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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[Blain]

Boyd has already taken up his option. CHT and Hanson will take up there options. Pasikala will likely be replaced by Kali. Which takes it up to 27, and Salalilo, Tafua & Neal have been resigned till 28, which is presumably the squad for 26

Hanson doesn't have a top 30 deal. Possibly pick up a development spot. Neal is not eligible for NRL yet, those 3 last guys you mention are development deals at best.

Plenty of space in the squad for 2026, Cam George mentioned it last week. Generally they leave a couple empty spots in the 30 heading into a new season also.

 

[Noitall]

Hanson doesn't have a top 30 deal. Possibly pick up a development spot. Neal is not eligible for NRL yet, those 3 last guys you mention are development deals at best.

Plenty of space in the squad for 2026, Cam George mentioned it last week. Generally they leave a couple empty spots in the 30 heading into a new season also.

He also mentioned words to the effect of having a stack of cash

 

[Theking267]

What option has Hanson got? If it's anything it'd be a second year development contract wouldn't it? Can't see him dictating if he's Top 30 or not. Neale isn't even old enough to be eligible to play in the NRL because he won't be 18 for a large part of next year so we can definitively rule him out of the 2026 Top 30

Luke Hanson, Tanah Boyd and Chanel Harris-Tavita have options in their contracts for 2026 and have not been included in the list of contracted players

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

And for those of you still in denial over what we’ll need to offer Metcalf, go have a read of Paul Crawley’s Foxsports article today titled ‘$1m move Souths would be mad not to make’.

 

[Noitall]

And for those of you still in denial over what we’ll need to offer Metcalf, go have a read of Paul Crawley’s Foxsports article today titled ‘$1m move Souths would be mad not to make’.

$1m move Souths would be mad not to make; how Gus is treating fans like mugs — Crawls

$1m move Souths are mad not to make; how Gus is treating fans like mugs — Crawls

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Noitall]

Wonder what the plan is? Interesting it mentions talks stalled when Metcalf picked up his injury, are the club and player/manager a long way apart in terms of salary or length of contract? Would think there’s some talks with multiple players behind the scenes with Kali and Fatialofa coming off development contracts too.

 

[Theking267]

Why would he want to go to South Sydney with an ageing roster and nothing coming up.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Why would he want to go to South Sydney with an ageing roster and nothing coming up.

I wouldn’t focus to much on who the media suggest should target him, the penny hasn’t dropped yet for some that the Rabbits are a basket case with or without the injuries. However it’s more that there will be interest from other clubs & likely plenty of it.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

$1m move Souths would be mad not to make; how Gus is treating fans like mugs — Crawls

$1m move Souths are mad not to make; how Gus is treating fans like mugs — Crawls

www.foxsports.com.au

Talks up souths and then in the next breath says it will be a team with premiership hopes ruling out the Bears. Loool.

South are a complete mess and will require a complete overhaul of personnel and organizational values. They have been on a permanent decline since the GF loss in '21

 

[Noitall]

Talks up souths and then in the next breath says it will be a team with premiership hopes ruling out the Bears. Loool.

South are a complete mess and will require a complete overhaul of personnel and organizational values. They have been on a permanent decline since the GF loss in '21

Either moneys the driver for him, or it’s a mix of money and premiership aspirations? Would imagine it’s the latter judging by how hard he’s obviously worked to make a good fist of locking down the halfback role. Can recall him in 2023 saying how disappointed he was to be apart of setting up the season only to miss finals to injury and the same has happened this year, also missing games last year. The club has obviously acknowledged this. He’s too good to let go, but there needs to be a balance to somehow keep him on the field too. I’ve thought for some time his running style looks to me like he’s keeping within himself like he’s always nervous of damage? Could be apart of his altered style he went to the states for as well?

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Probably behind Salalilo and now even Rodney Vea has been racking up the starts.

I still think hes a back rower

 

[Noitall]

What option has Hanson got? If it's anything it'd be a second year development contract wouldn't it? Can't see him dictating if he's Top 30 or not. Neale isn't even old enough to be eligible to play in the NRL because he won't be 18 for a large part of next year so we can definitively rule him out of the 2026 Top 30

Rising star opens up on Warriors move and NRL aspirations

He has moved to the club’s development list for 2025.

www.zerotackle.com

This article mentions Luke Hanson having an option for 2026, like you say though, potentially another development contract? Can never trust this lot though with their player contract information only showing a tick for 2025

 

[Boston Boy]

I still think hes a back rower

Gotta be a second rower, great pace, fend, very explosive, surely it's a waste to have him running into brick walls all day. Hopefully they are just toughening him up in the middle and soon witch him to the edge.

 

[Cces]

On socials the club is showcasing the whakapapa of their Māori. All the first graders (including MGT) plus the known Development guys in Going & Fatialofa. Daeon Amituanai features too pointing to a Development contract. Geromino Doyle doesn't appear so it's not like they're covering all the Māori in the Cup side.
For this to be possible then someone such as EIT has moved from Development to Top 30 because otherwise we'd have 7 guys on Development deals which exceeds the maximum of 6

 

[BlackToko88]

man that article is contradictory, mentioning Souths but then to a championship contender

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. The other issue be his missus, cause if she is homesick last thing you wsnt is to extend then he wants to leave on compassionate terms

 

[kos]

man that article is contradictory, mentioning Souths but then to a championship contender

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. The other issue be his missus, cause if she is homesick last thing you wsnt is to extend then he wants to leave on compassionate terms

That article is just a journo creating a story
You or I could write that
There absolutely no facts around it it’s just pure conjecture

 

[CWC]

We're probably not offering a peak deal post injury and Metcalf's agent might want to field offers after Nov1 to gauge market value for his potential and medical history, and during next year if he's back flying he can push up for a higher or peak package again

The risk for him though is if aussie clubs take medical history seriously and their offers come in under what our moderate deal Of course new or bottom clubs can offer $1.5M if they want but you want winners in your club not big $ chasers.

If we do lose him we'd just play him out for '26 while getting Linnane and Cleary ready for '27, Linnane if fit would be FG ready towards the end of the season and we can just replicate a Metcalf 2.0 in the '27 pre-season, if he's got it he'd be flying 1-2 months in. And Jett still be ready for '28. Webby has the secret sauce

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

That article is just a journo creating a story
You or I could write that
There absolutely no facts around it it’s just pure conjecture

Validity of club interest isn’t the point, it’s what Metcalf is worth as the top dog half on the open market come November. What do you think we need to offer to keep him?

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Validity of club interest isn’t the point, it’s what Metcalf is worth as the top dog half on the open market come November. What do you think we need to offer to keep him?

I think id be happy with an 800k base, and 200k for either playing 15+ games in a year, or helping us make top 4/8.

I'm happy to pay him the money if he manages to stay injury free. Just, atm it's hard to be confident of that given his injury history

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

I think id be happy with an 800k base, and 200k for either playing 15+ games in a year, or helping us make top 4/8.

I'm happy to pay him the money if he manages to stay injury free. Just, atm it's hard to be confident of that given his injury history

Funny I was going to post exactly the same contract structure earlier today. But reality is that we prob wouldn’t get away with that.