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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[Tookey 2.0]

Zero tackle lists his salary as $350K https://www.zerotackle.com/players/josh-king/

Maybe if the rumour is true we would be offering an upgrade to break his contract a year early and offering $450K?

Spend the rest of Tohu's money on contract advanced payments.

Hey Wrighty where did you see old mate's b day. Wiki and a few others say he's 30 in December, so even if we signed him for 3 years he'd only be 32 at the end of that time, so no real issue for me.

Do we know if it's for 2025 or from 2026 were looking at King?

 

[Wrighty]

King is a rich man's Ford. Look at these mistake stats for discipline.

2024
King 26 Appearances
8 penalties
9 errors

Ford 19 appearances
11 penalties
16 errors

 

[Inruin]

I like how we go from my dad had a dream to analysing and comparing the player. Gee we need some rugby league games to start quite desperately.

 

[Wrighty]

Hey Wrighty where did you see old mate's b day. Wiki and a few others say he's 30 in December, so even if we signed him for 3 years he'd only be 32 at the end of that time, so no real issue for me.

Do we know if it's for 2025 or from 2026 were looking at King?

Rugby League project says his Birthdays is Feb 1995 - his Melbourne storm NRL page say it is December 1995

I have no idea if this rumour is for 2025 or for 2026. However what we do know is that he is signed by the Storm for 2025 with no contact for 2026. And putting two and two together the warriors would be chasing for an immediate release. Us and the Storm have done a lot of business together. We took Aaron Pene off their hands and also more recently gave them a great deal on Eli Katoa. We would be making use of those transactions just in the general chat with them. Them and the Roosters and Broncos are who we do the most deals with. Sometimes there are some clubs you have a good rapport with.

 

[Wrighty]

I like how we go from my dad had a dream to analysing and comparing the player. Gee we need some rugby league games to start quite desperately.

this is a thread for rumours be they strong or weak.

 

[Inruin]

this is a thread for rumours be they strong or weak.

Lol where does my dad had a dream fit in that spectrum?

 

[nzwarriorsfaithful]

lol… your dad is talking about the Facebook group where someone accidentally said that he’s joining instead of would be a good signing. He fixed his mistake in comments.

Nothing to see here.

 

[Worried2Death]

Them and the Roosters and Broncos are who we do the most deals with.

Titans must be on that list too

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I don’t really see them as the same player being that Walker’s role sees him with the most impact at lock because of his ball playing and that’s solely where he contributes in the middle whereas Clark contributes at prop but offers lock too if needed, but it’s his energy off the bench that is his upside like Jazz. His average input is pretty good with 99 run metres and tackles at 97% so he could be handy to come on like Jazz did from the bench. When you consider JFH came into to nrl as a second rower, as has Barnett played a lot of second row we’ve got a really mobile middle. Can see everything being done at speed as Webster said was going to be the case in 202

so a lock who is a poor starter, and 2 props. I couldnt disagree with your analysis more

 

[Wrighty]

Titans must be on that list too

And Panthers.

 

[Noitall]

so a lock who is a poor starter, and 2 props. I couldnt disagree with your analysis more

Put it this way, if it wasn’t for Walker’s ball playing then I couldn’t see him being used in the middle whereas I could with Clark because of his ability to be a handy front rower as well as lock with some ball playing, but not up to Walker’s level. Player I see Walker most similar to is Peta Hiku, but with a harder edge and better defender. I see him most similar because they’re just footy players that have the skill to probably fill any position. Just my view anyway

 

[Noitall]

lol… your dad is talking about the Facebook group where someone accidentally said that he’s joining instead of would be a good signing. He fixed his mistake in comments.

Nothing to see here.

That’s a shame because he’s a hard man and would likely have spent time with Barnett at knights. Was a miner before his league career and won an award for the I don’t quit training camp that the storm try to break players with. He’d fit nicely to the hard edge our pack has

 

[Fizurg]

Zero tackle lists his salary as $350K https://www.zerotackle.com/players/josh-king/

Maybe if the rumour is true we would be offering an upgrade to break his contract a year early and offering $450K?

