After a glittering career in the NRL, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is enjoying the change of scene in the north of England with Hull KR.
ASK ANY off-season arrival from the NRL for their first impression of northern England and the answer is usually the same – it’s cold and it’s wet.
Hull is certainly no different in the depths of winter, but that won’t wipe the smile from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’ face.
“Everything is a bit of a novelty. I love my kids putting on their jackets, gloves and wellies and going off to school!”
It’s fair to say that Waerea-Hargreaves and his family – wife Chelsea and three children Zahli, Harper and Hudson – are all-in with their new adventure, even if it’s just for one year for now.
The clan have swapped the beaches of Sydney for the banks of the Humber thanks to the renowned New Zealand prop’s move to Hull KR after 15 years as a Rooster.
And they have been busy seeing some of the sights their new country has to offer, including spending Christmas in London.
“I’ve been coming here for many years, I’ve been here on tour, but the experience of bringing my family is something different,” says Waerea-Hargreaves.
“To experience something like this is very fulfilling. It’s obviously nice going to a really good club that has welcomed myself and my family. I’m nice and settled and excited to play some footy games.”
Another common refrain from new Super League imports – or any signing, for that matter – is the desire for a ‘new challenge’. Usually it’s PR talk but in the case of Waerea-Hargreaves it seems very genuine.
After all, this is a player who has already done so much. He has won three league titles and three world crowns with the Roosters. He is in the select group of players to reach 300 NRL games. He has played in seven tournaments for the Kiwis.
Waerea-Hargreaves, now at 36, could have bowed out at the end of last year and enjoyed a very well-earned retirement, never again the number-one target for an opposition forward. Instead, one of the era’s most respected enforcers has a final point to prove in England.
Superstar he may be – and certainly one of Super League’s most notable recruits of recent times – but his name is also forever associated with suspensions. A man who either plays on the edge or over it has missed 30 NRL games over his career because of bans.
So when his signing was first announced early last year, the obvious question was how Waerea-Hargreaves would cope with the more stringent tackle rules – and disciplinary system – in the northern hemisphere.
He says it’s all part of the challenge – and that in a 17-year career he has always been adapting to survive.
“Since I started there’s all these new rules and changes that have happened,” says Waerea-Hargreaves.
“As players you need to adapt. It started with the shoulder charge (being outlawed) ten or twelve years ago. We had two referees (in the NRL between 2009 and 2020). We now have six-agains. There are so many (changes).
“As a player you end up being obsolete if you don’t change or adapt. I’ve always embraced work ethic, and I feel like I have the ability to understand my own game but also be better and constantly trying to improve.
“Coming over here, I need to be better. I’ve played a certain style for a long time and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“I’ve had conversations with the head coach (Willie Peters) and I just need to take it on as a positive challenge, which I’m looking forward to.
“I’m looking to take on this challenge to be the best player I can be and play as many games as possible for KR.”
Waerea-Hargreaves’ addition is a statement signing by the Robins, a club which has made plenty of positive noises of late.
Off the field there has been fresh investment into the club and improvements to their facilities including Sewell Group Craven Park, while on it they have reached a Challenge Cup Final and a first Grand Final since Australian boss Peters took charge two years ago.
Waerea-Hargreaves took a keen interest in their best-ever Super League season, having already committed to join the club in 2025, but has had his eye on Hull KR for much longer than that thanks to the man who helped recruit him to East Yorkshire – former team-mate for club and country and Rovers captain-turned-assistant coach, Shaun Kenny-Dowall.
“I played for many years with Kenny-Dowall and as soon as he joined the club (in 2020) I was part of his journey. I kept in contact with him and we’d been talking for five years about the club,” explains Waerea-Hargreaves.
“To see where it was in the 90s and early 2000s to being established now and having some success the past couple of years, it’s a good drawing point.
“But for me, it was really easy and clear. It’s a really good challenge and I’m excited to be part of something this year.
“You could clearly see (from watching last year) that they wanted to play for each other. I’ve been involved in footy for many years and you can see that detail throughout their system and you could see that their culture was in a good place.
“But it wasn’t until I got here that I understood and realised just how much it means to the people, how much it means to the staff and the community.”
It’s a community that Waerea-Hargreaves is now a full part of as one of the nice guys off the field and one of the most fearsome on it.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 506 (March 2025)