Recruitment Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2026/2027 Recruitment and Retention Discussion​

Player	2026​	2027​	2028​	2029​	2030​
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​

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

2026 Top 30: 29/30
2026 Supplementary: 2/6

2027 Top 30: 22/30
2027 Supplementary: 0/6

2027 Gains: Grant Anderson (Brisbane Broncos), William Warbrick (Melbourne Storm)
2027 Losses: Mitchell Barnett (Brisbane Broncos), Marata Niukore (Newcastle Knights), Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Wakefield Trinity)

Off contract and free to sign elsewhere for 2027: Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Kurt Capewell, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Te Maire Martin
Will be off contract and free to sign elsewhere for 2028 from November 1st, 2026: 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

 

[Brightman]

Maybe because they saw a future for him in his specialist position. He's had 1 start at Centre in Cup, 23 months ago, and no games there in Flegg or SG Ball

so you don't see him staying? I've made it clear well before today I see him replicating a positional switch like Isaac Tago has. Maybe it's a Penrith thing, maybe it's a Webster thing, we'll see..

 

[Blain]

I honestly think the best thing the club could do is send these guys out on good will (like honestly almost chip in a little bit on the salary for the remainder of their current contracts) if they kill it hopefully the good will beings back solid first graders in 3-4 years and if not they get to live their nrl dreams and travel alittle.

That's weird logic. So let go bottom dollar guys, and replace them with other bottom dollar guys who wont play NRL? You need a 30 man roster.

Every club needs bottom value players in their rosters, ideally guys who are developing. Not everyone expects to play a lot of NRL despite being top 30. They are investing years of development into these guys. EIT will get some games this year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him play plenty in 2027 and look NRL standard straight away.

 

[Cces]

so you don't see him staying? I've made it clear well before today I see him replicating a positional switch like Isaac Tago has. Maybe it's a Penrith thing, maybe it's a Webster thing, we'll see..

He's got a contract for 2027 already so I'm pretty sure he's staying.
Tago debuted at Centre in NSW Cup so why the comparison to him?
Has the club given any indication they see Fatialofa as a long term Centre?

 

[Damo]

He's got a contract for 2027 already so I'm pretty sure he's staying.
Tago debuted at Centre in NSW Cup so why the comparison to him?
Has the club given any indication they see Fatialofa as a long term Centre?

Nope. It's just one random comment from a fan on here that snowballed, similar to the Metcalf to Fullback dreams.

 

[BabylonPink]

Nope. It's just one random comment from a fan on here that snowballed, similar to the Metcalf to Fullback dreams.

Wait a minute, your telling us metcalf will play fullback? That webbys sat him down, had the hard word?
Crickey

 

[Dead Man Switch]

Yeah, I am also not sure where the Kayliss Fatialofa to centre calls are coming from. He has been learning all his running lines, work-on's and game craft in the 2nd row for a few years now. The dude is a 2nd rower. Though I think he is talented enough to make it at centre. All the work that has gone into him has been in the 2nd row.

 

[Dead Man Switch]

Nope. It's just one random comment from a fan on here that snowballed, similar to the Metcalf to Fullback dreams.

Metcalf began out as a no6 and then played fullback often at the sharks. He has a fairly decent history there coming through the grades.

 

[Cces]

Metcalf began out as a no6 and then played fullback often at the sharks. He has a fairly decent history there coming through the grades.

In every NRL match that Metcalf played for the Sharks, the starting Fullback played 80 minutes. He has just 7 NSW Cup starts at Fullback.

 

[Naynay]

That's weird logic. So let go bottom dollar guys, and replace them with other bottom dollar guys who wont play NRL? You need a 30 man roster.

Every club needs bottom value players in their rosters, ideally guys who are developing. Not everyone expects to play a lot of NRL despite being top 30. They are investing years of development into these guys. EIT will get some games this year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him play plenty in 2027 and look NRL standard straight away.

It is but if we can’t keep and play them all let them get the experience. I should say this only makes sense if we extend Capewell otherwise there is room for EIT, fats and Gannon, assuming neal also won’t be far off if they are playing him up in nsw cup

 

[sup42]

I think gannon could still be the goods (Why was he made captian of the NSW game over doyle?). But thats if he can learn to tackle correct. Poor guy can't stay on the field with these head knocks in both his debut and NSW grade games.

Yeah Gannon has horrible head positioning in contact, the exact same issue Wade came to us with.

