It’s going to be a really interesting season. In many ways, I think 2026 will be a bit of a transition year, and it’s 2027 where we’ll see the real next phase of the Warriors unveiled. The clean-out at the end of the 2025 season was much needed and strategically well thought out. Players like Ale, Bunty,
Lussick and others were too good for NSW Cup but just not good enough for the NRL. Some were the very definition of journeymen, taking up vital spots in Cup that will now be better used developing players who’ll genuinely compete for first grade places in 2027. Others (like Crosby) just weren’t progressing fast enough and had been overtaken by the time the Grand Final rolled around.
Much the same could be said for most of the players coming off contract this year. I can’t see the two Andrews hanging onto many of them. Maybe
Rocco and
Capewell. Roger, if he’s still invested in the game and the club. But the rest have had a solid run in first grade and either haven’t moved the needle enough (Tannah, Harris-Tevita) or haven’t lived up to expectations (
Marata,
Te Maire). That includes
Taine, who’ll be 27 mid-year and clearly isn’t the long-term solution at fullback.
Webby said in interviews that he considers the Broncos, Storm and Panthers a class above last season. And he’s right. He says the Warriors need to improve significantly to keep up. Part of that will be improving attacking shape and locking down defensively on the goal line (something Sam Ackerman noted the team was drilling heavily in pre-season). But another part will be his team selections. He’s played favourites for too long. Hopefully the penny’s dropped that he can’t promise positions regardless of form.
He has some defenders on here, but honestly,
DWZ was dreadful last season. He should’ve been dropped long before finals. In
Webby’s defence, they lacked wing depth. But not anymore. I’d be starting
AKP and using
DWZ as the new
Kalani Going-type pro in Cup. Others like
Marata and
Chanel kept getting picked when they were offering very little. If
Webby wants to evolve as a coach, he needs more of that ruthlessness we see from Bellamy, Stuart and Bennett.
The next gen of Warriors talent is exciting. I’m really intrigued to see how the brightest of them go against bigger bodies and with more expectation. Bishop especially. That First XV footage made him look like the next Jonah Lomu, swatting defenders away like flies. He’s big, fast, skillful. The whole package. But he’s probably never been properly belted in a tackle, and big bodies like Kikau or Olakau'atu will test him once he hits first grade. We’ll see how he handles an increased level of physicality in 2026.
It was interesting to see
Jack Thompson doing the Bethells sand dunes, one of the few younger players to get that honour this year. Makes me wonder where he now sits in the pecking order. He just seems like a natural footy player, one of those kids who just has
it. Will he get a run in Cup this year? If so, what does that mean for Cleary?
Linnane? Tannah, once
Metcalf returns? It’s a logjam in the halves, and it’ll be fascinating to see how they stagger things so the best of the next gen feel like they’re developing and progressing.
Same goes for Fatialofa. How does
Webby work him into the match day squad? The back row is stacked:
Leka,
Laban,
Erin,
Gannon, Eddie, Capes, plus Kayliss. And remember, Kayliss can negotiate with other clubs from November 2026. If he feels like he’s stagnating, he could walk. That’d be a real loss, even with Bishop on the horizon. So
Webby needs to get him in the mix.
I can’t wait for it all to kick off. With so many new players emerging - Bishop, Lemana,
Linnane, Norris, Sikuvea, Bowden - it really feels like the next 1–5 years will get better year over year. We have the coach. We have the recruitment guru. We have the CEO. We have the leadership group. Now it’s about how much improvement they can squeeze out of this off-season.
And with the Roosters at home first up, it’s the perfect litmus test for how far they’ve come.
