League: Albert Vete playing for his Warriors future

Albert Vete. Photo / Photosport

Warriors prop Albert Vete is playing for a contract at the moment but he is determined not to let that have an adverse effect on his football.

The 24-year-old is off-contract at the end of the season and is in negotiations with the Warriors about extending his stay.

At present no deal is imminent.

"Not right now," Vete told the Herald. "It is still in talks with my manager about what is the best thing for me moving forward whether that is staying here or going overseas.

"I am focused on trying to stay in a starting 17 spot and make it hard for me to be left out."

Vete's preference is to remain with the Warriors but he knows his form needs to be strong if he wants a new deal from the club.

"This is home for me. I have a young family.

"I do want to stay but also I have got to be pretty smart with where I want to go with my footy."

He admits that while it isn't hard playing for a contract he has learned he needs to put that thought to one side if he wants to get the best deal possible.

"I think I was thinking about that at the start of the year and that is what maybe took my mind off performing," he admitted.

"Me and Mooks [coach Stephen Kearney] had a good talk about that and putting that behind me and just focusing on performance because at the end of the day you're only going to get a contract if you are performing well."

Vete started the season in first grade but was dumped to the ISP side after three rounds thanks to a form slump.

"I think it was a big wake up call for me in terms of not being comfortable in the position I was in. I started the first three games and I probably didn't play to the potential I have shown in the past.

"That's what me and Mooks spoke about the most - just trying to find that form. He sees me as a big part of this team.

"I was pretty excited when I got the call up a month ago to get back into first grade and play some good footy and that is where my mindset is at - trying to string some good performances back to back."

Vete has been back in first grade for the past few weeks, earning a spot on the bench. His form has been better and the bench has performed pretty well in wins over the Titans and Bulldogs.

"I think we are going pretty well at the moment but I think is still a few areas where we can work on," Vete said.

"In the first half, when we come on, generally we are pretty good and have a lot of energy but when we start the second half we can definitely be a lot better and especially when we get to the back end of our stint in the second half."

The win over the Bulldogs and their renowned pack was a big lift for the Warriors but Vete knows they will get a big test this week against Manly in Perth.

"We took some confidence out of that because we really feel like we shut them down; we shut down [Sam] Kasiano and [David] Klemmer and took [James] Graham out of the game.

"It is going to be a pretty tough task doing that to Martin [Taupau], [Addin] Fonua-Blake and Darcy Lussick. I feel the Manly forward pack is the reason they are going so good at the moment."