The Five Most Surprising New Zealand Warriors Juniors So Far In 2026
After doing the NSW Cup and State Championship double last year, New Zealand Warriors have held steady with a winning record in the middle of the ladder with a far younger group of players. Some players were expected to rise into regular NSW Cup roles and others weren't even on the reserve grade radar, so here are five of the most surprising juniors who have elevated to NSW Cup so far this season.
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Connor Bowden: 18yrs | Botany Downs Secondary College | edge forward and centre
After playing Under 17s in 2025, Bowden started this year in the U19 team which was expected. He then moved up to the U21s though and soon enough, Bowden was starting at edge forward in NSW Cup and he played 80 minutes on debut. That set the tone for Bowden's stint in reserve grade as he has played 80 minutes in three of his five games and would have played a full game in the other if he wasn't sin-binned.
Warriors went 1-4 with Bowden starting at edge forward and his promotion seems like a taster, to see if the big bodied Bowden could handle that level. Having started as a wing/centre in the Mt Smart system, Bowden has still dabbled in centre mahi this season but most of his NSW Cup game time has been at edge forward. This is a trend for Warriors as a few others have played centre and edge forward, with Bowden emerging as a sneaky edge player who sits in the shadow of trendier juniors who have more hype.
Amasio Tiatia: 17yrs | Linwood | hooker
Following behind Makaia Tafua, Tiatia is another dummy half from Christchurch. He is one of three 17-year-olds who have played NSW Cup this year but unlike Bishop Neal and Jeremiah Lemana, there were no forecasts about Tiatia kicking it at the reserve grade level. Tiatia will turn 18 in a few weeks and after played U17s last year, he cruised through U19 footy to start this year before moving into the U21 tier.
Tiatia was quickly injected into the NSW Cup team with a starting role in round four where he played 38 minutes. He has started at hooker in all four of his NSW Cup games this season and he's got one game of 80 minutes, along with two other games playing 45+ minutes. Warriors are 3-1 with Tiatia starting at hooker and while he's not the busiest runner from dummy half, Tiatia's physicality and maturity have ensured a swift and surprising rise through the pipeline.
This is also an indicator of the quality of talent coming out of Christchurch. Two of the 17-year-old NSW Cup debutants this year are from Christchurch, plus Tanner Stowers-Smith and Tafua have flourished at Mt Smart to play notable roles in NRL and NSW Cup. Jason Salalilo has been just as impressive with Warriors and was the young forward who played in the NSW Cup/State Championship run last season.
Add in all the other juniors from Christchurch thriving in Australia and the talent, professionalism and maturity of these players is blatantly obvious.
Tyson Hansen: 18yrs | Ngongotaha | utility
As a standout junior in back to back U17 Harold Matthews Cup championships, Hansen isn't a sneaky youngster at Mt Smart but his rise into NSW Cup has been surprising. The Rotorua junior only played three games of U19 footy to start this year and was quickly shuffled into the U21 team, having played less U19s and more U21s than Bowden and Tiatia this year.
Hansen has also played the most NSW Cup games of these juniors who started this year in U19s. He has played six games of reserve grade and Hansen has rolled off the bench in all six, played 30+ minutes in five games and 40+ minutes in four games so far this season. Hansen has hit 50 minutes in one game and 49 minutes in another, with Warriors holding a 4-2 record for games that Hansen has played.
It's tricky to break down Hansen's role because he can cover multiple positions at a high level. He can lead a team from halfback as well playing middle forward, sometimes as the small forward and sometimes as a prop. Hansen has also played edge forward and hooker, plus he could probably plug a hole in the outside backs if required.
Christian Sikuvea: 20yrs | Mangere East | middle/edge forward
Sikuvea has quietly gathered buzz for hardcore Warriors folks after two seasons doing the U19/U21 double. In 2024 he played seven games of U19s followed by four games of U21s and that elevated to seven U19 games and 16 games of U21s in 2025. Sikuvea covered middle and edge in both those grades, where his dynamic agility/power combo stood out.
Even though the NSW Cup team skewed much younger this year, Sikuvea's status as a consistent NSW Cup forward has been surprising. He played 64 minutes as a starting middle forward in round one and held that position for the first five games where he played 60+ minutes in four of those games.
Since then Sikuvea has come off the bench and started at edge forward. He's played 80 minutes in both his games starting as an edge forward and he has played 50+ minutes in the majority of his NSW Cup games this season. Not too shabby for his first season of reserve grade and his tricky running style has seen him average 2.1 tackle breaks per game, while holding down a 7-7 record so far this season.
Jye Linnane: 20yrs | Kurri Kurri | centre
The way Linnane has entered NSW Cup reflects his prodigious talent that saw him play up a few age grades while with Knights. That doesn't suggest anything surprising about Linnane's time playing for Warriors as he was a highly talented junior with Knights but most of that was as a half and when Warriors announced his signing it was titled as 'Newcastle half Linnane signed on three-year deal'.
Also in that announcement, Linnane was described as a 'highly rated young Newcastle five-eighth'. When Linnane moved to Auckland earlier than expected to rehab his latest major knee injury, he was again described as a five-eighth. The surprising thing here is that Linnane has started all nine of his NSW Cup games at centre and he has stacked up eight tries already this season, as well as helped Warriors to a 6-3 record when he plays.
Linnane is averaging 4.5 tackle breaks per game so far this season and there is only game game in which Linnane doesn't have a try or linebreak this season. Add in 131m/game and solid tackling mahi (90% efficiency), neither of which are to be expected for a half who has shifted to centre. Linnane seems to be thriving in the centre position despite being signed as a half and given how the depth chart flows, he has a clear pathway to NRL footy as a centre.
With Jett Cleary, Jack Thompson and Harry Inch sitting as talented halves likely to cluster in NSW Cup next season, it's notable that Linnane has been locked in at centre for his first phase of footy with Warriors. While eligible for U21s, Linnane has skipped that level and an indicator of his talent is how his only dose of U21 footy was back in 2023.
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