Recruitment Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment and Retention Discussion​

Player	2026​	2027​	2028​	2029​	2030​
Mitchell Barnett	✔​	✔​
Rocco Berry	✔​
Tanah Boyd	✔​
Kurt Capewell	✔​
Erin Clark	✔​	✔​
Wayde Egan	✔​	✔​
Kayliss Fatialofa	✔​	✔​
James Fisher-Harris	✔​	✔​	✔​
Jackson Ford	✔​	✔​
Morgan Gannon	✔​	✔​	✔​
Leka Halasima	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔​
Sam Healey	✔​	✔​
Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	✔​	✔​
Alofiana Khan-Pereira	✔​	✔​	✔​
Jacob Laban	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
Ali Leiataua	✔​	✔​
Jye Linnane	✔​	✔​	✔​
Freddy Lussick	✔​
Te Maire Martin	✔​
Haizyn Mellars	✔​	✔​	✔​
Luke Metcalf	✔​	✔​	✔​
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔​	✔​
Marata Niukore	✔​
Adam Pompey	✔​	✔​
Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔​	✔​	✔​
Taine Tuaupiki	✔​
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔​
Demitric Vaimauga	✔​	✔​	✔​
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔​	✔​
Jett Cleary	S​	U​
Sio Kali	U​
Braelan Marsh	U​	U​	U​
Motu Pasikala	U​	U​

✔ = Signed to Top 30, C = Club option, M = Mutual Option, P = Player option, S = Signed to supplementary list, U = Unclear

2026 Top 30: 30/30
2026 Supplementary: 1/6

2027 Top 30: 21/30
2027 Supplementary: 0/6

2027 Gains: Nil
2027 Losses: Nil

Off contract and free to sign elsewhere for 2027: Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Kurt Capewell, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Freddy Lussick, Te Maire Martin, Marata Niukore, Taine Tuaupiki, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Will be off contract and free to sign elsewhere for 2028 from November 1st, 2026: Mitchell Barnett, Erin Clark, Jett Cleary, Wayde Egan, Kayliss Fatialofa, Jackson Ford, Sam Healey, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Ali Leiataua, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Motu Pasikala, Adam Pompey, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

 

[Makasene]

Scared off by his salary was the initial report. The club’s interest in Davvy Moale seems like we’re interested in adding a middle forward. From what I’ve seen Moale’s management was asking somewhere around $550k per season

Yea any club would be silly to take the full cut.

Melbourne know it too, they will have to pay freight.

Quite the decline for old NAS, hardly seen this year. Be interesting to see how he goes for the Kiwis.

 

[Noitall]

Yea any club would be silly to take the full cut.

Melbourne know it too, they will have to pay freight.

Quite the decline for old NAS, hardly seen this year. Be interesting to see how he goes for the Kiwis.

I thought it was interesting his Kiwi selection and Niukore missed out considering Stacey Jones is Kiwi coach and Warriors assistant. We don’t have that big imposing middle that the rest of the contenders have, I’d personally take the risk and bring him in provided storm pays about $200k per year of his salary for the remaining contract

 

[Five&Last]

Yea any club would be silly to take the full cut.

Melbourne know it too, they will have to pay freight.

Quite the decline for old NAS, hardly seen this year. Be interesting to see how he goes for the Kiwis.

I think he's done in the NRL tbh.

No team is going to touch him at that price and Melbourne aren't going to want to pay freight given their window.

I think he's a prime target for R360.

Wouldn't be surprised if he plays a bit in Japan or Europe next year prior to that

 

[Noitall]

I think he's done in the NRL tbh.

No team is going to touch him at that price and Melbourne aren't going to want to pay freight given their window.

I think he's a prime target for R360.

Wouldn't be surprised if he plays a bit in Japan or Europe next year prior to that

I could see our links to city kickboxing being an interesting proposition for him. Seems hugely interested in that world and I could see him boxing at some point, he’s quite handy. Seems that we’ve turned down the approach currently, which I back the club if that’s what they are going with but I recall Webster after the panthers loss saying a couple of the pieces of the puzzle are missing and I think one of those pieces is an imposing middle forward and links to Moale suggests we’re after one. Lowering his target area defensively looks to be the biggest issue I reckon. We seem to be seeing a bit of leniency towards high shots if the attacking player is falling too which shows there’s a view from the nrl that some are unavoidable

 

[Blain]

I thought it was interesting his Kiwi selection and Niukore missed out considering Stacey Jones is Kiwi coach and Warriors assistant. We don’t have that big imposing middle that the rest of the contenders have, I’d personally take the risk and bring him in provided storm pays about $200k per year of his salary for the remaining contract

They will need to pay more than that. NAS is good for a 25-30 minute stint off the bench these days, his contract is for a top level starting prop. His injury and suspension risk is high, which also affects his value for a club.

