NRL: Roosters enforcer gets over big jolt

Roosters Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (left) takes a Panthers tackle. Photo / Getty Images

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves did not take long to get his head around the psychological impact of absorbing the biggest jolt seen so far in this year's NRL.

The affable 21-year-old Sydney Roosters enforcer might have been forgiven for having second thoughts about his first hit-up in Saturday's sudden death playoff against the Penrith Panthers at the Sydney Football Stadium after he was left jelly-legged by the Wests Tigers' Simon Dwyer on the same ground seven days earlier.

But the Kiwis forward kept his wits about him during a damaging 41 minutes that contributed to last year's wooden spooners closing to within a game of the October 3 grand final by eliminating an injury-decimated Panthers 34-12.

Waerea-Hargreaves was not as punishing on defence - he made 14 tackles, half his workload against the Tigers.But the key impact player upped his yardage and hit-up stats from last weekend - a bold statement after he was unable to string a sentence together when medics assessed him after that sickening collision with Dwyer.

Waerea-Hargreaves, a certainty for the Kiwis' Four Nations squad, ran 109m with the ball - the most ground gained by a Roosters forward - to ease any fears about his mental state.

"I was kind of shocked," he admitted, when reflecting on a concussion he contributed to by lowering his body at the point of contact.

"When some bloke whacks you sort of think in your head 's***, if I run like that am I going to be whacked again exactly the same?' Things go through your head at the time. I guess you've got to cop it on the chin and play on."

Ironically, Waerea-Hargreaves had already followed his own advice against the Tigers - he needed 10 stitches to staple a chin wound from an earlier tackle against the Wests Tigers.

Although he was floundering while Dwyer was back-slapped by his teammates, Waerea-Hargreaves returned to play out the few seconds of regulation before sanity prevailed and he was benched during the 20 minutes of golden-point extra time.

He had to sit a psychometric test last week, joking it was probably the first exam he had passed since an uninspiring scholastic career in Rotorua - and was quick to pass on the outcome to coach Brian Smith.

"Being a young guy you just want to get out there and play. I pulled up fine and said to Smithy I was good to go."

Waerea-Hargreaves, plus fellow impact players Daniel Conn and Martin Kennedy, were praised by Smith after the Roosters booked a semifinal against the Gold Coast Titans in Brisbane on Friday night.

"They brought some physical clout to the table," he said.

The New Zealander, selected for last year's Four Nations tournament after just six first-grade games for his former club Manly, appears to be making his presence felt at precisely the right time after an injury-disrupted introduction to the Roosters has seen him feature in 17 of the Roosters' 26 games.

A shoulder dislocation delayed his debut to round six, while a knee injury also slowed him down mid-season.

"I've had a few games out, but I'm coming right towards the end of the year. I'm feeling fresh. I'm just ready to rip in and hopefully get the job done next week."

- NZPA