Recruitment Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment & Retention

Noitall · Mar 26, 2026

Marata Niukore has agreed to terms with the Knights on a 3-year deal but his manager is away at the moment. Depending on whether the 10-day cooling off period is enforced it could be two weeks before it’s officially announced. No chance of an early release this year, even if the Warriors agreed to it the Knights would have to let go of someone on big money to squeeze him in.

Mitch Barnett was willing to take $200k less per year to come back to the Knights. Direct quote from Barnett “we wanted to come back here and I was willing to take big unders but I never even got an offer.”

Scott Dureau has apparently been dealt with some more bad news medically but Toohey doesn’t divulge what that is.

Says Sandon Smith would’ve been uncomfortable in the video session after his defensive performance against the Warriors.

SG Ball hooker Diesel Hagan made his NSW Cup debut over the weekend and will join the development squad next year

Barry Toohey’s news in knights forum

sup42 · Mar 26, 2026

Noitall said:
Marata Niukore has agreed to terms with the Knights on a 3-year deal but his manager is away at the moment. Depending on whether the 10-day cooling off period is enforced it could be two weeks before it’s officially announced. No chance of an early release this year, even if the Warriors agreed to it the Knights would have to let go of someone on big money to squeeze him in.

Mitch Barnett was willing to take $200k less per year to come back to the Knights. Direct quote from Barnett “we wanted to come back here and I was willing to take big unders but I never even got an offer.”

Scott Dureau has apparently been dealt with some more bad news medically but Toohey doesn’t divulge what that is.

Says Sandon Smith would’ve been uncomfortable in the video session after his defensive performance against the Warriors.

SG Ball hooker Diesel Hagan made his NSW Cup debut over the weekend and will join the development squad next year

Barry Toohey’s news in knights forum

Well that is interesting and good to hear.

Watching from the respective coach's box last weekend One man was thinking 'I told you Marata was our man' and the other coach was thinking "I told you he would play like this against them"

Noitall · Mar 26, 2026

sup42 said:
Well that is interesting and good to hear.

Watching from the respective coach's box last weekend One man was thinking 'I told you Marata was our man' and the other coach was thinking "I told you he would play like this against them"

He was in the shop window against them

Rick O’Shay · Mar 26, 2026

Noitall said:
He was in the shop window against them

If the deal is inked will be interesting to see how his form goes for the rest of the season with us.

sup42 · Mar 26, 2026

Rick O’Shay said:
If the deal is inked will be interesting to see how his form goes for the rest of the season with us.

It all makes Gannon's promotion to FG starter ahead of Marata make sense. Gannon is the inheritor of the spot despite silly fan notions that somehow Gannon still has to "earn a spot through NSW cup" do they not understand that A) the reason Gannon got the spot was that he earned it according to Andrew Webster? and B) how in the hell do they think someone getting a head injury stand down mean's they need to earn their job back because they had a head injury???

This place makes no sense sometimes.

Noitall · Mar 26, 2026

Rick O’Shay said:
If the deal is inked will be interesting to see how his form goes for the rest of the season with us.

I’m getting the feeling that things like Barnett’s deal sorted with him to broncos and potentially RTS heading off that the club is creating an atmosphere where the drive to do something special with this group who won’t be together again is enormous and everyone is onboard. There seems a real brotherhood that I commented on in the preseason and there looks a focus to them, even after the games I get a mission complete vibe with the way they congratulate each other. Hopefully Niukore is as graceful as Bunty and accepts he’s been overtaken, and hopefully trump doesn’t fuck it up for us and get a world war rolling

Garry Saloon · Mar 26, 2026

Noitall said:
I’m getting the feeling that things like Barnett’s deal sorted with him to broncos and potentially RTS heading off that the club is creating an atmosphere where the drive to do something special with this group who won’t be together again is enormous and everyone is onboard. There seems a real brotherhood that I commented on in the preseason and there looks a focus to them, even after the games I get a mission complete vibe with the way they congratulate each other. Hopefully Niukore is as graceful as Bunty and accepts he’s been overtaken, and hopefully trump doesn’t fuck it up for us and get a world war rolling

God. Just imagine it's September, Warriors are minor premiers on 54 points, and jet fuel has been seized by the Australian and New Zealand governments, to be used for emergency and military flights only, the Warriors are running drills on a catamaran in the middle of the Tasman Sea trying to get to the finals. Webster is at the helm, Jackson Ford is at the stern kicking furiously, holding the boat in his hand like a kick board.

MrFrankWhite · Mar 26, 2026

Rick O’Shay said:
If the deal is inked will be interesting to see how his form goes for the rest of the season with us.

