Newcastle Knights have officially snared their big signing off Aotearoa Warriors. Yup, that's right; the Knights lured Mason Lino across the ditch. We are still waiting on Issac Luke news and the longer it goes on, the more it feels as though Luke will settle for another year at Mt Smart and although it may look like the departure of Lino along with the uncertainty around Bully are related, they probably aren't.

Trying to cut through the fluff of Lino's arrival in Newcastle, departure of the Warriors leaves me to believe that everyone is happy with this deal. I'm of the belief that the Warriors weren't overly fussed in letting Lino go, releasing him from his contract is an obvious sign of that and there is only so much that the Warriors can offer a back up half.

The Knights simply have more to offer a back up half, not necessarily in terms of NRL minutes but in terms of the dosh that a back up half can earn. Again, cutting through the fluff will leave you with an understanding that Lino has gone from back up half at the Warriors to back up half at the Knights. There has been recent noise about Kalyn Ponga moving into the halves alongside Mitchell Pearce and Connor Watson partnered Pearce for much of this season; either Ponga or Watson will start in the halves with the other at fullback.

Lino offers the Knights exactly what he offered the Warriors, only that the Knights probably need Lino's job-doing experienced more. The Knights have let younger halves Jack Cogger and Brock Lamb leave, replacing them with Lino who is a steadier presence in the halves after gaining valuable starting experience with the Warriors. Newcastle would have made Lino a better offer financially than the Warriors, for that experience.

There's no real reason for the Warriors to match a Knights offer, to ensure that Lino stays. Sure, the Warriors lose a job-doing half who could step in for Shaun Johnson or Blake Green, however they have cheaper options with greater upside already at the club. There may be some slight short-term pain in squeezing a younger option into the halves for an NRL game, but these younger halves have brighter futures at the Warriors than Lino and the Warriors seem to prefer that their investment is in the youngsters.

Wesley College v Rotorua Boys High School 2017 Bruce Pulman Park, Auckland.

Chanel Harris-Tavita is the most obvious candidate to offer a halves depth option. Harris-Tavita was a consistent presence in the halves for the ISP Warriors in reserve grade, even though he is still Jersey Flegg eligible and was selected in the Junior Kiwis wider squad; he was a Junior Kiwi last year. This is vastly different from the development plans of previous Warriors coaching staff which put youngsters straight into NRL from Under 20s as Harris-Tavita has now tasted consistent reserve grade footy, the week in, week out grind of that level and should only improve with another off-season under Stephen Kearney, Stacey Jones and Alex Corvo.

This is similar to Hayze Perham, who came straight into reserve grade out of Rotorua Boys High School to play most of the season at fullback. These prospects are being developed with precision and the rewards of this will be evident in the coming years.

Lino often partnered Harris-Tavita when available, otherwise Sam Cook got the gig. Cook has played NRL footy at hooker for the Warriors and dabbled in both halves and hooker duties in reserve grade. This can only be beneficial for Cook as he has tasted what it's like to defend in the middle against reserve grade men, as well as in the NRL. While Harris-Tavita is the exciting prospect, Cook is probably more similar to Lino in that he's a job-doing, ready to go half who can slot in for a week without an obvious dip in the team's performance.

What's most exciting is the depth further down the pecking order. The Warriors have swtiched up a lot of their development and recruitment structures, which now has them housing some of the best #KiwiNRL play-making prospects in the NRL. The halves combination for New Zealand Under 18s last year, are both on the Warriors books; Paul Turner and Dylan Tavita. Tavita played most of the Jersey Flegg season at hooker this year though, with Turner the consistent presence in the halves alongside Eiden Ackland - who also ran around at halfback for Mt Albet in the Fox Memorial Premiership a fair bit this year and last year.

Turner was recently named in the New Zealand Residents Under 18 team to play against Toa Samoa U18s. It's also worthy to note that Perham was selected at halfback in the 2017 National Secondary Schools Tournament Team and as long as Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has the fullback spot, don't sleep on Perham getting an opportunity in the halves if the stars align. If you want to go even deeper, someone like Tevita Mikaele earned New Zealand Under 17s National Youth Tournament Merit Team selection in the halves and got a run for the Jersey Flegg team at fullback sporadically.

All of that is to suggest that the majority of the best halves from Aotearoa, are linked to the Warriors and that hasn't always been the case. Sooner or later, the Warriors will have to give the likes of Harris-Tavita, Cook, Perham or Turner a crack in the NRL and Lino's departure now sets up an exciting summer where these halves will be eager to show that they are ready to step into that back up role.

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Peace and love 27.