NRL news: Jared Waerea-Hargreaves among NRL greats ahead of 300th game

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will take to an NRL field for the 300th time in round three, putting him in the conversation with some of the greatest prop forwards of the NRL era. Cast your vote on the best.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will play his 300th NRL game against South Sydney. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis has seen them all during his time at helm of the club. In his eyes, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves deserves to be ranked alongside the greatest players in Roosters’ history as he prepares to make his 300th first grade game at Allianz Stadium on Friday night, fittingly against bitter rivals South Sydney.

“He’s got to be up there with the greatest,” Politis said.

“For him to do that he has done as a front row forward is unbelievable.”

Waerea-Hargreaves enters rarefied air against the Rabbitohs, the feat all the remarkable when you consider the way he has played the game. He has walked a fine line with his aggression and intimidation in rugby league’s engine room, making him a thorn in the side of opponents and occasionally officials alike during his career.

“There’s so much that made me who I am,” Waerea-Hargreaves said.

“The fine line that you talk about, I’ve crossed sometimes, a lot of times, in my career and I’ve learned the hard way.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will play his 300th NRL game against South Sydney. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

“I try and be better for it, but that’s just the fine line. Sometimes you’re going to step across that line. You try not to, but it’s the nature of the beast, right?

“I love what I do. I’m really passionate, really proud of who I am and what I represent. I love getting out there every single day.”

Roosters and Rabbitohs games are always emotion-charged but Friday night will take it up a notch given the occasion for Waerea-Hargreaves and the well-documented struggles of Souths. Waerea-Hargreaves is preparing to walk the line again.

“People have asked me for 10 years, how and why?” Waerea-Hargreaves said.

“It’s something that I’ve tried to harness. I’ve tried to navigate my whole career. It’s probably why I’m still here. Because there’s that fine line, and there is.

“I push it too far sometimes and I’m constantly trying to find the balance. That’s just the role that I’ve played for a long time and I love what I do.

Waerea-Hargreaves returned to first grade in round two against his former team Manly. Photo: NRL Photos

“The guys that I play with enjoy that role as well. I keep it simple, mate. I stay in my lane and I go hard and when I feel the pinch I try and go even harder.”

Not many front rowers in the game’s history have gone as hard as Waerea-Hargreaves for as long. He was plucked from the clutches of Australian rugby union by famed talent spotter Noel ‘Crusher’ Cleal, played a handful of games for Manly and then began a love affair with the Roosters that will come to an end this season, although there is every chance he will return to the club in some capacity after a stint in Super League.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves celebrates a 2018 grand final win. Picture: Brett Costello

He has been a mainstay of the Roosters for more than a decade, helping the club to three premierships along the way. He will walk into the Roosters’ Hall of Fame when his career is over and in some eyes at least, will depart the NRL has one of the greatest forwards of the modern era.

His record suggests he deserves to be in the conversation with the likes of Shane Webcke, Paul Harragon, Petero Civoniceva, James Fisher-Harris, Jesse Bromwich, Matt Scott, Payne Haas, Glenn Lazarus and Sam Burgess. And he isn’t finished yet either.

He still has this year to complete with the Roosters and he will depart at the end of this season with a special place in the club’s history. Artie Beetson will always be a front row God in the eyes of Roosters fans, but Waerea-Hargreaves sits at his right hand.

“I’ve always been told when you know, you know,” Waerea-Hargreaves said. “I still love what I do. I still love turning up every day and competing, trying to be better than I was the day before.

“These young guys keep me young. I still love who I represent. The club’s done so much for me. The least I can do is get out there and have a crack.

“So 15 years later, I still love it as much as I did back in 2010. I’ve always been told by my best mates that have retired, they say you’ll know when you know.

“I still love turning up every day and I guess once that fire goes out then you know. They say the mind goes before the body, and my mind still loves it. So keep turning up, right?

“It’s been a hell of a ride, 15 years. I’m proud and I just want to win.”

Originally published as NRL news: Jared Waerea-Hargreaves among NRL greats ahead of 300th game