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Inside Warriors’ 72-hour hit-and-run mission which secured James Fisher-Harris signing from Panthers
Within 72 hours the Warriors secured the signature of
James Fisher-Harris without an ounce of negotiation – but it involved plenty of luck. We reveal why the Penrith star is leaving the club.
Michael Carayannis
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2 min read
April 17, 2024 - 4:00PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
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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.
James Fisher-Harris will trade Panthers colours for Warriors from 2025. Picture: NRL Photos
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.
James Fisher-Harris leads the haka for New Zealand. Picture: NRL Photos
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 will replace
Addin Fonua-Blake at the Warriors as he departs for the Sharks. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
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.
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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.
