Superstar prop
Addin Fonua-Blake, arguably the No.1 front-rower in the NRL, is set to request an immediate release from the New Zealand Warriors on compassionate grounds.
This masthead understands that Fonua-Blake’s representative plans to approach the club on Thursday, requesting that he be allowed to return to Sydney to be closer to his mother and father.
The news is set to spark a scramble among rival clubs to recruit a player who ranks alongside Payne Haas, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and James Fisher-Harris as the best front-rowers in the game.
The 27-year-old Fonua-Blake was the
highest-paid prop in the game in 2023 on a deal worth more than $1 million a season, and has three years remaining on his current contract.
Addin Fonua-Blake wants out of the Warriors. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty
Fonua-Blake was granted a release from his deal at Manly at the end of 2020 to join the Warriors on compassionate grounds after requesting a release to leave Sydney.
It would be a massive blow for the Warriors’ hopes in 2024, after they made the preliminary final this season under rookie coach Andrew Webster.
Of further concern is that Fonua-Blake is one of just three Warriors players — forward Marata Niukore and returning star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck being the others — to be contracted to the club beyond the 2025 season.
The remainder of the squad are on deals that expire in the next 24 months.