Internationals is a different story, he will have his job for impact and niggle, which we all know he can do that. That's not worth $850k for an NRL team, or even $500k. He's also got 2 years left on his deal.

Would only be worth considering if he was half price for 1 year IMO. Seems like a niggly character off the pitch - The Warriors have turned him down already so read into that what you will. Storm have messed up on his contract bad, which is rare for them.

 

[Noitall]

They will need to pay more than that. NAS is good for a 25-30 minute stint off the bench these days, his contract is for a top level starting prop. His injury and suspension risk is high, which also affects his value for a club.

Internationals is a different story, he will have his job for impact and niggle, which we all know he can do that. That's not worth $850k for an NRL team, or even $500k. He's also got 2 years left on his deal.

Would only be worth considering if he was half price for 1 year IMO. Seems like a niggly character off the pitch - The Warriors have turned him down already so read into that what you will. Storm have messed up on his contract bad, which is rare for them.

Dylan Walker wasn’t setting the world on fire before he left manly but we had a plan for him off the bench and paid him handsomely for it at $700k per season, but he offered impact initially as apart of the bald brothers, but impact is what’s needed. I’m not going to debate it anymore because as you say, Warriors have turned him down already so it’s pointless but if impact is what we’re looking for, in my opinion he offers it

 

[Blain]

Dylan Walker wasn’t setting the world on fire before he left manly but we had a plan for him off the bench and paid him handsomely for it at $700k per season, but he offered impact initially as apart of the bald brothers, but impact is what’s needed. I’m not going to debate it anymore because as you say, Warriors have turned him down already so it’s pointless but if impact is what we’re looking for, in my opinion he offers it

Not sure what you were watching - Walker was great for Manly off the bench before he came here. Walker is extremely versatile and was in his prime coming to us, NAS has declined alarmingly the last 2 seasons in many areas.

The salary you mention for Walker was speculated maybe in media (not confirmed), but we were a desperate and shit club at that stage and overpaying for anyone just to look at us. Mararta came from the same era, and we had no juniors due to COVID.

A long stretch to compare them.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I’d personally take the risk and bring him in provided storm pays about $200k per year of his salary for the remaining contract

He’s a risk of blowing up your top30 and you’d pay him 650k~ for the pleasure?

It’s a coin toss at min wage and Storm aren’t chipping in 700k.

 

[juju]

I thought it was interesting his Kiwi selection and Niukore missed out considering Stacey Jones is Kiwi coach and Warriors assistant. We don’t have that big imposing middle that the rest of the contenders have, I’d personally take the risk and bring him in provided storm pays about $200k per year of his salary for the remaining contract

Stacey seems to be aware of how the game has moved away from NAS style player if his comments as Kiwis coach are anything to go by

Storm giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona is the wildcard, after another season affected by suspension, form and injury restricted him to 12 games – but he has been vital performer in the past.
“I feel for him, the way that the game has changed,” Jones said. “It’s changed the way the judiciary works and I get it [as] we’ve got to look after player welfare and there’s parts of Nelson’s game that he has to be more careful with now. But he loves this space, the Kiwi jersey, he’s looked after himself and he’s kept his training up. He was certainly someone who was missed [last year] and he’s someone that when he’s in the opposition team, there’s a bit of fear there"

 

[Falcon]

When you know your current club want to see the back of you it’s understandable for form to drop off.
When you have a player of his size and build of NAS then you might need to be a bit more creative to maximise his impact, whether it’s 2 or 3 stints counter balanced by others playing longer minutes.
Carving off a few Kgs wouldn’t be to his detriment either and might improve his mobility and ability of play a further few minutes of an onfield stint.
The fact that he is in the Kiwis side, makes the opposition take notice when he’s playing certainly offers up something. This will be a shop window series for NAS in hope to find a new team.

 

[Noitall]

Not sure what you were watching - Walker was great for Manly off the bench before he came here. Walker is extremely versatile and was in his prime coming to us, NAS has declined alarmingly the last 2 seasons in many areas.

The salary you mention for Walker was speculated maybe in media (not confirmed), but we were a desperate and shit club at that stage and overpaying for anyone just to look at us. Mararta came from the same era, and we had no juniors due to COVID.

A long stretch to compare them.

