When he starts, the Warriors’ chances are boosted; not just for his individual contribution, but the way others lift in his presence and they are a different team with him in it.
But Harris, similar to Simon Mannering, plays a relentless style and that takes a toll.
He has only managed to complete 20 matches in a season once in the last six years and his workload has been massive since he arrived at Mt Smart in 2018.
He averaged 76 minutes a game in his first three Warriors’ seasons, though that has dipped slightly since.
At times Harris seems indestructible – with his capacity for work – but he’s not.
And there have been issues before.
Harris injured his shoulder in round 16 of the 2021 season, only to rush back – well ahead of schedule – two weeks later against the Panthers, where he suffered his season ending ACL injury.
This year he suffered an MCL tear in the tight round four win over the Bulldogs at Mt Smart.
The Herald understands that it was initially expected to be a six-to-eight-week absence, but Harris progressed remarkably well to return for the Cowboys clash a fortnight later, before the Anzac day relapse.
“He’s had injuries,” acknowledged Webster. “The first thing I do is ask how is the injury? I get a full assessment from [the medical team]. I ask Tohu how he feels about the injury. He’s completely confident, he wants to play. And then we say ‘Alright, let’s see what pulls up every day. So there’s a process to it.”
Webster admits there are “no crystal balls”, but he trusts the judgement of the physios and doctors, who have given Harris the green light, if he gets through certain tests this week.
“That gives me confidence and I’ll just treat it case by case,” said Webster. “Definitely I don’t want to rush Tohu and certainly there is no pressure from any of us to do so. So if he is not ready to go then we won’t play him.”
Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad will also return from his HIA suffered against the Storm – after being cleared by the NRL – while Luke Metcalf could be back in the frame next week.
While they have managed a decent performance baseline this season, Webster admits there is a lot still to be done, off the back of consecutive losses to the Storm and Roosters.
“We’re still building and working harder on consistency in our game,” said Webster. “Even when we won games we walked away knowing we need to be better than that.”
He said there is “complete clarity and understanding” around the required style of play but more diligence needed around execution to achieve consistency.
“It’s just concentration, doing it for 80 minutes and then just continuously getting better at it,” said Webster. “Keep learning quicker, and we’ll get there. The competition moves fast and everyone’s starting to work [things] out.”
