Sydney Roosters head coach Trent Robinson has revealed no discussions regarding the future of veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will take place until the middle of the season.
Waerea-Hargreaves is off-contract at the end of the 2023 campaign, and plenty of questions have been asked over his future, with there being doubt expressed over whether he will remain at Bondi, move to another NRL club, possibly the English Super League, or maybe even hang up the boots.
That speculation has only grown louder since the signing of Spencer Leniu from the Penrith Panthers.
The addition of the young prop, who has played off the bench for Penrith in their back-to-back premiership run, is yet to be officially announced, but it's believed the deal is done.
It has been reported that some of the money Waerea-Hargreaves would have seen has gone to the Penrith forward, meaning there would be less available for the veteran to hang around at Bondi for another year.
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Waerea-Hargreaves is reported to want to round out his career at the Roosters, but speaking to the media, Robinson revealed conversations have not yet been held surrounding his future.
"You're not sure at that age, he's two games into 2023 and he looks fresh," Robinson told the media.
"He looks as healthy as he's ever looked since I've had him and he's 34, so the question is whether he can continue that.
"At the moment, we're trying to get the best out of him for this year and then that discussion can come later down the track when we're in the middle of this season."
The star prop, who has a reputation for being one of the hardest-hitting in the competition, debuted way back in 2009, playing six games for the Manly Sea Eagles before making the switch to the Roosters, where he would likely go past 300 games for the club with another season added to his contract.
Robinson not shutting down the idea of Waerea-Hargreaves remaining at the club seems to suggest there is room for a contract to be presented to the prop should he continue his form.
The 34-year-old Rotorua-born giant of the Roosters' engine room is averaging an excellent 148 metres per game to start the 2023 campaign, although that number dropped against the Storm on Thursday evening - his first two games against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Parramatta Eels saw returns of 174 metres and 180 metres.