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    Defence said:
    He looks really good- imagine him by the end of preseason.
    Hopefully this is his year. He’s probably been in the shadows of Leka and dv (despite debuting before them?) but he’s a genuine prospect too.
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    Thought he was coming home strong this season.

    Having his leg broken in that way by Kafusi was bloody terrible.

    Laban I think has the highest leadership ceiling of all of them. He has Tohu Harris aura.
     
    Key appointments, a programme name and a combine have been confirmed as the One New Zealand Warriors’ landmark partnership with the City of Logan takes shape.

    The Ausbuild-backed joint venture with Logan City Council was revealed in late July to set up an academy along with a community initiative in the South East Queensland area.

    One New Zealand Warriors CEO Cameron George has today announced it will be known as the ‘Warriors Inspire Logan’ programme while confirming the appointment of ex-Warriors NRLW and Australian Jillaroos coach Brad Donald as football manager, former Warriors front rower Mark Tookey as community manager and Claire Gilmour in an accounts and administration role.

    Also inked in is a combine for under-16 boys and under-16 girls from the Logan City area to be staged on Saturday, December 6.

    “Together with the city, we see the ‘Warriors Inspire Logan’ programme providing a real breakthrough for rugby league in the area,” said George.

    “Our vision is to inspire pride and opportunity in Logan by connecting the community to the heart of the One New Zealand Warriors.

    “We’re excited about having Brad and Mark on board in the key roles of football manager and community manager. They have achieved so much in rugby league and bring a great understanding of who the Warriors are and what we are about as a club.”

    Donald was unbeaten as the Australian Jillaroos’ head coach as he guided them to back-to-back Rugby League World Cup victories in 2017 and 2022 while he also stepped in to coach the Warriors in the Covid-affected 2020 NRLW campaign.

    Tookey, a Logan Brothers junior, was a cult hero during his 67-game career as Warrior #76 from 2000-2004 during which time he played in the club’s first grand final side in 2002.

    Gilmour has spent time with the commercial teams at both the Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans this year.

    Through its vision the ‘Warriors Inspire Logan’ (WIL) programme will seek to inspire players of the future with opportunities “empowering training and personal growth to help players become the best versions of themselves”.

    In schools and the community, WIL will “inspire pride, deepening engagement with the One New Zealand Warriors and what we stand for”.

    The first opportunities for aspiring players will come on December 6 with a combine for under-16 boys and girls interested in joining the One New Zealand Warriors’ Logan Academy. Starting at 8.30am, the combine will be held at the Logan Metro Sports Complex, 349 Browns Plains Rd, Heritage Park, QLD, 4118.

    Players considered must be born between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010, and must be Logan residents or attend a Logan-based school or are a member of a Logan sporting club.

    Registrations close at 4.00pm on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Limited spots are available. Register HERE.

    “Our elite academy for boys and girls in Logan will provide a direct pathway to the New Zealand Warriors’ NRL and NRLW teams,” said George.

    “It’s a two-pronged approach between Logan City and the One New Zealand Warriors to work with the community for better outcomes for locals though work programmes and to form a rugby league academy to create another pathway for young boys and girls to chase their dreams.”

    “We have a network of academies throughout New Zealand doing a terrific job and see a real opportunity with this partnership to connect with New Zealanders in Australia.

    “We’re excited about what lies ahead and we really appreciate Logan City’s support.”

    City of Logan mayor Jon Raven said it was an exciting next chapter for the city.

    “Our love for league runs deep in Logan, but it’s not every day our youth get opportunities like this one,” he said.

    “If you’re an under 16s player who wants footy to be your future, this is the fast track you’ve been waiting for.

    “Our city has a proud history of producing sporting superstars. We’re ready to find the next one.”

    Ausbuild managing director Matt Bell said the partnership with ‘Warriors Inspire Logan’ will provide career opportunities for young people.

    “Sport can be a great way to make connections with community and find employment opportunities, including apprenticeships and jobs,” he said.

    “Ausbuild has a history of working with clubs to build pathways for young people and that’s why we’re so excited to join with the One New Zealand Warriors and Logan City Council. It’s a fantastic fit.”

    The level of interest from the community was palpable when 5000 fans engaged with the One New Zealand Warriors during their final training session ahead of their round 25 match against the Gold Coast Titans in August.

    Register here for the December 6 combine.

    More ‘Warriors Inspire Logan’ opportunities for other age grades will be announced in due course.
     
    I’d keep Webby over Ivan for sure. It’s hard enough finding a good coach, even harder keeping them in nz. Webby has bought into everything with the nz culture, can turn out of favour club players into international reps (clark, Barnett so far), has developed two future Tongan superstars (leka, demetric), and has the club absolutely humming. We’d be mad to let him go, irrespective of who’s coming in.
     
    Defence said:
    Yeah I heard something similar- 5% but that doubles to 10% for the ones playing above their age group- they’re classed as genuine prospects.
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    I played a year in the west tiger system as a 16 year old, the first day they got the whole team into the room, all 30 of us and basically said 1 maybe 2 would every play first grade. Pretty sure the only one who did was teddy from 2011 west magpies
     
    mrblonde said:
    I know we never had much success with it, but the Storm v Warriors game was becoming quite an ANZAC tradition.
    Beats me while the NRL made the call on/signed off on getting rid of it.
    I hope that this Wellington ANZAC game will be against the Raiders and the fixture becomes permanent with the location alternating between Wellington and Canberra. Obviously, I'd rather it was Auckland but I'll take what I can get...
    But breath is not being held in that department.

