Warriors back Chanel Harris-Tavitato bounce back as Shaun Johnson comeback nears

The Warriors have come out swinging in defence of Chanel Harris-Tavita, who was distraught after missing three conversions against the Raiders on Friday night.

The Warriors have vowed to protect Chanel Harris-Tavita and have doubled-down that the young playmaker is the future beyond veteran halfback Shaun Johnson.

The rallying call by the Warriors has emerged in the wake of Harris-Tavita shanking a late conversion from next to the posts in the Warriors 20-18 loss to the Raiders in Canberra last Friday night.

Harris-Tavita was so distraught he walked from the field and straight into the dressing rooms as soon as the full-time siren sounded.

The Warriors defeat leaves their finals hopes on life support as they cling to 12th spot on the NRL ladder.

With Johnson still at least another fortnight away from returning from an Achilles injury, the Warriors are backing Harris-Tavita to bounce back in a must-win clash with the Wests Tigers in Auckland on Friday night.

“We’re one-in, all-in here. It’s absolutely not his fault,” Warriors CEO Cameron George said.

“It’s a shame that there’s so much negativity around it.

“He’s a huge part of our footy club, he’s our future and is a great player.

The Warriors five-eighth struck a dejected and lone figure in the dressing rooms after the match 😔#NRLRaidersWarriorshttps://t.co/rqtEwrC9fr

— Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 19, 2024

“It happens in sport. We’ll protect him and he’ll come out next week and bounce back.’’

Contracted with the Warriors until the end of 2026, Harris-Tavita missed all three of his conversions after taking over kicking duties from Adam Pompey, who left the field with a knee injury.

Pompey is in major doubt for the clash with the Tigers.

Harris-Tavita took a career goal-kicking strike-rate of 82 per cent into the match, having kicked 54 of 66 goals throughout his career.

“He was devastated after the game,” George said.

“But every single staff member and player supported him. We don’t look at him as responsible for our team performance.

“There’s plenty of things that we can look at that we didn’t do well, apart from that.’’

Warriors captain Mitchell Barnett said the team could still make the finals, if they improved to major focal points in their game.

“We’ve got the footy to do it (make finals), but we’re hurting ourselves in crucial errors and our poor last plays,” Barnett said.

“If we fix that, we’ll give ourselves a better shot.”

Originally published as Warriors back Chanel Harris-Tavitato bounce back as Shaun Johnson comeback nears