Why Jared Waerea-Hargreaves won’t play for the Sydney Roosters in Las Vegas

Sydney Roosters have copped a big blow ahead of their historic showdown with the Brisbane Broncos in Las Vegas with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves to miss the game.

The veteran forward was issued with a seven-match ban at the tail end of last season, stemming from two separate charges during his side’s clash against the Wests Tigers that will rule him out for the 2024 opener.

Why Jared Waerea-Hargreaves won’t play for the Sydney Roosters in Las Vegas

The Roosters originally believed the prop would be eligible for selection for Round 1 after he was cited for dangerous contact and striking.

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Since that Round 26 match, Waerea-Hargreaves has served six games of his suspension as he went on to miss the Chooks’ final three games of the campaign, while also being sidelined for New Zealand’s triumphant Pacific Championships run.

Former Kiwi coach Michal Maguire included the prop in his preliminary squad for the tournament, which allowed him to count the three games towards his ban.

The Roosters had hoped that JWH could serve his seventh and final game in the annual All-Stars match between the Indigenous All-Stars and Maori All-Stars, scheduled for Friday, February 16.

However, the club’s application for this sanction to be applied for the fixture has been rebuffed by the NRL. 

After missing the Roosters’ match against South Sydney in the last round of the regular season and the club’s two finals games against Cronulla and Melbourne, Waerea-Hargreaves will now be made to wait longer for his 300^th NRL appearance.

The enforcer is just two games away from notching the milestone. So, fitness permitting, he will instead likely play his 300^th match against the Rabbitohs in Round 3.

Sydney Roosters NRL opening fixtures 2024