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Key meeting likely to decide future of Canberra forward​

A medical episode in May has since sidelined the 28-year-old.​


A key meeting early into the new year could decide the playing future of Canberra forward Corey Harawira-Naera.

The Raiders second-rower was taken off the field in a Round 13 encounter with South Sydney this year after suffering a seizure during the match, with the cause of the medical episode not known.

The 28-year-old has not played since, with Harawira-Naera and the Raiders working through a number of tests and meetings to determine the forward's health and potential return to play.

Canberra had expressed some level of confidence in Harawira-Naera pulling the boots back on in 2024, however the club recently moved to lodge for salary cap relief given the uncertainty of the New Zealand international's future.

Harawira-Naera is contracted until the end of the 2025 season on a deal worth approximately $1.2 million.

According to News Corp, Harawira-Naera is likely to learn his playing fate in January as a decisive meeting to determine his health and future looms.

GettyImages-1263116838.jpg
TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 01: Corey Harawira-Naera of the Raiders looks on during the round 12 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Canberra Raiders at QCB Stadium on August 01, 2020 in Townsville, Australia.

The Raiders have already begun planning for the outcome that sees the Auckland-born back-rower ineligible to add to his 123 NRL career matches.

It is understood that Harawira-Naera will be offered a role with the Raiders in an off-field capacity if he isn't allowed to return next season.

Harawira-Naera played nine games under Ricky Stuart this year, starting at lock and the second-row in six matches.

He started his career with Penrith in 2017 and played 46 games for the Panthers before moving to Canterbury, where he made 21 appearances for the Bulldogs in just one season with the club.

Harawira-Naera made the move to the nation's capital ahead of the 2020 season and has since played 56 games for the Raiders, winning 55 per cent of his games in green while recording nine tries and over 1,200 tackles.
 

Corey Harawira-Naera set to retire over seizure, according to Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart​

The Raiders are all but resigned to the fact that star forward Corey Harawira-Naera will have to retire.

The Kiwi Test forward hasn't played since suffering a seizure on the field in Round 13 against South Sydney.

It was expected that the club would assess Harawira-Naera's future in the new year, but coach Ricky Stuart has told Wide World of Sports that officials are not optimistic.

"It is really sad for the kid… it's a tragedy actually," Stuart said.

"The medical reports we are getting is that he is very unlikely to play again.

"At 28, that's tough and he has been good for us.

"But we are supporting him and looking for a pathway for him after football.

"We would like to keep him in the game and in the club."

The Raiders are investigating the possibility of salary cap relief given the uncertainty of Harawira-Naera's future.

While some clubs have been denied cap relief for retiring players, the Raiders are likely to be successful given Harawira-Naera's dramatic collapse on the field and long absence since then.
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Noitall said:
www.nzherald.co.nz

NRL league star Corey Harawira-Naera keeps door open

The Kiwis and Canberra Raider forward updates fans after his coach signalled his seizure.
www.nzherald.co.nz www.nzherald.co.nz

Sounds like it’s not a full conclusion that CHN career is over, are raiders trying to get a medical retirement?
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I mean, the bloke had a seizure on field right? I'm guessing if it was a pre-existing condition that information would have come out pretty early. Sounds like their blaming it on a previous concussion potentially.
So with that I mind surely a medical retirement is on the cards?
 

Sticking on: Ricky Stuart extends coaching contract with Raiders​

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has extended his contract with the club with a four-year deal seeing him remain in charge of the Green Machine until at least the end of 2029.

Having recently celebrated his 500th game as an NRL coach, Stuart is already the longest-serving coach in Canberra's history with the new deal set to take him to an incredible 16th year with the Raiders after taking the job in 2014.

“The Raiders are in the process of moving through a significant transition, with one of the youngest playing squads in the NRL and we see Ricky as a central part of that transition,” said club chairman Dennis Richardson.

“His values and character have been an important ingredient in the attraction of the young talent we’ve been able to bring to the club in recent times.

