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	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
13	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
14	Edward Kosi	✔
15	Jacob Laban	✔	✔
16	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
17	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
18	Zyon Maiu’u	✔	✔
19	Te Maire Martin	✔
20	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
21	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔
22	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
23	Adam Pompey	✔
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	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: 28/30
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, Edward Kosi, Te Maire Martin, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Adam Pompey, Dylan Walker

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[Makasene]

Lots of good players get granted releases to take up offers somewhere else.
Hell we let Reece Walsh and AFB leave early, Panthers released JFH to us. Throw the terms compassionate release and family in there and they all jump put of contracts at will

There's early and there's late.

To let someone leave this close to the season is late. Can't see much happening.

 

[Tohu’s_Knees]

Given I’d like us to move away from a “ball playing 13” and move towards a “workhorse” or “3rd prop” like Melbourne. Then inject Walker/Clark as needed.

I hope we use Tohu and SJs money on some outside backs or Halves.

I feel we gamble on our young forwards coming good. Especially Halasima and Demetric.

Priority (attempted) signings for me even for 2026 would be…..
Hughes (PRIORITY)
Mulitalo (priority)
Brown
Issako

I’d take Kini but we have Taine so…… (I’d swap Kini for Taine in a heartbeat btw)

I’d lowball CNK, Pompey and Marata
Resign TMM, because I feel he’ll actually stay long term being a Kiwi. And I don’t think Metcalfe and Boyd will be here long term.

 

[tyrael]

Why do people keep suggesting Hughes? He's not coming here. His 'home' is Queensland.

 

[Tohu’s_Knees]

Why do people keep suggesting Hughes? He's not coming here. His 'home' is Queensland.

So what, we just don’t bother then?
Who then?
I reckon 1-1.3 million could (that’s could) change his mind.
Just cause we go for him doesn’t mean he signs with us.
But it also means we don’t not go for him either. By that logic we should never go for Australian players at all.

He’s from and was on holiday in Wellington just last month so he obviously still has connections in NZ.

 

[JaggedJ]

Given I’d like us to move away from a “ball playing 13” and move towards a “workhorse” or “3rd prop” like Melbourne. Then inject Walker/Clark as needed.

I hope we use Tohu and SJs money on some outside backs or Halves.

I feel we gamble on our young forwards coming good. Especially Halasima and Demetric.

Priority (attempted) signings for me even for 2026 would be…..
Hughes (PRIORITY)
Mulitalo (priority)
Brown
Issako

I’d take Kini but we have Taine so…… (I’d swap Kini for Taine in a heartbeat btw)

I’d lowball CNK, Pompey and Marata
Resign TMM, because I feel he’ll actually stay long term being a Kiwi. And I don’t think Metcalfe and Boyd will be here long term.

Until we have the Storms spine or something even close to the ballpark, we can't move away from the ballplaying 13 as we need the extra point of attack.

So yeah I do agree that throwing the extra money at the spine is the way to go here.

 

[Playdaball]

With Tohu retiring , what does this mean for Going??

 

[CWC]

Would be pretty crazy to lose your captain and not recycle that $650-950K on another elite player, especially there are probably some leftovers from SJ/Jazz/AFB etc

 

[Christchurch_Warrior]

With Tohu retiring , what does this mean for Going??

I would think it would the same as when Tohu was injured last year.

 

[Fizurg]

Well there is a gun Kiwi lock whose current team is trying to offload. However, he wouldn’t be a popular signing.

 

[BigUCE]

I’ve seen people mentioning that because Tohu has ‘medically’ retired, his salary for this year isn’t included in our salary cap. Can anyone confirm if this is true or not?

 

[Warriorsfan92]

I’ve seen people mentioning that because Tohu has ‘medically’ retired, his salary for this year isn’t included in our salary cap. Can anyone confirm if this is true or not?

Yes that’s normally the case, and tohu fits this situation. He’s retired due to persistent injuries & specifically his wrist, which was evident in 2024. By all accounts it’s a medical retirement but nothing official.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

SJ, AFB and Tohu in one season. Holy hecka! Take me back to the end of 2023!

 

[Fizurg]

Either retired or medically retired it won’t make a difference to the cap. Will only matter to Tohu wether he gets paid for this season or not.

 

[juju]

Well there is a gun Kiwi lock whose current team is trying to offload. However, he wouldn’t be a popular signing.

I needed to do the maths on who you were thinking.
B Smith?

Too similar to Erin Clark and Walker eh?

As other posters have mentioned it's a good opportunity to rebalance the cap for sure.

 

[Tohu’s_Knees]

Until we have the Storms spine or something even close to the ballpark, we can't move away from the ballplaying 13 as we need the extra point of attack.

So yeah I do agree that throwing the extra money at the spine is the way to go here.

Yeah, fair point.
But the “ball player” is on the bench, to be injected as needed. I’m not saying get rid of it completely.
Only one model has last 20 years, that’s Melbournes.

Yeah, Penrith have a “ball playing” 13. But that’s Issah Yeo, a borderline generational talent who is 195cm and 107kg. Basically he’s a prop who can ball play.
We just lost our Yeo in Tohu Harris. 195cm and 112kg.
Not Clark and Walker who are tiny in comparison.

I actually think Ford could do a job as a “workhorse” 13. Coincidentally he got moved to prop last year.

In fairness Clark or Walker starting at 13 frees up a spot for a “big body” on the bench, so it’s not hobbiton.

 

[Billyspleen75]

Either retired or medically retired it won’t make a difference to the cap. Will only matter to Tohu wether he gets paid for this season or not.

Medical retirement mean his salary is not counted against the salary cap. Unless something has changed with those rules recently?

 

[mrbrownstone]

I needed to do the maths on who you were thinking.
B Smith?

Too similar to Erin Clark and Walker eh?

As other posters have mentioned it's a good opportunity to rebalance the cap for sure.

Haha I forgot about Cheese, of course.

I thought he meant RFM, was gonna say 'gun' is a bit strong these days...

 

[Fizurg]

Medical retirement mean his salary is not counted against the salary cap. Unless something has changed with those rules recently?

Yeah that’s the point I was making. If he’s medically retired it won’t count against the cap. But it won’t count against the cap if he’s retired either.
The only difference is to Tohu. If he’s medically retired he will get the rest of his contract paid out. If he’s just retiring he won’t.

 

[Leon Black]

Who said Des? He was a half, the gold coast tried to turn him in to a 9. He played 7 in 2023 for most of the season for 8 wins, played the first 9 rounds or so for 1 win this year. Just think some are hyping him up based solely on having a long kicking game but the GC couldn't seem to find a spot for him between 6, 7 and 9, and then offered him up to super league. Now Des might be a mad bastard but with a shortage of halves going around currently we appeared to be the only ones interested. Great depth signing and needed, but yeah, temper the expectations I think.

Rate him as about as good as the recruitment of Jono Wright… average first grader, if Webby can turn him around, he is the second coming of Jesus or Moses

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Rate him as about as good as the recruitment of Jono Wright… average first grader, if Webby can turn him around, he is the second coming of Jesus or Moses

Giggled at that, I'd forgot all about Jono.

To be fair to Tanah - the bloke was an Aussie school boy so he clearly has talent.
Just hoping his separated-at-birth father Andrew Webster can unlock his talent.

Maybe explain to Tanah the reasons he left for that pack of smokes 22 years ago and never came back....