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This week we’re taking a look at the next batch of potential 2027 NRL debutants in the Warriors’ ranks.
10. Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi/Brandon Norris
We can’t split these two prolific wingers as a possible first-grade debutant – Tauafiafi-Iutoi was called up for four NSW Cup games in 2026, scoring two tries, but Norris got the nod in a depleted three-quarter line for the elimination final loss to Newtown.
From Northern Territory via Norths Devils, Norris was the equal-top tryscorer in the 2026 Jersey Flegg Cup with 23 (including a five-try haul) from 19 games. Point Chevalier Pirates product Tauafiafi-Iutoi was just as potent with 20 tries in only 14 appearances.
Both will be fighting for a regular NSW Cup spot in 2027 – and with outside-back depth a persistent bugbear for the Warriors, an NRL call-up is not beyond either player next year.
9. Tepatasi Laumalili
The towering front-row hulk from Māngere East Hawks debuted for the Warriors in SG Ball in 2025 and became a Jersey Flegg regular later that year.
Starting 2026 on the NSW Cup bench, he scored a try and made five tackle-breaks on senior debut but was otherwise brought along slowly, given limited minutes by David Tangata-Toa in eight further interchange appearances.
Laumalili was a persistent threat near the try-line at under-21s level this year, however, powering over for six tries in 10 games. A raw talent but tonnes of potential with his size, strength and handy ball skills.
8. Haizyn Mellars
Recruited from South Sydney’s NSW Cup ranks for 2026, Mellars scored 14 tries in 18 games for the Warriors’ reserve graders and proved one of the competition’s most dangerous aerial wingers. He averaged a decent 119 metres per game and racked up 50 tackle-breaks. But he has an error in him and there’s a few question marks defensively.
Mellars was overlooked for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Luke Laualilii when the Warriors’ NRL wing stocks were depleted, while the son of 2003-04 Warrior Vince Mellars (and grandson of former Kiwi Peter Mellars) watched Riley Price and Jett Cleary leapfrog him to become the club’s first legacy first-graders.
An NRL opportunity should arise for the athletic Haizyn at some stage in 2027…but will the likes of Norris and Tauafiafi-Iutoi have moved ahead of him in the pecking order by then?
7. Christian Sikuvea
A dynamic, compact forward in the Erin Clark mould and another Māngere East product, Sikuvea progressed through the SG Ball and Jersey Flegg ranks in recent seasons to become a NSW Cup regular in 2026.
Sikuvea is a hard worker on both sides of the ball and mobile with impressive leg drive. Making starts at lock, prop and second-row this year, he averaged 97 metres (including a high proportion post-contact), regular topped 30 tackles a game and tallied 30 tackle-breaks.
Probably a fair way down the pecking order still but an excellent prospect.
6. Cooper Page-Wilson
From the NSW Central Coast, Page-Wilson came through Sydney Roosters’ grades before playing 56 Queensland Cup games over three seasons with Wynnum Manly and Sunshine Coast.
The rugged middle forward arrived at the Warriors on a two-year deal in 2026 and played 19 NSW Cup games, mostly as a starting front-rower with a couple of games at lock. He averaged 114 metres a game and 26 tackles with 96.5 percent efficiency.
The 25-year-old giant may be behind the likes of Riley Price and 2027 recruit Sam McIntyre in the queue, but he would almost certainly do the job if called up on by Andrew Webster.
5. Bishop Neal
Player of the match in the Warriors’ 2025 Harold Matthews Cup grand final win, Neal made outrageous progress this year – all while still only 17. He dominated SG Ball, proved a cut above in Jersey Flegg and terrorised defenders after being fast-tracked into the NSW Cup line-up.
The rampaging second-rower, from the Hornby Panthers club in Canterbury, made 10 appearances in the second-tier comp, scoring six tries, making seven line-breaks and 23 tackle-breaks, delivering two try assists, and averaging 97 metres and 18 tackles. Curiously, after representing Queensland Under-19s, he was sighted just once more in a Warriors jersey in 2026 – back in Jersey Flegg.