I dont watch a lot of Cup, so will have to rely on the forum.

watcher · Mar 26, 2026

The constant reality in the game is change, whether that be age, injury, other clubs offers. What varies is how you deal with change. You can not run a club on nostalgia. There is room for loyalty, but that is a 2 way street. It is entirely fair for players like RTS and Niukore to seek options elsewhere. It is the clubs responsibility to be prepared for that. I actually think the club is doing well in that regard. Change is as much an opportunity as a risk.

Noitall · Mar 26, 2026

View: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1435918037545194/?fs=e&mibextid=wwXIfr

Wonder if Jazz Tevaga has had a helping hand in this signing if it’s as legit as it’s sounding?

CWC · Mar 26, 2026

I’d keep roger for at least next year, I mean

Noitall said:
Marata Niukore has agreed to terms with the Knights on a 3-year deal but his manager is away at the moment. Depending on whether the 10-day cooling off period is enforced it could be two weeks before it’s officially announced. No chance of an early release this year, even if the Warriors agreed to it the Knights would have to let go of someone on big money to squeeze him in.

Mitch Barnett was willing to take $200k less per year to come back to the Knights. Direct quote from Barnett “we wanted to come back here and I was willing to take big unders but I never even got an offer.”

Scott Dureau has apparently been dealt with some more bad news medically but Toohey doesn’t divulge what that is.

Says Sandon Smith would’ve been uncomfortable in the video session after his defensive performance against the Warriors.

SG Ball hooker Diesel Hagan made his NSW Cup debut over the weekend and will join the development squad next year

Barry Toohey’s news in knights forum

What's their fans reaction?

If Barney's $200K under then why the heck did they sign Marata over Barney lol

Sammyw · Mar 26, 2026

sup42 said:
It all makes Gannon's promotion to FG starter ahead of Marata make sense. Gannon is the inheritor of the spot despite silly fan notions that somehow Gannon still has to "earn a spot through NSW cup" do they not understand that A) the reason Gannon got the spot was that he earned it according to Andrew Webster? and B) how in the hell do they think someone getting a head injury stand down mean's they need to earn their job back because they had a head injury???

This place makes no sense sometimes.

this isnt entirely accurate, who is to say Niukore wasnt penciled in to start before his calf injury in pre-season? what will be interesting is in a fortnight when Capewell is back, we have to fit Halasima, Laban, Niukore, Capewell and Gannon into 3 positions. im not the coach but Gannon for me is at the bottom of that list.

as for earning their spot back post stand down, isnt metcalf ocming back at 6 the epitome of that? Niukore impressed on the weekend, therefore imo he should remain instead of Gannon when Gannon comes back. on the proviso he maintains the standards

CWC · Mar 26, 2026

Isn't Gannon just the 18th man on the bench? He's behind Cape then Leka, and Laban, probably ahead of Marata who decided to show up last weekend, ahead of EIT and Fats, if Marata beat them up again Gannon's probably behind him until injuries

Dead Man Switch · Mar 26, 2026

CWC said:
I’d keep roger for at least next year, I mean

What's their fans reaction?

If Barney's $200K under then why the heck did they sign Marata over Barney lol

Barney wants to come home and is coming home cheap and you don't even make him an offer.

We were pissed at not making Toby Crosby an offer, a player dropped to reserves for the reserves. Not a NSW and Kangaroo enforcer.

Not good if you are a knights fan!!

Dead Man Switch · Mar 26, 2026

CWC said:
Isn't Gannon just the 18th man on the bench? He's behind Cape then Leka, and Laban, probably ahead of Marata who decided to show up last weekend, if Marata beat them up again Gannon's probably behind him until injuries

Gannon was promoted to starting over Marata wasn't he?

Tookey 2.0 · Mar 26, 2026

CWC said:
Isn't Gannon just the 18th man on the bench? He's behind Cape then Leka, and Laban, probably ahead of Marata who decided to show up last weekend, if Marata beat them up again Gannon's probably behind him until injuries

I'm not too fussed with Gannon, as long as he gets some good game time in first grade this year. With Marata, Capewell and Barney all likely gone at the end of the year there's a few positions up for grabs.

I can see Gannon get 10-15 games mostly off the bench this year, with maybe one or two starts. Then next year potentially a more permanent spot on the bench for him, hopefully getting him up to 40ish games by the end of next year.

Of note, Clark will be 30 by the end of next year, surely he starts to find his way to the front row sooner or later, which opens up that starting 13 spot (my guess is Gannon gets that in 2028, although I admit I dont know enough about our juniors who could end up claiming the 13)

Dead Man Switch · Mar 26, 2026

Tookey 2.0 said:
I'm not too fussed with Gannon, as long as he gets some good game time in first grade this year. With Marata, Capewell and Barney all likely gone at the end of the year there's a few positions up for grabs.

I can see Gannon get 10-15 games mostly off the bench this year, with maybe one or two starts. Then next year potentially a more permanent spot on the bench for him, hopefully getting him up to 40ish games by the end of next year.

