The Warriors expect to be “compensated in the form of a player or two” by any club looking to sign star forward Mitch Barnett.
Barnett will return to Australia for family reasons at the end of the year after the Warriors granted him a release on family compassionate grounds from the final year of his contract. The NSW Blues forward will be in high demand, with the Broncos and Eels already expressing initial interest just hours after his availability became public.
Blues star Mitch Barnett is a man in demand after the Warriors granted him a release at the end of the season.Credit: Dylan Coker
While the Warriors are prepared to let Barnett go 12 months early given his child’s medical requirements and the need for more family support, they expect something in return from any club that attempts to sign him.
“Mitch and his agent know very clearly that whilst we’ve been completely considerate and understanding of this situation in agreeing to release him, there is a business component to it,” Warriors CEO Cameron George said.
“And that is we expect to be compensated in the form of a player or two for allowing Mitch to go home, from the club that shows interest. We will work through that process.
“There’s probably only 12 clubs that would fit his bill … There’s no point sitting here and guessing who or what that [compensation is until Gav [Barnett’s agent Gavin Orr] rings us and says ‘Club A is interested in Mitch and this is what they can offer up. Or is there something else you prefer?’ That’s how that conversation starts. Until that happens, you don’t know.”
George made it clear that a transfer fee – which doesn’t provide any salary cap advantage to the Warriors – will not be considered. “It gives you no relief at all,” he said.
“We want to be compensated in the form of a player. What that position and who that player is, each club could have a different alternative for us.”
Orr said club representatives from Parramatta and Brisbane had already called him about Barnett.
“You can tell why those clubs are interested. Obviously, Payne [Haas] is leaving the Broncos and Parramatta were chasing Keon [Koloamatangi] pretty hard [before he signed with the Dragons] … it’s early days,” he said.
Barnett said it was difficult breaking the news to his Warriors teammates on Tuesday morning.
“The decision has come over a period of time, we’re trying to work through a decision that developed a while back,” Barnett told the club’s website.
“It’s come to this point in time, it’s not a decision that was made overnight … I had to put my family first.
“[The Warriors] know what I’m going through, they understand the decision and have been very supportive of it, especially towards me and my family. It doesn’t make it any easier, the decision, but it’s one that needed to be made …
“I’m a father first, a husband first. People probably think ‘Why now?’. It’s so that it doesn’t impact this season.”
The livewire and the legend: Inside the Roosters’ new playmaking puzzle
Daly Cherry-Evans has new colours, a new number and a new remit – truly unlocking the game’s most creative playmaker, and arguably his heir apparent.
A day after his 37th birthday – Cherry-Evans is now the third-oldest player to step out in the NRL era – the Roosters star recruit combined with Sam Walker for the first time in this year’s most anticipated signing storyline.
Lightning delays and an eventual Saturday night trial loss to the Eels aside, Walker thrived in his first hit-out with the former Manly champion.
The Tricolours livewire finished a promising 50-minute stint in Gosford as he dummied his way over for a solo try alongside two assists and a 40-20, with Cherry-Evans taking on the majority of kicking and game management duties wearing the No.6.
Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold has already noted the similarities between Walker and Cherry-Evans as particularly unpredictable halves, while Trent Robinson said pre-game he sees Walker “growing into a really dominant half of the game, but he’s also got some creativity that we want him to express.”
After 15 years and 352 NRL games, Cherry-Evans is now a key part of what could well be the game’s most lethal playmaking spine.
Dynamic duo: Daly Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker.Credit: Getty Images
“Being in a new club, I’ll naturally adapt to what the team needs,” Cherry-Evans said after his first outing in red, white and blue.
“Naturally, I’m going to have that halfback mindset, that older, experienced leadership mentality. If I can have Sam Walker thinking more freely, then that’s definitely part of my job.
“Let him play the way that he can play … Hopefully [playing five-eighth] adds more to my game. But I’ve been playing for a long time, so there’s a lot of my game that’s going to be very similar when it comes to the way a halfback plays.
“Yeah, I’m wearing No.6, but there’s a lot of things that I need to do for this team when it comes to leading the team around.
“That will stay the same for me, but hopefully as the year evolves, we evolve as well. We want to get to a point where we know where the ball’s going, but the opposition doesn’t.”
While fellow recruit Reece Robson will miss up to the first month of 2026 with a broken thumb, the Roosters will boast a slew of playmakers given James Tedesco’s ball-playing evolution in a career-best season last year, alongside creative forwards Connor Watson and Victor Radley.
Fitting so many creative types in behind the Roosters power game has often proven a slow burn in recent years for Robinson.
Walker’s development at No.7 alongside Cherry-Evans holds the key though as the 23-year-old enters his sixth NRL campaign, albeit with last year hampered by a ruptured ACL.
“I’ve enjoyed [the pre-season] with him so much,” Walker said.
“I’m picking his brain as much as possible. I asked him a lot of questions because he’s done most things. There are certain scenarios in games where I want to know what he’s thinking and what I’m thinking in different situations … We both play that [dominant playmaking] role at certain times and we both feed off each other. We’d love it to click straight away, but it’s going to take time, and we both know that.”
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