April Fool: NRL turning point comes too late for Ma¯ori kid from the Far North

This week could mark a pivotal turning point in NRL player behaviour.

On April Fools Day, of all dates, it was announced the governing body had cancelled the registrations of disgraced Bulldogs duo Jayden Okunbor and three-test Kiwis international Corey Harawira-Naera, ending their careers in Australia.

Some will view it as a harsh penalty, as there are plenty of players who have done much worse and got lesser punishments, and neither player have been subject to any kind of criminal investigation over the schoolgirl sex scandal in February.

But it feels like the NRL has had enough, exasperated by the constant stream of pre-season incidents that cast such a shadow on the sport.

That has driven their severe reaction, and might also drive a reaction among the playing fraternity.

Let’s hope so.

Due to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19, the NRL players are facing uncertainty over their jobs, livelihoods and futures.

Times like this force people to value what they might have previously taken for granted, and crystallise what matters in their lives.

When some normality returns to sport, and everybody hopes all 16 NRL clubs are able to survive, players will likely have a different focus.

And the fate of Okunbor and Harawira-Naera, who have seen their careers go up in smoke over something that in past years may have merited only a fine or suspension, should weigh heavily on the minds next time they contemplate doing something they know they shouldn’t.

However, the episode also reinforces the view that not all are treated equally by Australia’s NRL Integrity Unit.

There’s no disputing Okunbor and Harawira-Naera needed to be punished harshly but how does that marry with the treatment of Brisbane Broncos forward David Fifita, who faced no sanction after being imprisoned in Bali for three days last November for an alleged assault on a bouncer?

Apparently the video footage of the incident outside La Favela nightclub in Seminyak was inconclusive, and there was a lack of firm evidence of a breach, but to face no punishment, even for bringing the sport into disrepute, beggars belief.

Until you realise Fifita, 19, is the biggest young talent in the sport, and a future superstar, as well as a potential cultural icon given his Indigenous Australian heritage, while Okunbor is a relatively unknown winger (10 games) and HarawiraNaera is a Ma¯ori kid from the Far North.

Probably the saddest part of this story is the fate of Harewira-Naera, who was coming off a wonderful season.

His had not been an easy path to professional sport. He left for Australia as an 18-year-old with a dream. His first accommodation was sleeping in modest rooms above the stalls at an equestrian centre.

After working his way through the system at the Panthers, despite some serious injuries, he made a big impact at the Bulldogs, highly impressive in their late season surge in 2019, which earned a Kiwis call-up.

He was thriving in that environment under coach Michael Maguire, thrilled and proud to be there and far from daunted about the task ahead.

That showed in the tense 12-8 first test win over Great Britain at Eden Park, as he was one of the best on field in a coming-of-age display.

In a New Zealand pack stripped of many big names, Harewira-Naera shone again the following week, as the Kiwis clinched the series.

It’s a long way from the Hokianga to the NRL, let alone test football, but he had made it, and looked to have a big future.

That is now in doubt, which is a lamentable footnote of this sorry affair.