The Warriors have ruled out the possibility of Reece Walsh making a shock mid-season switch to the Melbourne Storm, despite persistent advances by the Victorian club.
Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen suffered a season ending knee injury in the 20-16 loss to the Canberra Raiders last Sunday, with a multiple breakof his patella.
Melbourne are lacking options to replace the State of Origin player, with Walsh top of their wish list as a short term replacement for the last quarter of the season.
Such a move might appeal to Walsh, with the chance to play finals football, given the Storm's remarkable track record of five grand final appearances since 2016.
The 20-year-old, who is moving to the Brisbane Broncos next season after being granted a release from his Warriors contract for family reasons, is also dealing with the first significant demotion of his career, after being benched for Saturday's game against the Raiders (5pm NZT), with coach Stacey Jones opting for Chanel Harris-Tavita at the back.
That might have given Melbourne hope they could broker a deal, but Warrior chief executive Cameron George insisted Walsh isn't going anywhere.
"Reece was allowed to leave our club for conditions that would allow him to live in Brisbane," George told the Herald. "We are not going to let him start living in another city just for the sake of it, given it was the sole reason he couldn't play for us."
George affirmed Walsh will see out the remainder of his contract.
"He is a Warrior for the rest of the year and that was the deal," said George. "We released for next year on the basis of very important personal reasons … not because we didn't want him.
"Reece will be with us. For him to go and play in another state is not going to be suitable for us and he has got plenty of footy left in him for the rest of the year."
Warriors CEO Cameron George. Photo / Photosport
George confirmed the club has been in dialogue with Walsh's agent Nash Dawson and the Melbourne hierarchy, ahead of the looming transfer deadline on August 1, with conversations as recent as Thursday night.
"From our perspective it's done and dusted," said George. "They know our position.
"My responsibility is to the New Zealand Warriors. I feel for the Storm, in their circumstances but we have been battling injuries for a number of years.
"If Reece wasn't off contract next year, they wouldn't be talking to us. Players mean something to us and the only reason Reece is moving is because we gave him special permission due to personal circumstances."
With their second homecoming game next Friday (against the Storm), the Warriors need to gain some momentum in Canberra but it won't be easy.
Since their golden point defeat to the Warriors on April 30, which was their fifth loss on the bounce, the Raiders have steadied with six wins in their last nine games, including last Sunday's victory in Melbourne, while head coach Ricky Stuart confirmed a contract extension on Friday.
The Warriors also have yet another spine combination, with Harris-Tavita, Daejarn Asi, Shaun Johnson and Wayde Egan together for the first time.
Captain Tohu Harris believes the Warriors are on the up, after an encouraging performance against Parramatta last Friday, but is wary of the Raiders.
"There certainly a team that's found their form," said Harris. "They've always been a team that's got some talented players. Obviously they have one of the best front rows in the competition and [Jack] Wighton leading the team round from the halves. It's going to be another challenge and I feel like it's going to be a different side to the one we faced earlier in the year."
