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	Jett Cleary	✔	S	S
9	Wayde Egan	✔	✔	✔
10	James Fisher-Harris	✔	✔	✔	✔
11	Jackson Ford	✔	✔	✔
12	Leka Halasima	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
13	Morgan Harper	✔
14	Chanel Harris-Tavita	✔	✔
15	Sam Healey	✔	✔	✔
16	Edward Kosi	✔
17	Jacob Laban	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
18	Ali Leiataua	✔	✔	✔
19	Jye Linnane	✔	✔	✔	✔
20	Freddy Lussick	✔	✔
21	Te Maire Martin	✔	✔
22	Luke Metcalf	✔	✔
23	Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad	✔	✔	✔
24	Marata Niukore	✔	✔
25	Adam Pompey	✔	✔	✔
26	Tanner Stowers-Smith	✔	✔	✔
27	Taine Tuaupiki	✔	✔
28	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	✔	✔
29	Demitric Vaimauga	✔	✔	✔	✔
30	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	✔	✔	✔
S1	Kayliss Fatialofa	S	✔	✔
S2	Kalani Going	S
S3	Luke Hanson	S
S4	Eddie Ieremia-Toeava	S	✔	✔
S5	Sio Kali	S
S6	Patrick Moimoi	S
-	Kahu Capper	T	T
-	Morgan Gannon	-	✔	✔	✔
-	Haizyn Mellars	✔	✔	✔
-	Motu Pasikala	T	?	?

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

Top 30 2026: 29/30
Supplementary 2026: 1/6

2026 Gains: Morgan Gannon (Leeds Rhinos), Haizyn Mellars (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
2026 Losses: Edward Kosi (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Off Contract: Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale, Morgan Harper
Can negotiate with other clubs from Nov 1, 2025 (Entering final year) : Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Kurt Capewell, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Freddy Lussick, Te Maire Martin, Luke Metcalf, Marata Niukore, Taine Tuaupiki, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

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[Five&Last]

There’s a 2 on 1 vs the fullback , in the clear probaly seen this scenario 5 times and khan kicks for himself every time instead of drawing and passing. He sucks plus Kali’s 20 years old perfect time to make the jump

Yeah I dont get that NRL ready argument.

Kali is better than Khan-Pereira right now.

He just needs to stay injury free so coaches have confidence he can make it through a full 80 in one piece.

 

[Milking!]

With how Webby’s gone with Clark, Ford and Barney - what’s the mood on taking a punt on Josh Schuster?
Defo talent there, maybe just needs a circuit breaker, and what better than a new country and the Wahs?

 

[The Warrior Waka]

With how Webby’s gone with Clark, Ford and Barney - what’s the mood on taking a punt on Josh Schuster?
Defo talent there, maybe just needs a circuit breaker, and what better than a new country and the Wahs?

I've been thinking about Shuster. Such a talent. Big ball playing body. Big stinky attitude too.

 

[Noitall]

I've been thinking about Shuster. Such a talent. Big ball playing body. Big stinky attitude too.

Rabbits have pulled the pin. Such a wasted talent

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Rabbits have pulled the pin. Such a wasted talent

His huge salary is also a downside. Damn, If Souths pulled the pin, with all the injuries they have. He must really suck.

 

[Noitall]

His huge salary is also a downside. Damn, If Souths pulled the pin, with all the injuries they have. He must really suck.

Dragons make Tigers star offer; Souths set to end Schuster experiment — Transfer Whispers

Fresh raid on Tigers as Dragons launch bid for star; Schuster lifeline set to end: Whispers

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Five&Last]

can't keep them all. As long as we keep Bishop, I'm all good though. With our junior pathways beginning, I'm confident in our ability to replenish any lost junior talent. We won the Harold Matts two years in a row with two completely different squads.

What do mean can't keep them all lmao

He's our best prop prospect coming through the grades

Cant keep them all is what you say when you lose a fringe guy

 

[Naynay]

Think we’ve seen we need another quality half, don’t expect TMM to stay after this year and boyd isn’t up to FG at this point. Need to get metcalf to stay maybe try cleary or another good 7

 

[Cces]

maybe try cleary or another good 7

Cleary has a great record of 5 wins from 5 games in NSW Cup after being added into a stacked team that was already winning week after week. He's been provided a great platform and has 3 try assists and 2 tries to show for it. He's faced no real adversity in the grade yet to give any indication he'd be ready for the NRL in 2026 though.
He's played 13 games of Flegg this year and won just 4 times and a couple of draws where he hasn't iced it.
If his surname was Stone or Connell we wouldn't have heard bugger all about him.
If he features heavily in 2026 it will mean Webster's plan for him has gone off course

 

[3rdstriker]

What do mean can't keep them all lmao

He's our best prop prospect coming through the grades

Cant keep them all is what you say when you lose a fringe guy

If it was Bishop we'd all be spewing, fact of the matter is we're going to lose some of these fringe players.

 

[Five&Last]

If it was Bishop we'd all be spewing, fact of the matter is we're going to lose some of these fringe players.

