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If you made a list of the players the Warriors could least afford to lose, prop Addin Fonua-Blake would be in the top three.
In fact, he could even be judged as their most valuable in some metrics, given his potential long-term value, compared with Shaun Johnson (33) and TohuHarris (31). The 27-year-old is solid gold, coming off a career season. He’s among the best props in the sport and provided the vital difference in many games across the transformational 2023 campaign.
So the news, first reported by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph on Thursday and subsequently confirmed by the Warriors, that he is seeking an immediate release from his contract on compassionate grounds is a hammer blow for the Auckland club.
Generally, those types of requests are a fait accompli, which would leave a giant hole in the Warriors’ pack. No one is irreplaceable but Fonua-Blake is about as close as you get.
The Warriors had him locked in until the end of the 2026 season, the kind of player you build a team around, with his salary (over $1 million) reflecting his value. His potential departure will free up a lot of salary cap space but having a lot of cash is only beneficial if there are players to spend it on.
The Warriors were already targeting at least one new middle forward – and possibly two - for next season, to complement the existing squad. Now those plans might accelerate dramatically. It won’t be easy.
His signing was a coup and only achieved, ironically, via a compassionate release, because he wanted to leave Sydney. That meant Manly allowed him to link up with the Warriors.
In difficult circumstances due to their Covid relocation, Fonua-Blake provided an instant impact. He helped them to two wins in their first three matches before suffering a knee injury in the fourth-round loss to the Roosters. From there the Warriors never really recovered and by the time he returned in mid-June, they had a 5-7 record.
Fonua-Blake also quickly emerged as a leader. When the Herald attended a training session at their Central Coast base in the middle of that season, Fonua-Blake was a vocal presence during all the forward drills, coaching, cajoling and encouraging his younger teammates.
Fonua-Blake was impressive again last year – one of the few bright lights- though it was difficult to shine in such a miserable campaign. After two false starts, 2023 was the fruiting of the vine. Fonua-Blake was given a platform to perform and thrived in the environment and culture created by coach Andrew Webster and his staff.
Addin Fonua-Blake celebrates a try in the 2023 Warriors season.
“It’s probably the best [I have played],” agreed Fonua-Blake in August. “I always knew I had it in me but it was just whether or not I put in that effort. It’s off the back of the boys helping me, obviously, the coaches are helping me a lot, and I’m having a really good year.”
He topped 200 running metres five times and averaged more than 170 a week across the year. The Tongan prop also got across for a staggering nine tries, while his ball-playing ability at the line added another dimension to the Warriors’ attack. Fonua-Blake was also remarkably durable, featuring in 26 of 27 matches.
But the greatest value came from his post-contact work. They are the hardest – and most valuable metres – the ones that generate instant momentum and often lead to tries and incursions a few plays later.
No one in the NRL managed more than his 1670 metres and finding the players to fill that void looms as a major challenge for the Warriors’ recruitment team if Fonua-Blake does return to Australia next season.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.
