Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Andrew Fifita are both massive, intimidating and dominate props who were instrumental in guiding their clubs to premiership glory.
They both put their all in for the team and the win and that will never be denied. Both play the enforcer role perfectly and their courage often lifts those around them.
Some say they are a bit old school with their aggression on and off the ball but it’s all in the name of rattling the opposition and is part of the fabric of the game that toughness.
They have both at times been called flat-track bullies and this is total rubbish, they’re complete warriors. I feel the flat-track bullies tag comes from their tendency to lose their cool and composure when a rival enforcer is out to fight fire with fire.
Silly penalties, reckless tackles and runs start to creep in and it’s due to their competitiveness and them never wanting to give an inch to the opposition. This vital aspect of their psyche can have an adverse affect on the result of the game.
When they get caught up in battles with opposition players and their focus on the result is forgotten they can be exploited.
Rep football is the best of the best. There’s no speed bumps and nowhere to hide in rep footy and while this should be a place where the JWH and Fifita types thrive, it’s also where the smartest and best players are going to do everything they can to make you forget your job.
JWH was left out of the Kiwi side by Steve Kearney and while there were murmurs it was a conduct issue, the truth is more likely that the Kiwi pack were better off without him.
The Kiwi pack didn’t get caught up in just trying to harm their counterparts, they were channelling their efforts solely into winning the yardage battle. Clever footwork and line running have been part of their new forward pack mantra and it has worked.
They also limited hotheads with Adam Blair and now Taupau the only wild cards.
JWH showed tonight that Kearney made the right call and it was every bit as controversial as the Fifita non selection. Hargreaves’ careless high tackle wasn’t malicious or anything but it showed that his first reaction when something goes wrong is still to get angry and act without thinking. Roosters fans know this well.
Fifita’s outburst in Origin this year shows he can struggle to contain his emotions on the field and this will eventually be exploited in the increased pressure of the rep arena.
Fifita has done some things that I don’t agree with and if I’m honest I think someone close to him should give the bloke some tough advice so he can fulfil his enormous potential. We saw him channel his emotions in the grand final and look what happened.
Media interviews about his non selection in a team that he’s not close to a walk in to comes across dumb and fairly presumptuous. Fifita’s not dumb, he’s passionate. While it’s admirable he’s not harnessing it and utilising it to its full potential.
I personally, as of right now, wouldn’t select Fifita for Australia or NSW and would instead pick Ryan James.
This is solely on the basis James offers the side a greater chance of winning if included. I thought James should have been selected for Australia and I’m sure a Nlues jersey will be his next year.
Fifita isn’t the best prop in the game because of one season, a season that saw James almost score the most tries a prop ever has. James did it without shirking his primary duties as a prop.
Those close to Fifita and who care about him should remind him how good his rivals actually are and if he doesn’t work on some things he will be left behind.
JWH was being called clearly the best prop in the game, meanwhile Sam Burgess, Matt Scott and Jesse Bromwich went about their business and continued to display top form to show they were the true benchmark.
Will JWH get back to his best? Will Fifita channel his energies to reach the heights we think he might be capable of? Gorden Tallis was an unashamed hot-head who learnt the art of knowing when to push and when to pull on and off the field but it wasn’t without hiccups.
Maybe with the right self awareness and guidance both Hargreaves and Fifita will become the long-term top-shelf bookends we all know they can be. Will next season just start already?!
I can’t wait to find out who from the talented crop of big men we have makes the season their own.
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