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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[wizard of Tauranga]

I'd take what we've got in this year over the signings of Manly, Newcastle, Roosters, Storm, Canberra, and Gold Coast have recruited.

if you look at gains vs loses would you say the same?

Our big loses (and salary cap freed up) reduces the impact on the team of our recruitment gains?

 

[Teets]

if you look at gains vs loses would you say the same?

Our big loses (and salary cap freed up) reduces the impact on the team of our recruitment gains?

For most of those teams mentioned absolutely.

Roosters lost Sualii, Manu, Tuponua and got back Chad Townsend.

Nearly every big name off season recruit in those teams has been offset by a big name loss. And that's the problem for average teams relying on recruitment for success.

We got back as good as we're going to get for AFB, Metcalf better SJ replacement than anything going on the market, Tohu terrible timing.

 

[RiceOwl]

I think there are many that are missing the point here. We have clearly said we are a development club now, which means we must be patient and continue to invest in our youngsters.

By securing the likes of a Harper over a Mulitalo is arguable better for youngsters development S it doesn’t block their pathway for multiple years. Harper (although personally I wii would’ve like MGT given another crack) is purely a stop gap measure. Also by not splashing out salary cap on a big signing, we may be able to spend on some of the gun juniors coming through ala our development model.

Patience is key here. To call for Cappy or other heads to roll because of frustration of not getting more big name signings is well off the mark.

 

[JustLikeStartingOver]

Cooking up a strawman, looking at the off contract outside backs who is likely not to start for his team in rd 1.

Try Grant Anderson or Harley Smith-Shields, I know nothing about those blokes ability compared to a Harper but you’d probably have to give them the Egan or Metcalf treatment, i.e. multi year on decent money, sort them out a place, job for the girlfriend, sell them on the chance of a starting spot next year if Roger goes, and then hope their manager has enough pull to talk maniacs like Bellamy or Stuart into releasing them early. That’s real long shot stuff. To get a marginal upgrade and block up the youths longer than just this year.

Didn’t MH say he was in Walkers spare room and he picked him up from the airport – that’s the opposite of rolling out the red carpet. That’s ‘trainings on Monday, see you there if your keen’ type stuff. The club is probably right to save the big pitches for positions they really need, we aren’t a contender this year, we don’t need to sack cappy over it.

If anyone wanted MGT wouldn’t he have gone already? Like Roche did?

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Coming around to the Harper signing with all the background info coming out. Costs us nothing for basically no time and he might get a redemption shot if we are in a crisis.