Recruitment Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention

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Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention Discussion​
-Player20252026202720282029
1Bunty Afoa✔
2Tom Ale✔
3Mitchell Barnett✔✔✔
4Rocco Berry✔✔
5Tanah Boyd✔✔
6Kurt Capewell✔✔
7Erin Clark✔✔✔
8Wayde Egan✔✔✔
9James Fisher-Harris✔✔✔✔
10Jackson Ford✔✔✔
11Leka Halasima✔✔✔
12Morgan Harper✔
13Chanel Harris-Tavita✔✔
14Sam Healey✔✔✔
15Edward Kosi✔
16Jacob Laban✔✔
17Ali Leiataua✔✔✔
18Freddy Lussick✔✔
19Te Maire Martin✔
20Luke Metcalf✔✔
21Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad✔
22Marata Niukore✔✔
23Adam Pompey✔✔✔
24Tanner Stowers-Smith✔
25Taine Tuaupiki✔✔
26Roger Tuivasa-Sheck✔✔
27Demitric Vaimauga✔✔✔✔
28Dallin Watene-Zelezniak✔✔✔
S1Kayliss FaitialofaS
S2Kalani GoingS
S3Luke HansonS
S4Eddie Ieremia-ToeavaS✔✔
S5Sio KaliS
S6Patrick MoimoiS
-Kahu CapperTT
-Jett ClearyTSS
-Motu PasikalaT✔✔
C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, S = Supplementary contract, T = Train & Trial contract

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 28/30
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


This thread is solely for Warriors recruitment and retention discussion. Any posts not related to the above will be deleted.

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After some time to think, i see both sides.

Walker was already eyeing up a return for family reasons, i don’t begrudge anyone for this.

However, at the same time, we have surely let go of the most players due to compassionate grounds in the history of nrl. Perhaps recency bias, but it feels like this is occurring all too much for the warriors in recent times.

And lastly, we MUST have a war chest in salary cap, right? AFB & JFH cancel one another, but Johnson, Walker, Montoya, jazz, tohu.

Assumptions:
Johnson 500k
Walker 700k
Montoya 300k
Tohu 950k
Zyon Maiu’u 150k
2.6mill

Replaced by:
Boyd 300k?
Healey 200k?
Pompey 300k?
Clarke 400k?
1.2 mill

So a lazy 1.4 million sitting in the kitty with charnze, TMM, bunty, ale without contracts. This could easily be more, too. Just assumptions around contract size here.
 

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Warriorsfan92 said:
After some time to think, i see both sides.

Walker was already eyeing up a return for family reasons, i don’t begrudge anyone for this.

However, at the same time, we have surely let go of the most players due to compassionate grounds in the history of nrl. Perhaps recency bias, but it feels like this is occurring all too much for the warriors in recent times.

And lastly, we MUST have a war chest in salary cap, right? AFB & JFH cancel one another, but Johnson, Walker, Montoya, jazz, tohu.

Assumptions:
Johnson 500k
Walker 700k
Montoya 300k
Tohu 950k
Zyon Maiu’u 150k
2.6mill

Replaced by:
Boyd 300k?
Healey 200k?
Pompey 300k?
Clarke 400k?
1.2 mill

So a lazy 1.4 million sitting in the kitty with charnze, TMM, bunty, ale without contracts. This could easily be more, too. Just assumptions around contract size here.
Click to expand...

Yeah mate I think we have a fair bit in the bank, I think you're actually being a bit generous too - Pompey was probably already on 250k so hardly any money spent on him, I doubt Tannah is on 300k and Jazz also left last year, so imo there's a wee bit more.

Not that I think he'd come in a million years, but boy having DCE for 2 years would put us close to top 4 imo.

Let TMM go at the end of the year (400k-ish?) and give DCE 2 mill over 2 years and it's really only costing us 600k. Hell, could probably afford Ponga if we were only offering him 1.5mil a year haha.
 
Makasene said:
We released


Released 4 players in 3 rounds?

I don't follow.
Click to expand...
Having a clean out when you're not having a clean out ... it's remarkable, for sure, but I agree and am happy with all of the releases for different reasons - sad to see Walker going though completely understandable and it's better it happens now than having it drag out, for both parties. Plus, actually really exciting now to see the plans develop for a younger team - we're always going on about our geriatric first squad, so big opportunity for another youngster to come through
 
I didn't comment on the Cobbo discussion as we often hear rumours about players and get our hopes up.

