Harris has healthy goals for season

High up Tohu Harris’ list of priorities this year is the desire to stay healthy.

The 28-year-old back rower was out for half of last season with a foot injury and his presence on the field was sorely missed, as the Warriors failed to finish in the top eight of the NRL.

But after fully recovering from his injury and a pre-season under his belt, Harris is raring to go this season and fingers crossed, stay injury free, something he’s only sporadically been able to do since joining the Warriors in 2018.

‘‘Last year it was only round one [that he wasn’t injured] and I had to battle through the rest of it until it got too much,’’ Harris told Stuff.

‘‘So I’ve got to make sure I’m doing the right things as much as I can. A lot of it is hard luck, but hopefully I can prepare my body as well as I can.’’

With his game against Wests Tigers in Rotorua last Sunday the first action Harris has seen since round 14 of the 2019 season, it won’t be a surprise if he’s a bit rusty next weekend against the Knights in Newcastle.

‘‘You can’t train at that game intensity, it’s always different because it’s a combination of everything,’’ Harris said.

‘‘But you try to drill or train the different areas of the game and then on game day it all comes together.

‘‘So it’s hard to prepare for the intensity of a game, but you’ve got to make sure you’re working hard at training and hope that does you well for the game.’’

‘I’ve got to make sure I’m doing the right things as much as I can.’’ Tohu Harris

Last year the Warriors got off to an incredible start, thrashing the Bulldogs 40-6 in round one.

However, that early euphoria didn’t last long, with heavy defeats to the Tigers and the Sea Eagles over the next couple of weeks getting rid of that.

‘‘We had a really good start to the year with a round-one win and the next few games brought us back down to earth,’’ Harris recalled.

‘‘But that was a reflection of our season really. We were inconsistent, we’d be up one week and down the next.

‘‘We’ve spoken about consistency a lot and that starts with the training.’’

Harris has become one of the senior guys at the Warriors but doesn’t regard himself as an elder statesman, nor does he think about his stature at the team.

‘‘I don’t think about that too much,’’ he said.

‘‘My focus is a bit different, I’m trying to make sure I’m as healthy and fit as possible.

‘‘I don’t put too much into stature or my own recognition – I just work hard and hope that sets an example.’’

He’s not a strong voice behind the scenes such as Roger Tuivasa-Sheck or Adam Blair, but Harris says he’s always there to help out the young players and give any advice they need.

‘‘If I see something I’ll say something, because I want them to get better and the team to perform well,’’ he said.

‘‘So if I see something I think they can do better at, or even if they’re doing something well, I’ll reinforce that.

‘‘If they come and ask me, I’m more than willing to help, but I want to set an example for them to follow.’’