Kurt Capewell

The seasoned Queensland and Brisbane second rower signed a three-year deal in early December last year to join the One Zealand Warriors two months after appearing for the Broncos in their grand final loss to Penrith.

The nine-game State of Origin representative was off contract at the end of 2024 but was granted a release by Brisbane enabling him to move to Go Media Stadium immediately.

A premiership winner with the Penrith Panthers in 2021, Capewell has made 139 first-grade
appearances since his debut with the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks in 2016.

Of his signing One New Zealand Warriors general manager recruitment, pathways and development Andrew McFadden said: “We’re thrilled to be able to lock in a player of Kurt’s quality and experience immediately, With room in our squad we tabled a long-term offer in the hope of bringing Kurt to club from 2024. Quite apart from what Kurt will provide as a player, he’ll be immensely valuable with his experience in a mentoring role for the young back rowers we have coming through the
club.”

One New Zealand Warriors head coach Andrew Webster was keen to attract Capewell having previously worked with him at Penrith: "Kurt is a winner with tremendous passion and a terrific work ethic. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him when we were both at Penrith and I know from that experience that he’ll add so much to our squad and to the club in an overall sense. He totally fits the profile of the type of player we want at the One New Zealand Warriors.”

Capewell spent a few days in Auckland before Christmas getting to know his teammates, staff and surroundings before settling in after the festive season.

He was with the Sharks for four seasons from 2016-2019 before joining the Panthers. In an injury-disrupted first campaign he played in Penrith’s grand final loss to Melbourne in
2020 and then savoured premiership joy when the Panthers beat South Sydney 14-12 to
win the first of their three consecutive grand finals in 2021.

He then linked up with Brisbane making 43 appearances over the 2022 and 2023 seasons,
his last being his third grand final when the Broncos lost to Penrith on October 1.

A regular 80-minute player with a 70 per cent winning record, Capewell averaged 84 metres
and 30 tackles in his 24 appearances for the Broncos in 2023.