The New Zealand Warriors are reportedly first in line to secure Eel Marata Niukore for season 2023 should things fall into place for them.
The 25-year-old was rumoured to already be speaking to a host of rival clubs in the run-in to the November 1 deadline, however, a name has now been put to a potential suitor.
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According to Wide World of Sport's 'The Mole', Niukore is a player that Parramatta wish to keep, but their priority as of current is with the likes of Clint Gutherson, Junior Paulo and Reed Mahoney amongst others.
The club are by all accounts resigned to the fact that Niukore will be the one to leave, with an effort to retaining all players nearing the end of their contract a 'pipe dream'.
Silky skills by Marata Niukore 🤩#TelstraPremiership Moment of the Match#NRLEelsSharks pic.twitter.com/mpXmmOKxkw
— NRL (@NRL) March 27, 2021
As New Zealand native, the back-rower began his career with the Warriors in 2017 before making the move across the ditch to play for Brad Arthur's side the following year.
He has appeared on 77 occasions for Parra over the course of his four-season stint and has been mostly solid for his side.
This season, he helped the Eels to a sixth-placed finish as they made it as far as the semi-finals before being knocked out by Western Sydney rivals, and eventual premiers, Penrith.
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The back-rower averaged 100 running metres per match in 2021 and operated at 92.6% tackle efficiency across 461 tackles.
Should Niukore elect to return home to New Zealand, then he would be competing with the likes of Tohu Harris, Bayley Sironen, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Eliesa Katoa for a place within Nathan Brown's team.
After finishing 12th in 2021, the Warriors will be looking to push on up the table towards securing their maiden premiership in a season that will likely be spent away from their Mount Smart fanbase once more.
