Recruitment Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention Discussion​

-	Player	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
1	Bunty Afoa	✔
2	Tom Ale	✔
3	Mitchell Barnett	✔	✔	✔
4	Rocco Berry	✔	✔
5	Tanah Boyd	✔	✔
6	Kurt Capewell	✔	✔
7	Erin Clark	✔	✔	✔
8	Wayde Egan	✔	✔	✔
9	James Fisher-Harris	✔	✔	✔	✔
10	Jackson Ford	✔	✔	✔
11	Leka Halasima	✔	✔	✔
12	Tohu Harris	✔
13	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
14	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
15	Edward Kosi	✔
16	Jacob Laban	✔	✔
17	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
18	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
19	Zyon Maiu’u	✔	✔
20	Te Maire Martin	✔
21	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
22	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔
23	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
24	Adam Pompey	✔
25	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
26	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
27	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔	✔
28	Dylan Walker	✔
29	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Kayliss Faitialofa	S
S2	Kalani Going	S
S3	Luke Hanson	S
S4	Sio Kali	S
S5	Patrick Moimoi	S
S6	Tanner Stowers-Smith	S
T1	Daeon Amituanai	T
T2	Jaydee Auloa	T
T3	Kahu Capper	T	T
T4	Jett Cleary	T	S	S
T5	Augustino Filipo	T
T6	Etuane Fukofuka	T
T7	Moala Graham-Taufa	T
T8	Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	?
T9	Brandon Norris	T
T10	Motu Pasikala	T	?	?
T10	Jason Salalilo	T
T11	Makaia Taufa	T
T12	Rodney Vea	T

C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, S = Supplementary contract (Formerly, Development), T = Train & Trial contract, ? = Wtf is up with Motu Pasikala

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 29/30
Confirmed Supplementary 2025: 6/6
Unconfirmed Top 30 2025: 29/30
Unconfirmed Supplementary 2025: 6/6

Confirmed Top 30 2026: 22/30
Confirmed Supplementary 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Nil
2026 Losses: Nil

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Tohu Harris, Edward Kosi, Te Maire Martin, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Adam Pompey, Dylan Walker

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[Five&Last]

Halasima gives away too many penalties and has poor discipline. He gave away heaps in NSW Cup, Laban tired toward back end of the season but he has Katoa vibes for mine and we must persist. Most 1st grade ready of the trio.

Demetric and Halasima reach their full potential, we can only hope. Seen way too many highlight reel potential guns come and go. Big Konnie, Kata, Locke, Lisone and co. I remember getting excited watching big Toa Sipley. Those twins we had we are they now?

Completely disagree with that. Halasima has one game where he got carried away (i think straight after returning from injury) made some immature plays which gives him that rep on this forum. We've seen Laban do the same shit in NSW cup (get in players faces and try to start shit).. Overall Halasima has better discipline than Laban on defense and is way quicker to react on defensive reads.

At the end of the day, Halasima creates plays for others and is always more likely to break the line. But most importantly (and for me the most likely indicator of how well they'll do at the next level) is his work rate is way higher (both on attack and defense). You'll never go a long period without Halasima involved in the game in some way.

 

[The Warrior Waka]

We've seen Laban do the same shit in NSW cup (get in players faces and try to start shit).. Overall Halasima has better discipline than Laban

What? I'm pretty sure you've got them mixed up lol. Yes, Halasima has more upside , Talented kid with so much potential. For a while there he was a cocky shit that would show boat a lot & liked a bit of push & shove.
Laban is more the work horse that I also see plenty of potential in. I've seen him stick up for team mates but not instigate shit lol.

Anyway, I can see Laban turning into either, a big wide running player like Eli Katoa, Or a Mannering type depending on where the club thinks his potential lies.

Halasima is a smaller & just as poweful, but faster Ali Lauitiiti !

Demetric reminds me of Moses Leota. Compact and powerful. Insane leg drive and good footwork with good speed.
I still think he has the most potential out of all the young bucks.

I just hope we can keep them all. They all offer something different & all three have incredible potential.

