Nothing tickles New Zealand Warriors anxiety like a young player departing for Australia and just before the first Pre-Season Challenge game vs Cronulla Sharks, Zyon Maiu'u has departed to join Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. The Maiu'u news brings together key themes for NZW under the two Andys that reinforce the brewing strength of Mt Smart as well as another sign that Bulldogs love Aotearoa.

NZW do their business quietly and no one knew much about the interest in Maiu'u until the move was reported earlier this week. Assuming that no one is being a silly bugger, NZW also work with the player to find the best solution. Maiu'u was unlikely to feature in the top-20 NRL rotation and he was in a highly competitive battle for bench minutes among young forwards, while Bulldogs could offer Maiu'u more NRL opportunities.

Not only is Maiu'u closer to consistent NRL minutes at Bulldogs, he is a better fit in a Bulldogs forward pack that needs 'run it straight oomph'. Bulldogs were successful with a smaller, faster forward pack last season and probably need a typically brutal prop to sustain their momentum. NZW need to get faster and more agile across in all positions, as well as carrying enough versatile forwards on the bench to plug holes at middle and edge forward.

Demitric Vaimauga and Leka Halasima will settle in the top-17 at some point this season, mainly as bench forwards who can cover middle/edge. Remember that Halasima made his debut vs Bulldogs and got his first NRL minutes as a middle forward before flashing his potential at centre as NZW battled immense injury niggle.

NZW still have Afoa, despite the constant noise about him being shopped around, as a run it straight type of prop. Tom Ale will be competing for a bench position, probably ranked ahead of Afoa but behind Vaimauga and Halasima if everyone's available. Tanner Stowers-Smith will be pushing for an NRL debut with a similar middle forward style as James Fisher-Harris and Leo Thompson, while Eddie Ieremia-Toeava follows the Halasima path of versatility.

Stowers-Smith and Maiu'u offer an interesting comparison, especially as Stowers-Smith is the one player who benefits the most from Maiu'u's departure. Maiu'u is 21-years-old and he's played 43 games of NSW Cup, while Stowers-Smith is 20-years-old and has played 36 games. In 2023, Maiu'u played 26 games and Stowers-Smith played 13 which flipped to Maiu'u playing 16 games in 2024 and Stowers-Smith playing 23 games.

One other aspect of the NZW forward pack to watch out for is Mitchell Barnett playing edge or middle. Barnett is named in the middle for the trial vs Sharks and this provides a fabulous duo of Barnett/Fisher-Harris, as well as opening up a space at edge forward where Jacob Laban will be hoping to keep Jackson Ford out of the starting team.

Marata Niukore also has middle/edge versatility. NZW can bolster their middle forward ranks by rolling Barnett and Niukore through the middle, with Dylan Walker and Erin Clark sharing small forward duties. Along with Halasima and even Vaimauga, these lads can shift roles mid-game as well.

The NZW reserve grade tier is still a bit unknown at this stage of the year and 18thman.com has an early NZW Under 21 Jersey Flegg squad to learn about. The Train/Trial group reported by Australian media features middle forwards Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea, Etuate Fukofuka, Jason Salalilo and Augustino Filipo who are all excellent young forwards.

Toby Crosby is another funky lad to watch out for, assuming he is still in the NZW mixer. Crosby is already a cult-hero despite playing just one NSW Cup game and given the hype around Crosby, along with all the middle forwards listed in this year; NZW have lots of high quality middle forwards ready to rise up to compete for NRL selection over the next two years.

NZW fans need to expect players to leave Mt Smart and trust the NZW pipeline to provide a next bloke up. There are lots of easy examples at the NRL level but recent antics show how in demand NZW youngsters are and that there is an abundance of rugby league talent available for everyone.

The first round of Under 19 SG Ball had Kaawyn Patterson starting at hooker for Bulldogs, Jackson Stewart starting at centre for Roosters and Hudsyn Frost starting at prop for Sharks. All three were in the NZW system last year and went straight into starting roles for Australian teams for round one, while Ezekiel Faga-Ieti was with NZW last year and featured on the bench for Knights U19s last weekend.

A few quick notes about the first Pre-Season Challenge squad for NZW...

Moala Graham-Taufa, Sio Kali and Daeon Amituanai provide strong outside back cover.

Luke Hanson is the bloke to watch out for as a young play-maker. Hanson was a consistent starter in NSW Cup last year despite still being U21 eligible and while hype skews towards another young Aussie half from Panthers, Hanson is the one to watch.

Sam Healey and Freddie Lussick are competing for back up dummy half duties. Lussick has NRL toughness and could develop as a small forward, as well as built up mana with NZW. Healey has the spark from dummy half that NZW need and his impact will be fun to track, especially as he's returning to Cronulla.

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