    Usual hopes for the draw:
    Raiders twice.
    Broncos twice.
    A weak draw during the Origin period so no-one can use the "Well, of course the Warriors are going to beat the Broncos/Storm, they've got six players out due to Origin!" argument.
    A hard final month to get us primed for Finals Football.
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    Storm lost the ANZAC game due to an unwillingness to share. I would have been happy enough to keep it if it had alternated home/away but it was bullshit having to always play Storm at home and the “occasion” always saw it tipped in their favour- I’m glad we stood up and said ‘no more’
     
    Nelson been painted as a bit of a bad apples here but is there any evidence to back that up?
    The only off field thing I can think of was years ago when he bashed that guy in Bali for glassing his mate- bravo I say.
    If the storm are so ruthless towards poor attitudes how did he survive 10+ years there? They even made him a life member.
    As far as struggling with the social media stuff goes that’s just part and parcel of the job these days and he’s certainly not alone there- it’s good he acknowledges it. Sj talks about that a lot in his book- it’s something that really affected him too.
    Tbh he’s always seemed like a pretty good bloke to me- my only concerns would be how much we have to pay him and who we would have to release to fit him in- if it’s Lussick it’s a no brainer.
     
    Not to be confused with “forgiveness”

    But I am a true believer in the idea, that given a second chance a man can change his stars.

    Barnett was hardly a saint before he came here. Now look at him.

    IF…. Webby can cast his magic on him.
    There is no more impactful, intimidating and fearsome player in the NRL……
    Then Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

    It’s a risk, but you need to take risks to win the NRL. I say sign him.
     
    Nobody will watch 360 lol, league is tribal who the heck wanna watch London Thunders vs Qatar Chiefs 🤣 Sure they might have league super stars playing in the wrong code like Papa doing 30 punts/game and will regress to amateur level, do anyone really set your alarm for the Indian Premier League cricket with all the superstars on display? NRL fans will stick with their teams willing their teams to win the title as usual
     
    Let’s talk about this guy…
    I got to work today and some colleagues started talking about the game.
    One is an Aussie guy in his 60s, Played to a decent level and coached at Burleigh bears- coached a few big names in his time.
    Anyway, we were talking about Payne haas and he chimed in- “Meh give me that fisher-harris any day- he’s a leader of men- haas is a great player but if I could steal one guy for the Aussie team it’s that fisher-Harris- none of the other guys have the same impact on their teammates- you’d have to go back to Arthur beetson”.
    High praise indeed.
    Now I’m not sure I agree with all that but I do respect his opinion and it made me think- have we been a bit harsh on his form this year? If u start to dig into his stats they’re not all that different to his last couple of years at the panthers and we all know he’s not a stats guy anyway- he’s a guy that does the 1%ers better than any other front rower in the game- set after set, game after game.
    At the end of the day he was brought here to lead our pack after the departures of afb and tohu and he did that- all the way back into the finals- mission accomplished.
    While it didn’t get much of a mention, do we think Penrith would’ve gone 5 in a row if they still had him? I do- the guys just a winner.
    He's had quite a bit of praise for his form in the pacific championship and deservedly so but has it really been that different to his warriors form? his stats have actually been down on his regular season numbers.
    He's a prime example of someone whose value can’t be gauged in stats alone.
    He's an inspiration and I don’t think we could have anyone better to bring through the likes of Leka, vaimaga and the rest of the zesty boys (not sure where that came from?).
    His legacy at the club will continue long after he hangs up the boots.
     
    This pacific series has been nothing short of fantastic.
    To all the Samoan and Tongan fans out there who attended the games in person - take a bow. You have shown what it’s like to be passionate, how to create a magical atmosphere supporting your teams that makes you want to attend live games.
    The panning camera shots of the flags in the stands and singing and cheering have made the spectacle on the pitch magical by what you make it off the pitch.
    To the superstars who chose to represent their respective country through of birth, family ties or otherwise, you have immediately legitimised international rugby league. Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita forged the path choosing to bypass NZ and Australia to play for Tonga and as a result the groundswell of interest and the influence on others to choose this path will always be immense. You have all set the stage for next years World Cup in Australia and PNG.
    On the back of Australia touring the UK as well,
    I hope the game can nail down an international window and build on this momentum because on the back of a great NRL season, it has been nothing short of entertaining - both on and off the pitch!
     
    sup42 said:
    Having a specific department with someone with the experience of an ex NRL coach must make a massive difference.

    The pool of players is relatively small anyway, which is in part got to be why they have applied themselves across two codes (their Union activities are clearly way ahead of Warriors past).

    I suspect before McFadden was appointed, if you were a parent, a player agent, or a scout, that getting hold of someone at the Warriors to specifically look at kids that are real standouts outside of Auckland was a complete waste of time.

    Surely the phone runs hotter when there is someone at the Warriors with the authority of McFadden answering it.
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    Nah, they've had an ear to the ground around the country for decades now. The difference with the last few years as opposed to the previous twenty or so, is that the Warriors now have the resources to retain talent thanks to the owners. Previously there weren't the facilities and resources to cater for the hundreds of players they now have on their books. And they didn't have anywhere to play except local club footy or school union so we couldn't compete with the Aussie clubs.

    The Harold Matts and SG Ball squad probably have 80 contracted boys between them. Each away game would cost them 50K (not including contract payments) and home games might be half that. I'm guestimating that 400K goes into what is essentially a preseason comp for two teenage teams. BUT...if out of those 80 boy we can create 4 first graders, the saving in salaries from less need to import talent, will make the investment well worthwhile.
     
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