Finishing up his second season with the New Zealand Warriors, Mitchell Barnett has opened up on his decision to move across the Tasman and revealed how close he came to returning to Australia.
Solidifying himself as one of the competition's best front-rowers, Barnett is coming off an incredible 12 months that saw him make his State of Origin debut, represent the Australian Kangaroos and be awarded the Simon Mannering Medal.
Debuting in 2015, the 30-year-old spent seven seasons with the Newcastle Knights but decided he needed a change of scenery.
Regarded as one of the best decisions of his career, he has impressed in his 38 appearances with the Warriors where he has taken his game to a new level and achieved mountains of success.
"I lived in Newcastle a long time, my family were just up the road and Newcastle was my home but I felt like I needed a change," Barnett toldย Zero Tackle.
"I felt like I probably just got comfortable not on purpose or nothing but probably found myself doing things that I sort of didn't want to do anymore and I needed to get out of my comfort zone.
"So I thought, why not go to New Zealand when they were interested and I couldn't get more out of my comfort zone than going there."
Initially contracted until the end of 2025, Barnett decided to ink a two-year contract extension in the middle of last season following his good form. Still, he wasn't expecting to extend his stay in New Zealand.
Although he didn't speak with any other teams about a possible move, the original plan - now changed - was to return to Australia at the end of this season.
"I hadn't been talking or nothing like that (with other teams), but when I first signed with them, I did my deal, and that was going to be it," he continued.
"I was just playing really good footy, so I sort of wasn't really close (to leaving), but it just wasn't the plan to stay there, and now plans have changed.
"I need to do what's best for not just myself but my family as well, so it's a short-term pain for a long-term gain, and we're loving it there, so it's a good decision of mine."
Constructing a formidable partnership with Addin-Fonua Blake in the forward pack over the past few seasons, he unfortunately had to say goodbye to see his partner-in-crime at the end of last year's campaign.
As Fonua-Blake returns to Australia and moves to the Shire, Barnett will be joined by four-time premiership winner James Fisher-Harris in the middle of the field this season.
Released from the remaining two years of his contract with the Panthers, the Warriors expect the New Zealand international to spearhead their forward pack and lead them back into the NRL Finals series alongside the Origin representative.
"He's going to be a different player than Addin," he added.
"They're both the best sort of front-rowers in the competition, you can put Payne [Haas] in there and there's a couple of others but he's going to bring something different to Addin.
"It's just going to be exciting to play with and I look forward to it."
