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<\/p>\n\u201cThen we were doing recovery and Jared came up, shook my hand, and said, \u2018nice to meet you, bro\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the back of my mind I was like, \u2018is this guy serious?\u2019 He just smoked me, and now he wanted to be my best mate.<\/p>\n
\u201cJared was the \u2018big dog\u2019 I always looked up to. I still hear from him now and then. He was such a great player.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 23, Whyte is fast gaining a reputation of being one of the most feared forwards in the game.<\/p>\n
Retiring Kiwis legend Kieran Foran noticed Waerea-Hargreaves\u2019 influence on Whyte.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment he crosses that line, he goes into \u2018beast mode\u2019, and \u2018JW\u2019 was no different,\u201d Foran said ahead of Sunday\u2019s Pacific Championships final between New Zealand and Samoa at Parramatta\u2019s CommBank Stadium.<\/p>\n
Whyte\u2019s form for the Roosters this year, the first season without Waerea-Hargreaves, was phenomenal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a bit of former Roosters enforcer, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, in emerging front-rower Naufahu Whyte.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And that is saying something when Sunday\u2019s rivals, Samoa, boast Payne Haas, Josh Papalii and Junior Paulo.<\/p>\n
Whyte is eligible for Samoa through his mother, Agnes, while his father, Ofa, is Tongan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a proud Polyneasian kid, proud to be Tongan, proud to be Samoan, but New Zealand is home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where my life began, that\u2019s where my rugby league career started, and that\u2019s the country that gave my parents the opportunity for me to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whyte wants to be the NRL\u2019s best prop and knows he has been blessed with the ability to reign supreme up front.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only my second year of NRL footy. The sky\u2019s the limit for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayne 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d 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\u2019re feared when people are running at you, you can\u2019t beat that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only knock on Whyte is his funky haircut, which is not quite a mullet, and can only be described, by him, as \u201cthe bush at the back\u201d.<\/p>\n
A bit like former Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, and even Canterbury\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy partner [Hope] helps keep it in shape,\u201d Whyte said.<\/p>\n
![\"Roosters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/301bb329b8ecd701fa4974694c247e1b9b189730.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Roosters player Naufahu Whyte and his partner, Hope, at the Dally M awards.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI was cutting my hair every week, but I was paying about $50 a week, and it was getting too expensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery week I give myself a clean fade, but I haven\u2019t cut the back. I always keep it washed and clean, but there\u2019s no way I can cut the back off now. Every time someone thinks of Nafahu Whyte, they\u2019ll be like, \u2018oh yeah, the guy with the bush at the back\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whyte was the player who Eli Katoa tried to tackle before he stumbled and was ruled out of last Sunday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
![\"Naufahu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/03ceda5bceaeac3986b403057258abb058708bd04507bdf89d58c5a56f47854a.gif\")
<\/p>\n