NRL 2022: Addin Fonua-Blake signs three-year extension at New Zealand Warriors
The Warriors have locked in one of the NRL’s most powerful props to a new long-term deal, while the Storm have taken two youngsters off the transfer merry-go-round.
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The New Zealand Warriors have moved to lock-in Addin Fonua-Blake on a long-term contract, nine months before the forward was to hit the player market.
Fonua-Blake will now be in Warriors colours until the end of season 2026 after agreeing to a three-year extension with the club on Friday.
Looking for a fresh start outside of the Sydney bubble, the 26-year-old was released from Manly in late 2020 to join the Warriors.
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Fonua-Blake said the decision to stay with the Warriors without testing the market was to avoid any ‘distractions’ from contract talks.
“It just made sense to me to commit for the long-term right now,” Fonua-Blake said. “I didn’t want the distraction of contract negotiations later this year. I wanted it all sorted out now so my focus can be on playing footy for this club.
“I love being here and I’m excited about what’s ahead of us.
“My family also loves it here and we can’t wait to get over to New Zealand and really experience what the club is all about.”
A knee then a finger injury limited Fonua-Blake to just 15 games in his first season at the club but the prop was an crucial part of coach Nathan Brown’s engine room.
“He has such an influence whenever he’s on the field so it’s great knowing he’s going to be with us for a lot of years to come,” Brown said. “He’s making a huge difference to our club.”
Elsewhere at the Warriors, injured captain Tohu Harris revealed he has started running at training again as he recovers from an ACL injury. The forward said medical staff are hoping to get him back onto the field by mid-May.
“It’s tracking along well,” Harris said. “It’s a slow and drawn out process but one I have to get right in building strength back up. I’m running on the field, and started change of direction running.
“It has been good to be able to get on the field and move around a bit. But I still have a long way to go to make sure I’m ticking every box.”
STORM SIGN JUNIOR STAR ON MONSTER DEAL
By Chris Honnery, Travis Meyn
The Melbourne Storm has moved to lock in two of their most promising youngsters on multi-year contract extensions as rival clubs continue to circle their best talent.
Reimis Smith has been rewarded for his outstanding debut year with the club in 2021, where he scored 14 tries in 25 games, with a two-year extension.
“I’m extremely happy,” Smith said. “I’m very grateful to this club and what they’ve done for me so far. I’m looking forward to the future. I wouldn’t want to be at any other club but the Storm.”
Meanwhile, the powerhouse club has also secured the services of Australian Schoolboys star Jack Howarth for a further five years.
The Queenslander is set to make his NRL debut this year after impressing Melbourne coaches during the pre-season.
“I love being part of Storm and love living in Melbourne,” Howarth said.
“The coaching staff and the boys are great to be around and are helping me a lot with my footy and life in general. It’s a top class environment to be part of.
“Footywise I’m looking forward to playing a lot more this year and developing my game even more.
“The dream is to wear the purple jersey in the NRL and it’s getting closer but there’s still a lot of work ahead. My future is sorted now with a great club for a few more years and I can fully focus in on my footy.”
The contract extensions come after the club defiantly rejected claims they will be brought down by cashed up rivals, with forwards Jesse Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi signing with the Dolphins for 2023.
STORM WARNING: GREAT ERA UNDER THREAT FROM $9 MILLION MONSTER
The Storm have defiantly declared they will not be brought down by cashed-up NRL rivals as the Dolphins close in on a third Melbourne player.
Storm backrower Kenny Bromwich is on the verge of linking with brother Jesse and Melbourne teammate Felise Kaufusi for the Dolphins’ NRL launch in 2023.
The Storm have already lost Dale Finucane (Sharks), Josh Addo-Carr (Bulldogs) and Nicho Hynes (Sharks) from their 2021 minor premiership team while Dally M hooker of the year Brandon Smith will leave Melbourne for the Roosters at season’s end.
The ultra-successful Storm have fallen victim to the NRL’s salary cap constraints, with rival clubs offering more money than Melbourne can afford to keep their top players.
But the Storm insist the poaching raids will not stop their NRL dominance in the coming years.
“It is what it is, you can’t worry too much about it,” football chief Frank Ponissi said.
“Nothing will ever compare to 2010 (salary cap scandal). We went through that so everything else pales in significance.
“We’ve been dealing with change for a number of years. We’ve lost at least three of our best 17 players every year. This is no different.
“It’s been magnified by the fact players are being signed so much earlier for the following season which makes it look like you’re losing more.
“Our game has got to the stage where people forget about the upcoming year and think about the next year. We haven’t kicked a ball in 2022 and people are talking about 2023.”
The Storm have grown accustomed to their best players being targeted by rival clubs.
They have lost the likes of Cooper Cronk (Roosters), Kevin Proctor (Titans), Tohu Harris (Warriors), Jordan McLean (Cowboys), Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans) and Suliasi Vunivalu (Queensland Reds) in recent years and managed to continue being the NRL’s most consistent team.
“After 2020 we lost Cameron Smith (retired), Tino and Suli, they were three big players along with a lot of others,” Ponissi said.
“We turned around and were minor premiers last year with a pretty outstanding season.
“It’s nothing new for us. It’s the system and we’ve got to deal with it.
“For years we kept hearing people say we weren’t going to replace Smith, (Billy) Slater and Cronk. They don’t get any bigger in the game than them and we lost them between 2017 and 2020.
“We’re not downplaying it but we’ve just got to get on with it and produce the next player.”
The Storm couldn’t match the money being offered by the Dolphins for Kaufusi and the Bromwich brothers in the latter stages of their careers.
The entry of the Dolphins into the competition from next year has injected another $9 million into the player market and put incumbent clubs under pressure to retain players.
“The difference this year is there’s an extra team with a complete salary cap to fill. It’s changed the market,” Ponissi said.
“You allow for a year of that and then after this year everyone goes back to normal again. There will be no-one with $9 million to spend.
“We will create opportunities. Every year one or two players really step up to the plate. That’s how we’ve always been. If you add it up over a number of years it’s a lot of players, but on average it’s around three or four players each year.
“We’ve lost three quality players and people but we’re confident there will be three players that step up and add their own strengths.”
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