Jarryd Hayne is a realist, knows an NRL comeback is at “long, long odds”, but has set himself the goal of shedding up to 10kgs and playing Test football for Fiji at the end of the season.
Hayne also told this masthead about his plans to move into coaching, and the thrill he felt when watching an unnamed NRL star turn the corner last year after some one-on-one tuition.
The Parramatta Eels favourite and two-time Dally M winner is racing the clock to overcome a hamstring injury to be fit for Wentworthville when the Ron Massey Cup – NSW’s equivalent of a second division – kicks off next weekend at Ringrose Park.
It will be his first game in seven years since finishing at the end of the 2018 NRL season with the Eels.
Hayne was charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent following an incident involving a 26-year-old woman in her Newcastle home on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final.
He was found guilty twice following two trials, only for his convictions to be overturned on appeal. Hayne, who maintained his innocence throughout the four-year ordeal, walked out of prison a free man in June.
Jarryd Hayne leaves the Downing Centre District Court after his appeal was upheld in June.Credit: Nikki Short
Now 37, Hayne will not discuss the case, and is determined to get on with his life and resume playing the sport that made him a household name.
When Hayne’s Wentworthville return was confirmed last month, questions were asked about whether he was any chance of an NRL return. But sitting in the foyer of Wentworthville Leagues Club, where plenty of well-wishers stopped to greet him, Hayne said: “The fairytale would be that. But I’m realistic as well. That [comeback] is long, long odds. It’s also not my focus.
“For me, I want to get back and play in front of my kids.
“I also want to do what I can to play Test football for Fiji at the end of the year. They’re due to play against Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands. That’s the aim.
Jarryd Hayne at his best against the Dragons in 2009.Credit: NRL
“[Coach] Wise [Kativerata] called me last year and asked if I wanted to play. I told him I’m not in shape, and said, ‘I wish you had told me earlier because I would have played local footy’. I’ve been out of the game for so long.
“I try to explain to people it’s about the contact. When you’re playing regularly, and you’re hit on a regular basis, your body gets [used to it]. But when you’ve been out of it for a while, it doesn’t matter how long you played beforehand, it takes a long time for your body to adjust to that impact.
“I want to build up to playing for Fiji. But it starts with getting my body right, and having a good year with Wenty.”
The man known as the “Hayne Plane” polarised fans as an NRL player, and expected rival supporters to have plenty to say when he runs out at five-eighth for Wentworthville.
Jarryd Hayne during his playing days with Parramatta.Credit: Getty Images
“There will be a bit of to and fro – as long as they’re respectful, that’s all that matters,” Hayne said.
Hayne stunned the league world when he left the Eels at the end of 2014 to pursue a career in the NFL. He went on to play eight regular-season games with the San Francisco 49ers.
For all his representative success – and golden run in 2009 when he basically piggybacked Parramatta all the way to the grand final against Melbourne – you sense the NFL adventure is what provided Hayne with the greatest satisfaction.
“I got to experience the NFL,” Hayne said. “I’d have games and I’d look around thinking to myself, I would pay for this experience. How much would you pay to sit on the sideline at an NFL game, holding a helmet? I got paid to do that.”
Hayne weighs 121kg, wants to drop to 115kg, and possibly 110kg by the time the Test series commences in October. He played at 104kg in the NRL.
Hayne prided himself on being mentally tough, which is one area he wants to help the next generation of Eels and NRL players. He has a lot of time for Wenty prop Epeli Sukanaivalu, who was with the Bulldogs last year.
“I wanted to get back to Parra and coach and go down that route, but it wasn’t to be,” Hayne said.
“As I’ve had time to really think about what I want to do, junior coaching appeals to me. I want to prep the younger guys and get them ready for the representative season.
“I did a bit of work with an NRL player last year – I won’t say who he is – but to watch him do what he did after what we had spoken about it, that gave me a thrill I can’t explain.
“The game is so much more about mental [strength] than physical strength. And my greatest asset was the mental side of my game. When I was on, I was on. When I was off, I was off, but I knew I was off.
“I understood the Origin arena, knew the representative arena, and if I had to be on, I knew how to get my mind right.
“In today’s society, there is so much outside noise, people find it hard to focus, but I’d love to try and help and give them some of my knowledge.”
Hayne still supports the Eels, would love to see Junior Paulo, Shaun Lane and Ryan Matterson rediscover their 2022 form, and hopes a young forward can step up and surprise fans like Isaiah Papali’i did when he joined the club in 2021.
Clear the runway. The Plane is about to take flight again.
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