New Zealand Warriors veteran Dylan Walker has name-dropped four 'Players to Watch' for the upcoming 2025 NRL season as the club enters a new chapter following the exits of Addin Fonua-Blake, Shaun Johnson and Tohu Harris.
One win away from reaching the 2023 NRL Grand Final, the Warriors had an inconsistent 2024 campaign which saw them fail to reach the finals.
As they look to reclaim their success, they have made several new signings, headlined by the arrival of four-time premiership James Fisher-Harris but will need to rely heavily on the younger players in the squad.
This comes as they lost a ton of experience in the off-season and will be without club stalwarts Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks), Tohu Harris (retired), Shaun Johnson (retired), Marcelo Montoya (Bulldogs), Jazz Tevaga (Manly) and Zyon Maiu'u (Bulldogs).
Speaking with Zero Tackle, veteran Dylan Walker named four 'Players to Watch' in 2025 - two forwards and two backs. The quartet name-dropped by Walker only have 21 first-grade appearances between them to date.
"There's heaps. Sio Kali, he's a centre and is still very young and he'll take some time but he's looking real good," Walker said.
"Demitric Vaimauga is looking the goods (too), Jacob Laban, Ali Leiataua, there's heaps.
"In the next few years, I'd like to think that the Warriors are going to be competing a lot with those guys.
"As an older player now and having been in the system with them, you sort of help to guide them and instilling them with certain values and certain things that they can take with them going into seasons.
"It's not just about football; it's about off the field and what you do and those guys are really good at it. They've got a good connection with family and just their confidence that they've got is a big thing."
Winning the Harold Matthews Cup last year in their maiden season, the Warriors boast some of the best young and upcoming players and have a great pathways system.
While they are still competing in the junior representative levels, some players to watch in the coming years include SG Ball Cup captain Kahu Capper, winger Connor Bowden, Harold Matthews Cup halfback Tyson Hansen, and front-rower Krushil Koteka.
"It's always good when you see (the younger crop of talent coming through the club's pathways) because then you can have faith in the club and where they're going," Walker added.
"You can only look at Penrith for what they did with those (younger) guys and how well they've been.
"You've got to let them be themselves, let them have that confidence and arrogance and for them, it's just expressing that to the NRL and believing it wholeheartedly."
