off seeing as they didn't re-sign one and released the other but I suspect there were other cap/roster issues at play like re-balancing the squad, promoting someone, getting someone they feel is better, maybe off-field issues we don't know about.

A good example of the Aussie journos not paying much attention to us. Even after a top 4 finish.

Capewell likely would have been signed even if AFB hadn't asked for his release. To replace AFB it would be someone who plays the same position and can cover a large percentage of the metres he makes in the middle.

 

[snake77]

On the Caleb Clarke trialing with Souths. When I first read it I thought it reminded me of some of the articles I used to read of guys like Reni Maitua doing a pre-season type fitness camp before their pre-season begins. Either to get a head start or to freshen up.

I think he went off to Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket one year and the year they did the article was at a camp in Australia with a few team mates.

For the Union guys it would freshen them up a bit as some of the training would be slightly different while being still in a team environment.

Later in the day after seeing a statement under the article about a future code switch I thought it would be good for the NRL clubs if the NRL were going to keep the cap exemption for players from other codes. Get someone over first for a pre-season before attempting to sign them later. A lot of union players have talked about how they like the NRL and league looks appealing. Doing a quick pre-season first to see some of the details of league might help get a few guys over the line.

 

[SJ2k]

Surely we need to be first choice for kiwi union players looking to switch, need to nail that pathway.

 

[Up the guttz]

Why when we have Webster?

Think he meant Nathan

 

[Warriorshopeful]

Do we really need to start targeting union prospects when we've already got some gun juniors coming through our pathways? Already have 29/30 spots filled for 24 and we've just extended a fair few guys for 25 or longer.

Better to stick with guys developing combinations coming through our system who will have more experience in footy imo.