{"id":450738,"date":"2025-05-21T02:29:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T02:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=450738"},"modified":"2025-05-21T04:16:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T04:16:01","slug":"significant-moment-as-teen-freak-signs-mammoth-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=450738","title":{"rendered":"'Significant moment' as teen freak signs mammoth deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffwo of the most talented young forwards in the competition have extended with the Warriors<\/a> on deals that see them become the longest-contracted players at the club.<\/p>\n

Leka Halasima and Jacob Laban have both re-committed until the end of 2029 in what is a major boost for the Auckland-based outfit.<\/p>\n

Laban was originally set to come off-contract at the end of next season, while boom rookie Halasima\ufeff was already locked in until 2027.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'My teammates know': Truth behind lingering Lomax debate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Tigers poised to cut Galvin loose immediately<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Blues throw support behind Queensland's No.1 target<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

However, with the looming introduction of new teams in Perth and Papua New Guinea, the club opted to move quickly to secure both their futures.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"Signing Leka and Jacob on long-term deals is a really significant moment for us," head of recruitment Andrew McFadden said in a statement.<\/p>\n

"It reinforces what we are working towards in making this a development club, building it around players we are bringing through from the local game.<\/p>\n

"Leka and Jacob are terrific examples of the talent in New Zealand while also showing off the opportunities available through our pathways."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The 19-year-old Halasima played a handful of games last year, but first turned heads when he scored a brilliant runaway try in the narrow round four win over the Wests Tigers and has since established himself in the starting second-row role.<\/p>\n

Laban, who \ufeffturned 21 last month, has played just four games this year but remains a major part of the Warriors' long-term plans.<\/p>\n

Head coach Andrew Webster<\/a> was thrilled to announce their contract extensions.<\/p>\n

\"Warriors<\/p>\n

"It's so exciting for us seeing Leka and Jacob signed for so long," he said.<\/p>\n

"We're really proud of them and what they've already achieved. We have so much belief in them and they're paying that back with their performances.<\/p>\n

"Along with Demitric [Vaimauga], Ali [Leiataua] and Tanner [Stowers-Smith], Leka and Jacob show what our future looks like. They've got such a big part to play in it."<\/p>\n

The side are currently in second position on the ladder behind the Canterbury Bulldogs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffwo of the most talented young forwards in the competition have extended with the Warriors on deals that see them become the longest-contracted players at […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":450740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=450738"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450743,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450738\/revisions\/450743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/450740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=450738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=450738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=450738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}