Player Chanel Harris-Tavita

[mt.wellington]

Saw CHT today and he isnt looking huge. Great build for a half to take the line on a bit more effectively...

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Saw CHT today and he isnt looking huge. Great build for a half to take the line on a bit more effectively...

You mean he IS looking huge?

 

[BabylonPink]

 

[Canonball]

You mean he IS looking huge?

this guy is going to be the surprise great recruitment eh? I love the way he plays the game, he's team first and clearly now committed - big fan already, will be bigger when he's flicking an offload to a rampaging second rower up the middle

 

[snake77]

Can see where he is coming from in terms of having pre seasons since he was 17 and feeling refreshed after some time off.

The covid years would have been worn on a lot of guys. Along with the changing coaches.

He's walking into a new club now under different management, different coach and more importantly a pretty successful year.

He has things he needs to work on if he plays in the halves. But I can see Webster being keen to get on the field with him. More importantly CHT seems like the type to put the work in.

 

[Inruin]

6 or 14?

I was thinking utility bench player covering Egan, but the more I think about it, the more I think he would be a really good option at 6

 

[BabylonPink]

6 or 14?

I was thinking utility bench player covering Egan, but the more I think about it, the more I think he would be a really good option at 6

Its hard to know.
Sironen played more 9 than walker or jazz and Lussick only started a few matches.
Would you carry CHT at 14? He can't really come on in the forwards like Sironen...
He could be a reserve back , but it's a bit of a wasted bench spot.
Do you carry lussick and cht? Probably not.

 

[Drake_83]

Its hard to know.
Sironen played more 9 than walker or jazz and Lussick only started a few matches.
Would you carry CHT at 14? He can't really come on in the forwards like Sironen...
He could be a reserve back , but it's a bit of a wasted bench spot.
Do you carry lussick and cht? Probably not.

Glad that's not our problem best man for the jobs I say. Will have to wait and see the trials.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

6 or 14?

I was thinking utility bench player covering Egan, but the more I think about it, the more I think he would be a really good option at 6

I think he will end up the long term replacement for SJ at 7.

He has been groomed for it in the past. His signing was when the club appeared to go cold on Volkman. Kiwi, clubman, experienced, tough and just needing decent coaching.

A year under Webster learning his systems while playing 14 and I see him taking over in 2025.

 

[Tookey 2.0]

I feel that I was one of Chanel's harshest critics last time he was here.

I can't help but feel this time around he's going to be really really vital to the team. He'd n a better head space, with a team performing better, with a coach who knows how to get the best out of him.

I'm thinking we'll employ a double 14 role off the bench, where both he and Walker offer an uptempo change of pace around the 25 minutes mark, but both offer different skill sets

 

[Billyspleen75]

He will take the hooker minutes that Sironen had and cover the halves and backline.
I think he can easily cover the middle too.
He is/was the same size as Cam Murray and Cameron McInnes and is bigger than Connor Watson

 

[Lets Eat (YeahNah)]

I feel ratshit for saying this but I think it’s time for Jazz to go to SL, with CHT onboard the bench is in dire need of some beef.

Sport is a business and no man is bigger than the club

 

[3rdstriker]

I feel ratshit for saying this but I think it’s time for Jazz to go to SL, with CHT onboard the bench is in dire need of some beef.

Sport is a business and no man is bigger than the club

Yeah I think eye's are going to be on Jazz this coming season he's a true warrior at heart though,
It's just that injury he suffered he's never looked the same since.
He could be potentially blocking youngsters from climbing up keeping Jazz.

 

[run_it_str8_again]

Yeah I think eye's are going to be on Jazz this coming season he's a true warrior at heart though,
It's just that injury he suffered he's never looked the same since.
He could be potentially blocking youngsters from climbing up keeping Jazz.

Even if this offends the Jazz people's, I'm happy to ship him out. His mistakes rate (of which I have no statistical analysis) are my only reasoning.

 

[Warriorshopeful]

Harris-Tavita: I'm here and ready to enjoy it

Chanel Harris-Tavita fizzed to start his second stint with the One New Zealand Warriors.

www.warriors.kiwi

One person, more than any other, stood smiling and shaking his head in wonderment, agog at what he was seeing. Just trying to take it all in.

In that moment he couldn’t help but have a then and now experience.

That person was Chanel Harris-Tavita.

Then was going back a little more than 12 months to the night of September 3, 2022.


A gruelling season had ended for the One New Zealand Warriors with a shattering 26-27 golden point loss to the Gold Coast Titans at a damp Mount Smart Stadium. The post-game atmosphere was funereal.

Palpably sad, too, because it was the 23-year-old Harris-Tavita’s 54th and farewell appearance after he had announced his decision in May to step aside from the NRL.

Now was the night of September 16, 2023.

Harris-Tavita was in the gym, a workplace transformed into party central, heaving with joy-fuelled people who had just seen the One New Zealand Warriors sublimely dismiss Newcastle 40-10 to book a spot in NRL preliminary finals for the first time since 2011.

No one had a better grasp of the before and after than Harris-Tavita.

He couldn’t stop smiling that heady night not much more than two months ago. And he hasn’t stopped smiling since returning to the club to begin a preseason campaign which wasn't the remotest possibility this time last year.

“I’ve always walked into the club with a smile but it just feels different this time,” he said in his first interview with warriors.kiwi since hitting the training field last week.

“I was watching from afar and thought: ‘I want to be part of that. If I can get the opportunity to go back and build on what they’re building, then I’d take it.’

