Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin will both be re-signing with the New Zealand Warriors in the next few weeks, which is a huge victory for the Kiwi club considering Luke Metcalf just agreed to join the St George Illawarra Dragons from 2027.
With Metcalf out the door and breakout star Tannah Boyd sidelined for the foreseeable future, Harris-Tavita and Martin have been tasked with playing in the halves for the finals-bound “Wahs.” The recruitment team had been eager to repay their loyalty with new deals – and that was only accelerated after interest from several other NRL teams.
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The North Queensland Cowboys had been looking into speaking to Harris-Tavita, likely as a back-up for recently re-signed Jake Clifford, who has been another resurgent player throughout 2026. The Warriors weren’t eager to let him leave, if they could manage it.
Another boom halves rookie, Luke Hanson, had been earmarked as a potential No.6 or No.7 for the future, but he is now more likely to head over to the Gold Coast to try and break into the Titans lineup alongside Jayden Campbell. With Hanson likely out the door and Metcalf’s unplanned exit stinging, things went into overdrive over the Tasman in Auckland.
Both Martin and Harris-Tavita are eager to keep playing for the Warriors, its been reported.
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The feeling is mutual, with club CEO Cameron George speaking on the radio about how keen the Warriors were to retain both. “We’ve been having those discussions over the last week or so,” George explained recently, responding to a question regarding Martin’s NRL future. “I’m hoping that we’ll have very good news in the next few days or this week.”
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Metcalf may return to the playing squad once his Dragons cooling off period is wrapped up – Webster said he sat him to avoid him getting injured before anything had been formalised – but that is looking a little unlikely.
The Sporting Base believes New Zealand will instead stick with Martin and Harris-Tavita to the end of the year.
