Recruitment Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2024/2025 Recruitment & Retention Discussion
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-​	Player​	2024​	2025​	2026​	2027​	2028​
1	Bunty Afoa	✔	✔
2	Tom Ale	✔	✔
3	Mitchell Barnett	✔	✔
4	The Greatest of All-Time	✔	✔	✔
5	Kurt Capewell	✔	✔	✔
6	Wayde Egan	✔	✔
7	Addin Fonua-Blake	✔
8	Jackson Ford	✔	✔
9	Tohu Harris	✔	✔
10	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔	M
11	Shaun Johnson	✔
12	Edward Kosi	✔	✔
13	Jacob Laban	✔	✔	✔
14	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔
15	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔	✔
16	Zyon Maiu’u	✔	✔	✔
17	Te Maire Martin	✔	✔
18	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔	✔
19	Marcelo Montoya	✔	✔
20	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔
21	Marata Niukore	✔	✔	✔
22	Adam Pompey	✔	✔
23	Demitric Sifakula	✔	✔	T
24	Jazz Tevaga	✔
25	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
26	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔	✔
27	Dylan Walker	✔	✔
28	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔
D1	Ben Farr	D
D2	Etuane Fukofuka	D
D3	Leka Halasima	D	D	✔
D4	Patrick Moimoi	D
D5	Tanner Stowers-Smith	D
-	James Fisher-Harris	-	✔	✔	✔	✔

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: 26/30
Confirmed Development 2025: 1/6

2025 Gains: James Fucking Fisher-Harris baby! (Panthers)
2025 Losses: Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks)
2025 Off Contract: Shaun Johnson, Jazz Tevaga

 

[Worried2Death]

Leo Thompson is off contract in 25. Given how influentialJFH has been in his professional development, I can see him being persuaded to come here.

And his brother. Imagine that, the Harris gang and the Thompson twins back together again. It's like the 80s again.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

And his brother. Imagine that, the Harris gang and the Thompson twins back together again. It's like the 80s again.

JFH, Barney, Thompson x2 would be a mad front row rotation.

 

[run_it_str8_again]

Here is some low level news that will create a mixture of mirth and nodding heads of acknowledgement

Big Ken is being shopped around

Titans winger granted permission to speak with rival clubs

He is a former Dally M Winger of the Year.

www.zerotackle.com

Buy him for cheap. Put him in the middle and call him a prop. Maybe needs to eat some sapa sui or taro and corned beef to be more prop shaped?

 

[chrisnz]

If Hughes pulled the homesick card for next year we would win the comp I'd say come on mate you have done ya bit for the storm

 

[run_it_str8_again]

If Hughes pulled the homesick card for next year we would win the comp I'd say come on mate you have done ya bit for the storm

Maybe CNK's more persuasive than he knows?

 

[Worried2Death]

Maybe CNK's more persuasive than he knows?

Maybe he really is the nicest guy in the world, and he doesn't know his true power levels yet. Perhaps we were wrong about the Berrysiah, what if Charnze is the One?

 

[CWC]

At the Kiwis campaign not only has Charnz been praying with his brothers he has also been sharing the gospel of Webby and the Revelation of Berry, now JFH has given his football life to Webby and baptized on a Sunday by Deacon George Cameron

 

[Makasene]

Reporting on this continues to throw up just how elite JFH is.

In all four seasons Penrith have made the GF, JFH has made less than 10 errors and conceded less than 10 penalties per season

That's elite

‘Is this a gee up?’: Warriors players, Panthers great react as Penrith face ‘near-impossible’ JFH reality

‘A gee up?’: Shocked stars’ live reaction as NRL champs face ‘near-impossible’ reality

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Beastmode]

Penrith been a good feeder club for us aye?

Egan
DWZ
Capewell
JFH
Webby

Is this the transition from Yawion to League as the #1 sport in the country… it’s coming

 

[Beastmode]

Less than Matt Lodge and he got a free year.
Not the way we do business, low balling the best player in his position.

What’s that big angry grizzly bear up to these days?

 

[Five&Last]

I’m sure this thread will get another 400 pages before next year but I think that’s it for us in terms of recruitment.

