diff --git a/scripts/harb-evaluator/helpers/stake-rpc.ts b/scripts/harb-evaluator/helpers/stake-rpc.ts
index ebcaa66..3773559 100644
--- a/scripts/harb-evaluator/helpers/stake-rpc.ts
+++ b/scripts/harb-evaluator/helpers/stake-rpc.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,23 @@
 /**
  * RPC-only staking helpers for the red-team agent.
  *
- * All functions use ethers directly — no Playwright/browser dependency.
- * Uses the same ethers + rpcCall pattern as market.ts and recenter.ts.
+ * No browser UI interaction required. Uses ethers + rpcCall directly
+ * (same pattern as market.ts and recenter.ts).
  *
- * stakeViaRpc       — approve KRK to Stake, call snatch() with empty positionsToSnatch
- * unstakeViaRpc     — call exitPosition()
+ * Note: importing from swap.js would drag in Playwright via its top-level
+ * `import { expect } from '@playwright/test'`. This file avoids that import
+ * by inlining a receipt poller that returns the receipt object.
+ *
+ * stakeViaRpc         — approve KRK to Stake, call snatch() with empty positionsToSnatch
+ * unstakeViaRpc       — call exitPosition()
  * getStakingPositions — scan PositionCreated events and filter active positions
- * getStakingState   — read averageTaxRate and percentageStaked from the contract
+ * getStakingState     — read averageTaxRate and percentageStaked from the contract
  */
-import { Interface, JsonRpcProvider, Wallet } from 'ethers';
+import { Interface, JsonRpcProvider, Wallet, ZeroAddress } from 'ethers';
 import { rpcCall } from './rpc.js';
-import { waitForReceipt } from './swap.js';
 
 const STAKE_ABI = [
+  // taxRate param is the index into the TAX_RATES array (0-4), not a raw rate value
   'function snatch(uint256 assets, address receiver, uint32 taxRate, uint256[] positionsToSnatch) returns (uint256 positionId)',
   'function exitPosition(uint256 positionId)',
   'function positions(uint256 positionId) view returns (uint256 share, address owner, uint32 creationTime, uint32 lastTaxTime, uint32 taxRate)',
@@ -37,7 +41,6 @@ export interface UnstakeRpcConfig {
   rpcUrl: string;
   privateKey: string;
   stakeAddress: string;
-  krkAddress: string;
   positionId: bigint;
 }
 
@@ -61,7 +64,27 @@ export interface StakingState {
 
 const stakeIface = new Interface(STAKE_ABI);
 const erc20Iface = new Interface(ERC20_ABI);
-const ZERO_ADDRESS = '0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000';
+
+type ReceiptLog = { address: string; topics: string[]; data: string };
+type TxReceipt = { status: string; logs: ReceiptLog[] };
+
+/**
+ * Poll eth_getTransactionReceipt until the transaction is mined.
+ * Returns the receipt so callers can parse logs without a second round-trip.
+ * Throws if the transaction reverts (status 0x0) or times out.
+ */
+async function pollReceipt(rpcUrl: string, txHash: string, maxAttempts = 20): Promise<TxReceipt> {
+  for (let i = 0; i < maxAttempts; i++) {
+    const receipt = (await rpcCall(rpcUrl, 'eth_getTransactionReceipt', [txHash])) as TxReceipt | null;
+    if (receipt !== null) {
+      if (receipt.status === '0x0') throw new Error(`Transaction ${txHash} reverted (status 0x0)`);
+      return receipt;
+    }
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-restricted-syntax -- Polling with timeout: no push source for tx receipt over HTTP RPC. See AGENTS.md #Engineering Principles.
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
+  }
+  throw new Error(`Transaction ${txHash} not mined after ${maxAttempts * 500}ms`);
+}
 
 // ── Exported helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -80,7 +103,7 @@ export async function stakeViaRpc(config: StakeRpcConfig): Promise<bigint> {
   console.log(`[stake-rpc] Approving ${config.amount} KRK to Stake contract...`);
   const approveData = erc20Iface.encodeFunctionData('approve', [config.stakeAddress, config.amount]);
   const approveTx = await wallet.sendTransaction({ to: config.krkAddress, data: approveData });
-  await waitForReceipt(config.rpcUrl, approveTx.hash);
+  await pollReceipt(config.rpcUrl, approveTx.hash);
   console.log('[stake-rpc] Approve mined');
 
   // Step 2: call snatch() — empty positionsToSnatch = simple stake with no snatching
@@ -94,15 +117,13 @@ export async function stakeViaRpc(config: StakeRpcConfig): Promise<bigint> {
     [],
   ]);
   const snatchTx = await wallet.sendTransaction({ to: config.stakeAddress, data: snatchData });
-  await waitForReceipt(config.rpcUrl, snatchTx.hash);
+  // pollReceipt returns the receipt directly — no second round-trip needed for log parsing
+  const receipt = await pollReceipt(config.rpcUrl, snatchTx.hash);
   console.log(`[stake-rpc] Stake mined: ${snatchTx.hash}`);
 
   provider.destroy();
 
   // Parse positionId from the PositionCreated event in the receipt
-  const receipt = (await rpcCall(config.rpcUrl, 'eth_getTransactionReceipt', [snatchTx.hash])) as {
-    logs: Array<{ address: string; topics: string[]; data: string }>;
-  };
   const positionCreatedTopic = stakeIface.getEvent('PositionCreated')!.topicHash;
   const log = receipt.logs.find(
     l =>
@@ -129,7 +150,7 @@ export async function unstakeViaRpc(config: UnstakeRpcConfig): Promise<void> {
   console.log(`[stake-rpc] Calling exitPosition(${config.positionId})...`);
   const data = stakeIface.encodeFunctionData('exitPosition', [config.positionId]);
   const tx = await wallet.sendTransaction({ to: config.stakeAddress, data });
-  await waitForReceipt(config.rpcUrl, tx.hash);
+  await pollReceipt(config.rpcUrl, tx.hash);
   console.log(`[stake-rpc] ✅ Unstake mined: ${tx.hash}`);
 
   provider.destroy();
@@ -141,6 +162,9 @@ export async function unstakeViaRpc(config: UnstakeRpcConfig): Promise<void> {
  * Discovers positions by scanning PositionCreated events filtered by owner,
  * then confirms each one is still active (non-zero share / non-zero owner)
  * by reading the positions() mapping directly.
+ *
+ * Note: fromBlock '0x0' scans from genesis — acceptable for local Anvil;
+ * would need a deploy-block offset for use against a live node.
  */
 export async function getStakingPositions(config: {
   rpcUrl: string;
@@ -178,7 +202,7 @@ export async function getStakingPositions(config: {
     const owner = decoded[1] as string;
 
     // Exited positions have owner reset to zero address
-    if (owner.toLowerCase() !== ZERO_ADDRESS && share > 0n) {
+    if (owner.toLowerCase() !== ZeroAddress && share > 0n) {
       active.push({
         positionId,
         share,