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: 20/30
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

 

[watcher]

2nd 5/8 in old speak. Back in the day they were another kicking option depending on how much space there was and pressure on the 1st 5/8th. Also was an option if you had a left and right foot kicker in those two positions.
Their main role though was to cart the ball into contact midfield and set up a ruck.

When coached by Colin Meads he explained his description of a 2nd 5 v a Centre. If you got whacked with a crowbar across the knees and you blinked, you were a Centre. Roccos Dad Marty Berry was a classic hard Union 2nd 5.

 

[Noitall]

$1m feeding frenzy for Warriors weapon emerges; Broncos hand star NRL lifeline: Whispers

$1m feeding frenzy for Warriors weapon emerges; Broncos hand star NRL lifeline: Whispers

www.foxsports.com.au

There seems to be a few posters with a bit of knowledge that Metcalf is very odds on to be extending which hopefully is the case but the line in there about an offer could be too hard to ignore is the worry for me. Likely speculation on the platform’s behalf but surely is a potential scenario? We’ve got money to spend but how much is too much to keep him?

 

[Noitall]

Jonah Pezet saga takes fresh turn as manager reveals new club in race for Storm gun

NRL fans are eagerly awaiting the Melbourne young gun's next move. More here.

au.news.yahoo.com

Interesting that Anasta mentions another club coming into the fold that will surprise a few interested in Pezet, sounds like it could be broncos?Apparently he let slip the other day on his radio show that next year will be Bellamy’s last at storm but with a few halves being available, we really need to know Metcalf’s intentions past 2026. With so many young halves prospects at the club, do we need someone in their later years like Metcalf to not block what we’ve got coming through?

 

[chrisnz]

Jonah Pezet saga takes fresh turn as manager reveals new club in race for Storm gun

NRL fans are eagerly awaiting the Melbourne young gun's next move. More here.

au.news.yahoo.com

Interesting that Anasta mentions another club coming into the fold that will surprise a few interested in Pezet, sounds like it could be broncos?Apparently he let slip the other day on his radio show that next year will be Bellamy’s last at storm but with a few halves being available, we really need to know Metcalf’s intentions past 2026. With so many young halves prospects at the club, do we need someone in their later years like Metcalf to not block what we’ve got coming through?

When I seen that I hope it's us would take him over metcalf

 

[Bevosa]

I think Metcalf will re-sign, mainly because we can upgrade his 2026 contract, which currently sits at only $550k. If the Bears or Dragons offer him around $1.1 million per season for two years, that’s roughly $2.75 million total ($550k + $1.1m + $1.1m).

If the Warriors counter with an upgraded deal—say, $900k per year including 2026—those totals about $2.7 million ($900k + $900k + $900k), plus the added benefit of around 6% lower tax living in New Zealand.

If another club wants to risk blowing up their cap by offering $1.1 million or more over a longer contract, good luck to them—that’s a massive gamble.

If he does end up leaving, the best-case scenario for us would be him signing with the Bears. That way, there’s no contract drama for 2026, and he can give us his best before moving on.

 

[Kav1]

Ye but he doesn’t win us games

He was thrown in in the deep end and pressure got to him (understandably).His goal kicking and general field kicking surpassed Luke. Let's reserve judgement after a full pre-season under his belt.

 

[Noitall]

When I seen that I hope it's us would take him over metcalf

Interesting that Metcalf’s season at halfback, he’s said that he tries to emulate his game off Jahrome Hughes. Pezet has been there directly learning off Hughes. One thing I would be keen on is more 40/20’s with how they change momentum and this guy has a decent boot on him. Metcalf hit a few in preseason but didn’t seem to be able to get any in during the season. It is just speculation from the article that broncos is the other team, could it be us?

 

[ROCCO]

Issue with Metcalf is injury prone. He can't string a season together.

 

[Kav1]

Tanah has to play square like most slow halves.

