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	Kurt Capewell	✔	✔
6	Erin Clark	✔	✔	✔
7	Wayde Egan	✔	✔	✔
8	James Fisher-Harris	✔	✔	✔	✔
9	Jackson Ford	✔	✔	✔
10	Leka Halasima	✔	✔	✔
11	Tohu Harris	✔
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	Motu Pasikala	✔	✔	✔
24	Adam Pompey	✔
25	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
26	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
27	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	C
28	Dylan Walker	✔
29	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Tanah Boyd	S	S
S2	Kalani Going	S
S3	Tanner Stowers-Smith	S
T1	Jett Cleary	T	S	S

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

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 29/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 3/6
Unconfirmed Top 30 2025: 29/30
Unconfirmed Development 2025: 4/6 (Luke Hanson, per Zero Tackle)

Confirmed Top 30 2026: 20/30
Confirmed Development 2026: 2/6

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, Kalani Going (S), Tanner Stowers-Smith (S), Demitric Vaimauga (C)

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[BangBro's (still banging)]

If Afoa is not going to play much first grade then he will be playing NSW cup and maybe they view a NSW cup spot is valuable as they have guys coming out of Flegg too old to go around again in Flegg.

Fair! It should be a development team really. Sprinkled with those who can't make the first team. And not 120+ game veterans.

 

[Warriorsfan92]

Tohu at 80% is better than Ale, Sifakula, Bunty, Zyon Maiu’u, Jazz, ford, Niukore, even in 2025. He was banged up, to the point where he’d realised he needed to pull pin & get tidy up surgery. This man will go down as one of the best warriors & kiwi. People have such short memories, it’s mind blowing.

He’s getting older & as a result his minutes will diminish, like any other player who’s played in the middle in the nrl for any length of time.

He’s a starter for us in 2025. I think he’ll be in the middle with Fish, Barnett on an edge to then come into the middle rotation.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Tohu at 80% is better than Ale, Sifakula, Bunty, Zyon Maiu’u, Jazz, ford, Niukore,

Youd fucking hope so. You didnt name anyone remotely deserving of the 950K he's on.

 

[Neo]

Fair! It should be a development team really. Sprinkled with those who can't make the first team. And not 120+ game veterans.

The Panthers team they played on the weekend had a fair few experienced older guys to go with the youth. Guys like Peachey, Eisenhuth, Riki mixed in with some exciting youth

 

[Warriorsfan92]

Youd fucking hope so. You didnt name anyone remotely deserving of the 950K he's on.

Do you know he’s on that for a fact, or basing that off a ‘reliable’ news source? He re signed a one year deal, there’s no way the warriors would have signed him on a contract the size of his former. It was rumoured that’s what he WAS on.

 

[Cces]

13. Demitric (First year of any new deal he signs and going on 23 so primed for a bigger role)

I can't see him as a Lock unless Webster goes away from his game plan of his #13 having lots of receipts. Looks like he's destined to be an out & out Prop

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

Fuck me. Are we going to get a puff piece from every player that leaves the club?

First Curran, now Jazz?

Bet the Storm doesnt have to put up with this shit.

'Hard pill to swallow': Jazz Tevaga speaks on Warriors exit

“I always thought I’d be a one-club man."

www.zerotackle.com

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

Bloody hell, some members talk as if Tohu Harris has just completely fallen off a cliff. Is he the player he once was? Frankly, no.

In my defense, I speak VERY hyperbolically. I'm also on the ass end of a proper rough flu.

I would point out the visible difference to our attack (the one that bet the Panthers...etc) when we bought him back from injury.

As I said, I have move for the dude. He just didn't bounce back, like he did last year.

 

[3rdstriker]

Fuck me. Are we going to get a puff piece from every player that leaves the club?

First Curran, now Jazz?

Bet the Storm doesnt have to put up with this shit.

https://www.zerotackle.com/hard-pil...3aZwY5nS4GjRpo40pQ_aem_V60EgvKar_HkMG5i9frF5g

The same statements he's always said since his exit announcement what's he said that ruffles your feathers .

 

[Spence]

Fuck me. Are we going to get a puff piece from every player that leaves the club?

