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	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
12	Morgan Harper	✔
13	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
14	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
15	Edward Kosi	✔
16	Jacob Laban	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
17	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
18	Jye Linnane	✔	✔	✔	✔
19	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
20	Te Maire Martin	✔
21	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
22	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔	✔
23	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
24	Adam Pompey	✔	✔	✔
25	Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔	✔	✔
26	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
27	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
28	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔	✔
29	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Kayliss Fatialofa	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
-	Morgan Gannon	-	✔	✔	✔
-	Jye Linnane	-	✔	✔	✔
-	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: 26/30
Confirmed Supplementary 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Morgan Gannon (Leeds Rhinos)
2026 Losses: Nil

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Morgan Harper, Edward Kosi, Te Maire Martin
Can negotiate with others clubs from 01/11/25 (final year) : Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Kurt Capewell, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Freddy Lussick, Luke Metcalf, Marata Niukore, Taine Tuaupiki, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

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[sup42]

Is that sam healey hes playing with at the sharks?

I dont think its to come play fullback, he certainly could be a wing option though.

Wing would be wasteful of all that vision, ball playing ability, footwork and raw courage.

Personally I don't care if it is Center or Fullback, and since we struggle to find two robust or NRL ready Centers week in week out and are playing old back rowers out there I think signing a Fullback who also plays Center is the perfect youth signing.

Arguably we have issues coming at fullback with CNK ageing, Roger too, TMM going, all of a sudden it is Taine and.....

 

[slime]

Be fascinating to see these statistics broken down as an average per game.
Be fascinating again to compare Ale s and Bunty s statistics per game versus Marata when he is playing prop.
Ford is an interesting one -keeps breaking my low expectations.
but Coach AW does flog him for too many minutes.

Yeah be nice to see a comparison average statistics per game for all our props.

I'm sure I've posted a couple of spreadsheets before, so at the risk of looking even more like a nerd, here are both NRL and NSW Cup teams forward stats to date. I've ordered it by average total running metres per game. Ale might have been unfortunate to have an injury when his chance came up? He has some promising stats, probably better than Afoa and TSS who have had their time in the top grade. I'm not sure if he Ale has been playing prop exclusively this season though.



Big drop offs from the guys going from NSW Cup to NRL but they all had their time on the field halved:



Something random that stood out to me on that table is Fatialofa having a great season in Cup with very similar stat lines to Halasima (who is also having a great season).

 

[Damo]

I'm sure I've posted a couple of spreadsheets before, so at the risk of looking even more like a nerd, here are both NRL and NSW Cup teams forward stats to date. I've ordered it by average total running metres per game. Ale might have been unfortunate to have an injury when his chance came up? He has some promising stats, probably better than Afoa and TSS who have had their time in the top grade. I'm not sure if he Ale has been playing prop exclusively this season though.

View attachment 13809

Big drop offs from the guys going from NSW Cup to NRL but they all had their time on the field halved:

View attachment 13810

Something random that stood out to me on that table is Fatialofa having a great season in Cup with very similar stat lines to Halasima (who is also having a great season).

Love your work bro.

Ale has played some Lock and a couple (at least 1) games at 2nd row as well.

 

[Ref]

I don't know why Ricky Stuart is playing his son Jed Stuart in front of Chevy Stewart in recent weeks.
Chevy is way better.

 

[kos]

I'm sure I've posted a couple of spreadsheets before, so at the risk of looking even more like a nerd, here are both NRL and NSW Cup teams forward stats to date. I've ordered it by average total running metres per game. Ale might have been unfortunate to have an injury when his chance came up? He has some promising stats, probably better than Afoa and TSS who have had their time in the top grade. I'm not sure if he Ale has been playing prop exclusively this season though.

View attachment 13809

Big drop offs from the guys going from NSW Cup to NRL but they all had their time on the field halved:

View attachment 13810

Something random that stood out to me on that table is Fatialofa having a great season in Cup with very similar stat lines to Halasima (who is also having a great season).

Those stats say resign Tom Ale and play him ahead of TSS.
Thanks for producing those.

 

[Five&Last]

He was a Knights junior when Barney was there

Wasn’t really a junior.

