Warriors set to lose star of the future

The New Zealand Warriors are set to lose one of the game's most talented junior dummy halves.

Stanley Iongi, who is just 18 years old, has been part of the Warriors' system since the age of 15 and has impressed through the junior ranks, but has now moved to Australia.

While it had previously been reported that he had linked up with the Melbourne Storm, his manager Dixon McIver confirmed to Zero Tackle that was not the case, and that the youngster had signed with the Brisbane Tigers, who are the Storm's feeder team.

"He has not signed with the Melbourne Storm," McIver told Zero Tackle.

"He is a talented rake but is only 19 next year and has signed with the Brisbane Tigers to fine tune his craft and hopefully play his way into a NRL system.

"He is one of many talented kids over here (in New Zealand) who got lost in the Junior Warriors system during COVID."

The Tigers play in the Queensland Cup, however, struggled through the 2021 season, eventually winding up in 11th place on the table at season's end.

Playing in the under 20s NZRL competition during 2021, Iongi was a key part of the Auckland Blue side who made the grand final before falling to Central District.

Iongi has played representative football for his country in the junior age groups, and is said to play a dynamic style which makes him an excellent runner of the ball, particularly against tired forwards, out of dummy half.

The hooker has also had a way of finding the tryline through his junior ranks, running in plenty during the 2021 NZRL season at under-20s level.

Iongi's stint with the Easts Tigers could eventually lead to him landing an NRL deal. The Storm often scour the Queensland Cup for talent, picking up players like Nicho Hynes and Harry Grant, who have both been breakout stars in the past two seasons.

The Dolphins will also enter the competition in 2023 and are likely to sign a number of players from the Queensland Cup, while the Gold Coast Titans are also based in the Brisbane basin.