Rated the game's most feared front-rower, the Roosters enforcer was sensationally dumped this week from a severely depleted Kiwi team that will include six debutants when they tackle the Kangaroos tonight.
Waerea-Hargreaves is often labelled one of the world's best front-rowers, and he can be fearsome, but the 25-year-old doesn't always back that up. Against England in last year's World Cup semifinal he accumulated 56m from nine runs - Sam Burgess scored a try, set up another and ran for 173m - and against Australia it was a miserly 38m from seven carries.
His form over the years for the Sea Eagles and more recently the Roosters means he has serious backing in Sydney. Former Kangaroo Peter Sterling, said in his Daily Telegraph column that it was "hard to fathom" why Kearney left out Roosters Waerea-Hargreaves, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Frank-Paul Nuuausala.
Kearney cited "form" and "a focus on the future" as the main reasons behind his selection bombshells.
Asked if he expected a call from Kearney, Waerea-Hargreaves said: "I guess that is the way it works. You stay in touch.
"I think there should have been a call for sure. And I think there should even be a call now."
On that point, Kearney appears to agree. "Jared deserves a call - I have been over this for the last four days. I will talk to Jared once this week is over. I will definitely give him the explanation why. As I said at the start of this week, we picked this side on form and with the future in mind, talking about 12 months, 24 months, 36 months."
Waerea-Hargreaves said his dumping would not impact his desire to win back his test spot for the end of season Four Nations - and he even plans to go to tonight's game to support his mates.
"Obviously I am extremely disappointed," he said. "Not just at not being selected but after hearing that it has got to do with form and the future plans of the Kiwis, when I heard that sort of stuff I started thinking I am only 25. I am not really coming to the end of my career.
"I am wishing all the players all the very best and I wish I could be out there with them. I am going to bottle it up and use it in a positive way for the Roosters and I look forward to playing the Tigers next week."
Waerea-Hargreaves admits his form at the start of the year was down but the disrupted pre-season because of the World Cup had impacted many players - and over the past two weeks he has been back to his best for the Roosters.
He said he was buoyed by the support he had received from the public and fellow players.
But Kearney's distant approach had left him stunned.
"The thing I was disappointed about was that I hadn't received a phone call to say; 'Well, Jared, maybe you should pick your form up. Maybe you need to be doing a bit more'.
"But I am all good, I am staying positive. I am a pretty positive person."
-Daily Telegraph, Sydney
