Waerea-Hargreaves' record-breaking 307th appearance for the Roosters featured all the Kiwi hard man's trademarks: a huge shot to start the day, a sin-binning, big metres and a battle scar, the Allianz Stadium crowd cheering as blood streamed down his face at the end of his first stint.
But as the beloved prop prepares to make his exit at the season's end, it was the next wave of Roosters forwards who willed the premiership hopefuls to victory on Sunday afternoon.
Waerea-Hargreaves' front-row partner Lindsay Collins halted the Dragons' comeback after they had cut a 14-0 deficit back to two points with tries either side of the break.
The Queensland prop grabbed an inside pass from Luke Keary for his try, then set one up with a short ball for a flying James Tedesco, who streaked 60 metres to put the game to bed at 30-12.
Fresh from re-signing, Angus Crichton continued his superb season on the left edge by cashing in on Sam Walker's grubber kick and helping the side remain on top after Collins' go-ahead try.
Second-rower Victor Radley had scored the Roosters' first four-pointer in much the same fashion in the first half.
But Radley concussed himself unsuccessfully attempting to stop Christian Tuipulotu from scoring the Dragons' second try just after the break, ending the Rooster's afternoon.
Current teammates joined members of the Roosters' 1974 premiership squad to form a pre-match guard of honour for Waerea-Hargreaves, who usurped Mitch Aubusson to become the most-capped player in the club's 117-year history.
Wearing a golden number eight on his jersey, he floored Francis Molo with the first tackle of the day and came within inches of opening the scoring as he strode towards the line.
But Waerea-Hargreaves found himself in hot water for making high contact with Dragons centre Max Feagai in the 16th minute, heading to the sin bin for the 10th time in his career.
After a rest either side of halftime, Waerea-Hargreaves returned to finish the game and ended up with 143 run metres - more than any other middle forward on the park.
Dragons second-rower Jaydn Su'A went on report for a late shot on Brandon Smith in the first half, then a second time for hitting Michael Jennings high in the dying minutes.
But the Queenslander appears highly unlikely to have his State of Origin hopes dashed by suspension.
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