Corey Harawira-Naera

Corey Harawira-Naera (born 18 May 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL), and the New Zealand Māori and New Zealand at international level.

He previously played for the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.

Harawira-Naera was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Māori descent.

He grew up in Hokianga alongside James Fisher-Harris before moving down to Auckland to play his junior rugby league for Otaua Valley Warriors.

Harawira-Naera was then signed by the Penrith Panthers.

In 2014 and 2015, Harawira-Naera played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Youth Competition, before graduating to their Intrust Super Premiership NSW team in 2016.

In February 2016, he was named in the Panthers' 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad.

In February 2017, Harawira-Naera was selected in Penrith's 2017 Auckland Nines squad that went on to be runners-up.

On 24 March, he made his NRL debut for the Penrith club in round 4 of the 2017 NRL season against the Newcastle Knights, scoring a try in Penrith's 40–0 win.

On 3 September 2018, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs announced the signing of Harawira-Naera on a four-year deal.

Canterbury CEO Andrew Hill said: "Signing someone of Corey’s calibre and potential is a great coup for Canterbury and comes on the back of a strong finish to our 2018 season", "Dean Pay and his coaching staff have helped develop some talented young players this year and the addition of Corey to the squad will add both quality and strength to our forward pack for next season and beyond".

During the Panthers presentation night, chairman Phil Gould said he personally recruited Harawira-Naera from New Zealand, as he fought back tears as he spoke about the hard-hitting forward.

"We got a tip on a couple of young players - James Fisher-Harris and Corey Harawira-Naera," Gould said.

"These were two boys who were young and very raw and came over here with nothing more than a dream. "I think their first accommodation was out on top of the horse stalls at Fernhill Equestrian Centre.

They lived with the horses and worked on the property.

They got up early every morning and went to work and we could see their character straight away." "Those two players mean a lot to me, they'll always be Panthers and they'll always be welcome at this club and I'm only buoyed by the fact that they've both got great deals and can set their families up for life with the deals that they have.

Harawira-Naera finished his last year with the Penrith Panthers with him playing in 24 matches and scoring 6 tries in the 2018 NRL season.

On 1 October 2018, Harawira-Naera was named in the New Zealand Kiwis 24-man squad for their tour of England and their test match against Australia.

A few days later on 4 October 2018, Harawira-Naera withdrew from the Kiwis squad from a groin injury.

On 15 February 2019, Harawira-Naera represented the Māori All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars in the 2019 All Stars match, playing off the interchange bench in the 34-14 loss at AAMI Park.

In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL season, Harawira-Naera made his club debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the New Zealand Warriors, playing off the interchange bench in the 40–6 loss at Mt Smart Stadium.

In Round 7 against the North Queensland Cowboys, Harawira-Naera starred for Canterbury-Bankstown in a Man of the Match performance, scoring his first and second club tries in the second half and pulled off a try saving tackle on North Queensland forward Gavin Cooper in the 24–12 win at ANZ Stadium.

Upon winning his appeal against Canterbury-Bankstown over his dismissal, Harawira-Naera opted not to stay with the club asking for an immediate release.

He signed a 2.5 year deal with the Canberra Raiders effective immediately on 22 July.

He played 11 games for Canberra towards the end of the season including the club's three finals games where they were defeated by Melbourne in the preliminary final.

In round 22 of the 2021 NRL season, he was sent off for an illegal shoulder charge in Canberra's 26-16 loss against Melbourne.

On 16 August, he was suspended by the NRL for three matches in relation to the tackle.

He made a total of 15 appearances for Canberra in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table after many had expected them to reach the finals and challenge for the premiership.

In round 19 of the 2022 NRL season, he scored two tries for Canberra in a 26-14 victory over the New Zealand Warriors.

He played a total of 21 games for Canberra in 2022 as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals.

He played in both finals matches as Canberra were eliminated in the second week by Parramatta.

Harawira-Naera played a total of nine matches for Canberra in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals.

Harawira-Naera's season ended in round 13 after suffering a seizure mid match.

denotes season still competing

On 27 June, he extended his contract with Penrith to the end of the 2020 season.

Harawira-Naera would show good form during the season and became a mainstay in the top 17 with coach Anthony Griffin opting to start him at second-row in most matches over Bryce Cartwright and James Fisher-Harris.

Harawira-Naera finished his debut year in the NRL having played in 22 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Penrith club during the season.

In Round 6 against Gold Coast Titans, Harawira-Naera shifted from second-row to the centres to cover the injured Waqa Blake, scoring 2 tries in Penrith's 35–12 win at Penrith Stadium.

On 10 March 2020, Harawira-Naera and teammate Jayden Okunbor were stood down by Canterbury two days before the start of the 2020 NRL season after it was alleged that while on a pre-season trip to Port Macquarie earlier in March they brought two teenage schoolgirls to the team hotel where sexual activity may have taken place.

Okunbor is alleged to have met the girl during a visit to a local school, while Harawira-Naera met one of the girls independent to that visit.