1. Corey Harawira-Naera was born on 18 May 1995 and is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-rower or lock for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League, and the New Zealand Maori and New Zealand at international level.
Corey Harawira-Naera previously played for the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
Corey Harawira-Naera grew up in Hokianga alongside James Fisher-Harris before moving down to Auckland to play his junior rugby league for Otaua Valley Warriors.
In 2014 and 2015, Corey Harawira-Naera played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Youth Competition, before graduating to their Intrust Super Premiership NSW team in 2016.
In February 2017, Corey Harawira-Naera was selected in Penrith's 2017 Auckland Nines squad that went on to be runners-up.
Corey Harawira-Naera would show good form during the season and became a mainstay in the top 17 with coach Anthony Griffin opting to start him at second-row in most matches over Bryce Cartwright and James Fisher-Harris.
Corey Harawira-Naera finished his debut year in the NRL having played in 22 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Penrith club during the season.
Canterbury CEO Andrew Hill said: "Signing someone of Corey Harawira-Naera's calibre and potential is a great coup for Canterbury and comes on the back of a strong finish to our 2018 season", "Dean Pay and his coaching staff have helped develop some talented young players this year and the addition of Corey Harawira-Naera to the squad will add both quality and strength to our forward pack for next season and beyond".
Corey Harawira-Naera finished his last year with the Penrith Panthers with him playing in 24 matches and scoring 6 tries in the 2018 NRL season.
On 1 October 2018, Corey Harawira-Naera was named in the New Zealand Kiwis 24-man squad for their tour of England and their test match against Australia.
Corey Harawira-Naera played 11 games for Canberra towards the end of the season including the club's three finals games where they were defeated by Melbourne in the preliminary final.
Corey Harawira-Naera made a total of 15 appearances for Canberra in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table after many had expected them to reach the finals and challenge for the premiership.
Corey Harawira-Naera played a total of 21 games for Canberra in 2022 as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals.
Corey Harawira-Naera played in both finals matches as Canberra were eliminated in the second week by Parramatta.
Corey Harawira-Naera played a total of nine matches for Canberra in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals.
Corey Harawira-Naera's season ended in round 13 after suffering a seizure mid match.
Corey Harawira-Naera underwent surgery to have an ICD implanted, and he returned to weights training and running prior to Christmas.
Corey Harawira-Naera did not play at all in the 2024 season.
Corey Harawira-Naera is expected to work as an on field trainer for the 2025 season after not receiving clearance to return to the field by club doctors.
Okunbor is alleged to have met the girl during a visit to a local school, while Corey Harawira-Naera met one of the girls independent to that visit.
On 1 April 2020, Corey Harawira-Naera had his contract terminated by Canterbury-Bankstown and was deregistered by the NRL.
On 2 February 2021, it was revealed that Corey Harawira-Naera had been pulled over on Christmas Day in 2020 and charged with high-range drink driving.
The breach notice proposes Corey Harawira-Naera be suspended for 2 matches and fined $10,000.