“I feel like I’m in a good spot today. I don’t want to look too far back or too far ahead. I’m just here and I’m ready to enjoy it.”


It was in May this year that Harris-Tavita’s comeback was revealed.

Following that ill-fated night in September last year, he went on to represent Toa Samoa at the Rugby League World Cup in England where he helped the island nation to its historic appearance in the final against the Kangaroos at Old Trafford (when he started at hooker).

Travel and just getting lost in life were on his programme after that including a stint in Samoa where he worked on a family farm.

It gave him a new perspective while also refreshing him for another shot at the NRL with the club where it all started with his NRL debut in 2019.

“I’m lucky I was in that position to be able to walk away. It’s something I don’t regret,” says Harris-Tavita.

“I’m also pretty blessed to be given this opportunity to be able to come back to the club especially where they’re at at the moment.”

 

[Ozwarrior]

‘It put life into perspective’: The moment that brought Warriors star back to NRL​

Dan WalshDecember 18, 2023 — 3.46pm
Listen to this article
Chanel Harris-Tavita’s feet started to itch for the NRL again with coconut in hand on a Samoan farm.
One last jaunt with the backpack to Brazil had the returning Warriors utility ready “to ring Webby [coach Andrew Webster] and say I’m backing out.”
But for one of the younger players thrust into professional rugby league – Harris-Tavita became eligible to play for the Warriors under-20s on his 17th birthday in 2016, and so that day he did exactly that – the itch proved impossible to ignore.
So much so that after a year’s travelling Europe, Bali, Thailand, North and South America as well as Samoa, Harris-Tavita started his Warriors pre-season early, promptly tweaking his groin in a goalkicking session with Daryl Halligan.
Harris-Tavita raised eyebrows when he was off-contract 18 months ago and realising his passion for rugby league had waned, he walked away from a six-figure salary to work out he wanted.
Working on his uncle’s farm in the Samoan village of Afega, population 2000, and collecting coconuts on weekends, it all twigged for the 24-year-old.
“It was a very simple life over there,” Harris-Tavita said, having kept up with the Warriors stunning rise to a grand final qualifier under Webster when he could.
“It really put life into perspective and made me appreciate what I have here. It was a bit of happiness and a bit of FOMO [fear of missing out]. I was in Samoa watching them play and the Wi-Fi wasn’t great.
“I kept a close eye on them and that’s one of the reasons why I came back to the club. I saw a lot of potential and I think we can go a step further next year.
“The longer I thought about it, the more I watched the boys, the more time I had to myself, I thought, ‘Look, I’m young enough to get myself back into shape’.
“I thought about the opportunity I have, still being in my 20s, to play as a pro athlete … It’s the time to take full advantage of what I can do.”
Harris-Tavita returns to the Warriors on a two-year deal, with a mutual option for 2026, that compares favourably to the money he was earning in his last contract.
He had other NRL options and spoke to his former coach Todd Payten and the Cowboys, among them.
Given the Warriors have playmakers Shaun Johnson, Luke Metcalf, Te Maire Martin and Ronald Volkman in their top 30 this season, there are no guarantees for Harris-Tavita.
Or regrets.
“Life is about making mistakes and learning from them and even if it wasn’t the right decision for me, I’m still willing to own that decision and I know that back then that was the best decision for me,” Harris-Tavita said.
“I just urge players to be honest with themselves. Only you know deep down how you’re feeling about whatever situation you are in.
“Even if it’s going against the grain, just back yourself … Now that I’m back, I’m refreshed, I’m happy and I’m not saying ‘imagine if I took a year off to travel’.
“I’ve done it and I’m proud of myself for that, I’m back and I’m ready to go.”

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

He had other NRL options and spoke to his former coach Todd Payten and the Cowboys, among them.
Given the Warriors have playmakers Shaun Johnson, Luke Metcalf, Te Maire Martin and Ronald Volkman in their top 30 this season, there are no guarantees for Harris-Tavita.
Or regrets.
“Life is about making mistakes and learning from them and even if it wasn’t the right decision for me, I’m still willing to own that decision and I know that back then that was the best decision for me,” Harris-Tavita said.

Does that read that he felt he made a mistake coming back to the Warriors with our half depth? But no regrets?

And does that mean he sees himself as a half still?

 

[Boats n Hoes]

I respect his decision to walk away from the game and all, got to do what u got to do, but i do think he has to prove his worth again. Certainly shouldnt be guarenteed a walk up.

While showing some hearty attributes he never really nailed his core roles here last time and as an organisation we've moved on to the point our standards are expectations are high and so they should be. Performance is king and whatever role they see for him id be expecting him to nail his role or its next man up.

I hope he does, Certainly no excuses as the culture Websters cultivating is one setting players up for success.

 

[j_p]

Does that read that he felt he made a mistake coming back to the Warriors with our half depth? But no regrets?

And does that mean he sees himself as a half still?

It could read that way but I thought it was about walking away from the game. A lot of chatter was he was making a mistake at the time including on here. He also mentioned in there about players being honest with themselves.

 

[Warriorshopeful]

Seen a fair few people write of CHT and just wondering why? He's shown he can play with passion and has good work ethic, he's only played 54 first grade games and while I understand taking a year off is probably not ideal for his development, he will come back refreshed and with a chip on his shoulder.

Also it usually not til after 100 ish first grade games you start to see more improvement in halves? CHT has a long way to go until he's finished developing his half skills especially with the experience and game-reading side, and with Webby instructing them in footy smarts I'm sure he will get there. Much too early to write off a half after 54 games imo.