Blair set to sign for $2.6m

Adam Blair has agreed to join the Warriors next year on a four-year deal worth NZ$2.6 million, Australian media are reporting.

According to the Courier Mail, the Kiwis captain has chosen to leave the Broncos at the end of the season and move to Auckland.

The 31-year-old Blair doesn’t want to make any announcement until after the season is finished for the Broncos, who play the Panthers in an elimination final tonight.

If the Broncos were to lose this game, Blair would sign a contract with the Warriors next week, but the club would have to wait a further 10 days before making an announcement, under the NRL’s rules to give players a cooling off period when changing clubs.

This rule was brought in after Daly Cherry-Evans’ back-flip to join the Titans from the Sea Eagles in 2015.

Blair is under contract at the Broncos next season, but the club are under salary cap pressure and allowed him to talk to other clubs.

As first reported by Stuff in May, the Warriors have been chasing Blair for next year and while he was initially reluctant to leave the Broncos, the money the Warriors were willing to throw at him has made the move more tempting.

The Dragons and Knights were also in the hunt for Blair, but pulled out of the race when they signed James Graham from the Bulldogs.

Whangarei-born Blair could have chosen to remain in Brisbane, where he is settled with his young family, but told the Courier Mail, he had to consider his long term future.

‘‘I’m at the age where I have to do the right thing by myself and my family and the Broncos,’’ Blair said.

It is believed negotiations recently between the Warriors and Blair’s management were around the length of his contract at the club.