Chanel Harris-Tavita's 'woeful' moment exposes ugly NRL issue as Warriors season capitulates

Warriors fans couldn't believe Chanel Harris-Tavita missed a straight-forward conversion in the final moments of their defeat as multiple NRL clubs face goal-kicking issues following Cody Walker's tough display last week. Ricky Stuart's men snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday night to defeat the Warriors 20-18, but Harris-Tavita's miss cost the away side a chance at golden point.

The Warriors scored more tries than the Raiders - four to three - in the contest, but were unable to convert their chances. And with six minutes left, Harris-Tavita stepped up in place of Adam Pompey who had gone off with a leg injury earlier in the game.

And Harris-Tavita shanked the kick to the right in a miss that sealed the contest. They were unable to score in the final moments after the kick and will remain on 19 points on the ladder. The loss is a potentially season-ending result with the Warriors facing a tough road to make the top eight. And the Warriors' kicking-woes was reminiscent of the Rabbitohs last week.

Without Latrell Mitchell in the Rabbitohs team, Walker took over the goal kicking duties last week. However, a number of key misses saw the Rabbitohs go down to the Dolphins 36-28, despite scoring six tries.

"You probably underestimate the importance of goal kicking and I have a new found respect for all the goal kickers in the NRL," Walker said after the game. And after the Warriors' loss, the broadcast footage showed Harris-Tavita in the locker room looking dejected.

Greg Alexander calls out Chanel Harris-Tavita miss

The 25-year-old was clearly upset having missed a number of attempts at goal and Penrith legend Greg Alexander felt for the five-eighth. But he also called him out for the mistake considering the Warriors season was potentially on the line. “You can see how shattered he is. He has taken himself into the Warriors dressing room and you can see, he is very down on himself,” Alexander said on Fox Sports.

“That was a bad miss. He’s kicked 54 goals in his career, so he’s not a non-kicker. He knows how to kick the ball but you could tell by the first one that missed by 20 metres that he hasn’t done that much practice.

“There was a strong breeze which didn’t help him, but I’m just trying to give him an out here. You could tell how nervous he was. For all kickers, that is one you can’t miss. Your season is on the line and you miss one you can throw over.”

And he wasn't the only one to call out the miss. Fans were baffled at the woeful kicking in the NRL this year with Harris-Tavita's miss one of the worst with the team's season on the line.

NRL teams replacing front line goal kickers

With Shaun Johnson injured for the Warriors, and Pompey going off during the loss to the Raiders, Harris-Tavita was the team's next kicker to step up. But other teams are also going through a similar issue due to injuries.

For the Rabbitohs, Walker has been forced into the goal-kicking role due to a number of injuries. Isaiah Tass, Lachlan Ilias, Mitchell and Dean Hawkins would all normally be above Walker in the pecking order, but are all injured as well.

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The Broncos have been forced to use a number of goal kickers in 2024 with Adam Reynolds only returning for his first game since round 9 this weekend. Reece Walsh has been used, but has also missed a number of games due to State of Origin and injury. Dylan Edwards has stepped in to replace Nathan Cleary as the Penrith goal kicker with the halfback missing most the season due to a hamstring injury. The Sharks now have their frontline kicker out with Nicho Hynes potentially missing the remainder of the season.