New Warriors coach Andrew Webster always wanted Tohu Harris as his first captain – but it was a process that neither club nor player wanted to rush.
Harris was confirmed as the 2023 skipper on Thursday, continuing in the role he held last season.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise, asHarris was the standout candidate given the standards he has set since his arrival in 2018.
There also aren’t that many other contenders, with so many players relatively new to the dressing room, given the constant churn of the last few seasons.
Harris was the initial first choice for Webster based on talks with the existing staff and his own impressions formed as an opposition coach.
Webster was also impressed by their first phone conversation – “his passion and what he wanted for the club” – but said that Harris wanted to make sure it was the right call.
“Tohu didn’t want it handed to him,” said Webster. “Like anyone else, he didn’t have a sense of entitlement. He said, ‘I want to earn this, I want you to have a look at me, I want the staff to look at me and want the players to judge me and see if you think I’m the right person’. And I’ve seen nothing but he’s the right person.”
Leading the Warriors can be a thankless task. It took a considerable toll on Simon Mannering and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who both seemed mentally burned out in their final seasons.
Tohu Harris was the gold standard for the Warriors upon his return from injury. Photo / Photosport
Harris has also been through a lot – trying to maintain his own personal standards while lifting others around him – but Webster didn’t consider co-captains, which has been used at some other clubs, saying Harris can handle the extra roles on and off the field.
“[I’m] not saying he enjoys the microphones and going all the functions and everything like that, but he’s willing to do and he’s proud to do it,” said Webster. “If he said to me ‘I need a bit of help, someone around me just to free me up’, we might have gone down that path.”
Webster’s next decision – “in due course and no rush” – will be the appointment of vice captains, given Harris will be off the field for extended periods as a middle forward.
The coach also confirmed that Shaun Johnson is in line to wear the number seven jersey, after an impressive pre-season where he has completed all but two sessions.
“Shaun’s doing everything in his power to not only have the starting position but be a dominant halfback in the NRL and actually fulfil his potential and his legacy,” said Webster. “If he keeps doing that, I don’t see anyone good enough to take that off him, if he fulfils his potential.”
Webster added that he ‘loves competition” and hopes Te Maire Martin, Luke Metcalf and Ronald Volkman can push the 31-year-old to greater heights.
Utility forward Jazz Tevaga took no part in training on Thursday, still recovering from an offseason shoulder reconstruction.
He could be back within two or three weeks, but Webster is taking a cautious approach.
“You’ve just got to look after him, slow him down and make sure he comes back at the right time,” said Webster. “So the injuries don’t keep reoccurring.”
When asked about positional options for his new recruits, Webster said Mitch Barnett could play either second row or lock, while Marata Niukore will be used exclusively in the pack, only becoming a centre option if injuries mean they are caught short during a match.
Dylan Walker has been earmarked for the No 14 role, as someone who can play “anywhere on the field”.
