We're still waiting to hear some official confirmation that Aotearoa Warriors have signed Agnatius Paasi and all signs are pointing towards this as it appears as though Gold Coast Titans have granted Paasi a release on compassionate grounds. The winds of change are blowing a gale through Mt Smart right now, the ownership situation is ongoing and via various signings that have been made and could be made in the future, you will be watching a very different Warriors team next year.

Tohu Harris, Gerard Beale, Peta Hiku, Leivaha Pulu and Adam Blair will all feature in a top-17 for the Warriors and if they do sign Paasi, he'll also be in the top-17. That's six new players coming into the Warriors team, that's could be a whole new left edge and as Pulu, Paasi and Blair are all currently middle forwards, that's a vastly different gang of middle forwards. This could have a serious impact on a cluster of Warriors forwards, especially Sam Lisone and Albert Vete, thanks to Pulu and Paasi slotting on to the bench.

That's assuming Blair is joined by Simon Mannering and James Gavet as the middle starters. There will be some severe competition for those bench spots this season and that has me fizzing with intrigue as to how Tevita Satae might fit into this equation. The former Penrith Panthers youngster caught my eye in pre-season fixtures for the Warriors this year and he's been a prospect at the forefront of my mind ever since, although his development has been slow and steady.

Satae did enough to impress Stephen Kearney and made his debut in round 20 against the Cowboys. The Warriors were ravaged by injury in the latter stages of the season, so that worked in Satae's favour, but a trend emerged in how Kearney used Satae that tickled my antenna. Well, the first trend was that the Warriors lost all three games that Satae played, understandable given their predicament with injuries. Kearney didn't chuck Satae in the deep end though, he didn't roll Satae off the bench in a typical rotation and instead gave Satae; 10 minutes vs Cowboys, 10 minutes vs Raiders and 12 minutes vs Rabbitohs.

What I see there is Kearney giving an emerging forward a sniff of NRL footy and to enhance that perspective, you only need to know that a year ago, Satae was playing for NZ Residents in their game against Aotearoa Maori. It's a massive step up from local footy in Aotearoa, even Aotearoa rep footy like Residents stuff, to the NRL and when you combine that with how swiftly Satae has gone through the various levels to get to this point, he's clearly made a positive impression.

Satae's 12 month journey: Pt Chev Pirates, Akarana Falcons, NZ Residents, Aotearoa Warriors reserve grade, NRL debut.

That's meteoric. Satae went from Auckland footy to the NRL in a year (!!). Perhaps more importantly, Satae got a deal from the Warriors to play reserve grade and then earned an upgraded contract to put him in the NRL squad. Signing Satae was probably one of Kearney's earliest minor decisions and then Kearney would have played a large part in ensuring that Satae had his contract upgrade. This means that Kearney likes Satae, plain and simple.

I like Satae too.

And I also like what Kearney did with Satae because he wouldn't have upgraded his contract with the aim of Satae being a full-rotation middle forward this year. I know it's hard for a lot of you to see anything in a long-term state of mind because you've been whipped into a frenzy by the mainstream media, but it's fairly evident that Kearney is building Satae into a bigger role and the climax was never meant to be this season. To understand that, you gotta know how monumental the jump from domestic kiwi footy to the NRL is and Kearney wisely gave Satae crucial development minutes this season.

I like Satae because he passes the eye-test with flying colours. He dents the line when he runs the footy and his size/mobility fits the prototypical middle forward in the NRL now. In those three games, Satae had 72m from 7 carries and that's over the magical 10m/carry mark. Sure, Satae has got to show that he can do that over 25-30 minutes but he has shown he can average 10m/carry against NRL forwards. The whole point of these 10-minute stints is to get Satae acquainted with NRL footy.

The similarities between Satae and Gavet get me excited and there's a low key trend in the Warriors middle forwards to keep tabs on; Satae is 1.91m, Gavet is 1.92m, Blair is 1.88m, Pulu is 1.92m, Harris is 1.95m, Mannering is 1.93m. These blokes are big and the Warriors could actually roll out that lazy-stereotypical 'big Warriors forward pack' that all those silly Aussies kept blabbering on about.

That's if Satae can wiggle his way on to the Warriors bench. Blair, Gavet, Mannering are my starters through the middle and that would leave Satae competing with Pulu, Paasi, Lisone and Vete for three bench spots. I'm expecting Pulu and Paasi to hold down bench spots with Nathaniel Roache, effectively making this a battle between Satae, Lisone and Vete.

It's important to note here that if Paasi does sign, Vete's future is up in the air. The Warriors and Vete apparently 'agreed to terms' earlier in the year but nothing has been official and I reckon if Paasi comes back to Mt Smart, Vete's out the door.

There is also a cluster of second-tier middle forwards who will be pushing Satae and Lisone hard, although I'm most intrigued by Satae. You may not have seen much of Satae, but you can't argue with how fast he has climbed the ranks to get to the NRL and there's an obvious reason Satae went from domestic footy to the NRL in a year; he goes alright. Kearney will still be able to manage Satae's development curve as Satae is only 24-years-old and won't be required to play big minutes if the Warriors are at full strength.

Should Satae train the house down this summer and do what he's done consistently in impressing the right people, he'll put himself in a position to get 15-20 minutes off the bench. That's a step up from 10 minutes and then Satae will have to snap up opportunities for more minutes when they come. Satae has gone through the levels to get here, so there's no reason to think he won't continue to go through the levels and emerge as a Warriors enforcer. And you know Mt Smart needs a new cult-hero.

Peace and love 27.

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