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

 

[Five&Last]

Passing was clunky with CHT in the Halves, he gets tackled with the ball a fair bit from memory.
His development arc was strange I thought....I.e he was fast, a stepper...talked up as an exciting Junior.....that was the age he did the scorpion kick.

Then he was bulked up by the club, loss of speed, less creativity, light foot stepping....looked like a slow guy, gets trapped with the ball....clunky service....

Then a one off test....pumped with pride....playing dummy half...looks great....

I get that CHT had lost the love....and is gonna be fresh...and I get that his development included shit coaching and a stink team....and I get that he could improve greatly.....

And Defence is his strength....so I'm not discounting any of that....

But TMM looked great next to SJ....got injured....looked like a post injury player end of season.

So I still have TMM out front by some distance (for now) as he can defend and looked fluid when fit.

Also TMM has a burst of speed over a short distance which helps him draw and hold up defenders (this is when fit and has been there his whole career till 2023 injury).

I don’t think TMM has any real burst of speed. Case in point when he got put away into the clear in his first NSW cup game back from injury last year and got chopped down by a forward.

CHT is much better at playing those square block plays. They would always break down when it would get past him at first receiver because of how shit our back line was at the time, no matter how much space CHT would create for them by squaring up the defenders. So I don’t think TMM has a better or more fluid passing game.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Sounding more and more that way isn’t it.

Either that or pure incompetence.

Even in the military you get your whole body checked over before you get out to put them on the hook.

Why on earth Volk and his management didn’t get a full medical before the termination is insane.

 

[Five&Last]

I’d flip that question- what is CHT actually better at than our halves from season 23?
CHT has a couple of decent hits(which he would generally come off clutching his shoulder) and a tinny scorpion kick that to some seem to elevate him to immortal status and a defensive genius- the rest of his game is pretty bland, we really didn’t miss him at all last season

Better at creating space at first receiver. Better at the one out block plays. Better defender obviously.

It’s seems bland because we didn’t have the strike power out wide to capitalise on the initial space he would create from first receiver. SJ took most of these plays last year. But I would expect him to be out wide a bit more this year.

 

[Makasene]

Personally im ok with the Warriors part in the release...except the fact that we paid out some of his contract. If a player comes for a release from their contract, we should not be contributing a cent.

It seems to me his star is not on the rise for whatever reason.

With the plaudits he has received and his NSW Cup statline, I would have expected a better deal to emerge than one year contract with a current cellar dweller.

Wouldn't be surprised if he came and said I'm down the pecking order, I want to go but can't get a better deal. What can you do?

Personally it's hard to put a price on goodwill and doing right by the players, especially young ones will hopefully payback.

I also think Ronnie was sold some grand plan which never materialised which would also help in getting a payout.

 

[Makasene]

True. But if its his choice to want the release why should the club have to pay anything,

It's not that cut and dry.

Releases are just as negotiable as signings.

 

[Noitall]

View: https://x.com/michaelchammas/status/1746804056147009913?s=46&t=Qd4zq9vzao06tj90m1KwSQ

 

[CWC]

Maybe it was his accumulated leave and holiday loading guys?

Plus 10 days of sick leaves

 

[CWC]

Either that or pure incompetence.

Even in the military you get your whole body checked over before you get out to put them on the hook.

Why on earth Volk and his management didn’t get a full medical before the termination is insane.

Volks: Agent Smith I can’t lift my arm

Agent Smith: you can still pick up a pen and sign the termination clause? You’re fine buddy

 

[CWC]

See Aaron Pene being shopped by the storm. Never quite kicked on. Looked like a good prospect early in his career but didn’t have a successful time when he came to us or since.

Webb can do it~

 

[CWC]

View: https://x.com/michaelchammas/status/1746804056147009913?s=46&t=Qd4zq9vzao06tj90m1KwSQ

Bet they did the medical before training this time

 

[Canonball]

Bet they did the medical before training this time

I know there's been pages and pages of discussion around the Volkman situation already but I just can't see anyone but his own management and the Dragons being to blame - at worst we granted a release to a player who knew he was hurt at a point when a full assessment of the aggravated injury hadn't yet been done and didn't insist on retaining him - eg 'hold on, you sure you want to risk picking up a new contract in your [likely] condition?'

