Recruitment Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention

Warriors 2025/2026 Recruitment & Retention Discussion​

-	Player	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
1	Bunty Afoa	✔
2	Tom Ale	✔
3	Mitchell Barnett	✔	✔	✔
4	Rocco Berry	✔	✔
5	Tanah Boyd	✔	✔
6	Kurt Capewell	✔	✔
7	Erin Clark	✔	✔	✔
8	Wayde Egan	✔	✔	✔
9	James Fisher-Harris	✔	✔	✔	✔
10	Jackson Ford	✔	✔	✔
11	Leka Halasima	✔	✔	✔
12	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
13	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
14	Edward Kosi	✔
15	Jacob Laban	✔	✔
16	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
17	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
18	Te Maire Martin	✔
19	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
20	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔
21	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
22	Adam Pompey	✔
23	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
24	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
25	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔	✔
26	Dylan Walker	✔
27	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Kayliss Faitialofa	S
S2	Kalani Going	S
S3	Luke Hanson	S
S4	Sio Kali	S
S5	Patrick Moimoi	S
S6	Tanner Stowers-Smith	S
-	Kahu Capper	T	T
-	Jett Cleary	T	S	S
-	Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	T
-	Motu Pasikala	T

C = Club option, M = Mutual option, P = Player option, S = Supplementary contract, T = Train & Trial contract

Confirmed Top 30 2025: 27/30
Confirmed Supplementary 2025: 6/6
Unconfirmed Top 30 2025: 27/30
Unconfirmed Supplementary 2025: 6/6

Confirmed Top 30 2026: 22/30
Confirmed Supplementary 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Nil
2026 Losses: Nil

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Edward Kosi, Te Maire Martin, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Adam Pompey, Dylan Walker

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[wizard of Tauranga]

Confirmed NZ Herald:

Warriors captain Tohu Harris announces immediate retirement from NRL - report​

The Warriors have been dealt a New Year’s blow ahead of the 2025 NRL season with reports from Australia suggesting Tohu Harris has called time on his NRL career.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that Harris has told those close to him that he cannot play on as he struggled to make his return from a wrist injury that ended his 2024 season.

The 32-year-old managed 14 appearances in the 2024 season before having surgery on the wrist injury, only to have him sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

With the departure of another experienced leader in Shaun Johnson, Harris’ reported retirement would mean the likes of Mitch Barnett, who stood in as captain for Harris in 2024, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Kurt Capewell and new arrival Kiwis skipper James Fisher-Harris would have to shoulder extra leadership in the Warriors camp.

Warriors captain announces shock retirement

The club has been dealt a blow ahead of the 2025 NRL season.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[Inruin]

Confirmed:

Warriors captain announces shock retirement

The club has been dealt a blow ahead of the 2025 NRL season.

www.nzherald.co.nz

well, confirmed that another media outlet is reporting he apparently told someone about it

 

[Playdaball]

SEN radio said there is some news coming out about the Warriors this morning, so I'm going to say this is likely true.

Such a shame, what a great player he has been for us. Early last year he was the same player as 2023, but things like hands and knees can be almost impossible to come back from, especially quickly with an older body.

Luckily Walker and Clark are there to take his spot, but will miss his defence and leadership. I hope it's a medical retirement at least, so we can get his wage back in our cap for this year, leaving us open for a quality mid season signing.

The news is that Fred Lussick is being named captain and Kosi will be vice captain .

 

[Tookey 2.0]

We must have a fairly large amount of cash to splash now. Invest some of it in the young bulls, but surely now we can land the likes of a Dylan Brown or Ronaldo Mulitalo.

SJ and Tohu combined must've been close to 2m of cap?

Nah mate I reckon that's way off.
SJ woulda been on what, 600k? Tohu would be lucky if he was on 600k for this year (he signed a 1 year extension at the end of 2023) so likely wed only have around 1.2 mil from those two.

Although, with Niukore being a bit of a bust in his time here, I'd either be not renewing his contract or only offering him 500k or so, so between those three we've got around 1.5 mil - 2 mil to spend between those 3 depending on if we resign Niukore.

With the emergence of our young gun forward pack surely were spending that on a high end back or 2?

 

[MrFrankWhite]

The club has known as has Tohu. Its not a "shock". But its medically and preseason so hopefully it works out for all parties.

 

[Warriorsfan92]

It was rumoured he was on around 950k. Surely we’d have had a few hundred thousand left in the cap waiting to deploy for a mid season pickup, meaning we’ve got over a million sitting in the kitty for 2025. With some big decisions to be made around:
Charnze
Tmm
Walker
Ale
Bunty
Pompey
Kosi

Off contract options (in areas we’d need:
2025
Toby sexton
Thomas hazelton
Oregon kaufusi
Egan butcher
Jojo Fifita
Mulitalo

2026 (early release, home sickness)
Kayal iro
Jamayne isaako
Keano kini
Jahrome hughes
Griffin neame
Naufahu Whyte

 

[tyrael]

Do we immediately target someone or is a next season thing?

