{"id":559599,"date":"2026-08-05T09:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T09:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/559599\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T09:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T09:08:09","slug":"warriors-v-panthers-kiwi-side-face-hooker-dilemma-as-wayde-egan-sam-healey-approach-open-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/559599\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors v Panthers: Kiwi side face hooker dilemma as Wayde Egan, Sam Healey approach open market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Both Egan and Healey come off contract at the end of 2027, meaning they can negotiate with rivals from November 1 if the Warriors can\u2019t lock either down before that date.<\/p>\n

\"WarriorsWarriors hookers Wayde Egan (inset) and Sam Healey both come off contract at the same time. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

And unless the Warriors can come to an agreement, more than one club will certainly fancy their chances at pinching one or the other.<\/p>\n

For Healey in particular, November will represent a huge chance in his career, after relocating across the Tasman after standing out in leading the Newtown Jets to the New South Wales Cup in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As far as his coach goes, though, there is plenty of reason to think the 24-year-old will recommit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked him at the start of the year, \u2018do you want to stay?\u2019 he said \u2018yes I do\u2019,\u201d Webster said of Healey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get asked these questions often, and people doubt us. We\u2019ve got some wrong, we haven\u2019t got them all right \u2013 but we really like Sam, he\u2019s certainly in our plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to discuss major details, but we want both of them to stay at our club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healey backs up his coach\u2019s words in saying he wants to stay. However, he could also be forgiven for exploring his options, especially with the Papua New Guinea Chiefs entering the NRL and giving out tax-free contracts from 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As he enters the prime years of his career, Healey won\u2019t want to play second fiddle to any player, even one as good as Egan, who at 29 will have different expectations from his next contract.<\/p>\n

The Warriors have already seen this situation play out this season, when halfback Luke Metcalf opted to join the St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a>, rather than be stuck behind Tanah Boyd.<\/p>\n

But with the ball largely in his court, Healey is also happy to let things play out before any discussions over his future are finalised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to stay,\u201d Healey said. \u201cIt depends if we can get the right thing done for both parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to finishing off the year strong and then we\u2019ll sort that sort of stuff out then.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d obviously have ambitions to start. I haven\u2019t fully thought too deeply about that at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just focusing on footy. I\u2019m sure that will take care of itself at the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WarriorsWarriors hooker Sam Healey in action in a pre-season game against the Manly Sea Eagles in Napier in February. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

One solution could see Healey take the reins fulltime at No 9, however it\u2019s unclear how that would be received by Egan.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old has grown into one of the NRL\u2019s best during his years at the Warriors, and has made more than 150 appearances for the club, as well as captained the side when called upon. <\/p>\n

As far as Webster is concerned, though, Healey is doing everything right. Since his debut for the club in a 30-26 win over the North Queensland Cowboys last year, Healey has made himself undroppable, resulting in Freddy Lussick moving to the Penrith Panthers.<\/p>\n

And with few clubs able to name two hookers of the same quality as Egan and Healey, Webster is thrilled with what he\u2019s seen from his youngster.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, Sam will play [for] longer,\u201d Webster said. \u201cI\u2019m calling him \u2018the finisher\u2019, like in baseball, they bring on a pitcher at the end to make sure they ice the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does it through his defence as much as his attack. He\u2019s very gifted with the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings a different level of intensity at the end of the game. He\u2019s very crafty, I\u2019m stoked with what he\u2019s doing.\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":"Both Egan and Healey come off contract at the end of 2027, meaning they can negotiate with rivals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[23607,806,46326,8615,124,36729,69616,1872,275359,22311,85829,296,194,225,111,139,12885,69,5493,16856,6744,13084,6122,18460,6102,33397,213,165,18435,3006,245383,102],"class_list":["post-559599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-approach","tag-as","tag-clubs","tag-come","tag-could","tag-dilemma","tag-egan","tag-face","tag-healey","tag-hooker","tag-hookers","tag-into","tag-kiwi","tag-market","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-november","tag-nz","tag-open","tag-panthers","tag-place","tag-prepare","tag-rules","tag-sam","tag-side","tag-situation","tag-sports","tag-their","tag-tricky","tag-warriors","tag-wayde","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}