He’s owned it: JWH supports Leniu while Jennings aims to rejoin the Roosters in the NRL
Strong prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves prepared for his soon-to-be Roosters comeback with a 30-minute NSW Cup match, while teammate Michael Jennings disclosed he was considering a 35-year-old NRL comeback.
Following his admission on Monday night that he had called Brisbane’s Ezra Mam a “monkey,” Spencer Leniu, who leads the NRL judiciary, will immediately welcome Waerea-Hargreaves back into the Roosters pack.
Round 1 of the 2024 NRL Premiership will see the Melbourne Storm play the Penrith Panthers at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
Leniu will likely be sidelined for six to eight weeks, but Waerea-Hargreaves, who has mentored the former Penrith enforcer since he joined the team in the summer, expressed his hope that the judiciary panel will take the 23-year-old’s public apology into consideration when handing down its suspension.
It’s a compliment to him that he’s taken control of it and owned it. In the heat of the moment, that is. You try not to let these kinds of things happen, but when they do, it’s awkward.
“Yesterday, I listened to Anthony Mundine discuss how certain things happen during a heated match. Having taken responsibility for his words, let’s hope the penalty isn’t too severe. All of us are supporting him.
Because of their depth, the Roosters are able to replace a three-time premiership winner with another standover player who has already won three titles.
On a warm afternoon, fans watched the reserve-grade action with Roosters coach Trent Robinson, Penrith rival Ivan Cleary, brothers Terrell and Taylan May, who play for the Panthers and Roosters respectively, and Dominic Young, who was announcing to supporters that he would be ready the following week.
In his first game back in 1253 days, Jennings played the entire game at left center, while Waerea-Hargreaves’ return was limited in the west. He had good movement and hit Panthers fullback Isaiah Iongi with a nice shot.
After testing positive for the illegal drugs ibutamoren and LGD-4033 (ligandrol), Jennings was suspended for three years. Next was the issue of Jennings’s December 2021 order to pay his ex-wife Kirra Wilden almost $500,000 in damages as a result of a civil lawsuit filed in the NSW District Court.
When they first got together at winger Daniel Tupou’s wedding at the end of 2021, Robinson questioned Jennings about a comeback. He brought up the subject once more last year during the team’s ten-year reunion after the 2013 premiership.
Serious, Jennings joked that the morning after the get-together he had to give Robinson a call to be sure it was not the beer talking.
Jennings stated, “I didn’t think I’d be coming back and giving it one last crack.” “I can tell you that those three years were extremely difficult—they were really, really, really difficult and tough. I’m determined to play NRL. To get back to that, though, I have to take a couple more steps with the NRL.
[Robinson and I met during Daniel Tupou’s wedding] Robbo asked me to return and assist in many areas of the club. Then, at our 10-year [premiership] anniversary [last year], I ran into him once more. “To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on,” I responded in response to his question about my plans.
“If I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, he said, it was here at the Roosters.” I also did.
Jennings agreed to a $1200 weekly train-and-trial contract, with the option to play in the NSW Cup on a “zero-dollar contract.”
Jennings responded, “I think everyone that knows me, I still stand by my innocence [with the drug ban]… only myself and people around me really know the truth about everything,” in response to a masthead’s question about whether he could see why some fans might not welcome him back because of his off-field background.
When asked why he continued to play in the NRL despite his record of 298 games played, Jennings responded, “It’s not about the money.” I’m essentially wasting my time. I’m not giving up; I’m just playing to make my kids proud.
