A few weeks ago, I started my Kiwi-NRL finals coverage by pondering a dip in James Fisher-Harris production. As the NRL moved up to Queensland late in the season, Fisher-Harris missed a couple games to stay in Sydney and came back into the Panthers team with two performances that were well below average. This stretched into finals footy and it soon became clear that Fisher-Harris was battling a knee injury which first impacted his mahi in running the footy, then impacting how long Fisher-Harris could stay on the park for the two biggest games of the Panthers championship season.

Here's how that stretch looks...

Round 24 vs Tigers: 57mins, 12 touches, 38 tackles, 78m.

Round 25 vs Eels: 50mins, 15 touches, 28 tackles, 94m.

Finals vs Rabbitohs: 51mins, 12 touches, 32 tackles, 79m.

Finals vs Eels: 54mins, 14 touches, 48 tackles, 105m.

Finals vs Storm: 37mins, 13 touches, 23 tackles, 79m.

Grand Final vs Rabbitohs: 36mins, 14 touches, 22 tackles, 117m.

Stats-wise this is easily the 'worst' patch of Fisher-Harris' season. Fisher-Harris usually played 45-60 minutes, with 20-ish touches and this season he averaged 153m per game. Even within this six game stretch there is a change as Fisher-Harris played 50+ minutes in the first four games before having that cut down to 37 and 36 minutes. The knee injury may have been manageable even though Fisher-Harris was doing half the mahi he usually does in the same game time, then Fisher-Harris seemed to aggravate his knee in a hearty chase of Jahrome Hughes.

That saw Fisher-Harris play less minutes vs Storm while Panthers got away with Fisher-Harris playing just 36mins in the GF. That's tied for the fewest minutes played by Fisher-Harris in a game this season (36mins vs Sharks round 9 in a 48-0 win) and yet Fisher-Harris had the most running metres of this late season stretch with the fewest minutes. With less game time on offer, Fisher-Harris led Panthers physicality with hefty hit ups and led their kick-chase to dominate early tackles in the GF.

Such efforts are now typical Fisher-Harris. Fisher-Harris ran stairs after last year's GF loss and last year NRL.com shared a yarn about Fisher-Harris' background which outlined his beastly work ethic. Even though Fisher-Harris was injured and below his best, it was no surprise to see Fisher-Harris lead the Panthers forward pack to an NRL championship.

Now Fisher-Harris sits among Aotearoa's greatest rugby league players.

At 25-years-old, the humble lad from Hokianga has played 134 games with two GF appearances and a championship. Fisher-Harris has been named as a Dally M Prop of the Year twice and most importantly he has featured in a resurgent Aotearoa Kiwis team that we will hopefully see play again soon. 6 Tests for Aotearoa is a notable achievement for a 25-year-old and especially when chucked in among those other nods, although I can't contain my excitement of seeing Fisher-Harris line up for many more Tests alongside Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Joseph Tapine, Brandon Smith, Joseph Manu, Dylan Brown, Isaiah Papali'i, Marata Niukore and the plethora of young Kiwi-NRL talent.

Every good rugby league team needs a bloke like James Fisher-Harris. Coach Ivan Cleary knows this as he played in the 2002 GF for NZ Warriors with the likes of Mark Tookey, Jerry Seuseu, Kevin Campion, Richard Villasanti. Coach Cleary then coached the 2011 Warriors to a GF with Russell Packer, Jacob Lillyman, Michael Luck, Sam Rapira and Ben Matulino in the forward pack.

Coach Cleary may not have had a forward like Fisher-Harris specifically, but his NRL GF taste came with rugged forwards. We have come to know this Panthers team as the razzle-dazzlers with immense cultural swag and yet in Fisher-Harris we see the other side of successful footy teams, which was harnessed and celebrated by coach Cleary.

At the Warriors as a player and coach, Cleary somehow found the perfect balance between cultural swag and rugged footy. Cleary played alongside the blokes who made Warriors footy so fun in Stacey Jones and Ali Lauiti'iti, then he coach Shaun Johnson's rookie year. Cleary coached in the polynesian capital of the world (Auckland) and did what very few have done in celebrating individual funk while instilling a hearty team vibe that breeds success.

Cleary has repeated this in Australia's polynesian hub of Western Sydney. Having learned all of this while in Auckland, Cleary harnessed the Panthers pizzazz and built up their mana to the point where they were the best defensive team in 2021 - defence wins championships. At the centre of the gritty Panthers is Fisher-Harris, the young bloke who leads by example.

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