The Brisbane Broncos have officially released Kurt Capewell from the remainder of his playing contract, with the veteran second-rower to link up with the New Zealand Warriors on a three-year deal.
The Warriors confirmed the news on Thursday morning, shortly after the Broncos confirmed they would be releasing Capewell. It has been reported for weeks that Capewell was likely to join the club, having toured their facilities in recent times.
The Broncos were believed to be weighing up their options over Capewell's future, but have now elected to grant the release that ends his playing contract.
"Capes has played an important role for us over the past couple of seasons, both on and off the field as we laid down the foundations to turn things around as a club," coach Kevin Walters said in a club statement confirming the second-rower's release.
โHe is a great bloke and a wonderful servant of our game, and he has made a big impact at our club in a short period of time since joining us in 2021.
โYou won't find many people who have a bad word to say about Kurt.
"On behalf of everyone at the Broncos, I'd like to thank Capes for all his efforts at the club and we wish him well.โ
The move to the Warriors will see Capewell become a part of the club until at least the end of the 2026 campaign, and coach Andrew Webster said the move was key for the club.
โKurt is a winner with tremendous passion and a terrific work ethic,โ Webster said in a statement.
โI thoroughly enjoyed working with him when we were both at Penrith and I know from that experience that he'll add so much to our squad and to the club in an overall sense.
โHe totally fits the profile of the type of player we want at the One New Zealand Warriors.โ
It comes with the Broncos in a salary cap crunch as they look to extend the deals of Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh as well as Adam Reynolds, while also having already done so for Brendan Piakura and Jordan Riki, who are clearly the club's long-term plan in the second-row.
That left Capewell staring down the barrel of a minimising role in 2024 and no new contract for 2025. He will instead likely join the Warriors where a spot could be his, with the club letting Josh Curran go to the Canterbury Bulldogs ahead of 2024.
While it was believed that move was down to coach Andrew Webster wanting to promote youth at the club, it's difficult to see the former Queensland State of Origin player signing a three-year deal with the Auckland-based outfit if he wasn't set to walk into the side.
The Warriors utilised Curran predominantly off the bench in 2023, with Jackson Ford, who has re-signed with the club today, joined by Marata Niukore on the edge.
Niukore however will likely need to move into the middle third from 2025 if Addin Fonua-Blake leaves the club, with the representative prop having requested a release from the Warriors before agreeing to play out the 2024 season.
That could leave Capewell, who at 30 years of age brings 139 games of experience with him to the Warriors, in the starting side and playing a valuable role for Andrew Webster's side who were the major surprise packet of the 2023 campaign.
Capewell will travel to Auckland to link up with the club early next week.