He was a development contract so was training with Barney everyday as a member of the first grade squad.

 

[Five&Last]

how tf did we let this guy escape. To keep edward? Probably.

View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMO88JRTzEp/?igsh=MTcycWZoNWVuOWE2ZA==

We chose not to take him with us to Redcliffe.

We picked Ali Leiataua, Zyon Maiu’u, Laban, Demetric and cut the rest from that age group

 

[Five&Last]

Anyone thinks we shouldn’t be signing Chevy Stewart has the lost the plot.

I would drive either one of CNK or Taine to the airport if it meant signing a talent like Stewart.

Would be ideal having CNK or Taine start the year in the number 1 and have Stewart take over late season.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Anyone thinks we shouldn’t be signing Chevy Stewart has the lost the plot.

I would drive either one of CNK or Taine to the airport if it meant signing a talent like Stewart.

Would be ideal having CNK or Taine start the year in the number 1 and have Stewart take over late season.

He looked undersized for NRL last season but was only 18 I guess. Lots of heart however he was nowhere near an NRL level fullback at that time. I’m assuming he must have made exponential improvement for you to be that keen.

 

[Five&Last]

He looked undersized for NRL last season but was only 18 I guess. Lots of heart however he was nowhere near an NRL level fullback at that time. I’m assuming he must have made exponential improvement for you to be that keen.

I mean you’re basing that assessment off a few first grade games alone with nothing else

If we chucked Bishop Neal in first grade next year he doesn’t do well, are we writing him off as a future star?

On the size thing, he’s same height as CNK, and as you said was only 18 so has lot or room to put size on. Taine is someone who is undersized and will always be undersized

I don’t disagree on the size thing, i think you need to be at least 6’2 to have greater odds at becoming a ‘star’ as an outside back. But that’s just my personal opinion and probably not one that’s widely held here

Stewart has outlier speed and that’s what sets him apart from the pack

 

[Noitall]

I don't know why Ricky Stuart is playing his son Jed Stuart in front of Chevy Stewart in recent weeks.
Chevy is way better.

There’s talk on their forum that was the beginning of the end with Chevy Stewart at the raiders, Jed Stuart picked ahead of him. There’s a whole thread over there of Chevy Stewart could be forced out of Canberra


Chevy Stewart could be squeezed out of Canberra

Chevy Stewart is on the radar of several clubs with the Raiders fullback potentially part of a salary squeeze at Canberra. The Raiders’ decision to give Kaeo Weekes a rich long-term deal to be Canberra’s starting fullback has left rival clubs circling Stewart.

Stewart, a Cronulla junior, arrived at the club at the centre of a tug of war for his services. The 20-year-old played three games last year but is yet to play first grade in 2025. Stewart played Australian Schoolboys and NSW under-19s. He is contracted until the end of next year.

 

[Tookey 2.0]

I don't know why Ricky Stuart is playing his son Jed Stuart in front of Chevy Stewart in recent weeks.
Chevy is way better.

I feel you've answered your own question lol

 

[france]

Anyone thinks we shouldn’t be signing Chevy Stewart has the lost the plot.

I would drive either one of CNK or Taine to the airport if it meant signing a talent like Stewart.

Would be ideal having CNK or Taine start the year in the number 1 and have Stewart take over late season.

i really like the look of him

 

[Cces]

We chose not to take him with us to Redcliffe.

We picked Ali Leiataua, Zyon Maiu’u, Laban, Demetric and cut the rest from that age group

Ali was the only one who was a team mate of Karapani in our 2020 SG Ball side as they're all 1-2 years younger. Plenty of guys that are Karapani's age like Vailea, Otukolo, the Kepu's, Finau, Amituanai, Vaafusuaga & even Sebastyan Jack got opportunities at Redcliffe.
From this video I got the sense that Karapani was poached, rather than cut, while F'all was occurring with retention during lockdown.

Josiah Karapani's Southside Story – South Sydney Rabbitohs

From a lockdown in New Zealand to find a home at the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Development Player, Josiah Karapani, shares his story.

www.rabbitohs.com.au