Jared Waerea-Hargreaves had only played half-a-dozen NRL games when he announced himself to the rugby league world on a cold night on the outskirts of London in 2009.
Can anyone remember the Four Nations clash between Australia and New Zealand at The Stoop?
Petero Civoniceva certainly can. He’ll never forget it.
Considered top of the props at the time, Civoniceva had ripped the tendon off his big toe during the Origin series earlier that year and went overseas without any game time. When coach Tim Sheens told him he would start against the Kiwis, Civoniceva had no idea he was about to be ambushed by a 20-year-old kid wearing the No.17 jersey.
“Not only did I go into that game underdone, I came up against a young and rampaging JWH, which was an experience and a half,” Civoniceva recalls of his introduction to Waerea-Hargreaves in the 20-all draw.
“He had a bit of attitude and gave me some lip. He was that new-generation front-rower who was big and mobile and aggressive, and loved a bit of chat.
“He terrorised everyone, especially me. Every time I took the ball, he was in my face, then into me on the ground. He definitely made his mark that night.”
That Test was 13 years ago, but Waerea-Hargreaves is still one of the most feared men in the NRL.
Come Sunday afternoon, inside a packed Allianz Stadium, Waerea-Hargreaves, now 33, will again be the man terrorising rival front-rowers like nobody else in the game is capable of doing. He will still be setting the tone; he will still bring the fear factor.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is still setting the tone.Credit:Getty Images
Waerea-Hargreaves’ individual duel with Melbourne giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona a fortnight ago was brilliant viewing and had the league world talking.
He only lasted 14 minutes against South Sydney last weekend, but Waerea-Hargreaves made sure he ironed out Latrell Mitchell with his first tackle. He missed with his second wild attempt on Mitchell, then got cranky when play was stopped to wipe the blood from his face.
Waerea-Hargreaves’ football the past couple of months has been superb. He has led the charge as the Roosters have smashed their way into the finals with eight straight wins.
Another player to feature on that night at Twickenham in 2009 was a young Sam Thaiday, who came off the bench for Australia.
Thaiday started out at the Broncos when rookie forwards had nothing but respect for the likes of Civoniceva. There was a hierarchy in the sheds. Thaiday can still remember being asked to make cups of teas for Civoniceva, Gorden Tallis and Shane Webcke.
So when Waerea-Hargreaves went after Civoniceva, Thaiday could not believe it. He remains convinced Waerea-Hargreaves changed the way props played the game that night.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves charges into the Kangaroos defence in 2009.Credit:Getty
“He had respect for the senior players, but he had that different mindset of needing to be the best forward I can be, and to beat the biggest and baddest guy out there,” Thaiday recalls.
“He’s kept that mindset throughout his entire career.
“We had some great games against the Roosters. I remember Wayne Bennett told me before a game, ‘You’re taking on JWH today, and if you beat him, we beat the Roosters’.
“Jared does the same. He picks out a player, and if he beats that player, it goes a long way to the Roosters winning.
“I hate it when people bag him for going too far. He doesn’t go too far. Rugby league is an aggressive, contact sport. He’s one of the most aggressive, and if every player played like him, wow, we’d have a fantastic game.”
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is sent to the sin bin by referee Gerard Sutton.Credit:Getty
Stephen Kearney, who was the New Zealand coach in 2009, and who sat next to Craig Bellamy in the Storm coaches box as JWH and Asofa-Solomona went at it a couple of weeks ago, said: “The second half of this year is as good as I’ve seen Jared play.”
But it’s not just the physicality that defines Waerea-Hargreaves’ game and has been the hallmark of his 279 NRL games. The bearded Kiwi has also adjusted to the new rules that have sped up the game in recent years and were meant to slowly but surely kill off the role of the heavyweight front-rowers.
Waerea-Hargreaves has been charged countless times. Plenty of times he has successfully had the charges overturned or downgraded at the judiciary.
Some days, particularly earlier in his career, it felt like you were watching a train wreck. He landed in hot water earlier this year for having a crack at referee Gerard Sutton, whom he accused of putting him on report whenever he had the opportunity.
“Every time, bro. Every f—king time. It’s not fair,” Waerea-Hargreaves told Sutton before being given a stint in the bin.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is still the raging bull he was at 20.Credit:Getty
But his passion is why opposition fans find it hard to hate him, even though the small section of Souths fans booed him last Friday when his face was beamed on the big screen before kick-off.
He plays such a blue-collar brand of football; Waerea-Hargreaves almost seems a better fit at Souths.
Waerea-Hargreaves missed a large chunk of football midway through the year with a hamstring injury, but coach Trent Robinson made sure he held him back that little bit longer so he was peaking for this time of season. It’s proved a masterstroke.
There were whispers not so long ago that Waerea-Hargreaves would skip the World Cup to spend time with his young family and thoroughly prepare for what is shaping as his NRL swansong in 2023.
It turns out they were just whispers.
Roosters skipper James Tedesco has lost count of the number of times Waerea-Hargreaves has tried to put a shot on and put an opposition side on red alert. It would be up there with the same number of times he has had to chat with the referees before calling out Waerea-Hargreaves for something he has done.
“Jared sets the tone all the time; he’s done it his whole career, he’s our fearless leader, and when you see Jared going after their top players with controlled aggression, it lifts everyone,” Tedesco says.
He did it at The Stoop 13 years ago and you can expect more of the same at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
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