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Three games into the season, Chanel Harris-Tavita says his combination with Luke Metcalf is building but he stresses it will take time for them to really gel.
While they trained together throughout the season, the pair went into the 2025 campaign with only limited game time behind them in the trials but they each played key hands in helping the One New Zealand Warriors to consecutive wins in their last two outings against Metcalf’s old club Manly Warringah and the Sydney Roosters.
Aside from five bench appearances, Metcalf (26), now in the #7 jersey, had been a starting #6 in his other 21 games before this season, a total which would have been significantly higher but for injuries.
Harris-Tavita, who turns 26 on April 3, banks far more NRL experience (74 games) than Metcalf but his career has seen him alternating between the bench, standoff and halfback plus three starts at fullback along the way. Not to mention the fact he took a year off the game in 2023.
Now into the second year of his second term with the Warriors, Harris-Tavita has been given an opportunity to develop some continuity in the playmaking role alongside Metcalf.
“It's building but I think it's going to take a long time to get a lot of fluency in the way we want to play as halves,” he said.
Match: Wests Tigers v Warriors
Round 4 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
9th Position
away Team
Warriors
6th Position
Venue: Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
“I think the good thing about our system is that it's not relying on one player and that anyone that comes in should be able to do the job. And there's other people knocking on the door as well.
“For us, it's knowing what our strengths are, leaning towards those and continuing to improve every week.
“It’s hard to say (how long it'll take) but I think lots of the great halves pairings have taken a season or two to really hit their straps. I’m not sure if it'll take that long but I think as long as we narrow our focus each week and try to get better, we'll keep building and getting better.”
If anyone has earned the chance to develop a consistent combination, it’s Harris-Tavita.
He’s had more than his share of halves partners throughout his career, starting with Blake Green in his debut in 2019 before Green was injured forcing Harris-Tavita into the #7 role alongside Gerard Beale the following week, Peta Hiku the next outing and then Tohu Harris a week later.
Green returned to renew their partnership a month later before Harris-Tavita later went on to team up with Kodi Nikorima, Shaun O’Sullivan, Chad Townsend and Ash Taylor – in his only game for the club in 2022 – before being partnered with Shaun Johnson. Then in the season-ending match against Gold Coast, Harris-Tavita was teamed up with Daejarn Asi in his last game ahead of stepping aside from the NRL.
On his return to the NRL last year he picked up another running mate in Te Maire Martin and now it’s Metcalf.
“It's a high-pressure situation (playing in the halves),” said Harris-Tavita.
“When times are tough in the game, your middles look to you for directions and sometimes they're in the washing machine, they don't know what's going on, so you need to have that clarity around your role and you also have to execute it.
“To do that week in and week out in one of the hardest competitions in the world is pretty tough.”
Already, though, his time back in the firing line has served up a moment to savour, not that Harris-Tavita is wont to elaborate.
It came in the 65th minute of last Friday’s night epic battle with Roosters when he popped up a last tackle bomb, chased it and snared it brilliantly to score the try that put the Warriors on course for their 14-6 victory.
Asked what was going through his head at the time, Harris-Tavita was matter-of-fact.
“When I kicked it, just try and catch it. I was lucky the try-line was right there. I just fell straight over.”
And then he immediately steered away from the topic of his heroics to focus on the team effort.
“There are lots of moments that people don't see during the game that lead into moments that lots of people talk about,” he said.
“I think our middles did a great job of staying in the arm wrestle with the massive forward pack that the Roosters have.”