Faster guys like Metcalf who don't always play as square still open up space for their outsides by getting the 3man to bite in due to the threat of their speed burning the 4man, which Metcalf did a bunch.

He wasn't that slow in cup, winning every game he played in. He is appreciated by his teammates for his management skills. He will have a role to play at the start of next season (when LM is not available) as well as a back up if the latter is injured.

 

[WAH MAN]

He was thrown in in the deep end and pressure got to him (understandably).His goal kicking and general field kicking surpassed Luke. Let's reserve judgement after a full pre-season under his belt.

I hope you're right.

 

[WAH MAN]

Issue with Metcalf is injury prone. He can't string a season together.

Coming from you Rocco. That's a bit rich.

*Disclaimer - that was an attempt at wit and humour

 

[kos]

He was thrown in in the deep end and pressure got to him (understandably).His goal kicking and general field kicking surpassed Luke. Let's reserve judgement after a full pre-season under his belt.

And who is the first person to wear blame when most of the team are playing sub par
Examples with the exception of Erin once Barnett exited the forwards were mud
But the person always gets the blame wears 7

 

[Tokyo Warrior]

He was thrown in in the deep end and pressure got to him (understandably).His goal kicking and general field kicking surpassed Luke. Let's reserve judgement after a full pre-season under his belt.

Metcalf’s long-distance kicking was better. Also better in clutch situations.

 

[3rdstriker]

Metcalf’s long-distance kicking was better. Also better in clutch situations.

Boyds general kicking game was far superior to Metcalfs, 100 percent Metcalf is better at clutch moments but give Boyd a pre season and confidence before he gets written off.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Boyds general kicking game was far superior to Metcalfs, 100 percent Metcalf is better at clutch moments but give Boyd a pre season and confidence before he gets written off.

Far superior?? Maybe if you include his NSW Cup performances but in the NRL they looked similarly effective.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Issue with Metcalf is injury prone. He can't string a season together.

 

[Inruin]

View attachment 14758

The split second before Rocco fractures his wrist and Metcalf dislocates his thumb while passing the baton

 

[Noitall]

The split second before Rocco fractures his wrist and Metcalf dislocates his thumb while passing the baton

Now it makes sense

 

[Warriors55]

He wasn't that slow in cup, winning every game he played in. He is appreciated by his teammates for his management skills. He will have a role to play at the start of next season (when LM is not available) as well as a back up if the latter is injured.

One of the issues for Tannah in first grade is the pace of the game. It is so much faster than Cup and he hasn't played well when he has less time to make decisions. Gaps in the defensive line close faster than Cup and the difference in quality between Cup and first grade is much bigger than people think. Small mistakes which lead to no consequences in Cup lead to big consequences in first grade.

You can see when Tannah passes the ball in first grade the passes often go behind the ball runner so the ball runner has to stop to catch it and loses momentum. Hopefully that is just nerves but in terms of long-term prospects at half Tannah would be behind Met, Jett, Inch, and probably one or two more. In a couple of years at most Jett and Inch should have surpassed him.

It sucks because it seems like he has a top class attitude and trains hard. If he gets another chance in first grade next year and fails, I don't know if us or any other NRL teams would give him another chance, so he has to nail any opportunities he gets.

I think the only way he gets a chance with us next year is if Met goes down again and Jett isn't ready to move up. In that situation we would need Tannah at 7 again. A CHT/TMM combo would kill our season.

 

[Tokyo Warrior]

Boyds general kicking game was far superior to Metcalfs, 100 percent Metcalf is better at clutch moments but give Boyd a pre season and confidence before he gets written off.

Short kicking game I give to Boyd. Plus his red zone bombs seemed to get better results. But Metcalf would consistently get the ball on the 10m line from far out with enough height to give chasers time to get there. They can both kick a 40-20. Boyd a better goal kicker if pressure isn’t an issue. Metcalf better in the clutch. On balance I’ll take Metcalf.