Jared Waerea-Hargreaves seals NRL return in 2026 as new role revealed

Hull KR star Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will return to the NRL in 2026 after his time with the Super League leaders draws to a close, with his first foray into coaching seemingly confirmed.

The forward will depart the Robins after one year in England, during which time he has helped them win both the Challenge Cup and the League Leaders’ Shield. The prospect of an historic treble with victory in the Grand Final is also not off the table.

The Robins had already confirmed several months ago that Waerea-Hargreaves would retire at the end of the season as a player, but there had been little in the way of confirmation about whether he could possibly stay on in 2026 in a non-playing role.

But Waerea-Hargreaves will now head back to Australia next year, fresh reports from the Sydney Morning Herald have revealed – with the prop being lined up for an emotional return back at Sydney Roosters.

The Herald say that the forward will head back to the club to work with their younger players in a mentoring and coaching capacity, ensuring that after only 12 months away from the Roosters, Waerea-Hargreaves will be back with the club with whom he is most synonymous.

Another former Roosters star that has been in Super League in 2025 will also return to the NRL to begin his career as a coach too. Luke Keary has cut short his two-year deal with Catalans Dragons and will retire from playing after a difficult season in the south of France.

He will now reportedly join the Justin Holbrook revolution at Newcastle Knights in a coaching capacity.

But whereas Keary’s playing career is already over after Catalans failed to make the play-offs this season, Waerea-Hargreaves still has the chance to sign off on the field with the ultimate high and help deliver a first league title in decades for the Robins.

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