NRL 2020: Corey Harawira-Naera to join Canberra Raiders after quitting Bulldogs

Corey Harawira-Naera has quit the Bulldogs after being involved in a pre-season sex scandal and will heap pain on Canterbury by joining a rival.

Corey Harawira-Naera won the right to continue his NRL career.

Corey Harawira-Naera will play for Canberra this season after being allowed to quit the Bulldogs before his contract expires.

Fox Sports’ chief rugby league reporter James Hooper reported on NRL 360 the Kiwi Test back-rower is likely to make his Raiders debut in Round 12 in the Green Machine’s clash against North Queensland.

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Harawira-Naera is yet to play this season after being embroiled in a sex scandal during a pre-season trip to Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast. He was deregistered by the NRL after he had consensual sex with a school student, who was of legal age, but recently won an appeal to be reinstated.

The 25-year-old wanted out of Canterbury after his appeal verdict came through, reportedly unhappy at the way the club had treated him while he was in rugby league purgatory.

“I think we’ll see Corey Harawira-Naera turn out for the Canberra Raiders in Round 12,” Hooper said. “(Raiders coach) Ricky Stuart is so impressed with this young man and what he can do in terms of his football, I think he goes straight into Canberra’s best 17.

“I don’t blame Corey Harawira-Naera for taking the stand he has in relation to the Bulldogs.

“He admitted he did the wrong thing. He apologised for it, he was not trying to tap dance around and make excuses.

“But he felt he’d been let down by people at the club and he couldn’t forgive and forget.”

Harawira-Naera is trading the blue and white for lime green.

Harawira-Naera is a much-needed addition to a Canberra forward pack that has been ravaged by injury. English international John Bateman is out with a shoulder injury, Corey Horsburgh is expected to miss months after hurting his foot in Round 7 against the Eels and veteran Sia Soliola suffered a horror facial fracture nearly three weeks ago.

The Bulldogs are running last and could use someone of Harawira-Naera’s pedigree to help them avoid collecting the wooden spoon, but instead they’ll be forced to watch on as he plays a role in the Raiders’ finals charge.

Despite that, rugby league journalist Paul Kent believes the Bulldogs have done the right thing by allowing the talented forward to leave.

“I don’t think Canterbury did the wrong thing either,” Kent said on NRL 360. “I think Canterbury said, ‘There’s a standard here that we find acceptable, and you haven’t met that standard’.”