New Zealand Warriors will enter the 2026 NRL season with hearty depth in their top-tier and like all NRL teams, they have at least another 20 players who have been loitering around the NRL squad this summer. We can hit 50 players fairly easily by using the train/trial lists, spotting who is in the training photos and using other bits of information such as players who were listed as part of community visits.

The same break down last summer was published in mid January so there could be more clarity offered over the next few weeks, especially as NZW have not announced any squads below the NRL level yet. There will be plenty more players to learn about but with 50-ish players already jotted down, there is a basic outline offered for who sits in the upper half of the NZW pipeline.

This year's top 50-ish is especially funky because of a large cluster of departures at the NSW Cup level and the flood of young talent heading into reserve grade. The NRL team's depth has been covered here and as there were a few deep cuts offered to showcase recruitment themes, there is some crossover between these two deep dives.

Contract status is overrated for fans as players have and will play NRL without a 'top-30' contract. That does provide a head start though as 30 players make up the wider NRL squad, but not all teams have their full crew of 30 players with NRL contracts and then there is the additional niggle offered by the NRL who have a few minor errors in their official lists or struggle to keep up with tweaks to contract status. All of which falls under the umbrella of murky contract/salary cap stuff that means there are more unknowns that crystal clear information.

Don't stress about the top-30 but use it for foundations to build our knowledge upon. NZW seem to have 29 players in this tier and even without the full 30 players, it's still pretty easy to get to 50 players in this mix. New recruits Alofiana Khan-Pereira, Morgan Gannon, Jye Linnane and Haizyn Mellars are all part of the top-30 and the bottom spots of the top-30 feature Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and Kayliss Fatialofa.

Jett Cleary is the only player listed in the 'Development/Supplementary List' for 2026 and six players were reported by Aussie media as having train/trial contracts. These players are Caelys Putoko (Tokoroa), Bishop Neal (Christchurch), Harry Inch (Nelson), Nganatatafu Vake (Tonga/Rotorua), Geronimo Doyle (Auckland) and Brandon Norris (Northern Territory).

That's seven players and Inch is the only bloke in that bracket who is in his first summer as a Warrior. This cluster highlights nifty recruitment and development for NZW as all seven players come from different regions with Doyle being the only player from Auckland via Otahuhu. Other impressive wrinkles here include Putoko finishing his year representing Cook Islands, Inch playing premier rugby union in Christchurch before joining NZW, Neal being U17 Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final MVP earlier this year and Doyle being a mature leader in the dominant NSW Cup team this year.

Vake played U19 SG Ball Cup and U21s in 2024, then he missed most of the 2025 season but managed three games of U21s mainly as a centre. Norris was one of the best U21 players for NZW this year as a wing/centre and he is likely to elevate to NSW Cup next year. Most of these players will play NSW Cup at some point next season although Inch, Vake and Neal will probably start the year in the U21s team.

During the two Andys era, NZW usually make the most of their Development and train/trial contracts. Previous mahi suggests that NZW will have at least four more players in their Development List alongside Cleary and this will become much clearer early next season. Players who could be part of this tier include Luke Hanson (Penrith), Jason Salalilo (Christchurch), Sio Kali (Auckland), Makaia Tafua (Christchurch), Motu Pasikala (Tonga), Jacob Auloa (Auckland), Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea (Auckland) and Daeon Amituanai (Wellington).

It doesn't matter if they do or don't appear in the Development List because they have all been part of the summer training window. Amituanai is the only player here who was not eligible for U21s this year and along with the young Tongans Kali and Pasikala, these three will be part of the outside back group for NSW Cup.

Tafua and Auloa are dummy halves who have already played plenty of NSW Cup. Salalilo and Tuipulotu-Vea have also gathered NSW Cup experience while also playing U21s, with Salalilo being one of the most notable youngsters who played NSW Cup finals and the State Championship fixture.

Now there are 44 players who have been listed. At this stage it is important to note that players mentioned in the possible Dev List are mostly ranked ahead of the train/trial lads, even if they don't end up on the Dev List. All players around the Dev List tier have played numerous NSW Cup games while Doyle's the only lad in the train/trial group who played more than one game of NSW Cup.

The final tier of players are youngsters who could catch a whiff of NSW Cup footy but are primarily U21s or below who enjoy development boosts as part of the wider NRL squad's summer training. NZW listed players and coaches who took part in community visits earlier in the summer training window and many, if not all of the emerging players already listed were part of these excursions.

Players who have not been mentioned yet who took part in community visits:

Jack Thompson (Cessnock), Connor Bowden (Auckand), Dezman Laban (Wellington), Ezekiel Davidson (Auckland), Kahu Capper (Taranaki), Lennox Tuiloma (Christchurch), Braelan Marsh (Yepoon), Paea 'Junior' Sikuvea (Auckland), Jermiah Lemana (Auckland).

All of these players were U19s or below in 2025. Thompson is one of the sneakiest prospects to watch out for in the Mt Smart system and his talent is evident in how he helped NZW win their first U17 championship last year, then he missed the U19 season this year but went straight into the U21 team when he was available.

Obviously there are only two players who have won Grand Final MVP awards in the back to back U17 championships and Tuiloma sparked this up in 2024, before his Christchurch brethren Neal won the award in 2025. Tuiloma missed all footy this year but he is an intriguing forward to watch out for given his mobility and pedigree.

Others who played lots of U21s while still U19s include funky forward Sikuvea, versatile outside back Capper and edge forward Laban. Davidson (also listed as Davidson-Faaiuaso) also played a couple games of U21s after the U19 season this year as an outside back and he is one of the few NZW juniors who have played U17s and U21s within two seasons.

Bowden played U19s this year as a wing/centre and he's had a swift rise through the pipeline after featuring in various rugby union representative squads via Botany Downs Secondary College 1st 15. Before joining NZW for the U19 season earlier this year, Bowden was part of the 2024 Blues U18 camp and after his first season with NZW, Bowden was named in the 2025 Blues 18 camp.

Marsh is a hooker from Australia who played U19 Mal Meninga Cup last season for Redcliffe and he is likely to start next season in the U21 team. There are many interesting threads to keep learning about this summer and along with Thompson, these two are the youngest Aussies in the system right now but that could change if any more pop up.

Lemana is the freshest talent in this break down as a fullback who was a key member of the U17 championship earlier this year. Given that Neal is the only other player from the HMC Grand Final team who has been listed by NZW as being part of the summer squad and/or spotted in training photos, all indicators suggest that Lemana is a tremendous talent.

This takes us to 53 players without having to speculate on others who may or may not be with NZW. A few more will emerge as junior squads are announced and there are always a few random players who appear out of nowhere to join the wider NSW Cup group. While we stay learning over summer, there is a basic map of the 50-ish best players in the NZW system and this is all aligned with a cornerstone of the two Andys era of immense competitive depth.

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