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

 

[rugged]

Bunty does a solid job, but him staying or going is not really going to make a massive difference to the teams fortunes.
If we don't find a half with a solid kicking game, then next year will be a long season;.

 

[Christchurch_Warrior]

Bang for buck, why would we need to dump Bunty? There are 30 spots we need to fill, not everyone can play NRL every week. He's an experienced forward who can plug a hole in the middle if required, guys like him help our squad balance.

Bunty only can plug a hole in the middle if he is in the mood to. Unfortunately he has not been in much of a mood this year. If the coach doesn't want to play him then he just takes up a spot. Why not give his spot to Tanner Stowers-Smith if he is showing promise. We as a club need to get better at who is in the thirty. At the moment we have an aging roster with underperformers and a lack of speed.

 

[j_p]

Re: Jett Cleary - what is he doing currently? Having a Google and I see articles from when he signed with us and mention of unsure if he'll make the step up to NRL next season etc but can't seem to find any background info or stats on him. What grade was he playing in etc.

 

[kos]

Agree regarding his agent and family member, but there is certainly truth to this apparently. Roosters are widely tipped to be where he heads to, but some past dramas between Politis and Issac Moses in there too. Mitchell Moses has also backflipped on the roosters in the past too. There’s a thought that broncos are going to go in hard for Sam Walker too with broncos needing to prepare for Reynolds retirement. There’s talk of Toby Sexton for them, but they’ll set their sights far higher than him. Could even see Moses going to broncos being in his stage of career and chasing a premiership

I see you watched Nrl 360 last night too
I m sure they just make most of this stuff off so Braith can say ‘what’s your take on this Hoops’

 

[Noitall]

Re: Jett Cleary - what is he doing currently? Having a Google and I see articles from when he signed with us and mention of unsure if he'll make the step up to NRL next season etc but can't seem to find any background info or stats on him. What grade was he playing in etc.

He’s on a development contract with the club for 2025, 2026 and 2027. Think it would be unlikely he’d play any first grade next year unless his form sets alight. Don’t think he’s played nsw cup yet?

 

[Noitall]

I see you watched Nrl 360 last night too
I m sure they just make most of this stuff off so Braith can say ‘what’s your take on this Hoops’

Pretty sure these guys just trowel these forums like I do. That’s where I’ve come across what they’re saying. Have seen that Hynes to cowboys one again too. Could be some movement over the next few years in halves with aging ones and ones coming off contract

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Bunty only can plug a hole in the middle if he is in the mood to. Unfortunately he has not been in much of a mood this year. If the coach doesn't want to play him then he just takes up a spot. Why not give his spot to Tanner Stowers-Smith if he is showing promise. We as a club need to get better at who is in the thirty. At the moment we have an aging roster with underperformers and a lack of speed.

I think I'm one of Bunty's harshest critics on here but I think the reality is, you need a few club men on little coin that can come in and do a job when necessary.

Imo there's almost no one in the NRL who has 100+ games experience that would be willing to come to NZ that would cost less or the same as what Bunty is on.
If there's a serious injury in the front row, we can bring Bunty in to do a job and rely on him, whereas there is no way we could rely on Sifakula, Zyon Maiu’u, Stowers or anyone else to walk in to the front row and play consistently for 5+ weeks.

And as someone else pointed out, moving Bunty on for someone else isn't going to move the needle for us in either direction so I'm not too bothered about him remaining there for the time being. Too much movement for no real gain is only going to create headaches down the track imo

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Or the club has lost faith in SJ’s deteriorating form and will risk going with anyone else rather than go all in on SJ again for next year?

Doesn’t necessarily mean they are comfortable with our options, just backed into a corner?

Thats a good point. Maybe they have learnt from this year...

 

[MrFrankWhite]

in his interview didnt he say Luke Metcalf? Or was that for the clutch moments. IMO the 3 halves we have in first grade are all 5/8s.

