Chanel Harris-Tavita turning halves into a whole

CHT turning halves into a whole as combination develops

Author: Richard Becht & photosport.nz
Timestamp: Mon 23 Jun 2025, 11:18 AM

Chanel Harris-Tavita is poised to equal the longest halves partnership of his six-season NRL career when the One New Zealand Warriors face the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

Of the 1122 minutes the Warriors have played in their 14 matches so far this season, Harris-Tavita and halfback Luke Metcalf have been in tandem for all but three of them.

The exception was the Anzac Day match against Newcastle when Metcalf was taken off the field as a precaution after 77 minutes.

Their 15th match together in Saturday's clash against Brisbane will equal Harris-Tavita’s most enduring halves union of 15 with Kodi Nikorima spread across the 2020, 2021 and 2023 seasons but they weren't all consecutively.

Round 17 - Saturday 28th June

Full Time

Broncos

Warriors

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Highlights Latest

In the two editions of his career – broken by a year off in 2023 – the 26-year-old Harris-Tavita has had a long list of partners in the 65 matches he has started in the halves (the other 20 were split between three starts at fullback and 17 on the interchange).

Until now he has never had the opportunity to develop a combination the way he has with Metcalf this season. From the outset circumstances dictated otherwise.

After debuting alongside Blake Green against the Titans in round four in 2019, Harris-Tavita dramatically became the senior playmaker the following week when Green was ruled out during the warm-up to the match against South Sydney. Gerard Beale came into the side and was listed in the halves but it was Peta Hiku who partnered Harris-Tavita.

With Green still injured, Harris-Tavita then had Tohu Harris in the halves for round seven. It made for an eventful start to first-grade football before Green returned.

Apart from two games paired with Hiku and one with Harris, Harris-Tavita had a total of nine games teamed with Green in 2019-2020 followed by 15 with Nikorima, three with Sean O’Sullivan (2021), one with Chad Townsend (2021), one with Ash Taylor (2022), 11 with Shaun Johnson (2022 and 2024), one with Daejarn Asi (2022) and seven with Te Maire Martin (2024).