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	The Greatest of All-Time	✔	✔
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	✔	M
13	Edward Kosi	✔
14	Jacob Laban	✔	✔
15	Ali Leiataua	✔
16	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
17	Zyon Maiu’u	✔	✔
18	Te Maire Martin	✔
19	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
20	Marcelo Montoya	✔
21	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔
22	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
23	Motu Pasikala	✔	✔	✔
24	Adam Pompey	✔
25	Demitric Sifakula	✔	C
26	Taine Tuaupiki	✔
27	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
28	Dylan Walker	✔
29	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔
D1	Kalani Going	D
D2	Tanner Stowers-Smith	D
T1	Jett Cleary	T	D	D

C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, D = Development contract, T = Train & Trial contract

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 29/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 2/6
Unconfirmed Top 30 2025: 29/30
Unconfirmed Development 2025: 3/6 (Luke Hanson, per Zero Tackle)

Confirmed Top 30 2026: 13/30
Confirmed Development 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Nil
2026 Losses: Nil

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Jackson Ford, Tohu Harris, Ed Kosi, Ali Leiataua, Te Maire Martin, Marcelo Montoya, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Adam Pompey, Taine Tuaupiki, Dylan Walker, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Kalani Going (D), Tanner Stowers-Smith (D), Chanel Harris-Tavita (M), Demitric Sifakula (C)

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[watcher]

He looked better than CHT when he played for us, Monty Betham is a big fan. Lazy or not he walks into first drop for TMM with the current stock we've got lol

Also he will be under the gaze of JFH

 

[Tohu’s_Knees]

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Sime_11​

Juniors​

Messages1,652

• Today at 2:19 PM
• 
  
• #32,169

personally something tells me Leota will seek a release to NZ as well in the offseason - i think we will release 1 more forward this offseason unless Sorro retires





This is off the panthers LU recruitment thread. Not sure if the poster has any inside knowledge

Swap for Niukore.

 

[The Warrior Waka]

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Sime_11​

Juniors​

Messages1,652

• Today at 2:19 PM
• 
  
• #32,169

personally something tells me Leota will seek a release to NZ as well in the offseason - i think we will release 1 more forward this offseason unless Sorro retires





This is off the panthers LU recruitment thread. Not sure if the poster has any inside knowledge

Well, Leota would be handy wouldn't he!? Lol ....Fish's jersey presentation he was pretty choked up making that speech. And how close his family is with James whanau. Once upon a time i preferred to have Leota over James....Interesting times.

 

[Tookey 2.0]

JFH
Egan
Leota
Barney
Capewell
Tohu

Walker
Clark
Marata
Sifakula/ Halasima

Halasima/Sifakula
Ale
Ford
Laban
Zyon Maiu’u
Bunty

That's a crazy forward pack. Surely we'd have to lose a few - imo we'd likely lose 2 out of Ford, Bunty and Ale, with it being likely that Tohu and Walker finish up end of nek year, and Capewell end of 2026

 

[The Warrior Waka]

JFH
Egan
Leota
Barney
Capewell
Tohu

Walker
Clark
Marata
Sifakula/ Halasima

Halasima/Sifakula
Ale
Ford
Laban
Zyon Maiu’u
Bunty

That's a crazy forward pack. Surely we'd have to lose a few - imo we'd likely lose 2 out of Ford, Bunty and Ale, with it being likely that Tohu and Walker finish up end of nek year, and Capewell end of 2026

I like it. But that backrow is to slow. Barney's the man, At prop. Laterally he's a turtle. And Tohu coming back from a long lay-off!? Capes come right by the end of the season tho.

 

[Inruin]

JFH
Egan
Leota
Barney
Capewell
Tohu

Walker
Clark
Marata
Sifakula/ Halasima

Halasima/Sifakula
Ale
Ford
Laban
Zyon Maiu’u
Bunty

That's a crazy forward pack. Surely we'd have to lose a few - imo we'd likely lose 2 out of Ford, Bunty and Ale, with it being likely that Tohu and Walker finish up end of nek year, and Capewell end of 2026

Too good. Be great if it happens but not if it means we are still short at wing and another half.

 

[AlwaysOptmistic]

June this year I thought it ended ?

True, if thats the case then thats great news

 

[BigUCE]

I like it. But that backrow is to slow. Barney's the man, At prop. Laterally he's a turtle. And Tohu coming back from a long lay-off!? Capes come right by the end of the season tho.

