THE Warriors have chosen to release teen sensation Etene Nanai-Seturo from the final two years of his contract, opening the door for the 18-year-old to join New Zealand Rugby and likely Super Rugby franchise the Waikato Chiefs.

In a statement released on Friday afternoon the Warriors said that through mediation they had agreed to release Nanai-Seturo who made a shock appearance with the New Zealand team at the recent Sydney Rugby Sevens tournament despite being contracted to the Warriors.

Warriors CEO Cameron George called for “respect among codes” following Nanai-Seturo’s surprise showing at the Sevens and as part of the conditions of his release the Warriors and NZ Rugby have agreed to new protocols regarding contracted players switching codes.

Round 19

“We need to work together when faced with these situations and it is not in either of our interests for these matters to be aired in public,” George said.

“The Vodafone Warriors wish Etene well with his career.”

Etene Nanai-Seturo’s appearance for New Zealand at the Sydney Sevens last month brought his contract tug of war to a head. Photo: Bradley Kanaris Source: Getty Images

General manager for New Zealand Rugby, Neil Sorensen, also endorsed the need for the two codes to work more closely with regards to young talent currently under contract.

“We have an enormous amount of respect for each other’s organisations and we wish each other every success in our respective codes,” said Sorensen.

“We have also agreed on protocols to be followed where either of us is made aware of any player who is interested in changing codes in the middle of their employment.

“Under those protocols we will be able to avoid this situation arising again in future.”

The next tug of war looming for the Warriors and New Zealand Rugby is that of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the Warriors skipper happy to explore all options as he enters the final year of his three-year deal with the Warriors.

New Zealand Rugby League’s player of the year in 2017, Tuivasa-Sheck has already been linked to a move to the Auckland Blues in 2019 while a number of other NRL clubs are eager to lure the dynamic fullback back across the Tasman.