NRL: Warriors hoping for the Wiki effect with Adam Blair signing

Warriors-bound. Kiwis captain Adam Blair is set to leave the Broncos in a deal worth a reported $2.6 million. Photo / photosport.nz

Let's hope Adam Blair can replicate the Steve Price effect at the Warriors.

And also, for that matter, the impact of Ruben Wiki at Mt Smart.

As reported in the Herald last week, Blair has agreed terms with the Warriors but the formal announcement is unlikely to be made while the Broncos, who face Penrith on Friday, are still alive in the playoffs.

The Kiwis' captain still feels great loyalty to the Queensland club - in what he admits has been one of the hardest decisions of his career - and doesn't want to do anything to compromise their finals quest.

But his move is believed to be a done deal, with the Courier Mail reporting today a $2.6 million, four-year deal with the Warriors had been negotiated.

That would be one of the biggest deals over the last decade at the Warriors, though given his pedigree and experience, the money paid, on an annual basis, isn't extreme.

But the gamble comes in the four-year term.

Blair is still at the top of his game now, and is renowned as one of the fittest players in the sport.

But what output could be expected in the 2020 season, when Blair will be 34? Or the following year, when the Whangarei product, who made his NRL debut in 2006, will be 35?

That's the imponderable, simply impossible to answer now. But the Warriors' brains trust are hoping Blair can show the same longevity as Price and Wiki, who helped to turn the club around when they arrived in 2005.

Blair would set new standards off the field and in training and would be a role model for James Gavet, Sam Lisone and Albert Vete.

He wouldn't fix the Warriors go-forward problems by himself; he's not a big yardage man with his strengths centred on aggressive defence, offloading and second phase ability and fitness.

But he could get the best out of the pack around him, similar to the legacy of Price and Wiki.

Price was 31 when he played his first game for the Warriors in 2005, but gave great value over four seasons, and played State of Origin and test football during his penultimate year at the club.

Wiki was 32 when he began his second stint at the Warriors, but set a great standard over his 87 matches, and helped the club to the preliminary final in his final season in 2008.

In the end, it appears Blair's close bond with Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has been the deciding factor in his final decision.

Blair played under Kearney for the vast majority of his 41 tests, as well as a total of seven years at the Storm and Broncos.

"I'm really close to 'Mooks' [Kearney] and I know what he stands for," Blair told the Herald last month.

"He was someone I looked up to when I watched league. I've bonded with Stephen really closely throughout my career - at the Storm, New Zealand and again with the Broncos.

"If I was going to go anywhere, I'd rather go somewhere where I know it is going to be a real professional club, similar to the Broncos, similar to the Storm ... somewhere where they set high standards for the players and are honest with their players."