Since age the age of 16, Chanel Harris-Tavita has been in the spotlight.

Harris-Tavita is the New Zealand Warriors youngest ever Under 20s player and has been touted as ‘The next Shaun Johnson’ for pretty much the whole of his four year career.

He has played two seasons in the National Youth Competition and was named the Warriors 2017 NYC player of the year. He played in the Intrust Super Cup during 2018 and has since rose up through the ranks having played 13 NRL games during the 2019 season and earned a cap for Samoa playing against Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Test.

Being labelled the next Johnson is not necessarily a good thing tho. Whilst Shaun Johnson is capable of doing things no else can, the New Zealand Warriors cannot afford to have another player who is inconsistent just as much as they’re brilliant. It is time for the Auckland-based club to start winning games and contend for premierships.

Getting another full preseason under his belt is something that hopefully sees the 20 year old become known as one of the league’s best young stars. Former Broncos utility Kodi Nikorima may have other plans however, as he also wants to start alongside Blake Green at halfback for Round 1. In my opinion, I believe Stephen Kearney has to go with Harris-Tavita in order to maximise his unhoned potential.

We will find out a lot about Chanel Harris-Tavita this coming 2020 NRL Season. By October, will he still be known as the next Shaun Johnson, or Chanel Harris-Tavita, the next NRL Superstar?