That's because everyone knows about Bishop

Lucian isn't a fringe prospect was the point I was making.

He would be in the top 5 prospects at the club regardless of age. Those are the ones you lock down.

Smart recruitment by the Phins. The door was definitely ajar with his brother not getting picked in the 17 for most of the Harold Matts season here. So was probably a package deal signing.

 

[Noitall]

Think we’ve seen we need another quality half, don’t expect TMM to stay after this year and boyd isn’t up to FG at this point. Need to get metcalf to stay maybe try cleary or another good 7

Must admit I’m a TMM fanboy but think it’s mad to let him go after what he’s shown he can offer in so many areas this year and don’t see anyone else in the squad that can offer so much versatility, perhaps they expect that of Gannon but still being young, I don’t see him offering that for years to come. Watching and listening to TMM last night, I believe he’s in his peak years and is seeing the game through his experienced lens. There was a particular chip on the run to the corner last night that I think HTF batted dead that was such a beautiful weight and I thought his comments after the game about sometimes you learn more from a loss were apt and feel like it was similar to that storm game we let slip last year that we just buttoned off a bit right at the end. We also were a player down too in the defensive line that unfortunately is just one of those things

 

[kos]

Must admit I’m a TMM fanboy but think it’s mad to let him go after what he’s shown he can offer in so many areas this year and don’t see anyone else in the squad that can offer so much versatility, perhaps they expect that of Gannon but still being young, I don’t see him offering that for years to come. Watching and listening to TMM last night, I believe he’s in his peak years and is seeing the game through his experienced lens. There was a particular chip on the run to the corner last night that I think HTF batted dead that was such a beautiful weight and I thought his comments after the game about sometimes you learn more from a loss were apt and feel like it was similar to that storm game we let slip last year that we just buttoned off a bit right at the end. We also were a player down too in the defensive line that unfortunately is just one of those things

Three players we should keep. TMM Bunty and Ale.
But none of them have been supping the coachs cool aid.
that game last night showed the value of experience or the folly of not having that experience.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Three players we should keep. TMM Bunty and Ale.
But none of them have been supping the coachs cool aid.
that game last night showed the value of experience or the folly of not having that experience.

TMM played the whole game last night

zero line breaks
zero line break assists
zero tries
zero try assists
110 kicking metres

 

[kos]

TMM played the whole game last night

zero line breaks
zero line break assists
zero tries
zero try assists
110 kicking metres

needed more go forward up front to give our halves a paltform
Didnt think he had a great game it was ok thats it.

 

[kos]

Platform

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Think we’ve seen we need another quality half, don’t expect TMM to stay after this year and boyd isn’t up to FG at this point. Need to get metcalf to stay maybe try cleary or another good 7

Pretty harsh on Boyd imo. 4 games. 3 try assists, 4 forced drop outs, decent long kicking game and 14 goals at 82%. I'm willing to bet that of the 32 halves playing NRL this weekend there will be at least half of them who have worse stats than that.

4th game in the first grade this year, still gelling with his team mates, and on top of this we're missing 7 of our front line players....

Tanah hasn't been the reason we've been losing these games

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Boyds not great at the moment, but TMM is hardly setting the world on fire.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

Pretty harsh on Boyd imo. 4 games. 3 try assists, 4 forced drop outs, decent long kicking game and 14 goals at 82%. I'm willing to bet that of the 32 halves playing NRL this weekend there will be at least half of them who have worse stats than that.

4th game in the first grade this year, still gelling with his team mates, and on top of this we're missing 7 of our front line players....

Tanah hasn't been the reason we've been losing these games

Not individually, but his lack of offensive quality is exacerbated by so many of the rest of the side being solid, but not offensively dangerous.

Tanah is a great depth player to have for the scenario we are in now, and probably the best most teams could hope for with with two halfs out of action.

We should have iced last night's game, and the fact of the matter is he missed the mark on a fair few of the opportunities we were given in that second spell. A good half converts at least one of those. Yes, other's were also falling short of their assignment, but he is the director of the team and has the ball on that 5th tackle play.

Recruitment-wise, a player like Tanah can be made passable by the offensive quality of those around him, and this is still where we need to invest rather than in the halfs. Tanah can be the solid placeholder for next year with the hope of someone coming through internally for 2027. I'd like us to look at fullback and outside backs with some urgency.

 

[Naynay]

Pretty harsh on Boyd imo. 4 games. 3 try assists, 4 forced drop outs, decent long kicking game and 14 goals at 82%. I'm willing to bet that of the 32 halves playing NRL this weekend there will be at least half of them who have worse stats than that.

4th game in the first grade this year, still gelling with his team mates, and on top of this we're missing 7 of our front line players....

Tanah hasn't been the reason we've been losing these games

It is a bit harsh, i dont think its actual ability as a half more his decision making. I also think TMM isnt a good half partner for him at the top level

Either way im back on the 1 mil metcalf train hahahaha we have to keep him