NRL clubs eye up Harris-Tavita in contract musical chairs

Warriors playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita could end up at Wests Tigers or the North Queensland Cowboys as a result of Mitchell Pearce leaving the Newcastle Knights for the Catalans Dragons.

The Warriors may have recently offered Chanel Harris-Tavita a two-year contract from 2023, but that’s no guarantee he’ll accept it as Pearce’s departure from the Knights could result in some musical chairs in the NRL.

The Warriors previously told Harris-Tavita that they wanted to wait until after the first halfdozen games of next season before letting him know if they’d offer him a new contract for the 2023 season onwards.

But when the club’s recruitment and retention manager, Peter O’Sullivan, left a few weeks ago to join Wayne Bennett’s new Dolphins, the Warriors had a rethink about Harris-Tavita.

It was then that they approached the 22-year-old and offered him a new deal.

But they didn’t re-sign him before the November 1 deadline, opening up the opportunity for other clubs to talk with him and this is where Pearce comes in.

With the 32-year-old heading to the French-based Super League club, the Knights are looking for another halfback.

The two players linked mostly to a move to the Knights as his replacement are the Tigers’ Luke Brooks and Scott Drinkwater at the Cowboys.

Both Brooks and Drinkwater are signed with their respective clubs through to the end of the 2023 season, so would need to be granted an early release.

Andrew Johns, who has joined the Knights as a coaching consultant, publicly urged Brooks to join the club and Pearce has also said it would be a good move for Brooks to replace him.

However, the Tigers have gone on record saying that Brooks won’t be leaving. The club’s director of football, Tim Sheens, stated: ‘‘Luke Brooks is contracted with Wests Tigers until at least the end of 2023 and, contrary to media speculation, will not be leaving the club.’’

But the rumours haven’t gone away, and it’s also been reported that Drinkwater is a target.

The Sunday Star-Times understands that both the Tigers and Cowboys are interested in Harris-Tavita if they lose a player to the Knights.

Timing is everything with contracts and in Harris-Tavita’s case he’s signed with the Warriors through to the end of next season so he would also need an early release to join the Tigers or Cowboys.

Whether the Warriors give him that could depend on if the Sharks hold Luke Metcalf to his final year at the Shire.

Metcalf has signed for the Warriors from 2023, but the Warriors would be keen on taking him a year early, especially because he can cover fullback and Reece Walsh is suspended for the first two games of next season.

If Metcalf joined the Warriors next year, he’d earn more money than he’d get at the Sharks and he’s some way down the pecking order at that club.

It comes down to whether the Sharks want to do the right thing by Metcalf, but the Star-Times understands they probably won’t.

Harris-Tavita is likely to see how things fall into place elsewhere before making any decisions on his future, because he could have more options than just accepting the Warriors offer.