How Waerea-Hargreaves passed up becoming NRL's richest player ...
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will become the most capped player in Roosters history on Sunday afternoon when he runs out against St George Illawarra for his 307th game. But things could have been very different.
If Raiders coach Ricky Stuart had got his way, Waerea-Hargreaves would have left the Sydney Roosters to become the highest-paid player in the game a decade ago.
The man affectionately known as JWH overtakes Mitch Aubusson (306 games), who took over from Anthony Minichiello (302), who took over from Luke Ricketson (301).
It is an almighty achievement when you consider the position the 35-year-old Waerea-Hargreaves plays. The giant front-rower’s love of the contest and physicality go a long way to explaining his longevity – and the 23 weeks he has served in suspensions.
However, Waerea-Hargreaves almost quit Bondi for Canberra in 2014.
This masthead can now reveal that such was his respect for Waerea-Hargreaves that Stuart was prepared to pay the Kiwi more than $1 million a season to move to the nation’s capital. That money was unheard of back then, especially for a prop.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves celebrates victory in the 2019 grand final.Credit: Getty
Greg Inglis is widely regarded as the first player to earn $1 million a season after he signed a four-year deal with South Sydney in 2011. Inglis was not expected to reach that mark until the back end of that contract.
Stuart had just completed his first year coaching at the Raiders in 2014, but loved everything about Waerea-Hargreaves, and knew he was the perfect man to build a club around.
Quentin Pongia was one of the hardest men to pull on the Canberra colours, and Stuart hoped Waerea-Hargreaves – who was about to turn 26 at the time – would follow suit.
Stuart didn’t get his man, but he’s still been proven right. Waerea-Hargreaves has gone on to win another two premierships (to add to the one he collected in 2013) with the Roosters, including one against the Raiders in the 2019 grand final.
Controversy has rarely been far away for Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, and he’s always front and centre if things get testy on the field.Credit: Getty
“To say we chased him pretty hard would be an understatement,” Stuart recalls. “We met Jared and his wife, Chelsea, for breakfast with my family, and that’s when I explained to him what I was trying to build here. He was the first big name I really targeted.
“I could see the growth he gave players around him. His presence was a winning presence, a tough presence, and he made young players around him grow. Jared is a winner. I loved his style and aggression, and it’s why we offered him over $1 million a season to come to Canberra.”
Waerea-Hargreaves still had 2015 to run on his Roosters deal, but the plan was for him to start in Canberra the following year. A young Josh Papalii was at the Raiders at the time, but playing as a back-rower on the edge.
Despite Stuart’s best efforts, Waerea-Hargreaves recommitted to the Roosters until the end of 2017, then again, and again, to the point he will now create Roosters history.
The Roosters’ 300 clubLuke Ricketson can still remember his two daughters mistaking Waerea-Hargreaves for Hollywood actor The Rock when he once stopped four lanes of traffic on Military Road.
Ricketson and his wife, Kate Waterhouse, are Mosman neighbours of Jared, Chelsea and their three young children, and this particular day the prop had spotted Kate in the traffic.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves celebrates his 300th match with his three children and wife Chelsea.Credit: NRL Photos
“Kate was driving through the shops when Jared spotted her and stopped traffic, just to say g’day,” Ricketson says.
“People were beeping at him on Military Road, but Jared didn’t care. My kids had just watched Moana, and they were convinced it was The Rock [who plays the character Maui] walking towards them.
“He stuck his big head through the window and wanted to make sure the family were all OK.
“He’s so intimidating on the field, but such a nice guy off it. When we played, we had ‘Moz’ [Adrian Morley] to protect us, and talking to the boys now they feel the same way about Jared. The early moments in any of those big games, Jared dominates.
“He sits alongside Arthur Beetson when it comes to our club and what he has done. I can’t see this record getting done for a while.”
Ricketson was the first to reach 300 games for the Roosters, easily eclipsing previous record holder Kevin Hastings. The now 51-year-old remembers Hastings not being overly impressed. There were whispers at the time Hastings had questioned Ricketson’s new mark given Ricketson had spent his share of games coming off the bench.
Minichiello, a fitness and nutrition fanatic recalls the one pre-season Waerea-Hargreaves wanted a “six pack”. Front-rowers struggled to chisel out a two pack, but Minichiello admired his determination this particular summer.
“He was having six black coffees a day, and always going to the toilet to try to shed,” Minichiello recalls. “I was like, ‘Jared, you’re a 120kg front-rower wanting a six pack. Mate, give it a rest’. He got really lean. I don’t know if he got to six; he definitely ended up with a couple.
“He was such a lovely bloke off the field, but as soon as he crossed that white stripe, he was an absolute beast.”
Minichiello recalls how Waerea-Hargreaves was always the team’s minder on nights out, and would not leave a venue until he knew all his teammates were on their way home or tucked in bed.
Aubusson, one of the most versatile and reliable players of the modern era, handed Waerea-Hargreaves his milestone jersey during the week, and described it as “one of the proudest moments in my Roosters’ life”. The club’s New Zealand players performed a haka at the same presentation inside Allianz Stadium.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has won three titles during his remarkable career, including the controversial 2019 decider against the Raiders.Credit: Getty
“The big game that stands out for me was the 2019 grand final,” Aubusson says. “The Raiders had a big pack and went after Jared, but I don’t think we win that game without him.”
Aubusson said Waerea-Hargreaves’ record would remain in place for at least a decade, with Sam Walker, the 22-year-old halfback who has already played 70 NRL games, the next likely member of the exclusive 300 club.
Wests Tigers forward Simon Dwyer still gets asked about the night he absolutely floored Waerea-Hargreaves in a qualifying final in 2010. It remains one of the greatest games in the modern era.
In the 79th minute, Dwyer lined up Waerea-Hargreaves and dropped him with his right shoulder. Had the game been played in 2024, Waerea-Hargreaves would have been ruled out for 11 days with concussion protocols after he stumbled around and struggled to get to his feet.
The tackle has been viewed millions of times on YouTube.
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Dwyer, whose career was cut short the following year because of nerve damage in his right shoulder, said this week of that infamous run-in with JWH: “We’d gone head-to-head a few times that night. I was getting back on side, he ran at me, so I threw everything into the tackle. I was just hoping I hadn’t given away a penalty.
“After the game, he actually came into our sheds and said to me, ‘good hit’, and how there were no hard feelings. I didn’t really know him before that game. He’s a really good bloke.
“I get asked about that tackle all time. Even 14 years on, I get asked. With all that contact in the middle, it’s a cool achievement for him this weekend.”
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