“Early release” – two words that strike fear into the heart of every New Zealand Warriors fan.
And following news that co-captain Mitch Barnett will depart the club at the end of 2026 to return to Australia, fans will be within their rights to be upset as another player ups and leaves before their contract is up.
Barnett isn’t the first player to be granted an early release, and probably won’t be the last, either. However, his name is another added to the list of those to leave fans – and arguably the club itself – short-changed.
At 18, Walsh was a revelation for the Warriors when he signed from the Brisbane Broncos, and even joined the club early to learn from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck before he departed to rugby union.
But after one-and-a-half seasons with the Warriors, Walsh decided he couldn’t relocate to New Zealand once the team’s Covid-19 exile ended in 2023.
Separating with his partner left Walsh needing to return to Australia to be closer to his young daughter, and the Broncos didn’t hesitate to re-sign their former junior.
He left with one year, and the option for another, on his contract.
At his best, Fusitu’a was unplayable for the Warriors and finished 2018 as the NRL’s leading try-scorer, as well as having a standout World Cup for Tonga.
But the difficulties of Covid-19 and being away from his loved ones took its toll in 2021 and Fusitu’a was released from the final two years of his Warriors contract to move to England and sign with Super League side Leeds.
All up, Fusitu’a scored 61 tries in 108 games for the Warriors.
Nielsen’s signing in 2013 was a coup for the Warriors, snaring a Melbourne Storm premiership winner and State of Origin representative for Queensland.
But two years into his three-year contract, Nielsen couldn’t adapt to new coach Andrew McFadden and was granted an early release in 2014 to join the St George Illawarra Dragons, having played 30 games for the Warriors.
Nielsen would play just twice for the Dragons, before his contract was terminated for allegedly biting a woman in the leg on a night out.
Another Covid-19 casualty.
After more than 100 games for the Dragons, Aitken’s signing was another smart piece of business by the Warriors, who nabbed him on a three-year deal.
While signed as a centre, former coach Nathan Brown found Aitken’s best displays in the second row.
However, with one year left on his contract, and the prospect of having to move to New Zealand, Aitken signed a two-year contract to move to the Redcliffe Dolphins, where he’d play out two seasons before moving to the South Sydney Rabbitohs, where he remains.
With the Warriors already having trouble recruiting players based in Australia, captain Tuivasa-Sheck poured salt in the wound by not just leaving the club, but the sport too.
At 27, Tuivasa-Sheck was released from the final year of a contract worth $1 million per year in an attempt to crack rugby union and break into the All Blacks for their 2023 World Cup tilt.
While he’d initially agreed to finish with the Warriors at the end of 2021, the club allowed Tuivasa-Sheck to leave at the end of July and return to New Zealand to be with his family before travel restrictions to Australia came into effect.
If it was any consolation, Tuivasa-Sheck returned to the Warriors in 2024 and won the Simon Mannering Medal for player of the year in 2025.
Arguably the most-hyped Warriors signing of all time. After setting the Super League alight, the Warriors beat more than one NRL club to land the English fullback from Wigan.
The 24-year-old signed a three-year contract with the Warriors, with his best days ahead of him, and an exciting roster of players to work with.
But not for the first time, things didn’t work out. Despite Auckland being considerably nicer to live in than the north of England, Tomkins didn’t adapt, and was released from the final year of his contract to return to Wigan.
(Played out of position here at five-eighths, which is arguably what the Warriors should have done.)
The one that broke a fanbase. On more than $1m per season, and as the face of the club, the Warriors told Johnson he was free to test his value on the open market, as a means of freeing up space on the salary cap.
Johnson and his agent Peter Brown wasted no time, as the Cronulla Sharks snapped up the Warriors’ all-time leading scorer on a three-year deal and the 28-year-old left Auckland 12 months early.
He’d go on to make 44 appearances for the Sharks, only to return to the Warriors in 2022 during Covid-19 and have the best season of his career in 2023, before arguably being robbed of the Dally M Medal.
The freshest cut. Out of nowhere, the Warriors announced a bombshell that Barnett, their co-captain, was to be released from the final year of his contract in 2027.
Personal reasons, needing medical care for his child and family, will see Barnett head back across the Ditch, after rebuilding his career in Auckland.
While he arrived after being released by the Newcastle Knights, Barnett leaves as a State of Origin and Australian representative, and should bring up his 50th game for the Warriors when he returns from a knee injury.
There has been no indication of which club he’ll join, but there won’t be any shortage of suitors.
As an NRL grand finalist in 2002, Marsh was released from the final year of his Warriors contract in 2004 to return to Australia.
The hooker suffered a serious neck injury in 2003 and was forced to undergo more than one operation to fuse dislocated vertebrae.
Despite the injuries, though, it was returning to Australia for the birth of his child that saw the Warriors grant Marsh’s request to not see out the final 12 months of his deal.
To this day, Marsh has been open about the long-term effects his injuries have caused, even after retiring 16 years ago.
A compassionate grounds yo-yo.
After wanting out of the Manly Sea Eagles in 2020 to get out of Sydney on compassionate grounds, Fonua-Blake was made a $1m player by the Warriors during his four seasons with the club.
However, after cementing himself as one of the game’s two premier front-rowers, the end of 2023 saw Fonua-Blake play the compassionate grounds card once more and get out of the last two years of his contract to return to the Sydney he wanted to leave in the first place.
To his credit, Fonua-Blake played out the 2024 season before he joined the Cronulla Sharks from 2025.
Arguably one of the best to ever don the Warriors jersey, Lauitiiti played 115 games for the club, but was released from the final year of his deal in 2003 after not seeing eye to eye with coaching staff.
At the very least, Lauitiiti didn’t play against the Warriors, and instead headed to England where he would play 200 games for the Leeds Rhinos, and 86 for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
For a player dubbed “the Michael Jordan of rugby league”, Lauitiiti’s exit was a huge loss for Warriors fans, and he is still an idol for many of the current squad.
What could have been. At just 22, Katoa had come through the Warriors’ system and made 46 appearances in the three seasons based in Australia during Covid.
Those seasons were impacted by the Warriors not being able to field a reserve grade side and stunted Katoa’s development as he transitioned from playing rugby union as a schoolboy.
But seeking a new challenge, Katoa was released from the final two years of his contract with the Warriors, and was snapped up by Craig Bellamy and the Melbourne Storm, where he has developed into one of the best forwards in the game.
Another exit for “personal reasons”.
As a New South Wales and Australian representative, as well as being a 2014 premiership winner with the Rabbitohs, Walker was another brilliant piece of business by the Warriors when he arrived in 2023.
Walker quickly became Andrew Webster’s trump card in the No 14 jersey, and covered lock, the second row, five-eighth, halfback and centre during his time at the club.
In 2024, speculation in Australia linked Walker with a return across the Tasman, which he personally denied when asked by the Herald.
But after his family relocated to Sydney in early 2025, Walker’s position changed. The Warriors didn’t stand in his way, and granted Walker a release to join the Parramatta Eels, despite naming him in their side to face the Sydney Roosters less than 24 hours earlier.
Another who didn’t want to move to New Zealand, despite coaching the New Zealand Warriors.
In mid-2022, with the club based in Australia, Brown told club officials he didn’t want to move, and left the club with 18 months left on his contract.
Brown’s time with the Warriors will hardly be remembered as being among the Warriors’ greatest days, but his exit did pave the way for Webster to be hired, and the club hasn’t looked back since.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.