If the Dragons can be believed that the re-aggravation occurred on the 12th of December that gives you 10 days before his release was announced, which is the bare minimum you can wait under contracting rules. Personally, I find It hard to see a sequence of events which has a contact injury one day and club management almost immediately granting a release on the back of that. That would be some cold hearted shit. In that period pre-season photos show a full field training on the 13th - no Volkman visible of course - there might be a glimpse of him in a photo on the 23rd of November (just behind Rog) but that's about it. It's far more likely the release had been under discussion much earlier, and his management took on the risk of finding him a new place immediately and pushed for it with the club's assent being somewhat ambivalent.

 

[SJ2k]

See Aaron Pene being shopped by the storm. Never quite kicked on. Looked like a good prospect early in his career but didn’t have a successful time when he came to us or since.

Desperate for a prop but have to be extremely wary of a player who can't kick on in the storm system.

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

It's far more likely the release had been under discussion much earlier, and his management took on the risk of finding him a new place immediately and pushed for it with the club's assent being somewhat ambivalent.

Agreed.

Where the drags really fucked up was letting him anywhere near a training session, before medicals/registration.

Unless he pushed for it, I really feel for Volk on this. Nightmare situation.

 

[j_p]

I

Wouldn't be the first time a player has been well over hyped on the forum would it?

I think it's fair enough seeing as when a player has a couple bad games in row posters are quick to go overboard in tearing them down or some young players weren't even given a chance before they were written off.
Rocco berry is a good example. I think it's natural for people to go to 1 extreme or the other in defense of their own viewpoint especially on forums as words can come across quite harsh in writing vs conversations in real life.
And there have been players over the last few seasons that have pleasantly surprised.

 

[Fizurg]

Personally I feel the main factor in the Volkman situation was likely just bad luck. People seem to be assuming Volkman and the Warriors knew how bad his shoulder was. I feel it’s more likely that They were as surprised as anyone with the results of the medical. It’s a dumb play to walk away from a decent contract and try to hide an injury for a season you won’t be playing anyway.
I don’t really feel anyone is at fault. How ever if a finger has to be pointed unfortunately it would have to be at Volkmans management as they obviously hadn’t factored this possibility in.

 

[WahsUltras]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVCBNQppgGk&ab_channel=BlokeInABar
Bloke in a bar poddy from last night having a pretty big dig at the dragons, parts of it were hilarious.

 

[Matiunz]

Personally im ok with the Warriors part in the release...except the fact that we paid out some of his contract. If a player comes for a release from their contract, we should not be contributing a cent.

That’s one of a couple of things that if I was looking at this from a Dragons perspective strike me as odd.
Why would you pay a cent to someone asking for a release?
A shoulder irritation lodged on 12 Dec and then later knowing the severity could be interpreted as us not treating an injury (assuming if that’s when it actually happened), which I can understand possibly looks worse if we released him not long after

 

[Matiunz]

Better at creating space at first receiver. Better at the one out block plays. Better defender obviously.

It’s seems bland because we didn’t have the strike power out wide to capitalise on the initial space he would create from first receiver. SJ took most of these plays last year. But I would expect him to be out wide a bit more this year.

Hope you’re right but I don’t see that at all with CHT particularly after a year out of the game

 

[Inruin]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVCBNQppgGk&ab_channel=BlokeInABar
Bloke in a bar poddy from last night having a pretty big dig at the dragons, parts of it were hilarious.

I enjoy these guys.

Cant argue with anything they really had to say.

Only question I have is that the Dragons posted on their social media clips of Volkman training with them and passing the ball. So is it more likely that he had a niggle or tweak from December 12th and has been aggravated since then, possibly at the Dragons training? Seems like he was training and passing at the Dragons, injury got worse to the point he couldn't pass the ball and then they have checked him out properly.

 

[Noitall]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVCBNQppgGk&ab_channel=BlokeInABar
Bloke in a bar poddy from last night having a pretty big dig at the dragons, parts of it were hilarious.

Kemp contradicts himself to a degree when mentioning a player just has no idea what’s happening inside and tries to show up each week injured or not, but goes on to say Warriors should have known. If the player is not being forthcoming with their injury, how can a club know? Also the training with Warriors prior to him leaving might not have been contact training, but just running type training that surely wouldn’t have added to his shoulder injury or the injury not picked up on because more endurance work at that time than drills that would show he’s struggling to pass a ball? The Warriors couldn’t have known the dragons wouldn’t conduct their own medical for Volkman which by the sounds is just normal practice. This would have picked up the injury, so I don’t see anything we’ve done wrong? Sure there’s question marks around the timing of the release and the injury but it’s been on the cards that one of the halves would make way for SJ staying for some time.