NRL Rookie Watch: Which Warriors are worth keeping an eye on in 2023?

With the 2023 NRL season nearing, we list the crop of rookies from each club worth keeping tabs on as they aim to join the elite list of budding stars with a Rookie of the Year award to their name.

As per the NRL, “players are eligible for the Rookie of the Year in their debut season and the subsequent two NRL seasons … Once a player plays five (5) NRL Premiership matches (or English Super League matches), he becomes ineligible for the Rookie of the Year in any subsequent seasons”.

Ronald Volkman

Ronald Volkman made the move from the Roosters to the Warriors midway through last year and was rewarded with an NRL debut in Round 15 against Penrith before starting at five-eighth again the following week in the Warriors’ 22-2 homecoming win over the Wests Tigers. A decisive half with a sharp kicking game, Volkman began the year playing Jersey Flegg with the Roosters before graduating to NSW Cup with North Sydney where he played three games. After making the move to the Warriors, he played a further three Queensland Cup games for Redcliffe where he laid on a trio of tries and broke eight tackles. Still just 20, Volkman will look to establish himself at NSW Cup level but may again be leant on should the NRL squad’s depth be tested. Te Maire Martin and Shaun Johnson are expected to start in the halves for rookie head coach Andrew Webster with Volkman and new recruit Luke Metcalf appealing depth options.

Valingi Kepu

An explosive middle forward, Valingi Kepu has impressed over the past two seasons playing for Redcliffe in the Hastings Deering Colts earning the club’s Player of the Year award in 2021. He played a trio of Queensland Cup games off the bench as a teenager last year and put together a try-scoring, 80-metre debut against Sunshine Coast. At 188 cm and 110 kg, Kepu makes his presence on the field felt and could prove himself to be a difference-maker off the bench for the Warriors as soon as this year. The club has had a tonne of turnover among their forward ranks over the offseason and will likely lean upon the likes of depth pieces Kepu, Tom Ale, and Jackson Ford throughout the year. Playing behind the likes of Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris should be an enticing prospect for young Kepu who inches ever closer to an NRL call-up.

Ali Leiataua

The nephew of Warriors great Ali Lauiti’iti, Ali Leiataua is on a development contract this season and will look to continue progressing towards NRL level as the year goes on. A capable centre and fullback, Leiataua scored 13 tries in 13 appearances for Redcliffe in Hastings Deering Colts last year and will eye a leap to NSW Cup this season. The Warriors are not short on centres for 2023, however, a dearth of standouts may pave the way for several younger Warriors to earn a shot throughout the season. Marcelo Montoya and Viliami Vailea appear the most likely starters with Adam Pompey, Rocco Berry, and Brayden Wiliame other options for Webster.

Zyon Maiu’u

Also on a development contract this season, Zyon Maiu’u is another who turned heads playing for Redcliffe last year in Hastings Deering Colts. Named the Most Valuable Player of the NZRL under-20s competition in 2021, Maiu’u made 13 Hastings Deering Colts appearances last year and showed why Kiwi scouts hold him in high esteem. With experience as both a middle and edge forward, the 19-year-old’s versatility should serve him well as he aims to make the leap up to Queensland Cup and perhaps beyond this season. Maiu’u finds himself below several established forwards on the Warriors depth chart but there is no doubting the teenager’s talent and, whilst an NRL debut may not be on the immediate cards, his ascension may come sooner than anticipated.

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