[2] Whittaker grew up in Christchurch and was a Schoolboy Kiwi in 1983 before becoming part of the dominant Canterbury rugby league side of the early nineties.
[3] The side was coached by Frank Endacott and included future stars such as Whetu Taewa, Quentin Pongia and Brent Stuart.
Whittaker played in three games for the club, including a try-scoring effort against the Great Britain touring side, returning to New Zealand at the end of the year.
During this time, he trained with Gary Freeman and Daryl Halligan and this allowed him to improve his halfback and goal kicking skills.
As a result, he began to attract interest from overseas clubs and agreed to a mid-season transfer, joining Wakefield Trinity.