Warriors miss out on Kiwis rake — for now

and will be heavily involved in the 2019 campaign.

Smith is signed with the Storm until 2022 and, for now at least, won’t be asking for an early release.

The Warriors would have been the ideal club for Smith to join next season.

Kiwis veteran hooker Issac Luke signed a one-year deal with the Warriors in October. He was close to agreeing a deal with the Knights at that time, but he needed a shoulder operation which put his future playing time in doubt.

While other clubs got cold feet, the Warriors were willing to resign him, but it’s believed he’s on a reduced contract.

If he has a great season, the 31-year-old will be able to pick up one final big contract before retiring, but probably in Australia.

For the Warriors it’s likely that it will be time to move on from Luke after this season and with Smith it would have been the perfect transition as they could have had a player to build the club’s future around, along with the likes of Roger TuivasaSheck, David Fusitu’a, Isaiah Papali’i and Bunty Afoa.

Nathaniel Roache has been primed as a hooker for the future at the Warriors, but injuries have stymied his career, playing just 20 games over the past three seasons.

It’s understood the club’s recruitment manager, Peter O’Sullivan, was ready to make a move if Brandon Smith got an early release. If Smith sees out the remainder of his Storm contract, he’ll be 26 when he’s on the open market and coming from a family of Warriors’ supporters, it seems almost inevitable that he’ll one day end up at the Aucklandbased club.

For now though the Warriors will be watching Smith from a distance, waiting for an opportunity to pick him up.