Warriors coach Andrew Webster says the decision to let one of the Auckland-based NRL club’s brightest young talents go wasn’t one taken lightly.

Forward Zyon Maiu’u, 21, has signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on a two-year deal effective immediately, despite being contracted with the Warriors until the end of 2026.

Webster said the call came down to what was best for the balance for their roster and giving an emerging talent the best opportunity to play NRL football, which for Maiu’u was in Canterbury, rather than Penrose.

“If we didn’t want it to happen, we could have dug our heels in and said no. It’s a two-way street and we just thought for the balance for our roster and the best for Zyon’s opportunity, he should go and take it.”

“It’s hard,” said Webster, “He had a really good opportunity, we’ve got a lot of young, local, talented forwards. Zyon’s a terrific person and terrific player, he’s a player on the way up.

“You don’t allow permission for everyone, but he’s got a different path there [at the Bulldogs] than what his path is here at the moment. We wanted to give him that opportunity to pursue that.

“Is there an element of regret? When you’re such a good person like Zyon, it is.

“I feel like the balance of our roster with our local talent in all our local forwards, Zyon and I had a good chat and both agreed it was the right move for him.

Maiu’u made one NRL appearance for the Warriors against the Gold Coast Titans on Anzac Day last season. Used off the bench, he made an impression in his 13 minutes on the field with 77m from seven runs, five tackles, no missed tackles and zero errors, before an ankle injury picked up in early June saw him sidelined for several weeks.

The immediate concern for the Warriors after the departure of Maiu’u is replacing his spot in the top 30 contracts, either internally or externally.

Webster said “our plan is to fill that [top 30 sport] with local talent, not outside, at this stage”.

Warriors fans are no stranger to seeing players depart New Zealand shores for Australian clubs. Some of those have gone on to grow into top-quality players – like Eliesa Katoa for the Melbourne Storm.

Webster said there is always an element of risk in letting a young talent go, but the real question lies in whether you back the remaining talent at the club – which he does.

“You always have these, ‘Am I going see Zyon go on to be one of the greatest front-rowers at another club?’ You always have those worries, but at that same stage I’m really confident in the path of a lot of other guys here too.”

Kurt Capewell, Jackson Ford, Jacob Laban, Demitric Vaimauga, Marata Niukore and Leka Halasima are all quality, first-grade second-rowers that Maiu’u would have contended with for minutes in 2025 and the Bulldogs’ present roster presents less competition for him to establish himself as an NRL regular.

“Canterbury obviously identified him as they need an impact forward like Zyon ... we’ve got lots of local, talented players who are very good,” said Webster.

The Warriors’ first trial match ahead of the 2025 NRL season is this Friday against the Cronulla Sharks, kickoff 9.30pm NZT.

Will Toogood is an online sports editor and golf reporter for the NZ Herald. He enjoys watching people chase a ball around on a grass surface so much he decided to make a living out of it.