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So are the Tahs asleep at the wheel or is this some friendly fire from the Sydney media?
I wasn't at MES to see but Jared didn't seem to feature in the comments on the match and he wasn't a stand out last week against the Rays for mine either.
Certainly pre tournament he was one the "future stars" mentioned but is he as "big" as the below hype?
You would also wonder, if the Tahs could only offer him a 2010 Rookie Contract, how much contact the Force were allowed, as I'm sure if he is as good as they say they would have been offering him something sooner than that!
Eagles poach another 'Ben'
By Iain Payten
August 23, 2007
JARED Waeara-Hargreaves has already been described as the next Ben Kennedy and - like the Australia great before him - rugby union's loss is Manly's gain.
The teenage rugby sensation has slipped through the loose grip of New South Wales and agreed to terms with NRL club Manly for the next two years.
In a switch that has left rugby insiders stunned at the Waratahs management's short-sightedness, Waeara-Hargreaves, 18, informed the NSW Rugby Union he was moving to the 13-man code to take up a full-time career in league.
The New Zealand born back rower, a starting flanker in the Australian Rugby Championship with Central Coast Rays after just a season in first grade with Norths, was offered only a part-time deal to remain in rugby. He was told he would have to wait until 2010 before joining the Waratahs as a rookie.
Standing 195cm and weighing 107kg, Waeara-Hargreaves has drawn comparisons with Kennedy after being spotted by the same scout.
And now the Norths flanker will follow the same career path as Kennedy, whom many regard as perhaps the biggest fish the Australian Rugby Union lost when he switched codes in 1996.
"I came down from Brisbane with the goal of becoming a professional footballer in a full-time environment, and Manly have given me that opportunity," Waeara-Hargreaves said last night.
"League is my focus now. I want to give it a real go."
League clubs and the New Zealand Rugby Union were circling Waeara-Hargreaves in June after just a handful of first-grade games for Norths.
The NSWRU was prepared to offer the rookie only a spot as a "professional academy" player for the next two years before including him in Super 14 plans in 2010.
A professional academy player is paid to train for just 14 hours a week.
Waeara-Hargreaves's manager, Mike Newton, said his client's decision to leave rugby was difficult, but the chance to develop his talent full-time at a top NRL club was too good to pass up.
"He's made pretty quick progress from a relative unknown to the only kid his age starting in the ARC, so he's certainly got the raw talent there to be something special in league," Newton said.
Manly coach Des Hasler said he was excited about the crash-tackling youngster's potential.
"Who knows how good he can be? He's only 18, that's the exciting part," Hasler said.
"He's a young guy, great athlete and he's got a good head on him already. First grade is a long way away but he is a very impressive kid."
Norths general manager Grant Richardson blasted rugby officials last night for letting "a future Wallaby" slip away.
"Fundamentally we have a flaw in our rugby union system," Richardson said.
"While some people pontificate that we can't (sign) everybody, I think we have to make sure that we do what we can to keep our best young kids in the game.
"We seem to have in rugby more academies than Hollywood. There is just no guarantee of them coming back (from league)."
Similar in appearance to Bulldogs star Sonny Bill Williams, Manly is enthusiastic about the potential of Waeara-Hargreaves.
"Wait until you see what we do with him in 14 weeks," a source said.
Sea Eagles swoop to sign union's Sonny Bill
Glenn Jackson and Jamie Pandaram | August 23, 2007
MANLY have won the race to sign one of the best young rugby union talents in the country after yesterday securing 18-year-old Waratah Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
In a blow to rugby union in the battle between the codes, Waerea-Hargreaves has rejected interest from four other NRL clubs as well as the NSW Waratahs, the Western Force and the New Zealand Rugby Union to link with the Sea Eagles on a two-year deal.
The New Zealand-born back-rower, who has been compared to Bulldogs second-rower Sonny Bill Williams and retired Manly lock Ben Kennedy, was apparently offered by the Sea Eagles up to four times more than the Waratahs were prepared to outlay.
The Watarahs offered him a four-year deal but two of those seasons would have been spent as part of their academy program.
Waerea-Hargreaves was dropped from the Central Coast Rays team to play the East Coast Aces this Sunday in the Australian Rugby Championship.
His manager, Mike Newton, denied the move was a "money grab".
"I wanted him to be in a professional environment next year," Newton said. "I believe his progress and form certainly warranted being a full-time professional, and the Waratahs couldn't offer it.
"He's certainly excited about it. He's always had a genuine interest in rugby league and he has an opportunity to be training with one of the top NRL teams in the competition."
"Being able to play under a bloke like [Manly coach] Des Hasler is a huge privilege for him. He hasn't played league since he was 10 or 11, but I'm sure he'll be well suited to the game."
Newton also said the lure of a State of Origin jumper was a consideration for the player whose teammates at Norths call him Sonny because of his likeness in look and talent to the New Zealand international.
"When I told him that he'd still be eligible for NSW under-19s next year, he said to me, 'does that mean I'll play at Suncorp, does that mean I'd play before the Origin'," he said. "He's always loved Origin, he loves the confrontation, he loves the physical stuff."
Waerea-Hargreaves moved to Australia on a golf scholarship (he has a handicap of two) in Queensland but then took up rugby union and was last year signed by the Waratahs for this season.
Wests Tigers, South Sydney, Cronulla and Gold Coast had been monitoring him, while a senior New Zealand rugby official had flown to Sydney to watch him play. But after yesterday discussing his future via satellite phone with his father, who is in Iraq serving as a contracted engineer with the US military, Waerea-Hargreaves opted for Manly.
Waerea-Hargreaves had a brief stint in league before he moved to Australia and is good friends with young Broncos sensation Dave Taylor. He met Hasler about three weeks ago and watched Manly play Souths at Telstra Stadium on Monday night.
Sea Eagles chief executive Grant Mayer said he was "excited" about the signing.
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie said while it was "very disappointing" to lose Waerea-Hargreaves, the NRL deal by no means signalled that he was lost to union. "Manly made a substantial offer for a guy his age, way over what we could match. He has made a decision and I understand why - it's too good an offer for him to pass up," he said. "It is a two-year deal and we will obviously watch him with interest ... and we may try and bring him back."
The Waratahs' difficulty was that, while Waerea-Hargreaves shows tremendous potential, he is unproven in the representative arena, having played just two games for the Rays in the ARC.
"He is a young guy still growing," McKenzie said. "We still think there is improvement there. We have got to put it into perspective ... he is still a kid."
However, McKenzie has no doubt the "kid" can make a big impact in league. "He has definitely got the attributes to succeed in league. He is a very aggressive player and will certainly be useful [for Manly]," he said.
Rays coach John McKee said Waerea-Hargreaves's omission for the Gold Coast match
had nothing to do with his decision to switch codes. "It is a bit of a squad rotation," McKee said of the team selection. "
He has played nearly all of our first two games and we're giving an opportunity to some other guys."
Asked whether Waerea-Hargreaves might return to rugby union, Newton said: "He'll have both codes up his sleeve. He's still got to prove himself in the NRL. But 'BK' never went back."
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