 

[Five&Last]

What? I'm pretty sure you've got them mixed up lol. Yes, Halasima has more upside , Talented kid with so much potential. For a while there he was a cocky shit that would show boat a lot & liked a bit of push & shove.
Laban is more the work horse that I also see plenty of potential in. I've seen him stick up for team mates but not instigate shit lol.

Anyway, I can see Laban turning into either, a big wide running player like Eli Katoa, Or a Mannering type depending on where the club thinks his potential lies.

Halasima is a smaller & just as poweful, but faster Ali Lauitiiti !

Demetric reminds me of Moses Leota. Compact and powerful. Insane leg drive and good footwork with good speed.
I still think he has the most potential out of all the young bucks.

I just hope we can keep them all. They all offer something different & all three have incredible potential.

Nah the game against the Bears early on in the season they were getting pieced up and Laban was trying to start stuff with everyone. He had one of best games of the season tbf but he was defs trying to start fights. Some of the highlights show snippets of this

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Nah the game against the Bears early on in the season they were getting pieced up and Laban was trying to start stuff with everyone. He had one of best games of the season tbf but he was defs trying to start fights. Some of the highlights show snippets of this

Well, I must of missed that. The only game I remember is Corey Horsborough cheap shotting him and he did nothing just smiled back lol. Leka def had issues with his discipline for a while there.
Anyway, I like our young stock at the club. I'm really excited about their futures.

 

[Falcon]

Didn't Konnie, Kata, Lisone pretty much all go straight from Under 20s to first grade?

Fuck knows why but I don't think any of them played much Cup before the NRL to their detriment.

I think these next gen guys are being brought through in a much smarter way with a lot of Cup footy against men and a taste of first grade here and there.

Also think Halasima has a workrate to fall back on when the highlight plays arent there that Konnie and Lisone didn't have.

Andrew McFadden pointed out that too many kids are late bloomers and it’s hard to get a good read on them in the 15’s and 17’s but get a better idea at 19’s & 21’s,.
I think we all forget too just how young the Reserve grade side were last year - most were 19-21 years only, a few also had played a season in age group.
To his credit he did say if you are good enough you are also old enough but there is a need to manage the load and expectations on these guys.

 

[Christchurch_Warrior]

What? I'm pretty sure you've got them mixed up lol. Yes, Halasima has more upside , Talented kid with so much potential. For a while there he was a cocky shit that would show boat a lot & liked a bit of push & shove.
Laban is more the work horse that I also see plenty of potential in. I've seen him stick up for team mates but not instigate shit lol.

Anyway, I can see Laban turning into either, a big wide running player like Eli Katoa, Or a Mannering type depending on where the club thinks his potential lies.

Halasima is a smaller & just as poweful, but faster Ali Lauitiiti !

Demetric reminds me of Moses Leota. Compact and powerful. Insane leg drive and good footwork with good speed.
I still think he has the most potential out of all the young bucks.

I just hope we can keep them all. They all offer something different & all three have incredible potential.

I agree with most of this although Demitric has played more as a Lock or as an edge. Be interesting if the club see him playing there or as a prop. Halasima reminds me of Nanai although that could be my usual wishful thinking. Both of these players seem to be naturally aggressive players so I can see them pushing boundaries at time as they should.
Laban has a body shape we lack at the Warriors as he looks to be our second tallest player after Harris. He started FG really well but then seemed to fade. He is likely one of those players that need more time to get use to the FG grind. I hope he gets FG time next year with breaks between.

 

[juju]

Andrew McFadden pointed out that too many kids are late bloomers and it’s hard to get a good read on them in the 15’s and 17’s but get a better idea at 19’s & 21’s,.
I think we all forget too just how young the Reserve grade side were last year - most were 19-21 years only, a few also had played a season in age group.
To his credit he did say if you are good enough you are also old enough but there is a need to manage the load and expectations on these guys.

It was a great point McFadden made about the covid years not necessarily providing less talent but that the talent haven't been able to play and develop as a team.
To me the greatest strength of the Panthers system is the team mentality through the grades, will be great it we get that humming.

