Warriors chief executive Cameron George has hailed the signing of fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as a "fantastic solution" as the club prepares to move forward without young star Reece Walsh.
A change in personal circumstances saw Walsh ask to leave the club, and the 19-year-old was eventually granted permissionto talk to the Brisbane Broncos about joining them. It has been reported Walsh will be a Bronco from 2023 after agreeing to a lucrative three-year deal, though reports are yet to be confirmed.
After learning of Walsh's position, the Warriors said they would not allow him to talk to other clubs until they had a replacement ready to go, which they found in the form of Warriors junior Nicoll-Klokstad who joins the club from 2023.
"We're extremely happy around Charnze coming to the club. That's a fantastic solution for the situation, and that's why we weren't going to budge until we had that situation to sign off on," George said.
The news of Walsh's exit brings the club and its fans back down to Earth after the highs of their first match back at Mt Smart in more than 1000 days on Sunday, in which they claimed their first win in eight matches by toppling Wests Tigers in front of a sold-out stadium.
The Warriors will play another three matches at home in 2022 before they relocate their operations back to Auckland for 2023 – a moment the club and its fans are all looking forward to.
On Wednesday, George shared a message for the club's supporters following the news of Walsh's impending exit.
"Let's look forward to the rest of the year. We've got a really great squad next year, we've got some great young kids coming though, being at home will make a hell of a difference – we saw that at the weekend," George said.
"Look, it's a footy club going through a tough time, but these circumstances would happen for any club at any time in this situation. We're no different. Obviously, we're dealing with it ourselves this week; it may be someone else next week. We love what the fans bring to our footy club and we'll be trying our best for the rest of the year."
The Warriors have a bye round this weekend, before returning for their final stretch of the year away to the Parramatta Eels. Their next home game will see them host perennial contenders in the Melbourne Storm on July 29.