Metcalf - runner. great support play. unsure if he can control a team. can kick. can goal kick. defence a worry.
TMM - shuffler. has no long pass. cant kick. good runner with the ball and able to create gaps for runners to run through. good defence. anyone paired with him would have to do the bulk of the kicking, creating an easy target for defence to swarm that player. his kicks are so bad that it bamboozles the opposition that the kick is actuallyfrom a first grade player. Often goes missing.
CHT - good defence. alright kicker. is potentially a good foil for a very dominant halfback (similar to Metcalf). can goalkick (most of the time). Ideally a utility and not first grade half.

3 spots left for 2025. Surely they will go for someone who can control a team as right now we dont have a viable option at halfback.

Would a better hooker help? One that can kick out of dh? Or is that a unicorn?

 

[Five&Last]

Luke Hanson looks like a good one for the future, those quoting Ben Farr watch Farrk all NSW Cup. Hanson was captain in Panthers GF Flegg or Ball team last season that lost to Parra. He has a better kicking game than all our 1st grade halves. Just needs to fill out a bit more and get reps in on D.

Hanson has no business sniffing first grade selection in the next 3 years with the way he’s played this year.

 

[defensivebomb]

Would a better hooker help? One that can kick out of dh? Or is that a unicorn?

I wouldn't actually mind seeing the club experiment with someone like Taupiki at hooker

Damian Cook used to play fullback and having someone with pace, vision and a kick wouldn't be a bad experiment

 

[Zarjaz]

Re: Jett Cleary - what is he doing currently? Having a Google and I see articles from when he signed with us and mention of unsure if he'll make the step up to NRL next season etc but can't seem to find any background info or stats on him. What grade was he playing in etc.

Jersey Flegg Panthers side currently I think?

 

[Damo]

Re: Jett Cleary - what is he doing currently? Having a Google and I see articles from when he signed with us and mention of unsure if he'll make the step up to NRL next season etc but can't seem to find any background info or stats on him. What grade was he playing in etc.

Jersey Flegg, been in and out of the side. 18th man a lot

 

[Canadian_Warriors_Fan]

Motu Pasikala - Contracted until 2027
TSS and Kalani Going - Dev Contract for next season.

 

[Cces]

Motu Pasikala - Contracted until 2027
TSS and Kalani Going - Dev Contract for next season.

Interesting how there's no specifics on Pasikala. If he's into Top 30 next season it really does make Tu's upgrade last month even more from left field

 

[Cces]

Re: Jett Cleary - what is he doing currently? Having a Google and I see articles from when he signed with us and mention of unsure if he'll make the step up to NRL next season etc but can't seem to find any background info or stats on him. What grade was he playing in etc.

Named to start at #6 in Flegg this weekend. Played #14 last weekend in a loss. In his other 2 games he played #6 and they beat competitive teams.
SG record earlier in the year was 2W-1D-4L. For context the team won 2 from 2 without him.

 

[BigUCE]

Thoughts?

 

[Tookey 2.0]

View attachment 8498
Thoughts?

Throw in Moses and you've got yourself a deal!

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

View attachment 8498
Thoughts?

After a very promising but injury hit season last year he’s hardly got started in 2024. However I saw enough last year where I’d be very keen on the signing. Isn’t he a Northland boy?

 

[Noitall]

View attachment 8498
Thoughts?

Think it would depend what the Warriors think they can get out of him. Definitely fits the big body we’ll lose in AFB being 120+kg and 192cm, but in his 5 appearances this season has a tackle efficiency of 88% and averages 70 odd metres. Thought the bottom line was interesting regarding struggling to offload big money players, surely being that Greig is a prop and they’ve got big money in Paulo, RCG and Matterson means that’s who they’re alluding to? With Moses in the last couple of hours pledging his commitment to the eels, if the eels aren’t able to offload who they’re keen to, it could bode well if the Warriors real target is Dylan Brown?