Lisone links with GC Titans
Sam Lisone has left the Warriors to join the Gold Coast Titans, having been granted a release from his contract.
Lisone was due to play for the Warriors in their trial game against the Storm in Palmerston North yesterday.
He was a late scratching from the team, with it being put down to an injury.
However, the real reason why he didn’t play was because his move to the Titans had been confirmed, ending weeks of speculation that he was on his way out from the Warriors.
The 26-year-old Lisone had a couple of NRL clubs interested in picking him up for this year, as well as Super League clubs in England, who were willing to sign him on multi-year contracts.
But in the end, Lisone has agreed to move to the Gold Coast, calling time on his career at the Warriors that consisted of 85 games between 2015 and 2019.
With Lisone gone, it means the Warriors have two free spots on their roster for this season.
Jack Murchie, from the Raiders, could fill one of those positions, with the club keen on the big 22-year-old forward, who has played three NRL games.
Murchie played for the Raiders at the recent NRL Nines in Perth and at 1.93m and 105kg, is just the type of player the Warriors could do with up the middle.
Murchie would need a release from the Raiders to join the Warriors as he’s in the last year of his contract with the team from Australia’s capital. But it is understood he is keen to come to Auckland, where he would have a better opportunity to get game time.
The Warriors are also looking at offering a contract to Jamayne TaunoaBrown, who came to the club as a trialist during preseason and has impressed coach Stephen Kearney with his attitude and ability.
The Warriors front-row stocks suffered a blow when Bunty Afoa picked up a season-ending ACL injury at training earlier this month.
But even so, the club were still willing to give Lisone a release and it’s understood the relationship between Lisone and Kearney was poor.
A few years ago it looked like Lisone and Albert Vete would be the Warriors’ leading props for a decade, but they’ve now both left the club without living up to the potential they showed earlier in their careers.
Lisone only played 11 first-grade games over the past two seasons for the Warriors.
But the Titans were willing to take a chance on him and offer him the opportunity to revive his NRL career.
The Titans have lost Ryan James to a season-ending knee injury and with Moeaki Fotuaika having a wrist injury, Lisone could play in the club’s first game of the season, against the Raiders on March 13. It’s believed Lisone will join the Titans for just one year, where he’ll either be able to impress the club enough to give him a longer term deal, or he’ll head to the Super League.