Nah Walker wasn’t offering what he was in his last season at manly and his output shows that. Also manly played him in too many different positions whereas we saw him as a middle forward off the bench overall that can play other positions. We fell into that trap for a while too playing him in the halves and edge forward which didn’t work at all. Again just my view

 

[Noitall]

When you know your current club want to see the back of you it’s understandable for form to drop off.
When you have a player of his size and build of NAS then you might need to be a bit more creative to maximise his impact, whether it’s 2 or 3 stints counter balanced by others playing longer minutes.
Carving off a few Kgs wouldn’t be to his detriment either and might improve his mobility and ability of play a further few minutes of an onfield stint.
The fact that he is in the Kiwis side, makes the opposition take notice when he’s playing certainly offers up something. This will be a shop window series for NAS in hope to find a new team.

Think we do a really good job with middle forwards, Dylan Walker and Erin Clark reinvented themselves with us and we made Jazz into bench player of the year in 2018. I think AFB truly became the powerhouse he is with us too, though he was floating around as one the best props before too. Barnett has become the player he is with us

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

He doesn't even really bully forwards. He's only like what 6ft, maybe 6'1 ?

He's definitely strong but his main asset is his speed for his weight. However i think you need more than just straight-line speed.

I think footwork for a forward is much more important. That's what Halasima, Fatialofa, Sikuvea have that set them apart as prospects.

I think he will kick on and be a productive player. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a couple full length tries in his first grade highlights reel.

But I think the concerns are legitimate. Never played large minutes which is a concern for a prop (looks goosed when playing more than 30 mins) and I can recall a few air grabs on opposition tries (doesn't close the space well at all)

Thats why I think hes better suited to the backrow, hes quick for a forward.

 

[Theking267]

I think the risk is worth taking with NAS. Obviously the discipline is a huge issue & probably cost the Storm the title. He still as damaging on the field when he played. Probably doesn’t fit the type of forward Webby likes more like the forward we need though

 

[Tookey 2.0]

I get why many might be a bit worried about signing NAS, but I'd be all for it.

Imo, the majority of our props are on the smaller side, and while that has its strengths, I think we lack that oomph that a big forward can bring. Quick play the balls, bending the line, off loading - when NAS is on he's amazing.

He turns 30 in Feb next year, imo a 2 year deal wouldnt be too unreasonable. The sticking point that gets everyone would be how much Storm chip in. For me, the price id consider would be $500k. If Storm chip in the rest, it means they have over a mill to spend for the next 2 seasons, which would probably be worth it for them, as opposed to getting <20 games out of him in those 2 years.

And lastly...of all the forwards we've brought in since Webby's been coaching, who HASNT played the best footy of their career, or improved under Webby? Almost no one. Id back Webby to get NAS to a place where he's playing 18+ games a year and making a good impact

 

[CWC]

I get why many might be a bit worried about signing NAS, but I'd be all for it.

Imo, the majority of our props are on the smaller side, and while that has its strengths, I think we lack that oomph that a big forward can bring. Quick play the balls, bending the line, off loading - when NAS is on he's amazing.

He turns 30 in Feb next year, imo a 2 year deal wouldnt be too unreasonable. The sticking point that gets everyone would be how much Storm chip in. For me, the price id consider would be $500k. If Storm chip in the rest, it means they have over a mill to spend for the next 2 seasons, which would probably be worth it for them, as opposed to getting <20 games out of him in those 2 years.

And lastly...of all the forwards we've brought in since Webby's been coaching, who HASNT played the best footy of their career, or improved under Webby? Almost no one. Id back Webby to get NAS to a place where he's playing 18+ games a year and making a good impact

Or we make him play fullback at the fullback price tag, running over their wingers like flies, problem solved!

 

[WAH MAN]

He’s a risk of blowing up your top30 and you’d pay him 650k~ for the pleasure?

It’s a coin toss at min wage and Storm aren’t chipping in 700k.

Looking at the winning of premierships, he does seem to be borderline redundant unless he commits to dropping 20 kilos and adding some speed to his size and reducing his mass based strength. Still tall, still imposing but not like what Melbourne did to Kasiano

 

[JaggedJ]

Looking at the winning of premierships, he does seem to be borderline redundant unless he commits to dropping 20 kilos and adding some speed to his size and reducing his mass based strength. Still tall, still imposing but not like what Melbourne did to Kasiano

Can't win premierships when you're sitting in the stands.

Suspended from consecutive GF's.

No wonder the Storm are fed up with him.

 

[WAH MAN]

Can't win premierships when you're sitting in the stands.

Suspended from consecutive GF's.

No wonder the Storm are fed up with him.

No argument on that point. Mine is just about what he might benefit from to improve his shelf life

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Can't win premierships when you're sitting in the stands.

Suspended from consecutive GF's.

No wonder the Storm are fed up with him.

Was he suspended or not picked?