Diary Of An Aotearoa Warriors Fan: A Guide Through The End
Aotearoa Warriors now embark on the final stretch of pandemic niggle and like the elongated flu, pandemic niggle is a slow moving beast. Returning to Mt Smart offered rejuvenation to all things Warriors but don't let these fun Mt Smart games fool you as Warriors still have to deal with tricky logistics and loitering pandemic things. Oh yeah, Warriors aren't very good either.
This season started with zero expectations - that was literally the title of the opening Aotearoa Warriors Diary entry. Hearty fans are always going to embrace optimism and that's lovely, although the duty in delivering these yarns is to keep it real. There was no basis for Warriors expectations to start the seasons, no basis for believing that Warriors were a good footy team and just because they are now playing at Mt Smart every few weeks doesn't change any of this.
Warriors face Eels tomorrow night, then Raiders before hosting Storm at Mt Smart. That's followed by Rabbitohs away, back at Mt Smart to face Bulldogs before away games against Cowboys and Panthers. The season will finish with a home game against Titans. Eight games and Warriors might grab two wins.
The games at Mt Smart will be fun and serve as key checkpoints for connection with community, turangawaewae and Aotearoa. That last game vs Titans at Mt Smart could be especially funky and regardless of how results flow in this final stretch, the season should finish with a Mt Smart celebration.
If you have Warriors expectations and thus get your knickers in a twist when they lose, I can't help you. There are no signs of winning footy and there is still pandemic niggle floating around. During this final stretch folks will have the opportunity to observe and learn about the players who will be Warriors next season. Don't waste your energy on those who don't want to be Warriors moving forward, zone in on those who want to take Warriors forward.
There is a solid group of players to track during the final stretch. All these players are contracted for next season and will be playing NRL most weeks. They cover various levels of mana, experience, positions and talent. Ronald Volkman feels especially intriguing as he is a young half with high pedigree who now has time and space to learn about NRL footy. Maybe it's the Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris middle combo, maybe it's the young leaders in Bunty Afoa, Josh Curran, Wayde Egan and Jazz Tevaga; find a pocket you want to learn about and tap in.
Players Signed For 2023 and Beyond
Bunty Afoa, Josh Curran, Wayde Egan, Addin Fonua-Blake, Tohu Harris, Shaun Johnson, Edward Kosi, Freddy Lussick, Marcelo Montoya, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Aaron Pene, Adam Pompey, Bayley Sironen, Jazz Tevaga, Ronald Volkman, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
Mitch Barnett, Luke Metcalf, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Marata Niukore and Dylan Walker are all leaving Australia for Aotearoa next season. Metcalf is the only one not playing NRL footy consistently which provides easy scouting for the others and Warriors will play against some of their new recruits to make scouting even easier. Metcalf has started nine games in the halves for Newtown Jets and they are currently 2nd on the NSW Cup ladder. Metcalf has 11 tries and 5 try assists this season, averaging 222.8 kicking metres and 65 running metres per game.
Jesse Arthars and Daejarn Asi are not signed for next season. Arthars is signed on a loan deal and there is no requirement for him to re-up with Warriors. This loan deal was a matter of convenience as Arthars is contracted to Broncos and did not need to leave Brisbane to join Warriors. No matter how you feel about Arthars, release any expectations about him returning to Broncos or staying with Warriors.
Asi was only signed for the remainder of this season. Asi left Cowboys for Warriors and has started eight games as a half in Queensland Cup, rolling through four starts with Mackay before four games with Redcliffe. Arthars is signed with Broncos until the end of 2023, meaning he has a contract for next season. Asi does not have a contract for next season and is playing for a new gig somewhere.
Asi's four games with Redcliffe feature three wins and a draw. Redcliffe are now 6th on the Q Cup ladder, winning their last four games and providing the next layer to Warriors mahi. This will all change week to week, but Asi is joined by Rocco Berry and Eliesa Katoa as young lads to track in reserve grade as Redcliffe push into finals footy. Edward Kosi will float between NRL and Q Cup, while Viliami Vailea might return from injury at some point.
These are crucial reps for young lads, especially given a lack of lower level footy since the pandemic started. Don't get caught up about why these lads are in reserve grade or whipping up imaginary rankings and maintain the development thread in preparation for next season. These young lads will rack up consistent minutes and ideally taste finals footy in Q Cup, before a full pre-season back in Aotearoa.
Don't get caught up in imaginary rankings because we have no idea what impacts selection for Redcliffe reserve grade and Under 21s. Some Warriors juniors for example may have return to Aotearoa, some may have stayed in Aotearoa after their Future Warriors game against Tigers and some may be injured. We know nothing about the details of Warriors juniors with Redcliffe.
We do know that Redcliffe are 6th in Q Cup and 3rd in U21s. Redcliffe U21s are 3rd via points difference and have the same points/record as the two teams ahead of them. This sets up an enticing pocket of Warriors mahi to zone in on as the U21s team is now stacked with Warriors juniors and while lads like Taniela Otukolo or the Kepu twins have dropped down from Q Cup, they can get guaranteed minutes at the U21 level.
