Whyte hot: Naufahu on JWH, hairstyles, Eli Katoa, and plans to become game’s top prop

Whyte Hot: Naufahu on JWH, Hairstyles, Eli Katoa, and Ambitions to Become Top Prop

Payne Haas is widely recognized as the best front-rower in the game. The player expected to take his place as the leading prop faces him this Sunday.

Naufahu Whyte’s Journey and Early Impressions

Roosters and New Zealand enforcer Naufahu Whyte has lost count of how many times he has been compared to Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. He vividly remembers their first encounter.

At the end of 2020, during the ongoing COVID-19 challenges, Whyte, then just 18, was brought from New Zealand to Australia on a train-and-trial contract with the Roosters. One day, while observing an NRL training session, coach Trent Robinson singled him out to join a training drill.

“I remember feeling honoured and starstruck when looking around and seeing the likes of Jared, Isaac Liu and Sio Siua Taukeiaho,” Whyte said recently.

During his first run, Whyte was immediately impacted hard and didn’t know who hit him at first. When he looked up, he saw Jared standing over him silently.

“I then took my first carry and got absolutely pumped. I didn’t know who had hit me at the time, but I got smoked. To my surprise, I looked up and it was Jared. He just stood over me, gave me that look, and didn’t say a word. I was like, ‘did that bro just hit me?’ He hit me so hard. I’m pretty certain it was shoulder to mouth.”

Having trained only with players his own age before, Whyte realized he was now with the elite players.

“None of the boys came and helped me get up. Then we were doing recovery and Jared came up, shook my hand, and said, ‘nice to meet you, bro’.”

Summary

Naufahu Whyte’s introduction to top-tier rugby league, highlighted by his encounter with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, marks the beginning of a promising career aimed at becoming the game’s best prop.

Would you like the HTML formatted for mobile or print-friendly display?

more

The Age The Age — 2025-11-08

More News