NRL 2024: New Titan Zane Harrison draws comparisons with Queensland great Johnathan Thurston

WATCH: The Gold Coast Titans have landed Queensland’s hottest schoolboys product who has been compared to Queensland Origin legend Johnathan Thurston.

The Queensland schoolboys star rated the state’s best halfback prospect since Johnathan Thurston insists he is in no rush to make his NRL debut.

Palm Beach Currumbin captain Zane Harrison will join the Gold Coast Titans full-time in the upcoming pre-season after inking a fresh three-year contract with the club.

Harrison led the Reds to the NRL Schoolboy Cup title this week with a thrilling win against NSW champions Patrician Brothers Blacktown on Wednesday.

Harrison, 18, received the Peter Sterling Medal as player of the tournament and was crowned man-of-the-match after orchestrating PBC’s epic final victory.

The raps on Harrison are huge and he will begin his journey to the NRL when he embarks on his first full-time pre-season with the Titans in November, alongside twin brother and PBC teammate Isaac.

But he is ready to play the long game under experienced Titans coach Des Hasler and be mentored by 303-game NRL legend Kieran Foran.

“I’ve got to be patient and wait until it’s my turn,” Harrison said before jetting to Fiji on Friday with the victorious PBC team.

“If it (NRL debut) comes in the next three years then I’ll be happy. If it doesn’t I’ll keep chipping away and hopefully I get a shot.

“I want to go to the next level from schoolboys to playing against men.

“I did eight weeks with the Titans in the last pre-season before I went back to school but I need to get some experience playing against men and tick a few boxes.”

Harrison was born and bred in Tweed Heads, playing for the NSW-based Seagulls before joining PBC from Year 7.

Despite being a stone’s throw from Queensland and going to high school in the Sunshine State, Harrison is eligible for NSW when it comes to State of Origin.

Veteran player agent Sam Ayoub spotted Thurston and fellow PBC product Tom Dearden and said Harrison was as good as the Queensland Origin playmakers.

PBC captain Zane Harrison during the Phil Hall Cup final between Palm Beach Currumbin and St Patrick's College at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. Picture: Matthew Elkerton

“I’ve seen Johnathan Thurston and Tom Dearden come through the grades and Zane is just as special,” he said.

“He does things that all the good halves do.

“The big thing that impresses me is his composure. He is unfazed and he won the Mal Meninga Cup grand final this year against Burleigh, who have some Broncos kids, including their young halfback Coby Black.

“Zane had interest from three or four clubs but he is settled with his family at Tweed Heads and the Titans are just over the border.

“He has been in the NSW Emerging Origin squads, so he’s eligible for the Blues and I have no doubt he will be playing NRL one day.”

Born in 2006, Harrison grew up supporting the Titans, who were admitted to the NRL in 2007.

He ranks Thurston as his halfback hero and idolises Penrith’s three-time premiership champion Nathan Cleary.

“I always liked ‘JT’ – he was the pinnacle of the halfback position and that’s what I played,” Harrison said.

“I heard about Andrew Johns (retired in 2007) but didn’t really get to watch him. I’ve watched his highlights and he was a gun.

“At the moment I’m watching Nathan Cleary dominate the game and Kieran Foran has done everything in the game and I look up to him.

“It’s good he’s at the Titans. He’s a big mentor and I’ll be looking to learn a lot off him.

“The dream is to have a good career in the NRL. I grew up going for Gold Coast and I’m a local boy.”

Cowboys and Queensland playmaker Tom Dearden also graduated from PBC. Picture: Jerad Williams

The Titans’ biggest challenge will be ensuring Harrison doesn’t become the next in a long line of talented playmakers to leave the Gold Coast.

Melbourne’s Dally M favourite Jahrome Hughes was shown the door by the Titans after one NRL game while Jamal Fogarty (Canberra) and Toby Sexton (Bulldogs) were released and have become established No. 7s elsewhere.

Fellow highly-rated Titans prospects Ash Taylor and Kane Elgey quit the game in their mid-20s.

A two-time NRL premiership coach, Hasler guided Foran and Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans in the formative years of their careers and will now be entrusted with plotting Harrison’s pathway to the top.

Titans legend Anthony Don has worked closely with Harrison as an assistant coach at PBC and said the youngster had the makings of a long-term NRL halfback.

“He’s clearly on top of the schoolboys I’ve seen play,” Don said.

“He understands the game and is a really good leader of the group. He’s got a mature head on his shoulders and doesn’t try to score every play.

“He builds sets and is always thinking two steps ahead of everyone else. He is cool, calm and collected.

“Defence isn’t an issue for him. He could play hooker in the middle because his defence is that good, he’s that tough and loves tackling.

“He’s a halfback and it’s hard to play halfback in the NRL, no matter who you are.

“I really hope he can kick on and have a long and successful career but I don’t want to get carried away too early with a young talent and heap too much pressure on him.

“We saw what happened with Toby Sexton when the Titans were struggling and his confidence got dented.

“Des is there and has seen it all before. He handled (Daly) Cherry-Evans well early in his career.

“I’m not sure what the Titans are thinking long-term, but Zane will get every chance to be an NRL number seven.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: New Titan Zane Harrison draws comparisons with Queensland great Johnathan Thurston