Sydney Roosters' enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has been ruled out for the club's clash against the Canberra Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
Waerea-Hargreaves was expected to take a leading role for the match against the Raiders, with the club missing Lindsay Collins to State of Origin after the young gun was selected by rookie coach Billy Slater for the QLD Maroons outfit for Game 1.
Collins is joined out of the side by backs James Tedesco and Daniel Tupou, leaving a hole when it comes to experience for the tri-colours.
Waerea-Hargreaves was also set to have the difficult challenge of slowing down in-form powerhouse Joe Tapine for the clash, with the Raiders' prop among the best-perfoming front rowers in the competition at this stage, having come up with more than 200 metres last week for the second time this season.
It's understood the Kiwi prop has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Waerea-Hargreaves has struggled to reach the lofty heights he set in 2021 when he became one of the club's only experienced players on the field in a story of last man standing as an injury crisis ripped the Roosters apart.
The 33-year-old Rotorua-born prop would regularly spend more than an hour on the field and, alongside James Tedesco, dragged the Roosters to an eventual fifth-placed finish on the table despite an injury crisis which would have consigned a lesser club to the bottom reaches of the table.
He has played 32 Tests for New Zealand alongside his 272 NRL games and Trent Robinson was sweating on him passing fit for Sunday's game where he was expected to start alongside Siosiua Taukeiaho in the front row, with Nat Butcher to play at lock.
Fletcher Baker has been called into the front row to replace Waerea-Hargreaves, while Daniel Suluka-Fifita has been added to the bench.
Teams for the match will be confirmed 60 minutes prior to kick-off, which is scheduled for 4:05pm (AEST) on Sunday afternoon in the nation's capital.