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Before he signed on the dotted line with Canberra, Corey Harawira-Naera spoke to incoming Canterbury coach Trent Barrett.
“Once I heard he was coming over — I knew if I wasn’t able to get down here (to Canberra) – I would have been happy going back (to Canterbury) knowing he was the coach next year,” Harawira-Naera said.
“My first year over here in under 20s he was our coach. He got me off the ground running.”
Harawira-Naera knows Barrett well. When he joined Penrith as a teenager — moving over from New Zealand with James Fisher-Harris and sharing accommodation on top of the horse stalls at Fernhill Equestrian Centre after being spotted by respected player agent Darryl Mather — he worked under Barrett.
Harawira-Naera holds Barrett in the highest regard and if he had to stay at Canterbury, he would have been more than happy to play under the Bulldogs coach next season.
So strongly is his connection to Barrett, he sent Bulldogs chair Lynne Anderson and chief executive Andrew Hill a text after he had secured a release not only apologising once more, but assuring both that they had found the right man in Barrett to take the club forward.
“I messaged Lynne and Hilly as well about it saying that is a good move for the club,” Harawira-Naera said.
“I know they have signed someone who can do the job and put the club where they should be. Obviously you can see what he has done at Penrith.
“He is a good fella too. You want good coaches and good people – he is one of them too.”
As effusive as he was about Barrett, Harawira-Naera was equally excited about working with Ricky Stuart. He did his research before joining the Raiders. He picked the brain of the Raiders players he already knew. He heard nothing but good things about Stuart.
“I have never really heard a bad word about him,” Harawira-Naera said.
“I think it is just his passion — it comes through in the way the boys play – and also his player-coach relationship.
“He is a mate but once you hit the work scene, he is there to grill you if you need to be grilled, but look after you as a mate away from it all.
“He doesn’t mind a beer but his thing is you have earn it at the end of the day.”
“Once I heard he was coming over — I knew if I wasn’t able to get down here (to Canberra) – I would have been happy going back (to Canterbury) knowing he was the coach next year,” Harawira-Naera said.
“My first year over here in under 20s he was our coach. He got me off the ground running.”
Harawira-Naera knows Barrett well. When he joined Penrith as a teenager — moving over from New Zealand with James Fisher-Harris and sharing accommodation on top of the horse stalls at Fernhill Equestrian Centre after being spotted by respected player agent Darryl Mather — he worked under Barrett.
Harawira-Naera holds Barrett in the highest regard and if he had to stay at Canterbury, he would have been more than happy to play under the Bulldogs coach next season.
So strongly is his connection to Barrett, he sent Bulldogs chair Lynne Anderson and chief executive Andrew Hill a text after he had secured a release not only apologising once more, but assuring both that they had found the right man in Barrett to take the club forward.
“I messaged Lynne and Hilly as well about it saying that is a good move for the club,” Harawira-Naera said.
“I know they have signed someone who can do the job and put the club where they should be. Obviously you can see what he has done at Penrith.
“He is a good fella too. You want good coaches and good people – he is one of them too.”
As effusive as he was about Barrett, Harawira-Naera was equally excited about working with Ricky Stuart. He did his research before joining the Raiders. He picked the brain of the Raiders players he already knew. He heard nothing but good things about Stuart.
“I have never really heard a bad word about him,” Harawira-Naera said.
“I think it is just his passion — it comes through in the way the boys play – and also his player-coach relationship.
“He is a mate but once you hit the work scene, he is there to grill you if you need to be grilled, but look after you as a mate away from it all.
“He doesn’t mind a beer but his thing is you have earn it at the end of the day.”
