Gold Coast Titans halfback Zane Harrison has ended his rookie season earlier than expected after he sustained a high-grade hamstring injury in the club's 42-6 loss to the New Zealand Warriors.
Harrison limped from the field in the last minutes of the heavy defeat on Saturday afternoon after playing 74 minutes.
The club confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon, with Harrison's strain to rule him out for the rest of the season.
The Titans rookie has shown encouraging signs in 11 NRL appearances this year and had made the halfback jersey his own, freeing up electric five-eighth Jayden Campbell to play alongside him.
The Tweed Heads product has been in the Titans system since he was 15 years old and made his NRL debut in Round 10 against the Sydney Roosters.
He previously captained Palm Beach Currumbin to the 2024 Queensland and National Schoolboy Cup titles and claimed both the Justin Hodges and Peter Sterling Medals that year.
Harrison also represented New South Wales at Under-19 State of Origin level before breaking into first grade.
One of the highlights of his debut season came in Round 16, when he kicked the winning field goal in the Titans' 19-18 win over the Penrith Panthers.
Harrison also shared his junior rugby league journey with his twin brother, Isaac, who also plays in the Titans system and captains the club's NRLQ side.
The Titans halfback missing the rest of the year is a massive blow as the Titans fight to move out of the NRL's bottom four.
Currently contracted with the club until the end of the 2027 season, Harrison is set to become a free agent on November 1 unless the Titans and Harrison agree to an extension beforehand.
It has been widely reported that the PNG Chiefs are interested in the 20-year-old's services from 2028 to play alongside Jarome Luai.
This season, Harrison made 7 line break assists, 6 try assists, made 241 tackles (21.9 per game) at 90.3% efficiency and 9 tackle breaks, while also averaging 50.8 receipts of the football per game.
Former Rabbitohs and Dragons halfback Lachlan Ilias is expected to replace Zane Harrison for Thursday night's home game against the North Queensland Cowboys.
Ilias started the season as the club's first-choice halfback before being demoted for the rookie.
Gold Coast hope to finish the season strong, already matching the amount of games they won last season under Des Hasler.
With four of their final five games at home, the Titans will look to build a stronger win-loss record under first-time NRL head coach Josh Hannay.
