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

 

[mrblonde]

My first post was about it was saying I hope we give him an opportunity somewhere in the organisation, to keep him in a team environment because he will definitely be in a dark place right now. I mentioned the money he has lost out on to emphasise that.

Supporting him as a person, as opposed to financially

I will add that I wouldn't suggest this in most other circumstances, but it is a particularly extraordinary situation he is now in

Why shouldn't the Dragons do that? After all, that means no moving countries again....

 

[snake77]

A bit more on the Volkman situation. Written by Andrew Webster. No not that one the one that is pretty irrelevant now everyone got on the Warriors train. That was funny last year when he commented every time the Warriors won his Twitter would get flooded.

The start of the article makes it sound like the Warriors knew of an issue. They provided a report he had a bit of a complaint. Has some quotes from Cameron George that the Warriors contributed financially.

Later on it mentions the RLPA got added to the CBA uncontracted players cannot train with teams. Also after you announce a signing you have 5 days to register the player. Also lists some examples of players being announced and the signing not going ahead. Says how the smart clubs operate.

A few interesting parts.
RLPA chief executive Clint Newton urged the NRL to look into the Dragons’ actions.
“One of the many obligations of a club is that no player is to train without a registered contract,” he said. “We know that training still carries significant risk, none more so than what we saw with Corey.”

The NRL’s response? “The NRL will liaise with the relevant parties to understand the circumstances,” a spokesman said.
Head office might want to ask how Volkman’s management signed a “deed of termination” on December 24 before the contract had been registered with the NRL.
Again, several clubs spoken to said the accepted practice is to lodge the deed of release and the new contract within minutes of each other. As one head of football said: “If you were joining another company, would you not make sure you’d signed the contract before you resigned?”

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Billyspleen75]

Hmm "significant payout"
Unfortunate that we are paying towards it, but I trust that Cappy and co are happy with the outcome and have a youngster ready to fill the spot.

On the other hand, Volkman is now being paid for the next two years, surely at least 100k+ (since it is a "significant payout" out of a contract that has been estimated to be $300k+).
End of concern for him imo. He can rehab with this coin in his back pocket.

The NRL and RLPA can do their investigating and find out where it went wrong. But Volkman getting that money takes a huge amount of the sting out of the story.

 

[Up the guttz]

A bit more on the Volkman situation. Written by Andrew Webster. No not that one the one that is pretty irrelevant now everyone got on the Warriors train. That was funny last year when he commented every time the Warriors won his Twitter would get flooded.

The start of the article makes it sound like the Warriors knew of an issue. They provided a report he had a bit of a complaint. Has some quotes from Cameron George that the Warriors contributed financially.

Later on it mentions the RLPA got added to the CBA uncontracted players cannot train with teams. Also after you announce a signing you have 5 days to register the player. Also lists some examples of players being announced and the signing not going ahead. Says how the smart clubs operate.

A few interesting parts.
RLPA chief executive Clint Newton urged the NRL to look into the Dragons’ actions.
“One of the many obligations of a club is that no player is to train without a registered contract,” he said. “We know that training still carries significant risk, none more so than what we saw with Corey.”

The NRL’s response? “The NRL will liaise with the relevant parties to understand the circumstances,” a spokesman said.
Head office might want to ask how Volkman’s management signed a “deed of termination” on December 24 before the contract had been registered with the NRL.
Again, several clubs spoken to said the accepted practice is to lodge the deed of release and the new contract within minutes of each other. As one head of football said: “If you were joining another company, would you not make sure you’d signed the contract before you resigned?”

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

Defo sounds like the dragons and his managers shit the bed here! Complete amateur hour!

As the article says, if you are moving company you don’t resign until you have signed the new contract. Also you do your own medical!! Why would you run with the exiting clubs medical.

 

[Noitall]

Defo sounds like the dragons and his managers shit the bed here! Complete amateur hour!

As the article says, if you are moving company you don’t resign until you have signed the new contract. Also you do your own medical!! Why would you run with the exiting clubs medical.

Mario Tartak represents a lot of players, seems odd he wouldn’t be more onto it?

 

[mrblonde]

Is Mario Tartak part of Moses Isaac's company? Inept at best....

But, yeah, Team B should absolutely medically test to their Nth Degree any new player before putting pen to paper. After all, at the least, the Dragons' medical team's Nth Degree might not be the same as the Warriors' medical team's (either in terms of skillset of the team or view of the injury and rehab and it's impact on playing.)

Ronnie's evidently not going to be scrambling for money to pay the groceries over 2024 so not particularly bothered.

 

[Noitall]

Is Mario Tartak part of Moses Isaac's company? Inept at best....

But, yeah, Team B should absolutely medically test to their Nth Degree any new player before putting pen to paper. After all, at the least, the Dragons' medical team's Nth Degree might not be the same as the Warriors' medical team's (either in terms of skillset of the team or view of the injury and rehab and it's impact on playing.)

Ronnie's evidently not going to be scrambling for money to pay the groceries over 2024 so not particularly bothered.

Let that shoulder heal for this season and he could be welcomed back if Metcalf departs?