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Do we immediately target someone or is a next season thing?

If we can get Halasima, Laban, and Demitric Vaimauga to the next level I think we are sorted

 

[Makasene]

Official

 

[Makasene]

While the journos are doing their righful service of sensationalising this as 'a blow' and a 'shock' you would have to think this was long in the works.

 

[mrblonde]

Yeah, you'd think from Nov 1 Tohu fronted management and said "I'm probably going to have to retire now rather than at the end of the '25 season, but let's just see what happens." And if - if - the Warriors were sensible, they were holding fire on making offers to players, giving Tohu every opportunity to prove himself but keeping tabs on who's available, who's stuck in a logjam in their current club and might want out, who's a Kiwi who might be entering Fatherhood soon and might be keen on coming home to give his parents Babbysitters status etc.
So the only "shock" is that nobody's said anything public about it.

 

[JustLikeStartingOver]

Do we immediately target someone or is a next season thing?

what team is going to let someone good just go and take the warriors money - could get a journeyman or rookie down the ranks or someone who is offside with the coach - hard to see getting a regular NRL starter in.

always a chance the NRL denies salary cap dispensation as well.

13 is a bit of a glamour position, Clark, Walker, Ale even Barnett should be hammering on websters door to take the starting role.

 

[Warriorsfan92]

There was clearly already planning going on for this day, hence the signing of Clarke. He tried to train this pre season, it wasn’t working & he did what was best for the team and retired. Whilst the timing isn’t fantastic, it shows he was committed to the warriors down to the very last minute & tried to play on in 2025, but his body disagreed with him. His form fell off in 2024, but what he’s done for the organisation during our darkest days during covid can’t be understated. Will be remembered as one of the greatest warriors of all time.

 

[Zaggo]

Off contract options (in areas we’d need:
2025
Toby sexton
Thomas hazelton
Oregon kaufusi
Egan butcher
Jojo Fifita
Mulitalo

2026 (early release, home sickness)
Kayal iro
Jamayne isaako
Keano kini
Jahrome hughes
Griffin neame
Naufahu Whyte

Pretty slim pickings.

I'd be going hard after Mulitalo, Kini, Neame and Whyte.

Kini has ongoing battles for the fullback spot between him, Brimson and Campbell - wonder if we could swoop in, especially with him being an Auckland boy.

Neame seems to love NQLD and being a Coaster probably doesn't see much appeal in Auckland.

Whyte... I've heard conflicting things. After his Pac Champs performances I think he'll be a priority for the Chooks.

 

[juju]

From that club statement - Sounds like a text book medical retirement - which is good for Tohu and our cap.

 

[rugged]

what team is going to let someone good just go and take the warriors money

Lots of good players get granted releases to take up offers somewhere else.
Hell we let Reece Walsh and AFB leave early, Panthers released JFH to us. Throw the terms compassionate release and family in there and they all jump put of contracts at will

 

[juju]

Lots of good players get granted releases to take up offers somewhere else.
Hell we let Reece Walsh and AFB leave early, Panthers released JFH to us. Throw the terms compassionate release and family in there and they all jump put of contracts at will

Ronaldo is a legitimate target I would think... we could possibly upgrade him on a multi year deal & he could pull the homesick card.

All speculation of course.

 

[JustLikeStartingOver]

Lots of good players get granted releases to take up offers somewhere else.
Hell we let Reece Walsh and AFB leave early, Panthers released JFH to us. Throw the terms compassionate release and family in there and they all jump put of contracts at will

all those players finished out the season with their current club before moving, the calendar has rolled around to 2025, yeah we can probably go buy a stack of players for 2026, but that was true regardless of tohu's decision

 

[Fonzie]

While the journos are doing their righful service of sensationalising this as 'a blow' and a 'shock' you would have to think this was long in the works.

Yes and no

I think it was always a question of whether he would recover fully after the surgery which was uncertain

I suspect the club only new for sure very recently

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Ronaldo is a legitimate target I would think... we could possibly upgrade him on a multi year deal & he could pull the homesick card.

All speculation of course.

Yeah mate I'd be keen for Ronaldo too, but wasnt he pretty anti NZ prior to being rejected from the Maroons?

He seems to really dig in when playing the Warriors and is often really mouthy. I get the feeling he really dislikes the club. I could be wrong, but just the feeling I get.

Watch Mulitalo to Wahs for 2026 then