Grief and loss a driving factor in Butler's resurgence with Warriors

Standing at the grave site of her close friend and former teammate, a grieving Harata Butler made a promise to carry Kath Wharton's legacy on through rugby league. 

The sudden passing of Wharton – a 14-Test Kiwi Fern – in November at the age of just 41, rocked the New Zealand league community, and for Butler it marked the beginning of the toughest period of her life so far.  

Personal tragedy and loss were to become constants through the next six months.

After the death of her uncle in Australia, Butler lost her mum just days before she was due in camp with the Māori side for the 2025 All Stars game in Sydney. 

She bravely put her hand up to play still, and proudly wore a jersey emblazoned with Wharton's name in tribute to the women she represented her culture with on two occasions prior. 

Later in the year as she started pre-season training with the Warriors, Butler was dealt another blow when her cousin passed away following a battle with cancer. 

"It's been a really tough time. The loss of my mum, that's created a lot of change at home," Butler told 94ddz.com.

"My cousin was a big one too, because every debut game I've had – the Sharks, the Cowboys – he was always there, and it hit me that I'd lost him about a month before my Warriors debut.

I chose to come home to make the most of my time with my mum and my cousin – they were the drivers for me to come home – and it strikes me that I was just a few months short of finally being able to play an NRLW game in front of my mum with my whole family here in NZ.

Harata Butler

"Kath too was someone who was always checking in and encouraging me and losing someone like her really shook not only me, but many of us who knew her.

"She has been at the back of my mind and my thoughts throughout the season.

"Everything happens for a reason and I just have to think that they all got me home, maybe they weren't meant to be here, but they got me home."

With the knowledge of what Wharton was able to achieve as a 35-year-old – when she returned to the game following a six-year break and played for the Warriors in the 2019 NRLW and represented the Māori wahine – Butler too is on a mission to keep performing into her mid 30s.

With another year to run on her Warriors contract, the 32-year-old has no designs on retirement at this stage and is focused on earning a spot in the talent-laden Kiwi Ferns pack for the end-of-year Tests against Fetu Samoa and the Jillaroos, with a view to then cracking the following year's World Cup squad. 

"I haven't played a World Cup yet, there's a picture [to aim for] there and that's something I'd like to do, to get back in the black jersey," Butler said. 

"This season has made me want to go on, I'm thinking 'come on Harata, if we just keep working then maybe we can ask for another year at the club'.

"If I think I can go another season then I'll be pushing to get what I know my ability warrants." 

A move back to the bench in Round 5 this year has led to week-on-week improvements in her output on the ball, with current trajectory having Butler on track for career-best numbers when it comes to yardage average across a season. 

That form shift has also coincided with the club starting their standalone home games in her home region of the Waikato, where both her parents are also laid to rest at the sacred Taupiri Maunga, 20 minutes drive from FMG Stadium Waikato. 

"As a player it's a hard one to swallow – you get to a point in your career where you want and expect to start – but it's been a game changer and the stats are supporting it," Butler said. 

"I know it's for the best of the team.

"I'm just so glad I said yes to coming home and playing under Ron (Griffiths)."