Big Dog: how cleanskin Rooster replaced JWH as top prop
George Clarke |
When the Sydney Roosters signed Spencer Leniu from Penrith ahead of the 2024 NRL season it was widely assumed they were getting a like-for-like replacement for Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
A junkyard dog of a front-rower who has skirted the boundaries between barbarism and legality, Leniu’s time at Moore Park has been punctuated by more lows than highs.
But while Leniu has stolen the headlines during his time in Sydney’s east, Naufahu Whyte has established himself as the Roosters’ long-term front-row leader.
Former Canterbury prop James Graham labelled Whyte as the best middle in the NRL in 2026.
Graham’s verdict is underlined by the fact the 24-year-old, who will start in Friday’s preliminary final, averages 167m running metres per game.
“When Jared left I honestly didn’t see it as an opportunity to be the next big dog, I just came in wanting to do my job,” Whyte told AAP.
“I’ve just been going about my business brother, and I think I’ve gotten those comparisons from other people … I just run hard and tackle hard.
“I kind of grew up with Jared, knowing other teams would go after him, and I never thought I’d be in a position where other teams do review and look at me.
“But I love those battles and take it personally – anyone who comes at me it’s going to be hard to bring me down, you can bring your whole pack, you can bring anyone.”
While Waerea-Hargreaves and Leniu will be viewed by most NRL fans as sinners, Whyte is a cleanskin.
He has never been suspended through his 82-game career and says he has yet to feel intimidated on the field.
“I only fear God,” said the t-totaller prop. “There’s nothing else that brings fear to my eyes, so when I cross the white line it doesn’t matter who’s standing in front of me.”
Whyte is half Samoan and half Tongan and stops to say the only person on earth who might cause him to feel nervous is his father, Ofa, who made a career as a builder in Auckland.
“You always love and respect your father and have that fear because of how special they are, but besides that I fear nobody,” said Whyte.
“I can speak on behalf of a lot of Polynesian families. It was tough growing up, we didn’t have much.
“I have always admired my parents, especially my old man. Both of them are still working and constantly pushed me to work hard. They are both a big reason I’m here today.”
It’s not lost on Whyte that he now lives in one of Sydney’s most affluent areas where his hair, which he cuts himself, makes him easy to recognise.
The Roosters feels like home for him and as well as being the club’s forward leader, he is viewed as a trailblazer for the younger Polynesian players in Trent Robinson’s squad.
Back-rower Salesi Foketi, who trampled Nicho Hynes in last week’s semi-final thrashing of Cronulla, said Whyte’s transition from a raw forward out of New Zealand to one of the NRL’s leading props was an inspiration to him.
Like those his junior, Whyte has yet to win a premiership with the Roosters having not made a grand final since 2019.
The only thing that stands in their way is a Dolphins side, who beat the Roosters twice during the regular season and who have previous form in antagonising Whyte and Leniu.
“I know me and Spencer are going to be going after it again,” said Whyte.
“If it goes down, it goes down, but we’re trying to dominate with our footy.
“If I can nail this game this week it would be special (to be in a grand final).
“We deserve to be in those big big dances, and I know we’ve got the team to dominate and get the job done.”
AAP