Recruitment Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention Discussion
key: T = Team option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, D = Development contract

Confirmed Top 30 2024: 28/30
Confirmed Development 2024: 5/6

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 25/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 1/6

2025 Gains: Nil
2025 Losses: Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks)
 
Last edited:
Are you brain dead? Old mates put up nearly 1mill of his own money to sponsor the club through its shit times, and to say thank you, the club PUTS HIS FUCKING RIVAL ON THE SAME JERSEY....

Fuck me is the world going mad?
The putting up his own money sentence sounds like bullshit and can't be verified. That was all company expenses towards advertising most likely which helps when it comes to tax time. As a business owner you would know this.

Snake77 is right in saying the only way this was put on the table is if they wanted to push the old sponsor out. I refuse to believe management is dumb enough to do something like this without realising the consequences. They probably got a higher offer from the rival company so told them, you can stay on if you love the tigers otherwise there's the door. Obviously tigers management is not going to admit that in the press.
 
I don't think NAS is a pack leader. Just seems to have an attitude thing, which I don't know how it would go at a new club. He's the kikau of props, when he's on he's unbeatable. X factor. But he's not a guy who turns up every week.

In saying that, he would be the best guy on the market if available. He'd be looking for a crazy 4 year 900k deal, which honestly I think the dogs and dragons would jump at, whereas I don't think we would tbh.
He would need to completely change the way he plays if he came here otherwise he will be spending most of his time on the sidelines suspended and in the sin bin/sent off.
 
Looks good in the kit lol

IMG_2427.jpeg

Credit: @sionetuigamala on insta (pretty good warriors shit posting account, worth a follow)
 
Cam George was on the radio last week talking about an unnamed kid in the South Island that had 14 NRL clubs after him that they'd signed. He mentioned they didn't want to take him away from his family too young & wanted him to just be a kid & grow up around his siblings. I just assumed they were talking about Bishop Neale
He must of called the Bronco's and said we have another good one like Walsh that you can have for unders! 🤣
 
Bulldogs wasted no time signing Jirah Momoisea released yesterday from eels to a second tier contract since their top30 is full
 
Still plays for the Kiwis over Samoa so would have to assume there’s pride in doing so. Won a title at the storm so trying to bring the only Kiwi side their maiden title (or second) could be something that lights a fire?
Nelson would go after the Alpha role on home soil, a Warriors iteration would be the making of him.

A dream signing if we could swing it, but I get the feeling this chatter on the wires is just smoke and Nelson will demand his jersey back at the Storm.

Nelson is way too good for NSW cup, as such he is only on the naughty mat rather than being on his way out imo.

Put it this way, no one apart from the Storm know how good he can be, and all these machinations are about trying to bring that back, they will be desperate for him to succeed, rather than trying to squeeze him out.
 
NAS lost a step in the last ten games last season and although he is only 28 it just looked like Father time was catching up to him. Storm might be thinking it is time to off load him in a trade for something coming back there way while he still has some miles in him.
 
NAS lost a step in the last ten games last season and although he is only 28 it just looked like Father time was catching up to him. Storm might be thinking it is time to off load him in a trade for something coming back there way while he still has some miles in him.
I forget who the interview was with last year with Papenhuyzen, but he was speaking about their military camp pre-seasons they do every year which just sounded like insanity(maybe i'm just too soft).

I can imagine a big rig like NAS isn't enjoying those as the knees get older, hell of a lot of weight to carry around.

Their pack looks hard working, kind of goes without saying it's the Storm. But without NAS in there they lack a stud like AFB which every team needs to be able to rip a game wide open when necessary.

Who really knows, the rumour mill is always a spinning in the NRL. But as a couple of others have said I lean on the this is a rocket for him camp, as their pack lacks a player like NAS otherwise.
 
NAS lost a step in the last ten games last season and although he is only 28 it just looked like Father time was catching up to him. Storm might be thinking it is time to off load him in a trade for something coming back there way while he still has some miles in him.
If we could get him and one other prop we would be laughing.

Ideally we find another prop as a starter because Nelson is a bench forward. We do not need the starting prop to be as good as AFB, we just need someone in the starting pack that can play for parity.

So a guy just good enough to keep up with the pace of the starts where we are not getting a hiding, merely just holding on.

Then you roll out Nelson and Marata as impact middle forwards and our Vanilla start becomes something else entirely, a force more threatening than AFB on his own with a supporting cast at present in our current matrix.

It is a legit and well known tactic used by the Warriors in past successful eras to have Vanilla props that go hard and hang on, to then unleash the bouncers that bash the shit out of the opposition.

A signing of Nelson plus a defensive prop that is a grinder is a way to tackle the loss of AFB. Because as we keep saying, we cannot replace AFB with like for like, we need another way to skin the Cat, I can see that happening through a grinding opening pack followed through with an explosive and scary bench transition, which is Nelson and Maratas lane.
 
Last edited:
Has anyone contemplated that if there is anything to this (usually there is not), that it might be the interference of union? He was tempted before, and there is little recompense for ending a contract early and crossing codes.

Nevertheless, my money is on the fact that injury has disrupted his pre-season, and he is having to get match fitness in reserve grade...as stated by the club.
 
Has anyone contemplated that if there is anything to this (usually there is not), that it might be the interference of union? He was tempted before, and there is little recompense for ending a contract early and crossing codes.

Nevertheless, my money is on the fact that injury has disrupted his pre-season, and he is having to get match fitness in reserve grade...as stated by the club.

I never thought about Union, but I too am not taking the rumors seriously.

Nelson is a rogue. He is opinionated and a stubborn guy who does his own thing.

As such I could see Melbourne getting sick of him, but it is incredibly rare for NZ Storm players to come home because part of the Storm culture is to not rate the Warriors as a serious opposition.
 
I never thought about Union, but I too am not taking the rumors seriously.

Nelson is a rogue. He is opinionated and a stubborn guy who does his own thing.

As such I could see Melbourne getting sick of him, but it is incredibly rare for NZ Storm players to come home because part of the Storm culture is to not rate the Warriors as a serious opposition.
Tohu came home from the storm, probably one of our best signings. NAS has a big interest in boxing and is pretty handy, I wonder if RTS’s neighbour Joseph Parker and the affiliation of the Warriors with CKB and rubbing shoulders with the like could be a draw card?
 
NAS is on record 3 to 4 years as saying words to the effect, if the Warriors were the last NRL team on earth he would not sign with them. It wasn't as blunt or as colourful as that but not far off.
 
Tohu came home from the storm, probably one of our best signings. NAS has a big interest in boxing and is pretty handy, I wonder if RTS’s neighbour Joseph Parker and the affiliation of the Warriors with CKB and rubbing shoulders with the like could be a draw card?
Tohu is like the exception that proves the rule and it took a Storm coach to get him here.
I hope NAS comes our way but I have my doubts.
 
Back
Top