I think Jazz will 100% be told he’s not being re-signed. Leka Halasima will take his spot in the top 30.

They might upgrade Tanner Stowers-Smith to top 30 depending on how he goes rest of the year.

Edward Kosi might get told he’s not be re-signed past 2025 and granted an early release at the end of this year to sign elsewhere for 2025, maybe depending on how Sio Kali progresses in NSW cup this year.

Other than that can’t see much else happening.

Edit: SJ on another 1 year deal

 

[Playdaball]

What’s that big angry grizzly bear up to these days?

Playing for Manly this weekend

 

[Playdaball]

I

I think Jazz will 100% be told he’s not being re-signed. Leka Halasima will take his spot in the top 30.

They might upgrade Tanner Stowers-Smith to top 30 depending on how he goes rest of the year.

Edward Kosi might get told he’s not be re-signed past 2025 and granted an early release at the end of this year to sign elsewhere for 2025, maybe depending on how Sio Kali progresses in NSW cup this year.

I'd definitely let Kosi go but I think the club will keep him. His form isn't damaging in NSW Cup

 

[Sam Wahpira]

On the Harris and Walker points above. We do have a few players due to retire in the next few years to sustain this current level of performance we will need to be diligent in how we replace them.

It opens up positions in the first-grade side or wider squad for development players. A few guys will need to be upgraded.

Or if we don't have players in-house we can go to the market.

A lot has gone into the clubs turn around. The experienced squad has helped a lot in my opinion. My main fear would be a repeat of 2011 where we ended up with a much younger team that wasn't ready.

Now in saying that my confidence or feelings on the club and their planning is a lot higher than it was a few years ago. I can see any of their moves to replace these places being thought through.

What my hope is is that from now on, all contracts be negotiated under the new Webby regime be signed to contracts with a much reduced cost - because the days of us paying overs should be over. Fisher-Harris awesome deal should be the start of that - so that next contracts that come up will match market value not NZ warriors overs value. So CNK should be on less than he would expect two years ago to re-sign - same for DWZ and others. And when Dylan Walker and Marata expire my hope is that they will not think twice about the major reduction in their contracts (which are actually pretty bad if you look at them at $700k and $850k respectively). I have high hopes that CG/Cappy/Webby trinity will get this right!

 

[Dantheman]

What my hope is is that from now on, all contracts be negotiated under the new Webby regime be signed to contracts with a much reduced cost - because the days of us paying overs should be over. Fisher-Harris awesome deal should be the start of that - so that next contracts that come up will match market value not NZ warriors overs value. So CNK should be on less than he would expect two years ago to re-sign - same for DWZ and others. And when Dylan Walker and Marata expire my hope is that they will not think twice about the major reduction in their contracts (which are actually pretty bad if you look at them at $700k and $850k respectively). I have high hopes that CG/Cappy/Webby trinity will get this right!

We still have to pay most players close to their market value - sure some will take unders but we shouldn't expect all of them to do so. They have a very short window to make their money to set themselves up.

 

[miket12]

Ranked: Where does James Fisher-Harris fit into the Warriors’ all-time biggest signings?​

OPINION

Without a shadow of a doubt, Warriors management have pulled off the signing of the year in capturing Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris on a four-year deal.

While the Kiwi club have pulled off more than one shrewd piece of business over the past two years, this one trumps the lot.

But where will his arrival rank in the pantheon of the greatest Warriors’ signings?

It’s important to note, the Warriors have made many important signings since their inception in 1995.

However, many signings which have turned out to be important ones were not heralded as major when they happened.

Similarly, not all signings that were billed as top-tier have had the success expected of them.

With that in mind, here are the Warriors’ biggest signings, in terms of pure hype:

10. Tohu Harris​

Another serial winner, Harris’ capture from the Melbourne Storm can’t be understated.

Harris was a key cog in Craig Bellamy’s Storm side and made more than 100 appearances, including winning the 2017 premiership.

And when the Warriors came calling, Harris answered.

Now 32, Harris has led the Warriors through some of the club’s darkest days, and fittingly stands at the front as they enter a new golden era.

9. Kieran Foran​

A signing that won’t be remembered fondly, but Kieran Foran’s arrival promised to be one that transformed the Warriors into contenders.