 

[CWC]

There was some noise that Pahulu from the Titans was in our sights. Seems like we/he has cooled on that idea, fox sports reporting that hes going to sign with the Dogs.

Also interestingly, he needed to play 20 games last year to get a $50k bonus, but the Titans "rested" him in the last round of the season which would have been his 20th game. Hence the eagerness to leave.

Sounds like club's way to tell him to F off, should be sued in court

 

[Noitall]

Sounds like club's way to tell him to F off, should be sued in court

Na just poor management. They tried to give the money in a contract extension after he asked for a release. He was their rookie of the year. Real nervousness over Kini over there now

 

[Inruin]

Na just poor management. They tried to give the money in a contract extension after he asked for a release. He was their rookie of the year. Real nervousness over Kini over there now

Hopefully Uncle Stacey and Cuzzie CNK had a chat in Kiwis camp....

 

[Noitall]

Hopefully Uncle Stacey and Cuzzie CNK had a chat in Kiwis camp....

Jaylan De Groot

The NRL profile of Jaylan De Groot including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.

www.titans.com.au

They’ve got another gun coming through too that if Kini was keen to head home they’d hopefully accomodate him

 

[Defence]

I went down to the battle of the bridge on the weekend which is an invitational tournament (8s-14s) between 4 teams picked from across Brisbane and the Gold Coast and the amount of talent and level they’re playing at is insane.
I really feel it’s just a matter of time before the titans become a force.
Hopefully we beat them there.

 

[BrisbaneWarrior]

I went down to the battle of the bridge on the weekend which is an invitational tournament (8s-14s) between 4 teams picked from across Brisbane and the Gold Coast and the amount of talent and level they’re playing at is insane.
I really feel it’s just a matter of time before the titans become a force.
Hopefully we beat them there.

Which GC bridge is the battle named after? I can only think of the one leading into the Goldie from Southport to Main Beach turn off

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Andrew McFadden pointed out that too many kids are late bloomers and it’s hard to get a good read on them in the 15’s and 17’s but get a better idea at 19’s & 21’s,.
I think we all forget too just how young the Reserve grade side were last year - most were 19-21 years only, a few also had played a season in age group.
To his credit he did say if you are good enough you are also old enough but there is a need to manage the load and expectations on these guys.

That's why I only take notice at cup level. Never get carried away at juniors I Matts and Ball.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Jaylan De Groot

The NRL profile of Jaylan De Groot including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.

www.titans.com.au

They’ve got another gun coming through too that if Kini was keen to head home they’d hopefully accomodate him

Kini is now an international, no way they are letting him just walk for a junior.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

It was a great point McFadden made about the covid years not necessarily providing less talent but that the talent haven't been able to play and develop as a team.
To me the greatest strength of the Panthers system is the team mentality through the grades, will be great it we get that humming.

It will be interesting to see how many from this matts team play through.

 

[Defence]

Which GC bridge is the battle named after? I can only think of the one leading into the Goldie from Southport to Main Beach turn off

ha i dont know actually mate- no idea why they call it that.
There’s sort of a southern team (gc) northern (brissy) west (ipswch) and central (everything in between).

 

[chrisnz]

pretty confident we are getting the spoon this year not trying to be super negative but our spine is just not it we have failed to fix our glaring issues will be happy to be wrong !

 

[kos]

ha i dont know actually mate- no idea why they call it that.
There’s sort of a southern team (gc) northern (brissy) west (ipswch) and central (everything in between).

That bridge is called Sundale.
But there actually a few other bridges as well

 

[Teets]

It will be interesting to see how many from this matts team play through.

Won't be many. Odds of making NRL still astronomical for most.

Had a squizz through some Matts winning teams.

2015 Sharks Matts Champs
Metcalf, Xerri, Salmon regular first graders.

2016 Eels
Dylan Brown only regular first grader

2017 Knights
Bradman Best only regular first grader.

2018 Manly
Koula, Weekes

2019 Knights
Pezet