How New Zealand Warriors Established Ample Halves Depth In The Two Andys Era
The most important wrinkle in the Luke Metcalf saga is how New Zealand Warriors are acting from a position of strength. That starts with the form of the current halves duo in Tanah Boyd and Chanel Harris-Tavita who have combined to give their team a better start to the 2026 NRL season than they did in 2025. This is best laid out by their points differential after nine games last year being +1 and now it's +108 to start this season.
While not a perfect exercise because Metcalf missed the back end of last season with injury, there are notable improvements in relevant stat pockets from last season that help tell the story of the drastic increase in points differential...
Points scored (all per games)
2025: 21
2026: 30.9
Tries scored
2025: 3.7
2026: 5.3
Try assists
2025: 2.7
2026: 4.7
Linebreaks
2025: 3.9
2026: 5.9
Boyd has make significant improvements after not snapping up his opportunity last season. Harris-Tavita has stayed in a career-best groove and his value to Warriors is most evident in how he has adjusted to the different halfbacks while maintaining his high level. It would be crazy to break up this halves combination based on their mahi and when Metcalf was injected into the halves, he played poorly in the only losses for Warriors this season.
Lost in the haze of distant memories is how Metcalf is on a four game losing streak. He was injured in two of those games but he played the majority of those losses with 67 minutes in the loss vs Broncos last season and 75 minutes in the loss vs Sharks this season. That's where we enter the volatile zone of opinion about how good Metcalf really is and instead of taking that path, we slide take a turn back to Mt Smart.
Warriors have one of the best halves combinations in the NRL right now and Te Maire Martin has returned from injury. Martin played 80 minutes as a small forward in NSW Cup and has worked his way into the wider NRL squad for the Magic Round game vs Broncos. Martin has played at least one game of NSW Cup in all four seasons with Warriors and he has done whatever the team needs him to do in playing fullback, halves, hooker and in the forwards.
At the very least, Martin is a reliable NRL player. He is the ideal back up to Boyd/Harris-Tavita as his maturity and experience will help him cover both roles, while also offering value as a utility on the bench. Having three NRL level halves is a luxury and Warriors also had Luke Hanson make his debut this year in the win vs Knights, meaning that Hanson has won more games than Metcalf in the NRL this season.
Hanson could play NRL again this year if a spot in the number six jersey opens up as that's his best role. The undercover aspect of Warriors being in a position of strength is how Hanson seems likely to depart Warriors and that is mainly because of the talent Warriors have in the halves around the NSW Cup level.
Many players love being at Mt Smart and are willing to make sacrifices just to be part of the Warriors wave. Hanson could stay at Warriors as he's in his third year in Auckland after leaving Panthers and after 41 games of NSW Cup with 71% wins, Hanson is like many young Warriors in that he's had 40-50 games of reserve grade before settling in the NRL team.
Hanson was the first young half who left Australia to join Warriors. He was followed by Jett Cleary who made the same move from Panthers to Warriors and for all the hype coming out of Australia about Cleary, many Aussies seem to have forgotten that he exists during the Metcalf saga. Hanson was always ranked ahead of Cleary at Warriors even though Cleary had more hype, so that made Cleary a tad bit overrated and in recent weeks he has slid into the underrated bracket.
Cleary has started all eight of his NSW Cup games at halfback this season. Last year he played 13 games of U21s for Warriors and 13 games of NSW Cup, as well as the State Championship. Cleary started 11 games in the halves last season before dipping back to the bench for the finals run and now he is the halfback every game.
There are clear developments in Cleary's NSW Cup mahi. Here are some per game basics...
2025: 13 games, 35.3 receipts, 0.15 tries, 0.3 try assists, 70m, 185.6 kick metres, 88.5% tackling
2026: 8 games, 44.2 receipts, 0.5 tries, 0.75 try assists, 77m, 226.5 kick metres, 88.2% tackling
Cleary's tackle breaks from last season aren't listed on his NSWRL profile so we can't compare the two seasons. He is averaging 4 tackle breaks per game this season though and that's notably higher than Hanson's 1.8 tackle breaks per game. That's funky because Hanson's running game is his strength and he's flashed that with 5 tackle breaks vs Eels, yet that's his only game with 3+ tackle breaks while Cleary five games over that mark.
As expected given their positions, Cleary (226.5m) is doing more kicking than Hanson (88.9m). Cleary has also improved his goal-kicking from 62.8% to 75.6% and while that doesn't mean much here, it's another example of Jett's development and it's aligned with the standards set by the Cleary whanau in how hard they work to be excellent at their jobs.
Cleary didn't play NRL preseason this year but he played two games in 2025 and finished last year with two wins with Ukraine. Hanson's already gathered plenty of NRL preseason experience to go with with taste of NRL footy and earlier this year, Jack Thompson flashed his talent in an NRL preseason game for Warriors.
Thompson has been just as impressive as Hanson/Cleary below the NRL level and one could argue he has been more impressive. Thompson was a crucial player in the first Harold Matthews Cup (U17) championship after a mid-season switch from Knights and the Cessnock junior then skipped SG Ball Cup (U19) to start his 2025 season in Jersey Flegg Cup (U21s).
This year Thompson has played the same number of games for U21s and NSW Cup with five in both competitions. He came off the bench in his NSW Cup debut and has then started four games of reserve grade, with five try assists in his four starts. Thompson has been in the Warriors system longer than Cleary and is doing similar stuff to Cleary right now, so folks should be just as excited about Thompson as they are about Cleary.
