Source: Radio New Zealand
Chanel Harris-Tavita has become a favourite among Warriors fans. Marty Melville / PHOTOSPORT
Another week, another player free agency question for NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster.
One of the many sideshows provided by the NRL is the seemingly non-stop procession of off-contract players trying to secure their futures with rival clubs, while also supposedly devoting themselves to the task immediately at hand – helping their current club to a championship.
Some fans see this as part of the entertainment, others as an unwanted distraction or even a conflict of interest.
This week’s fairly substantiated rumours involve Warriors five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita in discussions with North Queensland Cowboys over a possible move next season.
Harris-Tavita is currently battling with Tanah Boyd and Luke Metcalf for his starting spot in the halves, while Te Maire Martin, Luke Hanson and Jett Cleary are also breathing down his neck.
His form during the Warriors’ 6-2 start to the season has been compelling.
In the opening win over Sydney Roosters, he scored two tries, but was knocked out early in the following game and missed the third under concussions protocols. He was benched for the only two losses of the campaign, but returned when Metcalf tweaked a hamstring and starred in a historic win over Melbourne Storm.
Chanel Harris-Tavita scores a try against Sydney Roosters. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Despite Metcalf’s return from injury this week, Webster has retained the status quo, but exactly where Harris-Tavita fits into the equation beyond 2026 is still unknown.
“That’s a private conversation we’d have with Chanel,” Webster said. “We love him and we don’t want him to leave, but we’ll see how it continues to play out.”
If that sounds familiar, the coach expressed very similar sentiments just days before four-time Simon Mannering Medal winner and former club captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck confirmed he was heading to England next season.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten knows Harris-Tavita well from his tenure as Warriors assistant and interim head coach, when Stephen Kearney was sacked during Covid exile across the Tasman, so a reunion doesn’t seem that farfetched.
The Cowboys are currently well served by Queensland Origin star Tom Dearden and Jake Clifford in the halves, but there are doubts over the latter’s future with the club.
“I obviously knew he’s off contract,” Webster said of Harris-Tavita. “He’s been off contract since 1 November, so I know it’s a busy period for every player off contract.
“Chanel and I are in dialogue around it. Communication’s been good, I’ll say that, but I don’t know the ins and outs of it from an external point of view.
“I just know that we continue to have conversations.”
Luke Metcalf and Tanah Boyd kept Chanel Harris-Tavita on the bench for the only two losses of the Warriors season. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
The term “off contract” is slightly misleading. Harris-Tavita is still contracted for this season, but last November, he was allowed to start talking to other clubs on the open market.
“I just need to keep playing my best footy – and I think that’s still ahead of me – and let the agent take care of everything else,” he deflected two weeks ago.
Luckily, Webster tends to avoid scrolling social media, but the thought of Harris-Tavita heading elsewhere is breaking the hearts of ‘Wahs’ faithful, who have embraced him as a fan favourite, since he ruptured a testicle in service of their team in 2022.
He brought up his century of games for the club last week against the Dolphins.
“I’m having conversations with him, me personally, but I don’t like to play recruitment out in the media,” Webster insisted.
“I understand it. At the end of the day, players are off contract on 1 November and we have so many halfbacks in that situation, so we all need to sit and wait and see how the season unfolds.
“A week in rugby league is a long time, let alone six months, and we’re at the halfway point from 1 November – it’ll work itself out.”
At times like this, Webster’s priority must be keeping his team focused on the next game and taking the emotion out of contract negotiations that may leave players feeling slighted by their club.
“I don’t think they spit the dummy, I just think they have to look after their interests,” he said. “It’s their business, and they have to put food on the table and pay the mortgage.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster has learned not to tinker with a winning combination. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
“I just understand it and no-one’s spat the dummy. I don’t think we’ve had anyone spit the dummy here that’s left our club … maybe one or two.
“If you have open dialogue and you chat, it’s just the business side of it.”
Metcalf led the Dally M Medal standings last year, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and extending his contract became a clear priority for the club during the off-season. He is now committed until the end of 2028.
Boyd is also in the final year of a two-year deal, but his outstanding performances this season have really turned the halves rotation on its head. He leads the competition in kicks and kick metres, and slotted a conversion from near the sideline for victory against the Dolphins.
Martin played five-eighth for North Queensland in the 2017 NRL grand final, but is possibly the most dispensable of the leading contenders, while Cleary – son of former Warriors coach Ivan and brother of Penrith Panthers superstar Nathan – is biding his time in reserve grade, before his inevitable elevation to first grade.
Meantime, Webster has learned not to tinker with a winning combination, with Metcalf currently consigned to the interchange bench against Parramatta Eels on Saturday.
“I think it’s been clear, at the moment, we’re just rewarding the team that’s playing well,” he said. “Luke’s back this week, but we’ve rewarded Boydy and Chanel.
“They all have a part to play at different stages, and it’ll work itself out through form and the rugby league gods – they always pull you into line at the right time.
“I thought it was a really good time [for Metcalf] to come back last time. We had had a lack of continuity around that six spot for a while, through head knocks and injury.
“Luke Hanson debuted against the Knights, so it was a good time to put [Metcalf] back in, but unfortunately, through injury, it didn’t work out.
“How we integrate him will be based on circumstances – form, winning, injuries. I’m just going to play it by ear.
“I always find, when I plan ahead, it goes the other way anyway, so I just stay openminded.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