First Curran, now Jazz?

Bet the Storm doesnt have to put up with this shit.

'Hard pill to swallow': Jazz Tevaga speaks on Warriors exit

“I always thought I’d be a one-club man."

www.zerotackle.com

Tom Eisenhuth: "It's been an unreal journey"

Tom Eisenhuth chats to Melbourne Storm after announcing his departure from the Club.

www.melbournestorm.com.au

NRL star Josh Addo-Carr praises Melbourne ahead of departure to Canterbury after 2021 season - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

 

[JustLikeStartingOver]

CBF linking to it, but the club put pictures from their awards night on instagram and along with jazz and afb holding framed photos is RTS doing the same. He gone?

Or just acknowledging his 200 game milestone?

 

[Ever Hopeful]

Fuck me. Are we going to get a puff piece from every player that leaves the club?

First Curran, now Jazz?

Bet the Storm doesnt have to put up with this shit.

'Hard pill to swallow': Jazz Tevaga speaks on Warriors exit

“I always thought I’d be a one-club man."

www.zerotackle.com

This interview was from a long time ago. I think it was prior to his last home game. I thought it was honest without burning bridges, or coming across as a victim.

Gotta love modern journalism though. Make sense of this:

Uncontracted at the moment, Tevaga revealed that he has found a new NRL team for the 2025 season, meaning he won't move overseas to play in the Super League or switch codes to rugby union.

At this stage, no club has yet to confirm an interest in his services, but he has been linked with a potential move to the Manly Sea Eagles to play under Anthony Seibold.

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

Tom Eisenhuth: "It's been an unreal journey"

Tom Eisenhuth chats to Melbourne Storm after announcing his departure from the Club.

www.melbournestorm.com.au

NRL star Josh Addo-Carr praises Melbourne ahead of departure to Canterbury after 2021 season - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

Well.... I'll just shut the fuck up, then..

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

The same statements he's always said since his exit announcement what's he said that ruffles your feathers .

If I'm honest, the whole Curran thing just set me off and now I'm being spammed with the same re-shared boohoo stories on my socials.

It's okay, I'll go put my dunce hat on and sit in the corner.

 

[headcoach45]

CBF linking to it, but the club put pictures from their awards night on instagram and along with jazz and afb holding framed photos is RTS doing the same. He gone?

Or just acknowledging his 200 game milestone?

The plaque on the framed picture he's holding just saying '200 games'

 

[3rdstriker]

If I'm honest, the whole Curran thing just set me off and now I'm being spammed with the same re-shared boohoo stories on my socials.

It's okay, I'll go put my dunce hat on and sit in the corner.

Curran just set himself up as a sook, throwing his toys out.
Jazz just spoke his heart about how much the club meant to him.

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

Casual scrolling through reddit and I found these little tid bits... Fairly interesting given current events.

 

[Juno]

In my defense, I speak VERY hyperbolically. I'm also on the ass end of a proper rough flu.

I would point out the visible difference to our attack (the one that bet the Panthers...etc) when we bought him back from injury.

As I said, I have move for the dude. He just didn't bounce back, like he did last year.

He didn't come back from injury though. In fact, he was still injured and it had gotten worse. They shouldn't have played him at all let alone 'brought him back from injury' He should've had an op at the end of '23 and this year could've been a different story.
Anyway, 2025. Looking forward to a fit and firing Tohu...yes, even at 33, (jwh & jesse b. and a few others older than him say hello! ).
Reduced minutes probably, out wide sometimes, putting those young fellas in space, defending his a*** off & mixing it with Egan & co. in the middle on occasion.
If he can't, he's the type to call it.

 

[Bluecat]

Casual scrolling through reddit and I found these little tid bits... Fairly interesting given current events.

View attachment 9503

View attachment 9504

Go Jazz!
Hopefully he doesn't carry the lucky charm thing on next year when he's playing us

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

He didn't come back from injury though. In fact, he was still injured and it had gotten worse. They shouldn't have played him at all let alone 'brought him back from injury' He should've had an op at the end of '23 and this year could've been a different story.

Then why'd he come back? The players get a pretty big say in whether or not they're ready, after all they're the ones with the injury..