Demitric Vaimauga is signed with the Warriors through 2028. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport
About half-an-hour after losing co-captain and kingpin Mitch Barnett for the season, NZ Warriors fans got a glimpse of how their team might fill that void this year and into the future.
Barnett hobbled off with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after 20 minutes against South Sydney Rabbitohs, and - although nobody knew it then - his 2025 NRL campaign was over.
Soon after halftime, hooker Wayde Egan ran from dummy half inside Souths territory and found young second-rower Demitric Vaimauga on the 30-metre line. He fended off one tackler and rolled away from another, before offloading back to Egan from his knees.
Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad sliced towards the posts and passed back to Egan - his third touch of the ball in the same movement - before teenager Leka Halasima propped off his right foot and found a yawning path to the tryline.
The NRL proclaimed the sequence 'Try of the Week' and it was certainly reminiscent of the entertaining Warriors of yesteryear, when Stacey Jones and Ali Lauiti'iti were in full flight.
His contribution only lasted a couple of seconds and gained about five metres, but this cameo by Vaimauga suggested he had far more to offer his team in their moment of need.
"I think they gave Leka the try," he deflected. "I don't really like to look into it, but it is good to see us on the Instagram page, I guess."
A common thread through the Warriors 9-3 start to their season has been 'next man up'. Another has been harnessing a fresh wave of talented young forwards to provide the nucleus of the roster moving forward.
While Halasima, 19, has captured the headlines and - along with Jacob Laban - earned a contract extension through the 2029, Vaimauga, 21, has quietly come off the bench for every game this season and is starting to pick up momentum.
In 29 minutes against Souths, he ran nine times for 83 metres, offloaded three times and made 17 tackles - good for 43 fantasy points, if you're that way inclined.
Last month against St George Illawarra Dragons, he was even better, logging 39 minutes, running nine times for 108 metres and making 29 tackles. That's 45 fantasy points and, at this point in the season, he may be worth a quick pick-up while his price is still right.
Coach Andrew Webster has been at pains to stress no one player can make up for Barnett's loss and it will take a collective effort.
Still, the skipper's absence leaves a gaping hole in the rotation and Vaimauga seems best placed to take advantage of the opportunity, as Halasima did when NZ Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris went down earlier in the season.
"I feel like I'm going well, but there's a lot more to come," he reflected. "I've just scratched the surface.
"I'm still adapting to game speed, still a bit raw and new to it. I'm trying to build my minutes and my engine for NRL.
"I feel like my understanding of the game is there and my physicality, but adapting to the game speed...
"I'm just happy to be on the field. The coach has put trust in some of the young boys and I'm glad to be one of them, so I want to put my best foot forward whenever I can."
Vaimauga played the first seven games of his Warriors career as Demitric Sifakula, but adopted his mother's surname during this past off-season, when he re-signed through 2028, so he has at least three more seasons alongside Halasima and Laban.
"It's good to have a crop of boys that I grew up playing with and to be on the big stage with them," he said. "It's a lot for our up-and-comers, especially at grassroots footy as well… giving them someone to look up to."
This is the perfect time for the young guns to learn from hardened veterans like Barnett, Egan, Fisher-Harris and Origin veteran Kurt Capewell.
"I think their footy brains… to be so young, but mature in footy sense," lock Erin Clark enthused. "I'm pretty blown away - when I was that age, I had no idea.
"With Leka, you see his footwork and strength, but we see out on the field how smart he is and Demitric as well. Good to see them doing well, and Demi and Leka played good games on the weekend,
"They're going in the right direction, and hopefully, they'll just get better and better as games go on."
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