Cleary surprised at reason why JFH ‘hadn’t been himself’

Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary says he felt star prop James Fisher Harris “hadn’t been himself” lately but admits he was surprised at the reason behind it.

Fisher-Harris sent shockwaves around the competition when it was revealed last week he would be joining the Warriors after the 2024 season, the Panthers releasing him from the final two years of his contract to allow the 28-year-old to return home to New Zealand.

“It’s been a very big week or two for Fish,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said after the win over the Tigers. “He’s been carrying that emotional burden for a long time and I know he was really relieved to get it out in the open and get it done.

“It’s not surprising he was a bit sapped of energy, so it was great to see that second stint, he showed some good signs. So hopefully he can move on and we can see the best of Fish again.”

That was the case on Saturday night, with Fisher-Harris turning in his best performance of the season, as he carried for more than 130m and made 25 tackles. He capped it off with a late try, powering through the Tigers line to seal a 22-6 win for his side.

With the move away from Western Sydney coming about very quickly, Cleary said he felt the star prop had been out of sorts, but he didn’t expect it was because Fisher-Harris wanted to take his talents across the ditch.

“I can’t really say I felt it coming, but luckily I’ve been around him long enough to know he hasn’t been himself,” Cleary said. “I didn’t predict that was going to be the thing, but I knew there was something up. I’m just glad we could do it quickly, respectfully and we’ll all get on with life.

“I’m happy for him and his family. It’s a really strong internal drive that he has and connection he wants to see through. We’ll be fine, we’ll just worry about this year.”

Fisher-Harris will join the Warriors in 2025, just as Addin Fonua-Blake heads to Sydney to join the Sharks.

It will see Fisher-Harris reunite with coach Andrew Webster, who was an assistant coach at Penrith for the grand final-winning seasons in 2021 and 2022.