“His re-signing until the end of the decade provides continuity and certainty for a playing group which we believe has the potential to deliver the ultimate prize in the coming years.

Ricky Stuart is already the longest-serving coach in Canberra Raiders history.


“As everyone knows, Ricky is very much a part of the Canberra, Queanbeyan and regional community and his commitment and passion for the green machine is legendary.”

After a decorated playing career with the Roosters, Sharks, Eels and Raiders, Stuart began his coaching career in 2002 at the Tricolours with great success – winning a premiership in his maiden season as head coach.

Ricky Stuart inducted into the Hall of Fame


He joined the Sharks in 2007 before moving on to the Eels in 2013, linking up with the Raiders the following year in a move that mirrored his playing career.

He was named the Dally M Coach of the Year in 2016 and has taken the Raiders to a Grand Final in 2019 and preliminary finals on two occasions.

Stuart will coach his 502nd game as coach when the Raiders take on the Bulldogs in the opening game of the NRL's Magic Round weekend.
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At least we know the post-match press conferences will still have some entertainment until 2029.

How many tantrums from now until then?
 
the WARs said:
That 94 Raiders team was and still is one of the greatest ever teams that played in the NRL.. grew up a huge Raiders fanboy .. still certainly like to see them in the mix come sept..
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I used to love the long passes from Stuart to Daley which would give Daley space to run across and pick players up on the inside or run himself.

They had an attractive style of play.
 
Canberra Raiders CEO Don Furner has revealed the NRL club will take home games to New Zealand and Queensland because GIO stadium is "not fit for purpose", but the government won't fund a rebuild. Plans for a new stadium in Canberra were scrapped in 2023, and last year the ACT government said a rebuild would cost a staggering $2.9 billion.

At present there are no concrete plans for a new stadium in the nation's capital, even though the Raiders and other sporting organisations have been calling for it for a decade. Speaking on SEN radio on Wednesday, Raiders CEO Furner said GIO Stadium is falling way behind in comparison to what we've seen in Sydney.

CommBank Stadium in Parramatta and Allianz Stadium in Moore Park were recently rebuilt, providing fans with a much better experience on game days. "GIO Stadium is almost 50 years old," Furner told Jimmy Smith. "It's not fit for purpose anymore and it's sad because we're the nation's capital. We should have a good stadium."

Furner used Christchurch as an example of how a new stadium can boost a city and the economy. The recently-finished One NZ Stadium will host the city's Super Rugby team, as well as drawing concerts and other big events to the region ravaged by earthquakes earlier this century.

Furner said: "We said to our government - here is a city affected by an earthquake. They were broke. They had half the population leave - and they only had half the population of Canberra anyway. They voted that they needed a centrepiece that would attract concerts, the All Blacks, a host team. It's an amazing story and an amazing stadium. If they can afford it surely we can, with federal and ACT government money. But it's not to be at this stage."

The long-time CEO said the Raiders will take home games away from Canberra and play the Warriors in New Zealand and Queensland teams in Queensland (both as the home team). "It's virtually not fit for purpose," he added. "It's frustrating but we've just got to keep working on it."

Furner's comments echoed those of coach Ricky Stuart, who issued a public plea after a game last season. “The stadium administration are wonderful people, they accommodate us so well. They and Canberra deserve a new stadium," he said.

“It’s absolutely crap they don’t build a stadium to look after Canberra’s people. I’m all for education and I’m all for hospitals. But we have to have some common sense. There was a concert here last week and all the buses stopped and people were left stranded.

“Honestly, politically, and I’m uneducated in politics, which I’m happy about. But politics should learn off sport, because I believe there’s a lot of good leaders in sport.”

Last August, Senator David Pocock (who formerly played rugby for the ACT Brumbies), savaged the government's estimation that a new stadium would cost over $2 billion. The government put the staggering price tag down to soaring construction costs.

CommBank Stadium cost $360 million, Allianz Stadium $828 million and Christchurch Stadium $625 million. “I have never seen a government work so hard to kill off an idea that was theirs in the first place,” Pocock said.
 
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