Warriors captain Tohu Harris is tackled against Manly. Photo / Photosport
Warriors captain Tohu Harris is tackled against Manly. Photo / Photosport
THREE KEY FACTS
The NRL’s contract window opens on November 1, where players can secure their next contract.
The Warriors have nine players on their books yet to re-sign for beyond 2025.
Club officials will already be planning who to keep, and who to let go.
Alex Powell is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
OPINION
Come November 1, the NRL’s silly season will kick off in full for 2025.
The league’sregulations mean any player off contract at the end of next year are able to negotiate their next contracts, a year in advance.
Over the last couple of weeks, the Warriors have acted quickly to tie down the likes of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Ali Leiataua and Jackson Ford.
That comes after the signing of Erin Clark to boost the forward stocks after Jazz Tevaga wasn’t renewed, and joined the Manly Sea Eagles as a result.
However, with several Kiwis internationals also coming off contract at their clubs across the Tasman, the Warriors can also look elsewhere if they want to make a splash in the market.
Here’s who the Warriors are at risk of losing over the coming weeks:
Tohu Harris
While the last couple of years have been kind to the Warriors as a club, the captain has battled to stay on the park.
In 2023, Tohu Harris managed a knee injury for almost the entirety of the campaign, while this year was prematurely ended by wrist surgery.
Leadership is an underrated quality, and Harris brings it in spades to a Warriors side with potential to contend in 2025.
However, new signing James Fisher-Harris is captain of New Zealand, while Mitch Barnett only got better in Harris’ absence as skipper.
What’s more, signing Clark from the Titans, and the emerging Leka Halasima, will leave the Warriors well-stocked at No 13 regardless of what happens with the captain.
In all honesty, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Harris retired altogether at the end of next season. But if he doesn’t the Warriors should at least make an attempt to keep him.
Since his return from the Canberra Raiders, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad hasn’t put a foot wrong at fullback – or the one game he played at five-eighths either.
The 29-year-old has made it very clear he wants to stay in New Zealand, and no rival clubs have been linked with signing him once he can hit the open market.
Injuries did hurt his season in 2024, but all accounts out of the Warriors are that Nicoll-Klokstad is one of the most professional players on the books in terms of fitness and training.
Securing his signature is arguably the biggest no-brainer, keep at all costs.
Verdict: Re-sign
Dylan Walker
Another one the Warriors will need to make a priority before November 1.
Walker has been a revelation since he joined the Warriors at the start of last year. While it looked like the utility No 14 role was his, deputising for Tohu Harris saw Walker finish 2024 as one of the club’s key men.
Australian media were happy to report that Walker had requested a release from next season, only for the man himself to confirm to the Herald that was false.
However, while he’ll still be there next year, a club official also told the Herald he was “50-50″ of re-signing beyond that.
Dylan Walker of the Warriors celebrates his try during the NRL elimination final match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Newcastle Knights. Photo / Photosport
Like Harris, Erin Clark’s arrival does at the very least ensure the Warriors have cover for the 13-14 role, if Walker can’t be kept.
Walker would be a great addition for any club in the NRL, which is why the Warriors have to make sure he stays.
Verdict: Re-sign
Te Maire Martin
Shaun Johnson’s retirement leaves the Warriors with a hole at halfback, but Martin’s efforts this year have at the very least bought the club some time in having to replace him.
This season just gone, as Johnson battled injury after injury, Martin threw a career-best 16 try assists in 16 games. That’s double his previous best (eight in 2022).
Harris-Tavita re-signing and the arrival of Jett Cleary from Penrith Panthers’ juniors programme at the very least give the Warriors halves clear direction for the future.
But as far as the present goes, you’d have to think it’ll be Martin and Luke Metcalf that’ll get the first go in 2025.
Verdict: Re-sign
Taine Tuaupiki
Put simply, Taine Tuaupiki’s future will lie in his own hands, rather than the Warriors.
In two years at the Warriors, he’s played just 11 games, largely down to being stuck behind Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad in the race for the No 1 jersey.
While he’s never let the team down, Tuaupiki is approaching the best years of his career, and won’t want to be stuck playing reserve grade when he should be an NRL regular.
Don’t be shocked if Tuaupiki is snapped up by another club over the coming weeks.
Verdict: Release
Adam Pompey
As far as the centres go, the Warriors are well stocked with Ali Leiataua and Rocco Berry both secured.
Pompey was a key figure in the 2023 return to the NRL finals, but made way once Roger Tuivasa-Sheck returned from rugby union a year later.
And even though injuries to other players saw him play 14 games this season just gone, Pompey will be another player who’s too good to be stuck in reserve grade.
He has proved a very reliable goal-kicker in Shaun Johnson’s absence, and would be valuable there post the halfback’s retirement. But by all accounts, Luke Metcalf looms as the first-choice kicker next year.
Verdict: Release
Ed Kosi
Following Montoya’s early release, Kosi is now in pole position to wear the No 5 when 2025 kicks off.
While stuck behind the starting pair of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Marcelo Montoya, Kosi has still returned 17 tries from his 32 first-grade games, a decent return after coming through the youth ranks.
However, Kiwis and Cronulla Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has told his club he wants to test the open market once the clock turns over to November 1.
Ed Kosi showed improvements throughout the season. Photo / Photosport
Mulitalo was born in Auckland before moving to Australia, and could want to come home.
But the Warriors might not want to break the bank on another winger after re-signing Watene-Zelezniak, and 19-year-old Motu Pasikala has started to catch the eye in the New South Wales Cup.
What that means for Kosi’s future is still to be seen.
Verdict: Wait and see
Bunty Afoa
Similar to Ford, Afoa’s path to a first grade regular spot could now be blocked by other players.
James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett are all but assured to be the starting front rowers in 2025, while Marata Niukore, Zyon Maiu’u, Jacob Laban and Demitric Sifakula will all be eyeing minutes as interchange options.
Meanwhile, Leo Thompson of the Newcastle Knights has also opted to test the open market, and would be a very good signing if the Warriors want to splash the cash for an all-Kiwi front row.
Afoa has been a cult hero at the Warriors since his debut in 2016. And while it would be sad to see him go, you can’t help but want to see him play, regardless of what jersey he’s wearing.
Verdict: Release
Tom Ale
Ale has been another solid performer for the Warriors, and begun to grow into a first grader. But of the 15 games he played in 2024, none of them were starts.
Development isn’t linear, and Ale could well turn himself into a competition-leading forward in the coming years.
However, he’ll now have to battle against players of similar ability, who are two or three years younger than he is as the club looks to the future.
It would be sad to see him go, but the Warriors won’t stand in the way of a player wanting minutes somewhere else.