Spend the rest of Tohu's money on contract advanced payments.

Pretty sure you can’t do that.

 

[Noitall]

Pretty sure you can’t do that.

Different if storm have given him permission to negotiate with rivals though. Utoikamanu heading there and Loiero and MacDonald locked up on long deals could see King surplus to requirements for the storm?

 

[doeeyedwarrior]

I wanna see how the young guns progress. Leka, Demitric, Jacob, would put Ale in that mix too before throwing money at anybody else (unless an absolute unit came in market who was a Kiwi wanting to come home)

 

[Brightman]

I wanna see how the young guns progress. Leka, Demitric, Jacob, would put Ale in that mix too before throwing money at anybody else (unless an absolute unit came in market who was a Kiwi wanting to come home)

Totally agree that it is time for the young guns to rejuvenate the forward pack. They will establish themselves as consistent selections over the next two seasons but we are still searching for a dominant half that may well be a kiwi ready to come home..

 

[Noitall]

Dylan Brown

The NRL profile of Dylan Brown including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.

www.parraeels.com.au

Threads popped up again over at eels forum regarding Dylan Brown, only really referencing that yahoo article. Ryan Matterson has taken up his option for 2026 and you’d think Ryles would want certainty around his squad going forward with so many on differing options for players. Looking at Browns stats for 2024, super impressive with 24 starts, 5 tries, 18 try assists, 17 line break assists, 13 offloads, 131 average run meters, 89% tackle and an average of 125 kicking meters between halfback and five eighth. With those stats at 24, if he was available you’d surely have to offer him good money to come over. Interesting though that TMM stats just as impressive but over a smaller sample of games. Browns only going to get better though

 

[Wrighty]

Dylan Brown

The NRL profile of Dylan Brown including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.

www.parraeels.com.au

Threads popped up again over at eels forum regarding Dylan Brown, only really referencing that yahoo article. Ryan Matterson has taken up his option for 2026 and you’d think Ryles would want certainty around his squad going forward with so many on differing options for players. Looking at Browns stats for 2024, super impressive with 24 starts, 5 tries, 18 try assists, 17 line break assists, 13 offloads, 131 average run meters, 89% tackle and an average of 125 kicking meters between halfback and five eighth. With those stats at 24, if he was available you’d surely have to offer him good money to come over

He's currently on $900k for the 2025 season according to Zero Tackle (which can sometimes be wrong) There forum sometimes bitches that they have too much cap tied up in him.

 

[Jonesy69]

Dylan Brown

The NRL profile of Dylan Brown including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.

www.parraeels.com.au

Threads popped up again over at eels forum regarding Dylan Brown, only really referencing that yahoo article. Ryan Matterson has taken up his option for 2026 and you’d think Ryles would want certainty around his squad going forward with so many on differing options for players. Looking at Browns stats for 2024, super impressive with 24 starts, 5 tries, 18 try assists, 17 line break assists, 13 offloads, 131 average run meters, 89% tackle and an average of 125 kicking meters between halfback and five eighth. With those stats at 24, if he was available you’d surely have to offer him good money to come over

That could be why we’ve held off on re-signing TMM, to wait and see if anything develops around Brown or Hughes wanting an early release. I would still rather we keep him over Boyd or CHT though…

 

[Noitall]

That could be why we’ve held off on re-signing TMM, to wait and see if anything develops around Brown or Hughes wanting an early release. I would still rather we keep him over Boyd or CHT though…

With Brown having an option to leave now, he seems like the ideal one to approach. Would be gutted to lose TMM and he looks like he’s having a good preseason judging by pictures. He could even retire after 2025 rather than shift to Australia to prolong his career? If he had a big 2025, could extend him year by year with him a handy fullback fill in at broncos to go with halfback and five eighth