As a junior, James began his career at Drighlington ARLFC, he then went on to join the Huddersfield Giants scholarship before a successful spell at the Bradford Bulls, where he was highly rated.

Batley’s head coach was the experienced John Kear who gave James his debut in March 2016, coming off the bench away at Dewsbury Rams to claim victory in the Heavy Woollen Derby.

[citation needed] Harrison claimed his first try for Batley, again coming off the bench in his home debut in a 28-10 victory over a strong Featherstone Rovers side.

Harrison spent two seasons under head coach Diskin and featured heavily in that period mostly as a back row forward.

Following in his father’s footsteps who also played for the club, Harrison stated “I’m looking forward to the challenge of stepping up to a big club like Featherstone, who play in front of big crowds.”[citation needed] Harrison's Featherstone debut came in a defeat away at Widnes Vikings in front of a crowd of 5682.

Harrison scored tries in each of the following playoff victories away at York City Knights (30-4) and away at Toulouse Olympique (36-12) meaning qualification to the million pound game against Toronto Wolfpack in Canada.

Harrison started in the final, Featherstone lost 24-6 to a strong Toronto side in a close game after leading at half time.