JFH Kiwis 5.png
JFH Kiwis 5.png

Player James Fisher-Harris

Full Name
James Fisher-Harris
Date of Birth
Jan 5, 1996
Birth Location
Kohukohu, Northland, New Zealand
Nationality
  1. 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Height (cm)
187 cm
Weight (kg)
104 kg
Position/s
  1. Prop
  2. Second Row
  3. Lock
Nickname
Ika, Fish
Forum Nickname/s
JFH
Signed From
Penrith Panthers
Junior Club/s
Whangarei Marist Brothers
Previous Club/s
Penrith Panthers
Rep Honours
  1. NZ
  2. NZ Maori
  3. Junior Kiwi
Awards/Honours
  1. Golden Boot
  2. Dally M (Positional Award)
Status
Active
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fisher-Harris
Rugby League Project
https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/james-fisher-harris/summary.html
Overview Updates (1) Gallery Discussion
mt.wellington

mt.wellington

Contributor

Fisher-Harris signs from 2025​

Richard Becht & photosport.nz
Wed 17 Apr 2024, 12:23 pm
james-fisher-harris-1d.jpg


Kiwi captain and powerhouse Penrith prop James Fisher-Harris has signed a four-year deal to join the One New Zealand Warriors from next season.

The 28-year-old Northlander has reached agreement with Penrith to be released from the last two seasons of his contract on compassionate grounds so he can move back to New Zealand to be closer to his family.

A 183-game NRL veteran, Fisher-Harris has been at the forefront of Penrith’s run of three consecutive premiership wins in 2021, 2022 and 2023 while he also played in the 2020 grand final.

He led the Kiwis to a record 30-0 win over the Kangaroos in the Pacific Championships final last year culminating in him winning the Golden Boot player of the year award along with the New Zealand Rugby League’s player of the year accolade.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be able to sign James,” said One New Zealand Warriors CEO Cameron George.

“It’s a huge signing for us, undoubtedly one of the biggest in our club’s history.

“To be able to add a player of his calibre and standing to our squad is a tremendous boost for 2025 and beyond. He’s such a highly-respected player and leader.”

One New Zealand Warriors head coach Andrew Webster and Fisher-Harris will be reunited after working together when Webster was an assistant coach at Penrith for the grand final-winning seasons in 2021 and 2022.

He’s one of the game’s elite players, a super tough forward who sets and demands the highest standards
Andrew WebsterOne New Zealand Warriors head coach
Click to expand...

“It’s going to be fantastic having James with us. He’s one of the game’s elite players, a super tough forward who sets and demands the highest standards,” said Webster.

“I loved working with him at the Panthers and we really look forward to bringing him into our system from next season. He’ll add terrific value to our roster, to the club overall and he’ll also be invaluable as a mentor for our young players coming through.”

Fisher-Harris, born in Kohukohu in the Far North, made his NRL debut with Penrith in 2016 followed by his Kiwi Test debut later the same year. Rising to become Kiwi captain last year, he has played a total of 15 Tests. He has also captained the Māori All Stars.

“James has such standing in the game. He’s a player with real mana who commands respect on and off the field,” said One New Zealand Warriors general manager recruitment, pathways and development Andrew McFadden.

JAMES FISHER-HARRIS​

Born: January 5, 1996
Birthplace: Kohukohu, NZ
Junior club: Whangarei Marist Brothers
Position: Prop
Height: 187cm
Weight: 103kg
Current club: Penrith (2016-2024)
First grade debut: Penrith v Canberra, GIO Stadium, March 5, 2016 (Rd 1)
NRL appearances: 183 (2016-2024)
NRL points: 48 (12 tries)
Representative: 15 Tests for Kiwis (2016-2023), Māori All Stars (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)

www.warriors.kiwi

Fisher-Harris signs from 2025

Kiwi captain James Fisher-Harris signs four-year deal with One New Zealand Warriors.
www.warriors.kiwi www.warriors.kiwi
 
A bit lost for words really! Welcome aboard JFH, how good.

Geez the club really has turned a corner in the last 18 months, it seemed damned near impossible to believe we would be here 2 seasons ago under the stewardship of Nathan Brown!!! A massive wrap to the club and and its administration in turning our basket case of a club around so quickly and so magnificently...mind blown!!
 
Canadian_Warriors_Fan said:

Any help?
Click to expand...
It took just 72-hours for James Fisher-Harris to become a Warrior.
The hit-and-run mission to land one of the game’s best props started late on Sunday night when Fisher-Harris’ camp reached out to the Warriors.
While Fisher-Harris had been thinking about the move for some time, it only came to fruition in recent days.
There had been brief conversations with Warriors coaches Andrew Webster and Stacey Jones.
Jones, who is also the new Kiwis coach, shares a particularly close relationship with Fisher-Harris, the New Zealand skipper.
Fisher-Harris also returned to New Zealand for the funeral of his grandfather, which coincided with a shoulder injury earlier this year.
But the likelihood of Fisher-Harris wearing a Warriors jersey did not eventuate until late on Sunday when Warriors boss Cameron George’s phone rang.

Despite the natural surprise, the Panthers treated Fisher-Harris with the respect he deserves.
It is a relationship developed between the player and club which sets Penrith apart from the rest of the NRL.
There was no negotiation, no wrangling the Warriors for a transfer fee, or for a player swap. Just a clean-cut break as a mark of admiration for a player who has helped the side win three straight premierships.
George jumped on a plane and met with Fisher-Harris for the first time on Wednesday morning. By Wednesday night he was back in Auckland having completed the cloak-and-dagger mission with success.
Fisher-Harris’ messaging was clear.

He wanted to go home and he wanted to represent New Zealand. It has sparked thoughts that the signing could ignite a tidal wave of emotion for the Warriors in having true home grown products represent the club – similar to the impact of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita’s red wave of Tonga at the international level.
There was some luck for the Warriors too. When they too did the right thing by allowing Addin Fonua-Blake to quit the club at the end of this season on compassionate grounds, they drew up a potential wish list of those they thought were at the equivalent level to their outgoing prop.

Fisher-Harris sat on top of that list but that seemed too far fetched at the time.
Instead they made a big-money offer for Cronulla prop Braden Hamlin-Uele, who stunned the Warriors by rejecting a four-year deal worth about $700,000 a season to ink for a lesser price for two seasons at Cronulla.

Had Hamlin-Uele committed to New Zealand, the pursuit of Fisher-Harris would have been too complicated to complete. Or at the very least forced the club to squeeze a player out.
Privately, the Warriors are labelling the signature as one of the biggest in the club’s history. Equivalent, if not bigger than landing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in his prime from the Roosters in 2016. Steve Price, Tohu Harris and Ruben Wiki were also crucial signings for the Warriors but Fisher-Harris is arguably the best yet.
And the Warriors hope he could bring with him more talent on the field and continue to make inroads into a once rugby union dominated market off it.
Click to expand...
 
The key part in all of this is that JFB himself reached out to the club to make this happen.

His choice was to come back home and represent the Warriors, breaking out of his current contract early.

That’s such a a surreal element to take in, considering how tough our recruitment has been over the years.
 
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