test(e2e): look for a hittable channel link until one is, not once on a fresh load

frontend/e2e/helpers.ts

@@ -34,9 +34,14 @@ export async function gotoPage(page: Page, id: string): Promise<void> {
  * can sit under the page chrome above the scroller (the update banner, the toolbar band), and the
  * covered click makes Playwright scroll and retry — the same move (webkit failed 3 in 24).
  * So the link must be the element hit at its own centre. Returns false if none found.
+ * Looked for again until one is, not once: a fresh load is still settling when the first card shows
+ * (the links move down ~55px), and webkit can answer the hit test at a link's new centre with the
+ * card under it — every link missed in 1 of 30 runs.
  */
 export async function clickVisibleChannelLink(page: Page): Promise<boolean> {
   const links = page.getByTestId("video-card-channel").filter({ visible: true });
+  let index = -1;
+  const findHittable = async () => {
     const count = await links.count();
     for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
       const hittable = await links.nth(i).evaluate((el) => {
@@ -44,12 +49,19 @@ export async function clickVisibleChannelLink(page: Page): Promise<boolean> {
         const hit = document.elementFromPoint(r.left + r.width / 2, r.top + r.height / 2);
         return hit !== null && el.contains(hit);
       });
-    if (hittable) {
+      if (hittable) return i;
-      await links.nth(i).click();
-      return true;
-    }
     }
+    return -1;
+  };
+  try {
+    await expect
+      .poll(async () => (index = await findHittable()), { timeout: 5000 })
+      .toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+  } catch {
     return false;
+  }
+  await links.nth(index).click();
+  return true;
 }
 
 /**