You can see how these blokes end up like this, they get a big concussion early on in their careers, and from there it becomes a repetitive cycle, which to me seems to be a combination of technique, and some gun shyness.

I have had some experience of this repeated head injury stuff. But dunno if what I learned is even a thing or just in me own mind, but I will say any who coz Wade and Gannon's problem looks like the same thing.....so anyway, you get a bad head injury, and then it plays on your mind when you have to tackle again, so you tend to be gun shy about going in shoulder first (for obvious reasons, head follows shoulder) so instead of your shoulder being the tip of the spear, you make your head the thing you are focused on at the cost of the quality of the collision - thinking that this will give you more control of where your head ends up/stays out of harms way - but the problem is that using your head to steer your momentum means the quality of body on body contact lacks the solidity of shoulder commitment - meaning you don't buckle your target, your target buckles you, leaving your head flailing about in the zone where the runners knees and hips and elbows and all their moving bits are still in full forward motion.

Excuse the one mans rant based off no sports science at all. Wade was actually worse, he kept putting his head in the wrong position.

It is correctable.

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

It is correctable.

What about legs? Specifically..... knees.....

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Yeah Gannon has horrible head positioning in contact, the exact same issue Wade came to us with.

You can see how these blokes end up like this, they get a big concussion early on in their careers, and from there it becomes a repetitive cycle, which to me seems to be a combination of technique, and some gun shyness.

I have had some experience of this repeated head injury stuff. But dunno if what I learned is even a thing or just in me own mind, but I will say any who coz Wade and Gannon's problem looks like the same thing.....so anyway, you get a bad head injury, and then it plays on your mind when you have to tackle again, so you tend to be gun shy about going in shoulder first (for obvious reasons, head follows shoulder) so instead of your shoulder being the tip of the spear, you make your head the thing you are focused on at the cost of the quality of the collision - thinking that this will give you more control of where your head ends up/stays out of harms way - but the problem is that using your head to steer your momentum means the quality of body on body contact lacks the solidity of shoulder commitment - meaning you don't buckle your target, your target buckles you, leaving your head flailing about in the zone where the runners knees and hips and elbows and all their moving bits are still in full forward motion.

Excuse the one mans rant based off no sports science at all. Wade was actually worse, he kept putting his head in the wrong position.

It is correctable.

We may not have to worry about which of our young guns makes top grade next year.
Gannon is head knocks away from being rubbed out of the game. I hope not! But he needs to seriously work on his head placement in the tackle.

EIT is a Jack of all trades, Master of none. Incredible motor, Works his ass off and plays multiple positions and plays them well. He could very well be the prototype utility off of the bench. Prop, Backrow, centre , Hooker in short stints. He reminds me of Benry. With the plethora of potential superstar forwards we have, That utility role may be his spot?

 

[Damo]

Metcalf began out as a no6 and then played fullback often at the sharks. He has a fairly decent history there coming through the grades.

7 games in NSW Cup isn't a decent history. Keep in mind this was half a decade ago

 

[sup42]

We may not have to worry about which of our young guns makes top grade next year.
Gannon is head knocks away from being rubbed out of the game. I hope not! But he needs to seriously work on his head placement in the tackle.

EIT is a Jack of all trades, Master of none. Incredible motor, Works his ass off and plays multiple positions and plays them well. He could very well be the prototype utility off of the bench. Prop, Backrow, centre , Hooker in short stints. He reminds me of Benry. With the plethora of potential superstar forwards we have, That utility role may be his spot?

Hard to believe we have two potential stars of the game in Metcalf and Gannon that might be cooked.

Dunno what is worse, being Dally M race leader and having it all taken away? or first setting out on your NRL dream after success in your early career as a pommy junior star to never go any further?

Anyway I hope they ain't done.

Webster will be careful as ever with both, especially Gannon who he has a relationship with the Dad and this is brain stuff we are talking about. Dangerous waters.

 

[CWC]

What about legs? Specifically..... knees.....

Chop it off!

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-6F8RFELWE

A couple of comments wanted him to come to the Warriors, and mentor his brother.

Do we have the cap?

There is no way we could afford him.

 

[Jaffa J]

He's got a contract for 2027 already so I'm pretty sure he's staying.
Tago debuted at Centre in NSW Cup so why the comparison to him?
Has the club given any indication they see Fatialofa as a long term Centre?

Tago is a natural backrower and came through juniors playing that position so I see the comparison but wouldn’t risk changing things