As the New Zealand Warriors prepare for their match against the Penrith Panthers, sidelined skipper Mitchell Barnett has opened up on the devastation of missing the 2025 NRL Finals series due to injury.
Since his arrival at the Warriors in 2023, Barnett has been a mainstay in the club's forward pack and has hit career-best form over the last two seasons, earning representative honours for both Australia and New South Wales.
Taking over the captaincy from Tohu Harris with James Fisher-Harris at the start of this year's campaign, everything was going well for the front-rower who helped lead the club to eight wins in ten matches.
That was until Round 13 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, when disaster struck.
Twenty-one minutes into the contest, Barnett went down and was forced from the field with scans later revealing the worst: a ruptured ACL.
Wishing that he were out on the field competing on Saturday in an elimination final match, he opened up to Zero Tackle about the devastation of not being able to captain his troops against the Panthers
"It's a hard pill to swallow, and it's been something I've been trying to adapt to all year," Barnett told Zero Tackle.
"I've had to find new ways to involve myself, so it's been a challenging year, but it'll make me better in the long run.
"It's devastating not being out there. This is what it's about. What you want to be a part of and what you work so hard for a big chunk of the year for.
"My wife deserves a lot after what she's done for me in this period and what she does for me every day.
"She's looked after three kids basically. I've been sitting there with my leg up and two kids.
"There's no help around her, and people sort of don't see what the wives do for players like me, but she's been a huge and always has been."
One of multiple players unavailable for Saturday's match against the Panthers, alongside Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Luke Metcalf, and Rocco Berry, Barnett confirmed that he is on track to return in Round 1 of the 2026 NRL season.
"I don't know when I'll be back is probably the short answer, but I'm on track for the start of next season," Barnett said.
"You can't really make those judgment calls until you get a lot of boxes ticked off, but at this stage, I'm doing well.
"I've actually had my wrist and ankle done as well. I should start back on the field this week, and things are looking good for me.
"Obviously, it's a long time between the finish of this season, but things are looking up for me, and I feel like I've already got a bit of a point to prove, and I'm looking forward to next year."