Freakishly quick for his size with an amazing skillset, the sky is the limit for Neal. The Warriors are flush with back-row talent, but the path to an NRL debut looks shorter now with Marata Niukore, Kayliss Fatialofa and Morgan Gannon all moving on.
4. Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea
A mainstay for the Warriors’ SG Ball team in 2023-24 and the Jersey Flegg side in 2024-25, imposing prop Tuipulotu-Vea played all 23 games for David Tangata-Toa’s NSW Cup outfit this year. No other player turned out more than 19 times.
The 21-year-old Māngere East and Howick junior was one of the Warriors’ more eye-catching performers during the NRL pre-season trials and transferred that form into a solid NSW Cup campaign. A strong defender who uses his 110kg frame to good effect with the ball, RTV has a fairly long line of front-rowers in front of him, but he could be in the mix if he continues on his current trajectory.
3. Joseph Ratcliffe
One of the hottest prospects at the club, fullback Ratcliffe collected the Warriors’ SG Ball Player of the Year award, scoring five tries in five games, and went on to be named Jersey Flegg Player of the Year (nine tries in 14 games) in the same season.
On top of that rare achievement, the Palmerston North BHS product made a sizeable impression in six NSW Cup appearances. One performance in particular – scoring a try, making another line-break and seven tackle-breaks, and running for 222 metres in a victory over ladder-leading Penrith – signalled Ratcliffe as a future Warriors NRL No.1.
A brilliant ball-runner and exceptionally quick off the mark and over a distance, Ratcliffe could be the long-term answer for a dynamic, game-breaking custodian fans have been crying out for. Perhaps an option to be blooded on the wing at the top level, but expect him to unseat Geronimo Doyle for the NSW Cup fullback role when the 2027 season gets underway.
2. Jack Thompson
Following the exit of Luke Metcalf, Luke Hanson and Jett Cleary, an NRL debut may only be an injury or two away for spry playmaker Thompson.
The Cessnock Goannas junior moved from Newcastle’s junior system to the Warriors in 2024 and has been their Jersey Flegg linchpin for the past two seasons. He played in both of the Warriors’ NRL pre-season matches but really stamped himself as a genuine prospect in his NSW Cup performances.
Playing eight games – at five-eighth alongside Cleary, in the No.7 hotseat and even a run at fullback – Thompson handled the step up easily. He produced seven try assists and scored two tries, going after the game in Sam Walker-esque fashion with a looping cut-out ball his trademark.
Pitched into halfback for the NSW Cup elimination final, Thompson engineered a late comeback in the tight loss to Newtown with a try and an assist, and he looks to have a sound all-round kicking game.
1. Jye Linnane
Linnane grabbed a centre spot in the NSW Cup Team of the Year after returning from injury in Round 11, scoring 14 tries in 13 games, with 14 line-breaks, a massive 77 tackle-breaks and 134 metres per game.
But that only tells part of the story of an extraordinary season. The Kurri Kurri product arrived at the Warriors in the off-season still on the road to recovery from knee surgery. He had not played a match since a two-try performance in the opening round of the Newcastle Knights’ 2024 SG Ball campaign.
Touted as possibly the quickest player at the club, Linnane has to be considered a genuine contender to fill a perennially troublesome centre spot in the Warriors’ NRL line-up. But the specialist five-eighth will also be pushing hard for an opportunity in the No.6 jumper – which is where he could start the NSW Cup season with Metcalf, Cleary and Hanson moving on…think Fletcher Sharpe but a more natural ball-player.
Either way, the 21-year-old seems a game-breaker of rare class and the late-season rumble from the fanbase for Linnane to get a call-up will become a roar in 2027 if certain first-choice players start the year with meandering formlines.
Cracking off season content 🙌🏻 next year's our year!
In the case of guys in the same position, like Tauafiafi-Iutoi and Norris, do you think it's more worthwhile to give the opportunities to the local boy knowing he's more likely to stay long term. Or just back the talent and greater potential every time?