This week, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, one of the most controversial and accomplished players in Sydney Roosters history, will play in his 300th NRL game, marking yet another significant accomplishment in his remarkable career.
For good reason, the unflappable forward has always been included when discussing the all-time best Roosters.
In Search of a Home
From his modest origins as a young New Zealander living in dorms and his beat-up automobile, the young vagrant came to Australia in search of a rugby union opportunity, eventually landing in the thirteen-man code.
He arrived in Bondi as a vagrant looking for his next resting place, which he would swiftly transform into a home for the following fifteen years.
It was difficult for members and supporters to remain silent as the Roosters attempted to redefine themselves after winning their first wooden spoon in more than thirty years. The reason behind this was a tyro with spiky hair and blonde tips who ran with confidence and fearlessness.
They hadn’t seen this child in years, but she had something. Although his opponents detested him, but Roosters fans embraced him with open arms.
And he made an immediate impact on the side’s fortunes, featuring in the Grand Final in his very first season at the Club. While the Tricolours didn’t lift the trophy on that afternoon, it wouldn’t be his last time taking the field on the first Sunday of October.
Fire and Brimstone
Every strong team has a leader who doesn’t mind pushing the envelope and treading lightly on the edge of sanity, and the veteran warrior has served as the antagonist in more than a few games. That is just how he has desired it to be.
The statistics speak for themselves: during the course of his career, 32 charges have kept him out of action for a total of 23 weeks. He has, however, multiplied his contributions on the field in comparison to his time off.
He won the most prestigious honors given by the Club in his third season at Moore Park, including the James Mathews Clubman of the Year award in 2017 and the Jack Gibson Medal as player of 2012.
Under Trent Robinson, Waerea-Hargreaves grew as a leader of the forward pack, starting in every match through the 2013 season, including the famous Grand Final triumph.
It wasn’t a surprise to see the side’s fortunes wane in 2016 while he was on the sidelines nursing the dreaded ACL rupture, but he bounced back stronger than ever as an instrumental figure in the Tricolours’ conquest for back-to-back titles.
One of the finest performances from any Rooster in a decider came in the 2019 Grand Final, where he led from the front, topping the side’s tackle count with 41 and adding 185 metres in an almighty 57-minute stint.
Hard work and dedication have always been Waerea-Hargreaves’ core values, but he’s always added an element of controlled aggression that few can harness.
Jekyll With Hyde
Then of course, is the man off the field.
How can one be so despised and feared by players and fans alike on the field, to being beloved and ‘soft’ – as described by his teammates – off of it?
When he crosses the white line, the flick switches. He sees red. Ferocious and aggressive on field. Always in the thick of things and the centre of attention when tempers flare. He’s a colossus willing to do whatever it takes to get his team over the line in the heat of battle.
And when the 80 minutes are up, Jekyll becomes Hyde.
Gentle and caring off of the field. A real family man, and even a bit of a comedian according to those who know him best.
That also goes for the youngsters in the Roosters squad, and especially so for his fellow countrymen who talk about his fathering influence as being ‘like an old uncle from back home’.
The Last of the Mo-Hitmen
Never shy of putting on a huge hit or running from the back fence, Waerea-Hargreaves is an endangered species of Rugby League.
Few purist front rowers have survived the changing landscape of the game in recent years; a faster, more dynamic style suited to fleet-footed fullbacks and athletic front rowers who better resemble NFL linebackers than your traditional, pie-eating bookend.
Waerea-Hargreaves, however, is an exception to the norm; he adapts to the needs of each season without losing the distinctive, vintage qualities that make him both feared and respected.
Just ask Danny Galea of Penrith, who was brutally shot in the second week of the 2012 season and still bears an indent in his chest the size of a JWH.
That’s a major factor in why, at 35, he is alone at the top as the oldest player in the NRL.
Now, the senior statesman has established the benchmark for front row Red, White, and Blue supporters. With the likes of Terrell May, Lindsay Collins, and Spencer Leniu under his tutelage, the bookend pedigree appears to be stronger than ever.
Leaving Legacy
Arthur Beetson is rightfully at the forefront of the discussion when it comes to the great front rowers of the Club.
Another name that springs to mind is the legendary Tricolours’ pre-war player Ray Stehr, who has the most Premiership victories of any player.
Resch-soaked chats often mention even 21st-century cult luminaries Adrian Morley, Jason Cayless, Sam Moa, and Siosiua Taukeiaho.
However, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has 300 reasons to be the greatest of the best after sixteen seasons, four Grand Finals, three Premiership crowns, and as many World Club Challenge trophies. He also has the chance to shatter the Club’s appearance record.
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