After injuries and personal troubles impacted Foran’s time at Parramatta, the Warriors swooped in 2017 to bring him back to New Zealand.

It was hoped that a halves pairing of Foran and Shaun Johnson would bring the best out of both players.

However, as had happened at the Eels, injuries and being away from his Sydney-based family ultimately saw the Warriors fail to get the best out of Foran and he returned to Australia with the Bulldogs after one season.

8. Stacey Jones (2009)​

Admittedly, Stacey Jones’ return wasn’t one that pulled up any trees for the Warriors on the field.

But for the fans, the Little General coming home was a shot in the arm for a team that were eliminated in the preliminary finals a season earlier.


After he left the club to move to the Super League in 2006, Jones gave his last days as an athlete to the club where it all started.

However, the club’s results couldn’t match what they’d done the year before – even with Jones’ return – and the Warriors limped to 14th on the ladder, seven points off the Eels in eighth place.

7. Greg Alexander​

As the Warriors sought a franchise player to be the face of the club for their debut in the NRL, the signing of Greg “Brandy” Alexander did plenty to put bums on seats for the first year at Mt Smart.

In 11 years with the Panthers, Alexander played close to 200 games, but the personal tragedy of his brother’s death saw him head to Auckland for a fresh start.

As the Warriors sought to cut through rugby’s dominance of the back pages in the mid 90s, Alexander’s arrival bought credibility to the club, after managing to secure the services of a genuine Australian star.

And as we’ve seen in the decades since, convincing Australia’s best to make the move across the ditch is no easy feat.

Alexander spent two seasons with the Warriors, including the second as captain, before returning to the Panthers in 1997.

6. Shaun Johnson (2021)​

The return of the king.

Warriors fans were heartbroken in 2018, when Johnson was told by club management he could test his value on the open market, after not wanting to commit more than $1 million per year of their salary cap to one player.

Johnson called the club’s bluff, and promptly picked up a new deal with the Sharks. But after three seasons in Sydney, Johnson’s return was sealed in 2021, and the Warriors’ record point-scorer came home.

Now playing the best football of his career under coach Andrew Webster, Johnson has only added to his legacy as one of the best to play for the club.

5. Ruben Wiki​

Already a legend of New Zealand rugby league, Ruben Wiki signed for the Warriors in 2005, and finished his career in front of his home fans.

As one of the most significant Kiwis to ever play in the NRL, Wiki made more than 200 appearances for the Canberra Raiders, and won the premiership in 1994, before becoming the first New Zealander to play 300 first-grade matches.

Like Fisher-Harris, Wiki signed for the Warriors when he was Kiwis captain, and is the only player to have represented New Zealand more than 50 times.

The Warriors had made a play for Wiki 10 years earlier but finally got their man, who proved to be worth every penny.

Not to mention, his hit on Roosters forward Sia Soliola in 2008 will forever be remembered as one of the Warriors’ most iconic moments.

4. Sam Tomkins​

History will show Tomkins’ arrival never quite hit the heights expected. But let’s not forget just how big his signing was at the time.

The fullback was the star of the UK Super League during his time with Wigan and headed down under in 2014.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for the star fullback, who just couldn’t acclimatise to his new challenge.

In two seasons, Tomkins made 37 appearances for the Warriors and scored 14 tries.

However, all parties cut their losses in 2016 and Tomkins headed back north, where he finished his career with stints at Wigan and the Catalans Dragons.

3. Steve Price​

After more than 200 games for the Bulldogs, including a premiership win in 2004, Queensland great Steve Price stunned the NRL by moving to the Warriors.

Price’s capture was significant in the fact he left a Bulldogs side that were consistent finals contenders, to come to the Warriors – who weren’t.

What’s more, his arrival also paved the way for fellow Australians to follow suit, notably Queensland teammates Brent Tate and Jacob Lillyman.

2. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (2015)​

It was feared Tuivasa-Sheck was lost to New Zealand when he left Auckland for the Sydney Roosters fresh out of high school.

But after winning an NRL premiership and Dally M fullback of the year award in 2013 and 2015 respectively, Tuivasa-Sheck returned home in 2016.

In his first stint at the club, he more than justified the hype of his signing.

