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Harris: I couldn't go on and endure pain any longer

Three weeks after announcing his playing career was over, incumbent One New Zealand Warriors captain Tohu Harris says he’s still struggling to come to terms with the decision.

The 234-game NRL veteran announced he was ending his career with immediate effect on January 9, two days after his 33rd birthday.

Sitting down with warriors.kiwi for his first interview since the announcement, Harris said he needed to take time to absorb life after football.

“It’s a strange time to be honest. I’m still coming to terms with it,” he said.

“It wasn’t in the plans, it wasn’t how you want to end your career, especially with the excitement of the season and guys we’ve got coming in. Also how much we’re still yet to achieve with the Warriors. Obviously winning the competition was a big motivating factor and to not be on the field to try to achieve that is a hard pill to swallow. It’s still going to happen but I’ll be watching it rather than being a part of it which will take some getting used to.”

Harris, who led the Warriors 52 times in his117 games for the club, was troubled by a wrist injury throughout 2024 eventually calling an early end to the season to have surgery in the hope he would fully recover for his 13th NRL campaign.

The injury hadn’t been right all year (in 2024) and obviously it got to the point where I just couldn’t go on and endure the pain any longer

Tohu Harris Retired One New Zealand Warriors captain

“The injury hadn’t been right all year (in 2024) and obviously it got to the point where I just couldn’t go on and endure the pain any longer,” he said.

“Just with simple actions I’d be in a lot of pain. Catching and passing a ball, tackling, doing everyday life stuff like throwing a ball to my son or carrying plates … just little things.

“It wore me down so much not being able to perform on the field. One of my responsibilities as the leader of the team was that first and foremost my performances had to be of a high standard. I wasn’t reaching those standards and that took a huge toll.

“So, it got to a point where I couldn’t bear the pain anymore and we decided to surgically repair it and give it every chance to get it strong again for the 2025 season.”

Harris felt he was on track when he joined his teammates ahead of the club’s 30th anniversary season until a conversation over the Christmas-New Year break with the team doctor.

“I was making some progress with the wrist but not to the point where it was comfortable,” he said.

“Then after a long conversation with the doc about the injury and the way we were looking at managing it, he came to the decision that it wasn’t in my best interests to continue playing.

“I wasn’t completely prepared for it. With injuries you have to realistic and especially with an injury of that nature you have to be prepared for any outcome but when you get told and the reality hits it’s hard to be prepared for it. I was in shock for a while and telling the team was tough. Looking at them all telling them I’m not going to be able to run out there with them. It was hard to find the right words.

“The conversation with Webby (head coach Andrew Webster) was another tough one. After the doc made the call having to sit down with Webby and Cam (CEO Cameron George) … those two have been incredibly supportive and the most important thing they showed is that they were concerned about myself and my family. They just wanted what was best for me. Am I going to be able to get through this career in one piece? Life goes far beyond your footy career. Their words were incredibly supportive of me and my family, putting us first.”

Harris spoke of special moments in a career which saw him savour grand final success with the Melbourne Storm in 2017 before joining the Warriors in 2018.

Among his favourites was the Warriors’ homecoming game against Wests Tigers at Go Media Stadium in 2022.

“The crowd noise was almost the same level as running out to a packed ANZ Stadium for a grand final,” he said.

“It was so loud, the flames going, what it meant to the club being able to run out onto Mount Smart more than a 1000 days since we’d last done it.

“Also special was being able to walk out onto the field for milestones with my son. That’s something that means more to me and my family.”

Watch the full interview here.

Acknowledgement of Country

The New Zealand Warriors honour the mana of the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, Australia and the Pacific. We acknowledge the traditional kaitiaki of the lands, elders past and present, their stories, their traditions, their mamae and their mana motuhake.

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