Latest news with #Waerea-Hargreaves
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Every moment matters': Hull KR bidding to end 40 years of hurt in Challenge Cup final
For a while around the 1980s, it must have felt like the good times were never going to end for Hull KR: Challenge Cup winners in 1980; winners of the old Premiership in 1981 and 1984; champions of England in 1979 and then again in 1984 and 1985. Legends like Roger Millward, Gavin Miller and George Fairbairn – men who are still revered on one side of Hull to this day – at the heartbeat of one of the finest sides in British rugby league's history. But then, nothing. Darkness. One final defeat became two; two became three. There was relegation to the second division twice and then, in 1995, into the third tier 10 years on from their finest hours. Advertisement Related: Wigan secure back-to-back titles after Bevan French's stunner sinks Hull KR Crowds dwindled to under 2,000 and Rovers flirted with administration and financial disaster on more than one occasion. But in recent years under Willie Peters, they have re-emerged as one of the game's leading forces, making the Challenge Cup final in 2023 and last year's Super League Grand Final. Saturday's meeting with Warrington at Wembley in the cup final will be their third major final in as many years, but for all of the good surrounding Rovers, the one thing is missing to cement this squad's legacy is a piece of silverware. For 40 years, Hull KR have failed to win a major trophy; a point of ridicule on the west side of the city, and an agonising drought on the other. Warrington Dufty; Thewlis, King, Tai, Lindop; Williams, Sneyd; Vaughan, Powell, Yates, Holroyd, Fitzgibbon, Currie. Interchange Ratchford, Crowther, Philbin, Harrison. Advertisement Hull KR Broadbent; Davies, Hiku, Batchelor, Burgess; Lewis, May; Sue, Litten, Waerea-Hargreaves, Hadley, Whitbread, Minchella. Interchange McIlorum, Tanginoa, Brown, Luckley. Referee L Moore. This weekend should be the moment that wait ends. Hull KR are the best team in Super League in 2025, and are heavy favourites on Saturday. But Wembley has already left a scar on this squad with their golden-point defeat by Leigh in the 2023 final, and the prospect of history can weigh heavy on the shoulders when the stakes are at their highest. 'There will be a time when I'm not here and I'll look back on how good these days were but it will really mean nothing unless there is a trophy in the cabinet,' their captain, Elliot Minchella, explains. 'We understand where we're at and what we've got at stake. Nothing can drive you more than experiencing what it's like to lose at Wembley. Six hours on a bus back to Hull … it felt like someone had died.' Advertisement Minchella stands on the verge of becoming the first Hull KR captain in a generation to achieve what others have failed to. But he is just one part of this impressive Rovers squad with the England half-back and reigning Man of Steel, Mikey Lewis, New Zealand great Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and full-back Jack Broadbent others to watch. The presence of Waerea-Hargreaves, one of the NRL's finest-ever players, should give Rovers added confidence they can get over the line at last. He was signed for moments like this, and the pain of their recent final defeats also adds a layer of determination. 'We might not have won those finals in the last couple of years but we learned a lot of lessons from them,' their second-row forward James Batchelor says. Getting on for 20,000 Hull KR fans will be at Wembley, and few would deserve a moment of success more than Rovers' owner, Neil Hudgell. He has poured millions into the club over the past 20 years, kept it alive through some dark times and is now witnessing the rebirth of what he saw himself in the 1980s: a thriving Hull KR. Related: Warrington's Paul Vaughan: 'We didn't deliver last year so have to take this opportunity' Advertisement Hudgell, who has worked tirelessly as the lawyer of the victims of the Post Office scandal for years, would be quick to insist this is not about him. But Hull KR would not have reached this point today without his support. This club is intertwined with its community in east Hull in a way few others are, and success this weekend could have a revolutionary impact beyond the four walls of Craven Park. 'When I moved to Hull, I underestimated what this club means to people,' Minchella says. 'You can't walk around a supermarket without someone asking you what's happening at the club and you have to embrace that, because people care. What we do on the field has a massive impact on the lives of people. Every moment matters for the people in this city. It defines their week. 'We try to represent the people of east Hull with the way we play. We never give up and we work for everything. I know what it'll do for the local area if we can win. It's time for us to go out and do our job now.' The walls of Craven Park are adorned with the images of those legends from 40 years ago but this club is in desperate need of a new set of heroes to worship. For Millward, Miller and Fairbairn in 1985, read Lewis, Minchella and Peters in 2025 if the final goes the way many expect.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NRL legend Waerea-Hargreaves to hang up the boots
