It seemed abrupt and all of a sudden that the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) would let go of prize New Zealand/NZ champion rep forward-prop in James Fisher-Harris.

The 28 year-old, tall 6ft 2in, and solid 104kg, Fisher-Harris has consistently been one of the best forwards in the NRL.

To highlight this, James, Payne Haas from the Brisbane Broncos, and Addin Fonua-Blake from the NZ Warriors, all Pacific Islanders, were the top three prop-forwards for the annual 2023 Dally M award nominations in the NRL. Fonuah-Blake won the award.

James has played for the Panthers since 2016, with 184 matches, and the 200 game mark coming up soon.

In fact, there has always been a strong NZ and Pacific Islander presence in the NRL, like with Fisher-Harris, as well as filtering down to the local-grass roots level.

Almost every NRL team has a quarter or half of their players who are Pacific Islander.

But having gone a long period without injury, James had a recent shoulder injury after an attempted shoulder charge on another top forward, from the Parramatta Eels, in Reagan Campbell-Gillard, in their Round 2 match. In a close game, Panthers won 26 to 18.

The Panthers currently sit at 4th position on the NRL, with 6 matches, 4 wins, and 2 losses. Parramatta is at 14th spot, with 7 matches, 3 wins, and 4 losses.

This tackle looked like any other tackle, but it was enough to give Fisher-Harris a longer term shoulder injury.

In this time, there was speculation that the Panthers were wanting to release James. The club may have cruelly let Fisher-Harris go because he was normally very good on form and injuries up until this time.

However, the real issue, which was not a normal run-of-the-mill situation, was that James was homesick for his beloved NZ. He would obviously have family and friends there.

NZ is one of the most beautiful coastal countries in the world, almost like one's piece of paradise. He is based in Kohukohu, north of NZ. Apparently the area was one of the first European settlements in the country.

Again, there were questions as to what James will do back in NZ.

However, and it makes sense, that he will play for the NZ Warriors in 2025, joining his fellow countrymen.

It would obviously be for sure that the Warriors would be more than overjoyed and happy to take on such a high-calibre of a player in James.

He joins another top prop at the Warriors, actually a Tongan representative, in Dally M award-winning Addin Fonua-Blake mentioned above. It is very interesting to observe these two players together, along with the rest of the Warriors' team.

Such a move could also better cement Fisher-Harris' spot in the NZ Rugby League national team.

Bibliography
- Google.com. '2024 NRL Ladder'
- NRL.com. 'NRL 2024 - Panthers vs Eels - Match Highlights'
- Personal Experiences:
My younger brother happened to explain this real reason why James Fisher-Harris wants to leave the Penrith Panthers in the NRL for NZ.
- Wikipedia:
'James Fisher-Harris'
'Kohukohu'