NZ Warriors have wasted little time moving on from departed prop Matt Lodge, adding former Queensland State of Origin forward Dunamis Lui to their roster for the remainder of the 2022 NRL season.
Lodge left the relocated Auckland club in the lurch last week, announcing he would not move across the Tasman to its Mt Smart Stadium home next year and demanding an immediate release, which he was granted.
But the Redcliffe-based outfit has scooped up Lui from the local club's reserve-grade side and he's a likely addition to the squad to face Newcastle Knights on Saturday.
"As well as his extensive experience, Dunamis will give our squad wonderful qualities as a leader," said Warriors football general manager Craig Hodges.
"He's also familiar with many of our players, after playing alongside them in the Queensland Cup.
"Dunamis is going to play a valuable role for us, not only as a player, but as a mentor for the young players we have here in our wider squad."
Since his first-grade debut for Brisbane Broncos in 2010, Lui, 32, has amassed 169 games across four teams, most (89) for Canberra Raiders from 2017-21. Over the 2018-19 seasons, he appeared in all the Raiders' 51 games.
The Samoan international made one Origin appearance for Queensland in 2020 and is expected to sign for the expansion Redcliffe Dolphins next season, under coach Wayne Bennett.
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