Rugby League: Luke bolsters Warriors' ranks and there could be more signings to come

Issac Luke should be a crowd favourite at Mt Smart next season. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors have already secured Issac Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for next season but there could be more signing announcements to come as the club continues to examine options to bolster their playing stocks.

Despite having paid considerable money to secure two of the best players in their positions in the world, Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle hinted the club still has cash available under the salary cap and said recruitment remains a work in progress.

"We've always got a wish list," Doyle said yesterday. "We work with our coaching staff to see how we could strengthen our roster and what we could do and we'll continue to do that. Cappy [coach Andrew McFadden] and I have been spending quite a bit of time with [assistant coaches] Tony Iro and also Andrew Webster, talking about our roster going forward.

"We got Roger who is replacing Sam [Tomkins], so really, one player in and one player out, there's no salary cap difference.

"We went after Jason Taumalolo, Kieran Foran and we weren't successful there but we've been successful with Issac. So we may have a little bit left. We'll just have to wait and see."

Luke has long been a target for the Warriors while the 27-year-old said yesterday that he had been looking to return home to reunite with family and he was also desperate to play in front of his father, George.

Teaming with the Warriors' Kiwis contingent was another lure while Luke was also enamoured with the work of Doyle since he arrived at the club late last year.

"It's something I've been thinking about since the Four Nations," Luke told AAP. "The opportunity to be able to play in front of my family and to be with them as well was on my mind.

"Going home to play for the Warriors has always been something I wanted to do. I know so many of the boys there and I also like what's happening at the club since Jim has taken over."

The addition of Luke means the Warriors will start 2016 with three of the Kiwis' spine players, with the No9 working beside Warriors and test halfback Shaun Johnson and incoming fullback Tuivasa-Sheck giving them proven performers and established key combinations.

"It's just massive," Doyle said. "That gives us a pretty strong spine which is important for any team but for us we got the right value for money. Having players like Roger come, Issac come, we're really starting to build a pretty powerful squad.

"Yesterday was a special sort of day for us both with the Mt Smart outcome in regards to delaying that for 12 months but also with getting a pretty special Kiwi back home is really good."

Intrigue surrounds the club's plans for Kiwis back-up hooker Thomas Leuluai, a more than capable five-eighth who could potentially fill the No6 jersey if the Warriors were to farewell current playmaker Chad Townsend. Versatile youngster and current fullback Tui Lolohea is another contender for the pivot role.

Townsend has been a key performer for the Warriors over the first two months of the NRL but is off contract and eager to return home to Sydney to be closer to his partner's mother who is terminally ill.

The Warriors are mulling over their options and have made it clear to Townsend that they want to secure an equal or better replacement before they will let him go, as they did when replacing Sam Tomkins with Tuivasa-Sheck.

"The same with Chad," Doyle said. "We're working with his manager and a couple of potential clubs that are looking to sign him. And potentially now we've got a replacement in a slightly different position.

"Cappy and I have talked a lot about the squad and the back-up players and who could play where if we got this to happen. So we've got a plan in place."

Having two new high-profile New Zealand-born signings should also assist the Warriors in their off-field endeavours as they look to grow their fan base and attract more members.

"I remember watching the nines and a big percentage of the crowd stayed behind to watch Issac Luke in the final," Doyle said.

"So I'm sure that will have a big impact."