Despite apparent interest from Australian NRL clubs, Tevita Satae has re-signed with Aotearoa Warriors for three more years. Satae did have a funky clause in his contract that played a role in him re-uppin' with the Warriors and having highlighted the swift rise of Satae, as well as how coach Stephen Kearney has built Satae up level by level as an NRL middle forward, letting Satae go never really felt like it was an option.

It seems as though it came down to keeping Satae or Albert Vete, with Melbourne Storm circling the Warriors middle forward stocks during their mini injury crisis. As I view Satae as a Kearney project, I don't think this was a difficult decision for Kearney or the club and as Satae is still very much a developing talent for the Warriors NRL team, snapping up Satae to the end of 2021 wouldn't have been too expensive.

This season, Satae has continued to progress as per the script.

His minutes have steadily increased...

Round 4: 17mins.
Round 11: 15mins.
Round 12: 16mins.
Round 14: 23mins.
Round 15: 24mins.
Round 16: 27mins.
Round 17: 38mins.
Round 18: 19mins.

Round 18 vs Brisbane Broncos saw Satae get sin-binned, impacting his minutes but there's a clear trend of Satae not only slowly getting more minutes but also playing the last five games. Satae adds some size to the Warriors middle stocks and the balance of having Jazz Tevaga's skill and agility, along with Satae on the bench is an intriguing combo to keep an eye on as we near Finals footy.

Re-signing Satae is cool, interesting an all of that, yet it gets funkier when we put it into the context of the wider Warriors roster shenanigans. The club won't re-sign Anthony Gelling and he's off to the Super League, which isn't really an issue as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Lewis Soosemea, Junior Pauga and Blake Ayshford will offer depth next season and beyond. Gelling offers plenty of value this season though, covering centre and generally being a useful bloke to carry in a team.

Then we have the on-going saga of Simon Mannering and Issac Luke, both of whom were excellent in the win over Brisbane. This season it's been pretty clear that both Mannering and Luke have plenty to offer the Warriors moving forward, off the field and on the field, although this is countered by what the Warriors can offer Mannering and Luke.

For Mannering, it's a case of play on or retire. There's no reason why Mannering should retire as he's still a fantastic NRL forward and Mannering's representative retirement should, in theory, helping his squeeze a few more years out. Mannering is in a position where he could sacrifice a bit of money to help the Warriors and Mannering will enjoy his rewards in all sorts of other ways.

I don't reckon Mannering is the type of player who has demanded big contracts from the Warriors and he has always appeared comfortable staying at Mt Smart. One would assume that Mannering can see the bigger picture, feel the new vibes at the Warriors and want to be a part of that. While also knowing that there will be off-field roles in abundance once he does retire and he won't be short of options in retirement as the Warriors will look after him.

For Luke, it's a case of how much money he wants.

And the Warriors don't have much money to blow.

Again, I don't enjoy speculating on the salary cap and it's super silly that this information isn't public - if all salary cap information was public as it is in the NBA, my job gets way more fun and then everything is transparent, less chance of silly dramas. It is however fairly obvious that the Warriors can't offer Luke the same money that lured him to the Warriors a few years ago, no matter how good he is playing.

I've stated that I think the Warriors have played the 'come back to Aotearoa' card in expert fashion, thus helping them sign players for less than market value. This could help them offer something that is competitive to any other offers Luke gets, this is more likely however to play a role in Luke wanting to stay at the Warriors.

There is a chance for Luke to keep living in Auckland, finish his career at the Warriors and play a greater role in the new direction of the club. Luke is around people who get the best out of him and I simply generally think that players like Luke want to be on the bus, rather than watching the bus roll past. Whether that is enough for Luke to take a decent pay-cut, is the key question.

Usually the 'looking after the family' yarn is rolled out when players take the bigger money. Understandable as players have a short window to make as much money as they can. Maybe in Luke's case, looking after the family means doing everything possible to stay settled in Auckland and being part of the Warriors rising?

This is where I want to celebrate the winds of change through Mt Smart and what Kearney and the other staff have done in building the Warriors up to be an attractive place. There is a culture at Mt Smart, there's a vibe that has already lured Adam Blair, Tohu Harris, Agnatius Paasi, Leivaha Pulu, Leeson Ah Mau and Peta Hiku back to Aotearoa. This wasn't even close to being the case before Kearney rocked up and now, that culture, vibe and direction the club is moving could play a key role in Mannering and Luke re-signing.

The thing with Luke is that the Warriors don't have someone who is as good as him, to step up and replace him. If the Warriors lose Luke, they'll take a few steps back and will have to build up Nathaniel Roache, Karl Lawton and Jazz Tevaga; which will take time.

Roache is coming off of major injury woes and even with a healthy Roache, he's still a developing NRL hooker. As lightning as Roache's scoots are, there's not much of a kicking game and he hasn't shown the ability to move the footy on after a big run. I love Roache as a prospect and he'll eventually be the long-term hooker, but he's not Luke and it'll take a full season or two for Roache to get close to his potential.

Lawton's a great squad player and offers value in his versatility and job-doing nature. Tevaga's currently a middle forward and what he offers in that role, out-weighs what he offers at hooker. This leaves the Warriors with few options, especially as they have built a roster that is in win-now mode and letting Luke go changes that slightly.

Still, it comes down to Luke's desire for dosh or to be part of something bigger. Having Luke starting and Roache coming off the bench would be hectic next season, perhaps even better than what the Warriors have right now when we chuck in Ah Mau as well. The ball's in Bully's court now.

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Peace and love 27.