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	✔	✔	✔
	Morgan Harper	✔
12	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
13	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
14	Edward Kosi	✔
15	Jacob Laban	✔	✔
16	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
17	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
18	Te Maire Martin	✔
19	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
20	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔
21	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
22	Adam Pompey	✔	✔	✔
23	Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔
24	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
25	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
26	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔	✔
27	Dylan Walker	✔
28	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Kayliss Faitialofa	S
S2	Kalani Going	S
S3	Luke Hanson	S
S4	Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	S	✔	✔
S5	Sio Kali	S
S6	Patrick Moimoi	S
-	Kahu Capper	T	T
-	Jett Cleary	T	S	S
-	Motu Pasikala	T	✔	✔

C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, S = Supplementary contract, T = Train & Trial contract

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

Confirmed Top 30 2026: 21/30
Confirmed Supplementary 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Nil
2026 Losses: Nil

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Morgan Harper, Edward Kosi, Te Maire Martin, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Tanner Stowers-Smith, Dylan Walker

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[Billyspleen75]

Seems unlikely given this:

Harris lengthens club career to eight seasons

Captain Tohu Harris has added another year to his stay with the One New Zealand Warriors.

www.warriors.kiwi

you sure its not a pisstake? Or could be a complete change of heart. Maybe the wrist injury isnt recovery as he would have liked?

Could be incorrect reporting, but not a pisstake

 

[Fizurg]

Seems unlikely given this:

Harris lengthens club career to eight seasons

Captain Tohu Harris has added another year to his stay with the One New Zealand Warriors.

www.warriors.kiwi

you sure its not a pisstake? Or could be a complete change of heart. Maybe the wrist injury isnt recovering as he would have liked?

Isn’t that from 2023?

 

[Inruin]

Isn’t that from 2023?

yes, right you are

 

[Inruin]

Could be incorrect reporting, but not a pisstake

View attachment 10762

Bit of a shock if correct. But also doesn't seem surprising either?

 

[3rdstriker]

If true thankyou Tohu for your wonderful career you've been a great captain and servant of the game.
Tohu had the ability in his prime to game play and play 5 eighth.
By the way this must be one of @MrFrankWhite s happiest of days.

 

[Playdaball]

Really, not surprising but probably too late now to get a decent replacement.

Unless, they had someone lined up???

Tohu was a great player!

 

[Brightman]

Seems optimistic to hope this player out performs a player that’s considered one of the best in his position in the comp.

Well I never said that.

But you know if Egan gets several head knocks then sure, optimistic becomes realistic..

 

[Billyspleen75]

Really, not surprising but probably too late now to get a decent replacement.

Unless, they had someone lined up???

Tohu was a great player!

Walker and Clark in the same 17 now makes sense

 

[MrFrankWhite]

If true thankyou Tohu for your wonderful career you've been a great captain and servant of the game.
Tohu had the ability in his prime to game play and play 5 eighth.
By the way this must be one of @MrFrankWhite s happiest of days.

Nah man. I love peak Tohu. I just didn’t like busted Tohu. Plus I’m sad, it’s tough giving up your job because your body can’t handle it.

So not happy, excited though for the future.

 

[Blain]

SEN radio said there is some news coming out about the Warriors this morning, so I'm going to say this is likely true.

Such a shame, what a great player he has been for us. Early last year he was the same player as 2023, but things like hands and knees can be almost impossible to come back from, especially quickly with an older body.

Luckily Walker and Clark are there to take his spot, but will miss his defence and leadership. I hope it's a medical retirement at least, so we can get his wage back in our cap for this year, leaving us open for a quality mid season signing.

 

[juju]

Damn - I wanted that redemption story for him this coming season.

We have some cap now...

 

[Inruin]

Damn - I wanted that redemption story for him this coming season.

We have some cap now...

2024 isn't the way you would want your star players like SJ and Tohu to go out like.

 

[Inruin]

This probably gives us a chance to balance the squad a bit more now. We did seem a bit forward heavy especially with the youth coming through.

 

[Zaggo]

We must have a fairly large amount of cash to splash now. Invest some of it in the young bulls, but surely now we can land the likes of a Dylan Brown or Ronaldo Mulitalo.

SJ and Tohu combined must've been close to 2m of cap?

 

[juju]

This probably gives us a chance to balance the squad a bit more now. We did seem a bit forward heavy especially with the youth coming through.

We must have a fairly large amount of cash to splash now. Invest some of it in the young bulls, but surely now we can land the likes of a Dylan Brown or Ronaldo Mulitalo.

SJ and Tohu combined must've been close to 2m of cap?

We definitely should have enough cap for a high quality winger + one other squad piece.

It's never boring being a Warriors fan.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I had a feeling in the finals series in 2023, that was our shot with that era of players.

 

[SJ2k]

Not hugely surprising, but the timing seems kinda terrible. Really needed one more good season out of him, or even half of one. Unless they have something in the works...

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Walker and Clark in the same 17 now makes sense

I feel lock is one of the easiest spots to fill but hardest to master really well.

Is it a chance to blood Vaimauga for the long term, sharing with Clarke?

Walker doing his thing in the middle from the bench.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

I had a feeling in the finals series in 2023, that was our shot with that era of players.

I feel the club has known about this since mid last year and hence signing Clarke, which at the time, while a good signing, didn’t make sense.

 

[Inruin]

Not hugely surprising, but the timing seems kinda terrible. Really needed one more good season out of him, or even half of one. Unless they have something in the works...

I kind of feel like the timing is probably the best, not that I wanted Harris to retire. But it takes the decision out of AW's hands and you don't have that possibility now of having a player that potentially isn't performing as well as they previously had in the team. ANd its early enough in to preseason that its not going to be a big distraction closer to the season or even part way through.