The anticipation of Tui Lolo playing at another NRL club is just as high, maybe higher than seeing him start alongside SJ7 in the halves for the Warriors.

The major reason why I was a tad skeptical about the New Zealand Warriors' signing of Kieran Foran was that it was fairly obvious that Foran's arrival would create a distraction. We've already started to see this live and in full effect as Foran's immediate future with the Warriors is still uncertain, while Tuimoala Lolohea's immediate future with the Warriors is also still uncertain.

Foran's a gun and is unquestionably the best half to partner Shaun Johnson, so I can't be mad at signing the bloke. I was however very cautious about the ramifications that would come from signing Foran as there was already a battle between Johnson, Lolohea and Ata Hingano to fill two halves spots, now there's four lads battlin' for two spots and the NRL isn't the sort of competition where NRL-calibre talent sits in reserve grade for too long.

Clubs were already circling Lolohea when he was being miss-used, so imagine how those clubs will act if Lolohea's not playing NRL footy every week. Heck, if Hingano's tearing up reserve grade and there's two halves ahead of him, then other NRL clubs will come calling.

Right now, we are currently in the eye of the storm between Team Lolohea and Team Warriors. Lolohea wants to play NRL footy and people at the Warriors had hyped up Lolohea as Johnson's halves partner for 2017, then the Warriors sign Foran. The Warriors obviously want to keep Lolohea as he's a good footy player who can cover positions and depth is crucial to NRL success, plus Lolohea is yet to really demand a big contract with his performances on the field.

Confusing matters is that Lolohea did nothing but fill a gap this season. People were quick to rip into Lolohea for his work at fullback and even the coach was quick to confuse his confidence, yet Lolohea was only doing that job because Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was out injured.

This was supposed to be the season when we saw Lolohea settle into a position, instead we've got no idea if Lolohea is a fullback, wing, centre and now we might not even see Lolohea get a chance to pick up where he left off in 2015 as a half - apparently his favoured position.
Lolohea is yet to stamp his mark on any position, obviously partly due to the fact that he's never been graced with consistency in selection. I really like Lolohea but I also understand that he's yet to find any leverage against the Warriors, with other NRL clubs still recruiting Lolohea on his potential; what he could do vs his body of work.

I also understand that there's not too much room in this Warriors backline for Lolohea. Tuivasa-Sheck's got fullback locked up, Johnson's got a halves spot, Solomone Kata's a centre, David Fusitua is a centre/wing, Blake Ayshford's a good job-doer at centre and Ken Maumalo will be eyeing up a wing spot (Maumalo looked decent for Samoa vs Fiji). That's not even including Manu Vatuvei and then Stephen Kearney will need to be straight up in his assessment of whether Lolohea is a better halves partner for Johnson than Ata Hingano, assuming Foran's out of action.

Hingano offers something different to Lolohea in the halves and it's kinda what Johnson needs, what Foran would also offer. Lolohea strikes me as a similar razzlin' and dazzlin' half, like Johnson while Hingano and Foran offer more control which is what has held the Warriors back.

Here's a possible Warriors backline for 2017: RTS, Maumalo, Kata, Ayshford, Fusitua, Hingano, Johnson.

Foran and Vatuvei could slot in there easily, while lads like Henare Wells, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and the promising Junior Pauga offer depth. Regardless of what combination you throw up, there's not much room for Lolohea and that's compounded by Lolohea not being a better fullback than Tuivasa-Sheck etc; is Lolohea even a better centre than Ayshford?

Hence the best thing Lolohea could do is to get away from Mt Smart. I follow the Warriors closely, however I'm more a fan of kiwi rugby league and kiwi lads doing their thing around the NRL, so with little leverage against the Warriors, a move across the Tasman will grace Lolohea with a change of scenery. The list of players who have left the Warriors to go on to better things is a decent one, yet none have quite been as talented as Lolohea is and the thought of Lolohea lacing up for a variety of other NRL clubs is nothing less than exciting.

If the Warriors don't require Lolohea's services, it would be a douche-bag move to make his life difficult and keep him under contract. Clubs like to roll out the 'we didn't want to stand in the way of an opportunity' line and if Lolohea's got offers to do more than play wing or on the NRL fringe, the Warriors should release him.

And this is where the Foran distraction pops up again as it would be silly of the Warriors to make any moves with Lolohea while Foran's future is still up in the air. Lolohea's now caught up in the Foran Saga, especially as the Warriors are already playing hard-ball with Lolohea and Lolohea will be fielding offers with one eye on what's going on with Foran.

If I were the Warriors, I'd tell Lolohea to go if he's got all these great offers (maybe he does, maybe he doesn't). If Foran's deal falls over, just promote Hingano and get him in the NRL asap so he can acquaint himself and develop. I just can't see how Lolohea fits in and I'm completely happy with that as there's probably other NRL clubs who need Lolohea more than the Warriors do; it should make everyone happy.

What we now have is a game, or a development of the distraction sparked by signing Foran. We wait and see what is going to happen with Lolohea, we wait to see which clubs are interested, which clubs are serious about getting Lolohea and which clubs are the best fit for Lolohea. It's kinda annoying because it is one big sideshow that the Warriors have created for themselves, but it's also fun for us to observe.

Sit back folks, enjoy the arrival of summer, some international rugby league and the uncertain future of Tuimoala Lolohea.

Two notes...

Who cares what the Warriors say. Clubs tell all sorts of stories/lies and if the Warriors are saying that 'Lolohea has a big future at the club' then take that with a grain of salt.

I love the thought of Lolohea at Melbourne. It makes much more sense than Brisbane; Blake Green's gone, Cronk x Lolohea.