Ali Leiataua and Sefanaia Cowley-Lupo played in the Future Warriors Under 18 team a few weeks ago, before slotting straight back into Redcliffe U21s. They are named for the U21s again this week along with Kina and Valingi Kepu, Otukolo, Lleyton Finau, Zyon Maiu'u and Jacob Laban. Laban also played that Future Warriors U18 game and doesn't seem to have played U21s yet, so he might be making his first U21s appearance after playing with Redcliffe U18s.
Eric Va'afusuaga is another notable joker who played Future Warriors U18s and he's now in his second season of Redcliffe U21s. He may return to Redcliffe U21s in their finals push, or he may be chillin' back in Aotearoa - don't try to figure these things out, just flow with it.
There are lads like Benjamin Kosi, Tome Poona and Demitric Sifakula who have popped up with Redcliffe as Warriors juniors from Aotearoa. They may feature again, they may not. Redcliffe U21s are one of the best U21 teams in Queensland and have Warriors juniors playing every week, so tap in and keep learning. Some of these lads will slot into NRL squad training at the end of the year and as Warriors will spark up their SG Ball team again next year, some of these lads will go from Mal Meninga Cup (U18) in Queensland to SG Ball (U19) in NSW.
It seems like the most likely scenario next year will be a Warriors SG Ball team and NSW Cup team. Other levels may be catered to as well, but there will definitely be an SG Ball team and the idea of having a reserve grade team solely consisting of Warriors squad members can't be underrated. The current Redcliffe crop will either filter into the SG Ball team or NSW Cup, with all likely to take part in Warriors training around November/December.
Most of the Future Warriors U18 team that played recently are based in Aotearoa. 19 players were named and Tamakaimoa Whareaorere had been playing with Redcliffe U18s this year before joining Cowley-Lupo, Va'afusuaga, Leiataua and Laban in the Future Warriors team. That leaves 14 of the 19 named who are based in Aotearoa and many of them also featured in the Future Warriors Academy tour from a few months prior.
Regardless of the perception, Warriors have solid junior foundations established in Aotearoa. The key wrinkle to follow here is which players move up from the Future Warriors stuff into the SG Ball squad, perhaps some will even skip that step. There is a clear pathway on display and there is lots of information directly via Warriors about their Future Warriors squads. You can either complain, or seek out more information to learn about what is actually happening.
The major checkpoint in sorting through the Future Warriors stuff will be diving into the SG Ball squad when that swings around. There will be lots of high level junior rugby league over the next few months with club finals (U16/U18 etc), National Secondary Schools Tournament and NZRL representative tournaments. Warriors will have players at all these events and NRL scouts will be at all these events, so you should be tuning in to these events as well.
NSST feels like the funkiest event to focus on. Like Warriors SG Ball, NSW Cup and NRLWahine teams, this event was rubbed away by the pandemic and returns in late August. This is where Warriors juniors will be on display for their respective schools, playing against each other and Aotearoa's best footy talent. Some are already signed to Warriors, some are already signed to NRL clubs and some will command fresh opportunities because there is that much footy talent in Aotearoa.
While throwing up names of kids in the younger age-bracket is not sensible, there is a crucial nugget from the past week that sums up much of the above. Xavier Tito-Harris was celebrated in a highlights package by rugby union folk while playing 1st 15 for Kelston Boys High School and so much Aotearoa footy abundance means that schools like Kelston Boys encourage kids to play both codes. Shiver me timbers, even the most prestigious 1st 15 schools feature talent signed to NRL clubs or talent that will play NRL.
Speculation around other top-tier 1st 15 talent with Warriors connections is awkward given that they will chose between rugby union or league when they finish school. Tito-Harris is a slightly better example as there is at least some kind of recent connection to Warriors as he was listed early in 2020 as part of the Future Warriors, then mentioned late last year as part of the group moving to Redcliffe. Tito-Harris didn't move to Redcliffe and stayed with Kelston Boys, also playing for Tamaki ki te Uru (Auckland West) in the U18 Dean Bell competition earlier this year - who won that competition.
Tito-Harris was then specifically mentioned in the Future Warriors Academy squad announcement for their North Island tour as the only player not available for selection. Tito-Harris was named as a starting half for Future Warriors in their game at Mt Smart a few weeks ago and this serves up a fairly solid link between Tito-Harris and Warriors.
Of course, anything can happen as teenagers pursue whatever they want to do. Tito-Harris has been mentioned in each of the last three years as part of the Warriors system and while there is no value in receiving a 1st 15 highlights package, junior Warriors tentacles are at least evident. Rugby league and union representative teams will be named in the coming months to help sort through these murky waters.
There are Warriors juniors at every level of rugby league and union in Aotearoa. At this point, not knowing much about Warriors juniors suggests laziness or mediocre fandom. All of this information is publicly available and there are lots of levels to explore, thus informing you about what Warriors are doing in Aotearoa and for a few more niggly weeks, in Australia.
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Peace and love.