 

[Muddogz]

The agent seems to be the main culprit here for not signing the release until he passed the medical.

Interesting we paid him to leave, Volkman must have been quite out of favour for us to do that.

 

[Noitall]

Interesting we paid him to leave, Volkman must have been quite out of favour for us to do that.

Or perhaps not healing as hoped with his shoulder reconstruction? Could understand paying a portion of his salary to release and free up a spot, but only if we were in negotiations with someone?

 

[juju]

If we're contributing still that's our duty of care in this scenario I reckon

And you would think due to the circumstances we shouldn't need to include Volk in our roster of 30.

Good on the club for getting involved from a welfare perspective also.

 

[Blain]

If we're contributing still that's our duty of care in this scenario I reckon

And you would think due to the circumstances we shouldn't need to include Volk in our roster of 30.

Good on the club for getting involved from a welfare perspective also.

We're contributing money for him not to be here. No obligation for us to do anything, reaching out about welfare is about all we can do. But no way he is going to move to NZ to recover, or to be given a new contract to re join the playing squad. If he was a player the club thought was worth holding to develop then he might, but us contributing money for him to go would suggest that isn't the case.

This all comes down to his manager not getting the order of events correct, and trusting the inept Dragons.

 

[Noitall]

We're contributing money for him not to be here. No obligation for us to do anything, reaching out about welfare is about all we can do. But no way he is going to move to NZ to recover, or to be given a new contract to re join the playing squad. If he was a player the club thought was worth holding to develop then he might, but us contributing money for him to go would suggest that isn't the case.

This all comes down to his manager not getting the order of events correct, and trusting the inept Dragons.

Wasn’t there a scenario with Tom Ale a while back where he was out for the season and nobody was sure if he was still with the club and he then signed an extension when his injury was rehabilitated?

 

[Blain]

I think Ale was put on a train and trial deal, maybe a development contract. Was not in the top 30 for sure. Quite a different scenario in Volkmans case.

 

[Makasene]

A well written article

Pleased to see the only finger pointing at us is from the Dragons. It's probably what I would do too if I screwed up so badly.

 

[Noitall]

I think Ale was put on a train and trial deal, maybe a development contract. Was not in the top 30 for sure. Quite a different scenario in Volkmans case.

Warriors squad almost complete for next season, just a few spots left to fill

The focus is on signing another prop, but there are just a few more spots left to fill in next year's roster.

www.stuff.co.nz

Ale debuted in 2020 and this article indicates he’s apart of the 2021 squad with 28 players listed. He then picked up a serious knee injury and only managed a certain amount of games between 2021 and 2022 where his contract status was unknown through the 2022 where he played for the dolphins. He and Bunty were both extended until 2025 in January 2023.

 

[3rdstriker]

Isn't the situation very simple as the dragons signed him he's injured so why don't they just rehabilitate him? Like injuries are just part and parcel of high end sport, pretty nasty to just chuck him away I mean using Metcalf as an example he pretty much came here injured and we supported him beautifully sending him to US as well.

 

[Noitall]

Isn't the situation very simple as the dragons signed him he's injured so why don't they just rehabilitate him? Like injuries are just part and parcel of high end sport, pretty nasty to just chuck him away I mean using Metcalf as an example he pretty much came here injured and we supported him beautifully sending him to US as well.

Being that the dragons only signed him for 1 season, they’d have to rehabilitate him and then let him go with him out for the season.

 

[Matiunz]

Tough situation for Volkman, however it’s on him not us. The guy asked for (and was granted) a release- he didn’t want to be here.
It’s possible that we knew about the injury, it’s possible that Volkman was told he would be playing little if any first grade with us because if it, and it’s possible that Volkman decided to try his luck else where and his gamble didn’t pay off.
I don’t see anywhere the Warriors should have any moral or financial liability in this scenario- it’s a bad roll for Volkman but it appears to be a risk he took.

 

[Noitall]

Tough situation for Volkman, however it’s on him not us. The guy asked for (and was granted) a release- he didn’t want to be here.
It’s possible that we knew about the injury, it’s possible that Volkman was told he would be playing little if any first grade with us because if it, and it’s possible that Volkman decided to try his luck else where and his gamble didn’t pay off.
I don’t see anywhere the Warriors should have any moral or financial liability in this scenario- it’s a bad roll for Volkman but it appears to be a risk he took.

It’s an interesting situation. Looking around, some dragons fans think we’ve pulled a fast one but it looks increasingly like anyone but us is at fault. His agent on potentially letting him train earlier than he should before a medical assessment at the dragons end was completed, or the dragons for not doing their due diligence and having their own medical assessment completed for Volkman. What looks dodgiest is the dragons announcements of Volkman’s signing all deleted everywhere. Interesting in the last day on Volkman’s instagram page is a picture of himself training with the dragons with no yellow bib on to suggest he’s not doing any contact training. For all anyone knows, that latest injury occurred at dragons training?

 

[watcher]

When Gus Gould was coaching the Panthers he said their first club Doctor was a Gynaecologist