Guys seen in NZ for some reason that might not be related to football. Or just seeing the club as a matter of due dilligience. We have also chased hard on New Zealanders and still missed out bringing them home.

Maybe there is more to the Cobbo sighting in Auckland. Even then it would more likely for 2026 not immediate.

It would be nice to have someone come our way. As much as we want to be a development club there is still a need for recruitment. Gould with the Panthers and now Bulldogs does recruit heavily until the players start coming through. Replacing Dylan like for like is unlikely but it could mean another chance to look at covering the outside back injuries/depth.
 
1) We need to find a recruit to replace Walker
2) Walker looked like his heart wasn't in it this year. He looked a yard slow and wasn't committing to the collision like last year. For his careers sake and the sake of Eel I hope he can regather his form with a change of scenery and reunion with whanau.
3) Given he was not at his best this hopefully won't hurt us too much to lose him.
 
Wrighty said:
1) We need to find a recruit to replace Walker
2) Walker looked like his heart wasn't in it this year. He looked a yard slow and wasn't committing to the collision like last year. For his careers sake and the sake of Eel I hope he can regather his form with a change of scenery and reunion with whanau.
3) Given he was not at his best this hopefully won't hurt us too much to lose him.
Click to expand...
We have any number of young forwards who can take his place going forward.
Outside backs are our priority I would have thought
 
Warriorsfan92 said:
After some time to think, i see both sides.

Walker was already eyeing up a return for family reasons, i don’t begrudge anyone for this.

However, at the same time, we have surely let go of the most players due to compassionate grounds in the history of nrl. Perhaps recency bias, but it feels like this is occurring all too much for the warriors in recent times.

And lastly, we MUST have a war chest in salary cap, right? AFB & JFH cancel one another, but Johnson, Walker, Montoya, jazz, tohu.

Assumptions:
Johnson 500k
Walker 700k
Montoya 300k
Tohu 950k
Zyon Maiu’u 150k
2.6mill

Replaced by:
Boyd 300k?
Healey 200k?
Pompey 300k?
Clarke 400k?
1.2 mill

So a lazy 1.4 million sitting in the kitty with charnze, TMM, bunty, ale without contracts. This could easily be more, too. Just assumptions around contract size here.
Click to expand...

The games might have just started but the season starts in November. Walkers been getting paid since then so his full value doesn't count, just the amount left at the time of his release. We've probably already paid him somewhere between 250-300k.

Same goes for anyone released, plus you need to factor in that a player upgraded to a full time contract to replace the released player is probably eating a small percentage of that money too.

In Zyon Maiu’u's case for example, between the money already paid and the upgrade of a replacement you can probably just wipe him off the list.

If we're looking towards 2026 then we can't ignore re-signings either. Young players with high ceilings generally don't sign for less.

It's rare that a club has as much money available as media/fans believe.

Don't get me wrong, we got room to splash on the right player, but I suspect more of that $$$ will go towards retaining than recruiting.
 
Christchurch_Warrior said:
I think this will make recruiting Aussies easier for us but not in a good way. They can come over on overs and when they get a good offer from an Aussie club have a cry to our management team and get to go back without honouring their contract. Starting to wonder when Lee Hagipantelis will be appointed chairman of our club.....
Click to expand...
The way I look at it now is early releases are just going to be part of our club.
I used to get pretty pissed off but we continue to grant them so it is what it is.
 
They couldn't have worked this out in January? Though you wouldn't have been able to sign anyone by that point so what does it matter.

Players are more likely to shift after the season starts, I.e. the eels didn't think they were going to be this bad but now their attack is so ghastly they are motivated to go get a walker.

Big news for Demetric and Ale though all of a sudden we have too many edges and not enough middles
 
Regarding Cobbo, I am pretty certain his missus is a New Zealander. Her last name is Peyroux, a well-known Cook Island last name (ala former Warrior Dom Peyroux). He was probably just visiting her whanau here.

Regarding a Walker replacement - right now I see one name that fits the bill (1) expiring contract (2) bench player comes on as lock (3) kiwi (māori mother but lived in aussie though)

Kurtis Morrin from the Doggies.

Plays with real aggression, is only 25, and they doggies adding Leo Thompson so one less forward position for him to vie for in the pack.

Thoughts?
 
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