Warriors also picked up another Knights junior Jye Linnane ahead of the 2026 season and this means that Warriors have recruited two young halves from the Panthers and Knights systems respectively in the two Andys era. Aussie love the myth about local nurseries and often throw up Penrith and Newcastle as two of the most prominent 'catchment areas' yet Warriors have been able to snap up high quality halves from both systems.
Linnane is tricky to assess because of his injury history. What is easy to understand is that Linnane was 17-years-old while playing U21s for Knights and was in the development contract bracket last year as a 19-year-old. Linnane was so eager to feel the Mt Smart mana that he moved to Auckland mid-way through 2025 and has just been cleared to return to footy after over a year of battling injury.
With Cleary and Hanson forming the NSW Cup halves combination and Thompson already gathering NSW Cup experience, Linnane will probably be eased back through the U21s team. Linnane's pedigree at Newcastle suggests that he could make similar progress through the Warriors system as the other three young Aussie halves and the only hinderance is his history of major knee injuries.
Warriors have four young Aussie halves who are 22yrs or younger in their system right now and all four made swift progress through their Aussie systems, signaling their talent. Two are cooking as pure halfbacks in Cleary and Thompson, while Hanson and Linnane are typical five-eighths. Even if Hanson does depart, Warriors will have three fabulous young halves who grew up in Aussie pipeline at Mt Smart.
That's super useful but the most notable thing here is how Warriors have had no issues signing young Aussie halves, or young Aussies of any position. Samuel Healey is thriving after moving from Cronulla and Brandon Norris is an awesome outside back who left the Darwin area to join Warriors. Braelen Marsh left Redcliffe to move to Auckland and the hooker has already dabbled in NSW Cup this year while mainly playing U21s.
Throw in how Boyd and Jackson Ford have adapted to Aotearoa and it's crystal clear that Warriors are an attractive destination for Aussies, especially young Aussies who view Mt Smart as the best place for their development. Warriors can shake off the Metcalf saga because they have two halves playing better than him in the NRL with a solid back up option, as well as a collection of young halves that lots of Australian teams would love to have.
This isn't limited to the blokes either as Warriors announced this week that they had signed Natalia Hickling to their NRLW squad. Hickling is a 19-year-old half from Lismore who has winning mana for Tweed Heads at the U17 and U19 levels, showing similar pedigree to the four young halves in the NRL pipeline.
Warriors know they have at least three young halves on the rise towards NRL footy and based on how quickly they are progressing, that will be enough to cover the NRL duties over the next two years. They do not need to be thirsty for any half, especially not for a player who does not appear to be willing to put in the same team-first mahi as all the others.
The position of strength that Warriors have established during the two Andys era is best laid out by the players who were released form their contracts early. Most, if not all of the players who were granted early releases in the two Andys era have found themselves in worse form or worse situations than they were with Warriors.
Dylan Walker’s the only one who is playing at a similar level but Eels aren't as good as Warriors. Josh Curran, Marcelo Montoya and Zyon Maiu’u were released to join Bulldogs. Curran and Montoya were solid before notable dips coinciding with the Bulldogs slide into dramas.
Maiu’u hasn’t played NRL since leaving NZW and has been overtaken by forwards like Alekolasimi Jones (St Paul’s College). These three have all gone backwards since leaving Mt Smart. Addin Fonua-Blake was released to join Sharks and maintained his high level last year before falling further this season. His individual mahi has dropped and Sharks have slipped from their usual finals spot.
At this point, some may be wondering about the kiwi halves at Warriors. Harris-Tavita (Howick/Pakuranga) and Martin (Turangawaewae) are both Kiwi-NRL juniors, while Harry Inch (Nelson College) has made a successful switch from rugby union and appears to have everything needed to challenge for a NSW Cup spot soon.
Wellington's Maui Winitana-Patelesio played junior rugby league for Te Aroha and 1st 15 for St Pat's Silverstream College, before entering the Warriors system. He's played U19s and U21s for Warriors, currently stacking up U21 games often alongside Inch.
Jeremiah Lemana (Mt Albert) made his NSW Cup debut as a 17-year-old this year and is mainly a centre, but he's also covered the halves. Tyson Hansen (Ngongotaha) is an excellent youngster on the rise who is equally capable of playing in the halves and small forward. Hinckley Ioka (Glenora) is another standout play-maker in the system and all halves who played U19/U17s this year were local juniors.
Aotearoa has plenty of halves in Australia as well. Haami Loza (Mangere East) has played NSW Cup for Panthers this year. Bronson Reuben (Kaiapoi) is usually in the halves for Bulldogs U21s and Ryder Crosswell (Dannevirke) has moved up from U19s to U21s for Knights this season.
In Queensland, Tokoaitua Owen (Ngongotaha) has moved from U19 footy with Souths Logan to the wider squad for Broncos U20s in NRLQ and Jordan Hotere (Hibiscus Coast) started in the halves for Wynnum in their U19 Mal Meninga Cup Grand Final.
Warriors have added elite Aussie halves to their junior system and this will increase standards throughout their pipeline. Right now they are equipped to move forward without Metcalf in 2026 and it's a realistic possibility that Warriors would prefer to maintain their Cleary/Hanson/Thompson trio in NSW Cup, instead of giving those spots to someone who wants to leave.
Warriors have rarely been able to recruit Aussies into their junior system before the two Andys era and now they have their stocks full of elite talent. Don't view the Metcalf saga through the lens of how Warriors used to operate because none of that applies to the two Andys era and instead look through the lens of Warriors being a recruitment/development force in the NRL.
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