2026 Selection table: Prop rotation
The Warriors are well-stocked in the front-row department - and there's a looming logjam for spots in a full-strength line-up in 2026.
Headlined by two experienced, elite internationals and a contender for the position’s best young prospect in the NRL, prop is arguably the Warriors’ greatest area of strength and depth at present.
Beyond co-captains James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett, and 21-year-old weapon Demitric Vaimauga, however, the front-row pecking order is a fascinating part of the Warriors’ 2026 squad balance.
Kangaroos incumbent Barnett’s early-2025 form was enough to earn a starting spot for NSW in the Origin opener, but an ACL injury soon afterwards in a win over Souths ruled him out of the rest of the series – and the Warriors’ season.
Initially, the Warriors coped superbly without the 31-year-old hardman, whipping Cronulla – and a pack led by former Warriors cornerstone Addin Fonua-Blake – 40-10.
But they would win just four of their remaining 12 games, with Marata Niukore, then Jackson Ford, then rookie Tanner-Stowers-Smith never quite being able to duplicate the elite starting prop performances of the aggressive, hyper-industrious Barnett.
Fans weren’t quite sure what to make of JFH’s first season at the club – and by the end of the year there was a small groundswell criticising the Kiwis skipper in the comments sections. He was perhaps a victim of being heralded as a replacement for 2023-24 Dally M Team of the Year selection Fonua-Blake, but not possessing the same top-tier metre-eating, tackle-busting, tryscoring traits that catch the eye.
Certainly, a run of handling errors late in the campaign didn’t help, while his tackle-break and post-contact metres stats were well down on recent years at Penrith, and his average metres per game (114) were his lowest in a season since 2018.
But the four-time premiership winner remained a defensive tone-setter and ranked in the top half-dozen front-rowers for tackles per game in the NRL. His leadership couldn’t be faulted and his season was also interrupted by a month-long pec injury break in April.