Making more than 100 appearances for the club, Tuivasa-Sheck also succeeded Simon Mannering as captain in 2017.

And to make things even sweeter, fans got another dose of Tuivasa-Sheck in 2023 when he returned from rugby union.

1. James Fisher-Harris​

If Fisher-Harris’ arrival isn’t the biggest in the Warriors’ history, it’s somewhere near the top.

A serial winner with the Penrith Panthers and captain of New Zealand, Fisher-Harris will arrive at Mt Smart when the Warriors need him most after Addin Fonua-Blake moves to the Cronulla Sharks.

At just 28, Fisher-Harris’ peak years will be with the Warriors, having committed to four years in Auckland.

On and off the field, this is as big as it gets for Warriors fans.

Honourable mentions: Matthew Ridge, Issac Luke, Addin Fonua-Blake, Marata Niukore, Marc Ellis, Sir John Kirwan, Andy Platt, Dennis Betts, Dean Bell

Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.

Ranked: The Warriors’ all-time most hyped signings

OPINION: James Fisher-Harris’ arrival ranks among the club’s best of all-time.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[Cces]

You've now got to spend 97.5% of your salary cap & there's only a $300k Veteran/Developed Player allowance so I don't see many players taking haircuts at their next contract.
Definitely can't see CNK taking less come 2026 considering it'll likely be his last substantial pay day, he would have had bugger all power as a reserve grader when negotiating his current one, & the fact he has developed his game to include a pass that was absent in Canberra

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Ranked: Where does James Fisher-Harris fit into the Warriors’ all-time biggest signings?​

OPINION

Ranked: The Warriors’ all-time most hyped signings

OPINION: James Fisher-Harris’ arrival ranks among the club’s best of all-time.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Price, Tohu, RTS and JFH were all at the top of their game and arguably top 2 or 3 in their position when they signed with us so for me, that's what puts them ahead of the others imo.

Jeeze AFB could feel a bit hard done by when Foran is on that list. Even SJ 2.0, unwanted by his current club and resigned with us for pennies - while I love the SJ returning home story and love him as a player, his signing isn't in the top 5 for me.

Have to say tho...how great has our recruitment been over the last few years?!

2025 - JFH,
2024 - RTS, Capewah, CHT
2023 - TMM, Walker, Barnett, CNK
2021 - AFB

 

[WahsaurusRex]

All the talk before Addin's release request was that we still need a deputy for him. After Addin's request, that went out the window, and we were clamouring for just one.

When it started looking like AFB wasn't getting a replacement, most of us settled into the fact that one of the young guys would have to step up, and now, we are back where we started, JFH still needs another dude in the front with him lol

We will have plenty of cash from this November for 2026, but a lot of guys need new deals too..

Free to sign elsewhere for 2026 from November 1st, Age to start 2026 season:
Bunty Afoa, 29
Tom Ale, 26
Mitch Barnett, 31
Wayde Egan, 28 (Due long term extension & upgrade)
Jackson Ford, 28 (Due extension & upgrade)
Tohu Harris, 34
Ed Kosi, 27
Ali Leiataua, 23 (Due long term extension & upgrade)
Adam Pompey, 27
Te Maire Martin, 30
Marcelo Montoya, 30
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 30 (Due extension & upgrade)
Taine Tuaupiki, 26
Dylan Walker, 31
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 30

If you are Leo Thompson, and you have the chance to stay in Newy, or go to a Top 4 team, close to home, with JFH to partner you and a coach lighting the world on fire, would that make up for a 100k or so pay difference per year? Gotta chase the bag, but that would have to be very tempting

 

[Blain]

That's a pretty shit list. Maybe a list of the biggest fanfare of signings.. Stacey coming back as a back up is no where near the top 10. Same as Foran, he was a short term risk by the club, he was here for a lifeline. Isaac Luke and Brent Tate were higher than both of those by far. Even AFB.

Best signing list is a different one altogether I guess and be more interesting, guys like Michael Luck, Jacob Lillyman, Brent Webb etc would make that list. Guys who gave amazing service to our club, without all the glitz and glamour. Even Wade Mckinnon, PJ Marsh etc.. That would be a great list.