Yep. Leota of the bench would be elite

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Yep. Leota of the bench would be elite

Well, Now I tihnk about it. Barney at lock would be nice? Lock is a hybrid between a prop & a secondrower. Barney is a tackling machine & can ball play a little. He'd do well. JFH & Leota starting props, Sifakula & Ahem, Xavier Willison off the bench? (Wishful thinking)
Halasima & Capewell backrow. Tohu off the bench so he doesn't have to endure the ferocity of the first 15 mins. I like the balance with Halasima there. Speed , Power , Talent.

 

[Dantheman]

My balls wouldn't be able to keep up if we got Leota as well.

 

[The Warrior Waka]

My balls wouldn't be able to keep up if we got Leota as well.

My wife asked me if Moses Leota is the Japanese guy that plays for the Panthers ?(Wtf? Huh??) I just said yeah. Moses - San Leotakanabi!! Konichi-Wahs all day!

 

[AlwaysOptmistic]

Well, Now I tihnk about it. Barney at lock would be nice? Lock is a hybrid between a prop & a secondrower. Barney is a tackling machine & can ball play a little. He'd do well. JFH & Leota starting props, Sifakula & Ahem, Xavier Willison off the bench? (Wishful thinking)
Halasima & Capewell backrow. Tohu off the bench so he doesn't have to endure the ferocity of the first 15 mins. I like the balance with Halasima there. Speed , Power , Talent.

Thats pretty awesome but it feels like we would have a v8 engine strapped into the engine bay of a morris minor, when you compare that pack to our backline for next year. Jeez TMM, Metcalf, RTS, CNK would need to step up.

 

[Defence]

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Sime_11​

Juniors​

Messages1,652

• Today at 2:19 PM
• 
  
• #32,169

personally something tells me Leota will seek a release to NZ as well in the offseason - i think we will release 1 more forward this offseason unless Sorro retires





This is off the panthers LU recruitment thread. Not sure if the poster has any inside knowledge

This is reaching isn’t it?
Some random dude on the internet says something tells him…

(be cool if it happened though- Moses Leotwah? )

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Thats pretty awesome but it feels like we would have a v8 engine strapped into the engine bay of a morris minor, when you compare that pack to our backline for next year. Jeez TMM, Metcalf, RTS, CNK would need to step up.

If Berry, Leiataua, Pompey come back fit and firing (Not carrying injuries) Rts loses some of that rugby bulk. We have a good base to work off of. We're one fast winger , And organising half away from having a decent enough backline.

 

[BigUCE]

This is reaching isn’t it?
Some random dude on the internet says something tells him…

(be cool if it happened though- Moses Leotwah? )

Tbh the Fish signing came from a random with no source saying something big will be announced tomorrow out of absolutely nowhere stranger things have happened

 

[Defence]

My wife asked me if Moses Leota is the Japanese guy that plays for the Panthers ?(Wtf? Huh??) I just said yeah. Moses - San Leotakanabi!! Konichi-Wahs all day!

To’o ? One of my friends is a To’o and he’s quarter Chinese.

 

[Wrighty]

We have one of the best recruiting teams in the NRL over the past 3-4 years.
We will make the right decisions this off season. Our think tank is remarkably good.
Our team is the opposite of the Tigers.

 

[AlwaysOptmistic]

We have one of the best recruiting teams in the NRL over the past 3-4 years.
We will make the right decisions this off season. Our think tank is remarkably good.
Our team is the opposite of the Tigers.

On paper for next year Tigers have done pretty well recruiting overall to be fair, Luai, Korosaiu, Turuva, Hunt, Skelton, Jack Bird (on the cheap). If warriors had added those players for next year with largely our existing forwards we would be flying into next year. Do agree though, we've made some pretty good decisions and looking forward to next year cos its our year.

 

[Makasene]

If true then it looks like Webster is doing a clean out. Jackson Ford has his faults but he does have a big motor which Webster so far seems to like.

Yes but as I have posted so many times - Ford played left edge, right edge, starting prop, bench middle this year.

I'm aware of some of the injury permutations but I think there is a lot of truth in the fact that Ford is not first choice in any position - not even bench so at very least I expect him to see a lot of cup next year if he stays.

I don't see him as versatile at all, it was like they were trying to find a spot for him - I can't.

 

[Wrighty]

On paper for next year Tigers have done pretty well recruiting overall to be fair, Luai, Korosaiu, Turuva, Hunt, Skelton, Jack Bird (on the cheap). If warriors had added those players for next year with largely our existing forwards we would be flying into next year. Do agree though, we've made some pretty good decisions and looking forward to next year cos its our year.

I don't rate Turuva. Hunt or Bird and the Warriors more keenly astute team would not acquire any of them.
We have chased Korosaiu previously- we would have taken Luai - maybe we didn't want him because of his grating attitude though.