Sydney Roosters legend Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will retire at the end of the Super League season, closing the door on any chance of an NRL comeback. The fearsome prop forward played 316 games across 16 NRL seasons, winning three premierships at the Roosters before joining English side Hull KR for 2025. Previous reports had floated the possibility of an NRL return to the struggling 15th-placed Roosters but the 36-year-old will instead finish the year in England and then hang up the boots "As I reflect on my journey and 18 seasons in rugby league, I have so much gratitude for the game itself," Waerea-Hargreaves said in a statement. "Rugby league has given me the honour of representing my country, life-long friends and memories that I'll cherish forever." Hull KR Head Coach, Willie Peters paid tribute to Jared Waerea-Hargreaves following the veteran prop forward announcing his retirement at the end of 2025 🎥🤝Watch in full HERE 👉 — Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) April 14, 2025 The Roosters paid tribute to Waerea-Hargreaves, who became a cornerstone of the club's forward rotation on arrival from Manly in 2010. He left at the end of last season as the foundation club's most-capped player with 310 appearances. "As one of the most respected front-rowers of his generation, Jared completed his NRL career as a Sydney Roosters legend, and his impact on and off the field ensures a lasting legacy across the game of rugby league," said Roosters coach Trent Robinson. "On behalf of his entire Roosters family, we congratulate Jared on an incredible rugby league career." Rotorua-born Waerea-Hargreaves featured six times for the Sea Eagles in his rookie 2009 season before joining the Roosters and playing in a grand final loss in his first season. He became prized for his on-field physicality and aggression, attributes he maintained right to the end of his NRL career even as he lined up against much younger players. He won the 2013, 2018 and 2019 premierships at the Roosters under Robinson, starting in the front row in all three victories. In contrast to his fiery on-field persona, Waerea-Hargreaves was a softly-spoken, thoughtful character off the park, who came to relish his role as a leader in the Roosters' forward pack. He made 33 appearances for New Zealand, the last of those at the World Cup in 2022. He has played nine games for ladder-leading Hull KR between the Super League and Challenge Cup competitions. The club had been open to having him on the books next season. "When we spoke about 2026, Jared said he'd made his decision and he said by the end of the season it would be time," said coach Willie Peters. "Jared deserves to retire on his terms. He certainly needs to go out on top of his game and he's doing that at the moment."
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calls for second Roosters player to join Joey Manu and make immediate return
One veteran NRL reporter suggests the Roosters could turn to a left-field solution and lure Jared Waerea-Hargreaves back from the Super League after a disastrous first round loss exposed their lack of planning in 2025. The Roosters were left shellshocked last Thursday after the Broncos put 50 past them in Michael Maguire's first game in charge. Reece Walsh and co ran riot against the Roosters with James Tedesco and his men looking clueless in the opening round of the season. The Roosters watched the likes of Joey Manu, Luke Keary, Waerea-Hargreaves, Joseph Suaalii, Terrell May and Sitili Tupouniua all depart at the end of last season. Chad Townsend joined the Roosters and was catapulted into the No.7 jersey after Sam Walker injured his ACL at the end of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, the Roosters missed out on a number of off-season signings and their squad was deemed to be lacking depth heading into 2025. And coach Trent Robinson is facing a monumental task to turn things around after the Broncos dismantled the Roosters. Veteran reporter Buzz Rothfield suggested the Roosters will most certainly make a big-money play for Manu to join once his Japanese and French rugby move is over. Although this won't be for the current season, which leaves a worrying gap in the roster. 'They are in all sorts, they face the champions Penrith this spotlight and the blowtorch is well and truly on, not just Trent Robinson, but the club's recruitment,' he said on the Big Sports Breakfast. 'The only good news for Roosters fans is they had about half-a-million set aside to sign Joey Manu, he's going from Japan to France so will not be back this year." Rothfield also suggested the club hasn't completely ruled out bringing back forward Waerea-Hargreaves from the Super League. Waerea-Hargreaves was one of the Roosters' leaders during his 314-game NRL career. His departure, alongside that of May's, left a huge hole in the middle of the field for the Roosters. And Rothfield feels the Roosters could backflip and bring the 36-year-old back to add some much needed experience to the pack. 'What I'm saying about Hargreaves is, he's a culture player... I spoke to a couple of Roosters people over the weekend and they didn't totally rule it out,' Rothfield added. Rugby league great Laurie Daley was taken aback at the idea Waerea-Hargreaves could return to the club and suggested the Roosters have shut the door on that proposal. While the players will face the pressure coming into the clash with the Panthers, so will coach Robinson. Robinson and the Roosters have been criticised for failing to plan for such an exodus of players. Earlier this year, Broncos great Corey Parker called out the Roosters for letting too much experience walk out the door as coach Robinson scrambled to plug the gaps in the squad. "This is not something they are used to. It's mind-boggling to think they haven't had a contingency plan in place. The Roosters will not make the top eight. They have lost 1,257 games of experience from last year," Parker said on SEN Radio in January. And speaking on Monday, former Dragons forward James Graham suggested Robinson has been in this position before and knows what he is doing. He even suggested the Roosters may have conceded this year will be used to blood youngsters, as big signings loom. 'The Roosters have been in that situation where they have finished near the bottom and then springboarded back up to the top almost a decade ago," he said. 'I just wonder if they're preparing it like that from a business point of view, if you look at cap management and everyone goes all in, why get rid of May? It wouldn't surprise you to say the Roosters have plenty of salary cap space when you compare who has left and who has come in. 'I wonder if they're doing a similar approach, have this year to blood some young players... sign players, pay them more this year than the next two years. Then they have a war chest to go after players.'
