{"id":684672,"date":"2026-05-21T07:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/684672\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T07:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:04:10","slug":"luke-metcalf-warriors-wont-use-nrl-10-day-cool-down-period-to-convince-halfback-to-back-out-of-dragons-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/684672\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Metcalf: Warriors won\u2019t use NRL 10-day cool-down period to convince halfback to back out of Dragons contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the other side of the coin, clubs can also waive the cooling off period altogether.<\/p>\n

But asked if the Warriors would look to use the remaining days they have in Metcalf\u2019s cooling period to try to convince him to stay, considering the season-ending injury to Tanah Boyd last weekend<\/a>, coach Andrew Webster confirmed no attempts will be made.<\/p>\n

As a result, Metcalf has not been named for the Warriors this weekend<\/a>, coincidentally against the club he\u2019ll join in 2027.<\/p>\n

After a hamstring injury against the Cronulla Sharks in round five, Metcalf hasn\u2019t played first grade since, despite returning to fitness and being named on the interchange bench against the Parramatta Eels earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Last week, Webster explained Metcalf wouldn\u2019t play or be involved in full training<\/a> until his new contract was finalised, in order to avoid him picking up an injury that would put his new deal in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

\"LukeLuke Metcalf (left) speaks with fellow Warrior Leka Halasima. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

And while Metcalf will have to wait until the round 13 clash against the Penrith Panthers at the earliest to make his return \u2013 allowing him a full week of training \u2013 Webster explained that his contract situation has been resolved. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all sorted,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you sign his release, it means he\u2019s not contracted to any club. If he goes out, trains and hurts himself, then he\u2019s not contracted to a club.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to wait until the paperwork\u2019s done. There\u2019s no issues, we just needed to make sure that every part of the deal was done.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we\u2019re on and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, a similar situation unfolded when former Warriors halfback Ronald Volkman also signed for the Dragons, only for a medical to find a shoulder injury that saw his contract torn up and effectively left him unemployed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In that case, though, the Warriors stepped in to pay for Volkman\u2019s surgery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What happens to Metcalf for the rest of the season, then, could just become a delicate situation for the club to manage.<\/p>\n

While Te Maire Martin deputised for Boyd in Brisbane, and will do the same against the Dragons this week, Webster has made it clear there is still a job for Metcalf to do.<\/p>\n

It was only October last year that saw the Warriors give him a new contract, worth close to $1 million per season, as a sign of his importance to the side, even if he\u2019s found himself on the outer.<\/p>\n

\"LukeLuke Metcalf reacts after the injury during the match against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in round five of the 2026 season in Sydney. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Webster has always maintained that Metcalf will remain at the club for the rest of the season, regardless.<\/p>\n

Those sentiments were backed up by hooker Wayde Egan, who said Metcalf\u2019s displays in training haven\u2019t dipped. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been awesome,\u201d Egan said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a big couple of weeks for him, with all the stuff going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he hasn\u2019t batted an eyelid. He trained against us today, and carved us up a few times. He\u2019s doing really well, he\u2019s going to be a great asset for us for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still really good mates with Lukey, every time he comes into work, it\u2019s a pleasure to have him here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever happens after that, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Powell<\/a> is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the other side of the coin, clubs can also waive the cooling off period altogether. But asked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[330052,39410,64,63,8421,41265,10970,3895,319528,173739,28942,4027,100092,33343,602,761,762,158,129785,1787,1927,119680,32444,161,85,19004,319,13964,3198,1050,206073],"class_list":["post-684672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-10day","tag-attempt","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-back","tag-beyond","tag-club","tag-contract","tag-convince","tag-cooldown","tag-cooling","tag-dragons","tag-halfback","tag-luke","tag-metcalf","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-nrls","tag-of","tag-out","tag-period","tag-remain","tag-season","tag-sports","tag-this","tag-to","tag-use","tag-warriors","tag-will","tag-wont"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}