More than once, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has called home with a hint of trepidation after a big night out.
“I get on the phone on to my wife and the first thing I ask is, ‘Did Zahli watch that game?’ ‘Did my girl see Daddy get sent off?’”
A wild end to the year, even by his standards, had Waerea-Hargreaves brawling with Kiwis teammate Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the last week of August.
Then he lost the plot by mid-September with a head slam on Tom Burgess, both his and the Roosters’ seasons up in smoke following a record number of sin-binnings in the most chaotic match of the NRL era.
The post-game call home is followed by an enforcer’s explanation to three kids, Waerea-Hargreaves’ eldest daughter now old enough to try and work it out at age seven.
“It’s the four-year-old that thinks she can go to school and do it as well,” he said.
The aftermath of that madcap elimination final loss to the Roosters had Waerea-Hargreaves ruing an envelope pushed too far. A World Cup with the most talented Kiwi side in well over a decade missed.
“I sat there for half an hour thinking there’s no way Madge [Michael Maguire] is going to select me now that I’m not playing for a month.”
Maguire didn’t hesitate. Even if New Zealand’s bid to have a warm-up game in Waerea-Hargreaves’ three-match ban had failed, he still wanted the 33-year-old in his squad.
But given James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Asofa-Solomona and captain Jesse Bromwich already form a formidable front-row rotation as Joseph Tapine shifts to lock, the question is fair.
Back in black: Waerea-Hargreaves is set to play his first Test since 2019.Credit:NRL Photos
Can Waerea-Hargreaves be trusted not to lose the plot, again, and a game for his country?
“These are the conversations that need to be had and we’ve had them,” he says.
“You’ve got to learn. I think the next game that we play, I’ve said that as an individual you need to be better and learning from your mistakes.
“That whole 80-minute performance [against South Sydney] was really disappointing and hard.
“So getting an opportunity to come into a Kiwis space, it motivates me to be better. To lead these boys in the Kiwis jersey and to try and be better.”
That has meant playing the role of training punching bag for the past month, and biding his time ahead of his return this Saturday (5.30am Sunday AEDT) against Ireland.
And playing nice enough with Asofa-Solomona, whose mention brings an easy grin out of the old enforcer.
“What happens for your club, as soon as you get into a camp like the Kiwis you leave your ego wherever it is and you come into camp,” Waerea-Hargreaves says.
“For years we’ve spoken about the brotherhood. We train hard, we train at an intensity where you’ve got to hit each other.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves faces off with Melbourne’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona in August.Credit:NRL Photos
“I came away knowing that it was going to be a long time before being in the mix again. To be honest it’s quite frustrating.
“You do fitness most days and extras, knowing that it’s going to benefit the team but there’s no real light at the end of the tunnel other than three to four weeks away.
“I trained with the team today rather than running the ball up 20 times and getting bashed and being that guy. I was in the mix today and it was exciting to be back.”
All of which is explained when Waerea-Hargreaves gets home. All things going to plan, with a World Cup completing one of the few gaps left in a CV featuring 280 NRL games, 32 Test appearances and three premierships.
“I still get home and I explain to the kids, ‘Yeah, Daddy got in trouble last night’.
“‘Well, why did you get in trouble Dad?’ ‘Well sometimes Daddy has to push a boundary and sometimes [goes] a little bit too far’.
“But it’s all part of learning and being a parent. My role as a Rooster, as a leader of the club, I enjoy it.”
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