Waerea-Hargreaves ready for forward battle
Kiwis enforcer Jared WaereaHargreaves has not put any extra pressure on himself to lead from the front against England in Denver.
Among the senior figures in an inexperienced New Zealand squad, Waerea-Hargreaves and fellow veteran prop Martin Taupau will be expected to set the tone for the rest of the forwards to follow at Mile High Stadium on Sunday.
The 23-test frontrower has hit his stride over the last month and is coming off a barnstorming 80-minute performance in the Roosters’ win over Penrith last week.
Waerea-Hargreaves is well aware of his standing in the side and has fully embraced it, but feels the best way to inspire his young team-mates is through his actions.
‘‘Everyone in the team deserves to be here, they’re playing great footy,’’ the 29-yearold said. ‘‘I’ve just got to go out there and do my job. But I’m looking forward to that role, I’m looking forward to that challenge – I’m excited just talking about it.’’
Consistently rated among the top echelon of props in the NRL, if there is one criticism of WaereaHargreaves it is that he has not been able to transfer his stellar from for the Roosters to test level.
Coach Michael Maguire is not worried about the past. He has backed Waerea-Hargreaves’ approach and believes it will set him up well for the weekend.
‘‘Jared just needs to keep it pretty simple and play his role,’’ Maguire said.
‘‘He’s obviously got a lot of experience and he’s probably played some of his best football for his club in the last month.
‘‘I was very impressed with his last game he played for the Roosters where he had to play 80 minutes and performed extremely well so if he can turn one of those on for us that would be pretty handy.’’
While the Kiwis pack may be light on experience, they are not short on size or potential and the forwards battle should be one of the highlights on Sunday.
Towering Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona is one of the most exciting young forwards in the NRL, James Fisher-Harris and Leeson Ah-Mau have been in strong form for their respective clubs and Joseph Tapine brings plenty of aggression on the edges.
England are missing the inform George Burgess but brothers Sam and Thomas feature in a quality pack along with James Graham, Elliott Whitehead and captain Sean O’Loughlin.
‘‘They’re very experienced, in great form and I think it’s going to be a great challenge through that middle third of the field,’’ Waerea-Hargreaves said.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis are making the most of experiencing the Denver sporting scene during their week in the United States.
The squad had a gym session at headquarters of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, while Maguire and four players took part in the pregame entertainment at a Major League Baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets at Coors Field.