Of note, Clark will be 30 by the end of next year, surely he starts to find his way to the front row sooner or later, which opens up that starting 13 spot (my guess is Gannon gets that in 2028, although I admit I dont know enough about our juniors who could end up claiming the 13)

I suspect that Gannon will start a lot more games than coming off the bench. The reason being - I think they want to fast track him and his knowledge base built in-game. Get 20 NRL games with serious minutes under his belt this year.

One thing about Gannon I picked up is his defensive reads and defensive awareness look elite. He could lead our defensive line very easily in time. Clearly the coaching staff rate him!

sup42 · Mar 26, 2026

Sammyw said:
this isnt entirely accurate, who is to say Niukore wasnt penciled in to start before his calf injury in pre-season? what will be interesting is in a fortnight when Capewell is back, we have to fit Halasima, Laban, Niukore, Capewell and Gannon into 3 positions. im not the coach but Gannon for me is at the bottom of that list.

as for earning their spot back post stand down, isnt metcalf ocming back at 6 the epitome of that? Niukore impressed on the weekend, therefore imo he should remain instead of Gannon when Gannon comes back. on the proviso he maintains the standards

Coming back as a six in an NRL side right? Apples and oranges, we are talking about claims that Gannon has to do more NSW cup time. Also I don't understand your machinations about Marata's calf, we are talking about this idea of Gannon having not 'earned' his spot...when in reality what we do know for a fact is that Gannon 'earned' the right to a starting jumper in the 17 whereas Marata came from the extended. As for what you would do and can't see happening.....it has already happened mate. That is the whole point and why I do not understand these notions people have when the facts have already played out in front of our own eyes....Webster chose Gannon over Marata....end of.

If Gannon has to come back through cup for fitness and Marata seizes that jersey....then that is another situation to having to earn it.

tajhay · Mar 26, 2026

Its probably best to not reference the knights forum for 'Barry Toohey' news/rumours. For those that dont know, Barry is a journalist that covers the Knights and writes for the Newcastle Herald. If you want to get the latest info from him for all things knights go here https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/profile/1039/barry-toohey or here https://x.com/BarryToohey

Anyway to the point about Marata signing and 10 day cooling off period or Barnett not being made an offer....He never wrote that. Someone fed it to their forum and now its being regarded as 'gospel' lol

As for Marata, his latest article which talks about Marata is available for everyone to see.

Why this Knights star can expect an onslaught against the Bulldogs

Barry Toohey: Plus, the holiday delaying a new signing.

www.newcastleherald.com.au

First sentence says this 'A week-long holiday in the Maldives is understood to have put the brakes on Newcastle officially signing Warriors' international forward Marata Niukore - for now.'

So the fact that he signed as reported by the forum and then this being the 'Barry Toohey' latest article is contradictory.

Lotta regurgitators of opinions as facts on that forum...

Noitall · Mar 26, 2026

tajhay said:
Its probably best to not reference the knights forum for 'Barry Toohey' news/rumours. For those that dont know, Barry is a journalist that covers the Knights and writes for the Newcastle Herald. If you want to get the latest info from him for all things knights go here https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/profile/1039/barry-toohey or here https://x.com/BarryToohey

Anyway to the point about Marata signing and 10 day cooling off period or Barnett not being made an offer....He never wrote that. Someone fed it to their forum and now its being regarded as 'gospel' lol

As for Marata, his latest article which talks about Marata is available for everyone to see.

Why this Knights star can expect an onslaught against the Bulldogs

Barry Toohey: Plus, the holiday delaying a new signing.

www.newcastleherald.com.au

First sentence says this 'A week-long holiday in the Maldives is understood to have put the brakes on Newcastle officially signing Warriors' international forward Marata Niukore - for now.'

So the fact that he signed as reported by the forum and then this being the 'Barry Toohey' latest article is contradictory.

Lotta regurgitators of opinions as facts on that forum...

Thanks for the heads up of yet another source that’s unreliable. My apologies if it’s creating another job for you to have to search for their reliability and perhaps causing more issue than it’s worth because I’m only posting things I come across and not doing a dive into their posting history. Either way apologies if it’s an issue

Player	2026	2027	2028	2029
Grant Anderson	-	✔	✔	✔
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	✔	✔	✔
Te Maire Martin	✔
Haizyn Mellars	✔	✔	✔
Luke Metcalf	✔	✔	✔
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔
Marata Niukore	✔
Adam Pompey	✔	✔
Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔	✔	✔
Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔	✔
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔
Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔
William Warbrick	-	✔	✔	✔
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	M
Connor Bowden	U	U	✔
Jett Cleary	S	U
Sio Kali	U
Braelan Marsh	U	U	U
Motu Pasikala	U	U

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