“Then we were doing recovery and Jared came up, shook my hand, and said, ‘nice to meet you, bro’.
“In the back of my mind I was like, ‘is this guy serious?’ He just smoked me, and now he wanted to be my best mate.
“Jared was the ‘big dog’ I always looked up to. I still hear from him now and then. He was such a great player.”
At 23, Whyte is fast gaining a reputation of being one of the most feared forwards in the game.
Retiring Kiwis legend Kieran Foran noticed Waerea-Hargreaves’ influence on Whyte.
“The moment he crosses that line, he goes into ‘beast mode’, and ‘JW’ was no different,” Foran said ahead of Sunday’s Pacific Championships final between New Zealand and Samoa at Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium.
Whyte’s form for the Roosters this year, the first season without Waerea-Hargreaves, was phenomenal.
There’s a bit of former Roosters enforcer, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, in emerging front-rower Naufahu Whyte.Credit: Getty Images
Now the sight of Whyte coming off the bench for New Zealand and joining a rotation with the likes of James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and Joe Tapine is the reason many in the game say the Kiwis have the best pack in international rugby league.
And that is saying something when Sunday’s rivals, Samoa, boast Payne Haas, Josh Papalii and Junior Paulo.
Whyte is eligible for Samoa through his mother, Agnes, while his father, Ofa, is Tongan.
“I’m a proud Polynesian kid, proud to be Tongan, proud to be Samoan, but New Zealand is home,” he said.
“That’s where my life began, that’s where my rugby league career started, and that’s the country that gave my parents the opportunity for me to be here.”
Whyte wants to be the NRL’s best prop and knows he has been blessed with the ability to reign supreme up front.
“I’m a big religious man, I give everything back to God, and I try to showcase those skills and talents every time I take the field,” he said.
“It’s only my second year of NRL footy. The sky’s the limit for me.
“Payne Haas is a guy always spoken about when it comes to the best. For me, James Fisher-Harris, Moses and Joseph are the pinnacle. I have nothing but love and respect for Payne, Junior Paulo and Josh Papalii. But I love the way our boys [for New Zealand] go after it in defence.
“I’d rather people have more fear about running at me than me running at them. People never wanted to run the ball at Jared. If you’re feared when people are running at you, you can’t beat that.”
The only knock on Whyte is his funky haircut, which is not quite a mullet, and can only be described, by him, as “the bush at the back”.
A bit like former Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, and even Canterbury’s Viliame Kikau, Whyte said his unique hairstyle had become an extension of his persona, and there was no way he could change his hairstyle for fear of disappointing his cult following.
“My partner [Hope] helps keep it in shape,” Whyte said.
Roosters player Naufahu Whyte and his partner, Hope, at the Dally M awards.Credit: Getty Images
“I was cutting my hair every week, but I was paying about $50 a week, and it was getting too expensive.
“I figured that money could have been spent on more important things, so I started cutting my own hair, and giving myself a fade on the sides.
“Every week I give myself a clean fade, but I haven’t cut the back. I always keep it washed and clean, but there’s no way I can cut the back off now. Every time someone thinks of Nafahu Whyte, they’ll be like, ‘oh yeah, the guy with the bush at the back’.”
Whyte was the player who Eli Katoa tried to tackle before he stumbled and was ruled out of last Sunday’s clash with a second head injury assessment during the match. Katoa later suffered seizures on the sideline at Eden Park, and underwent emergency surgery to remove fluid on the brain in an Auckland Hospital where he remains.
Whether he should have been allowed to play after being flattened by Tongan teammate Lehi Hopoate during the warm-up has become a major talking point. There was damning footage of Katoa being hit by Hopoate, which the Tongans did not see until after full-time.
Whyte said had he spotted Katoa wiped out like he was before kick-off, he would have spoken up.
“If that was someone in the Kiwis and we saw that happen [in warm-up], it would have become clear that guy was not playing,” Whyte said.
“I feel sorry for Lehi because people have been blaming him [on social media] for what happened. It was nothing more than an accident.
“In my opinion, more care should have been taken. I would have pulled the brother up myself and told him, ‘you’re not playing’. I would have gone to the coach and said, ‘he can’t play because I just saw him get knocked out’.
Naufahu Whyte was in the thick of the Roosters’ round 23 skirmish with the Dolphins.Credit: Twitter: @FoxNRL
“I hope he’s OK. I don’t know Eli personally, but I’ve messaged him.”
Whyte was binned in a game against the Dolphins late in the season after he leapt to the defence of teammate Spencer Leniu who baited a few rivals and was quickly set upon. Whyte and Francis Molo locked horns.
What chance is there of more fireworks with Molo at a heaving CommBank – and a predominantly Samoan crowd – on Sunday?
“I had a joke this week with a few of the Kiwi boys, Jamayne Isaako and Jeremy Marshall-King, who were there that night, and recalled what happened,” Whyte said.
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“It’s all part of the game, and that was me having Spencer’s back. Whoever runs out with me, I’ve got their back, no matter what. I shook hands with Francis after the game.
“Big love to Francis. But when I cross that line, I don’t care who is in my way. I don’t care if we’re mates, if we play in the same team, or I know you well – it’s war once we cross that line.”
Here here, Nafahu. And you know what? You’re even starting to sound like JWH.
