Will Ricky Stuart sack Hayne as Eels fullback?
Roar Guru By ScottWoodward.me, 23 Jul 2012 ScottWoodward.me is a Roar Guru
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- Jarryd Hayne, NRL, Parramatta Eels, Ricky Stuart, Rugby League
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Will new Parramatta coach Ricky Stuart change his mind and sack the Eels’ best player and fullback Jarryd Hayne?
Stuart has been vocal over the last two years that Hayne is a five-eighth and not a fullback, and refused to select him in his club position for Origin last year when the Blues were desperate.
Embarrassingly he preferred Anthony Minichiello, who had a shocker in the deciding third game.
Stuart wrote in his Sunday Telegraph column on April 15th this year: “A lot of people had their opinions on not only what I said last year about Jarryd being a five-eighth, but why.
“I didn’t say it to embarrass him. I didn’t say it because I had something against him and was looking to bring attention to him, as some alleged. I said it because I believed it. And I still do.
“The shape and structure of where he plays best is a classic five-eighth and not that of a fullback,” he added
The justification for his decision prior to Origin 2011 was “If you watched Jarryd Hayne play last night (against North Queensland) he played more like a second five-eighth or a five-eighth, and I think five-eighth is his best position. That is just me as a coach.”
“I think with Jarryd Hayne at fullback, he can play well but I have got to look to the future.
“I am being as honest as I can be; I am not here to try and gloss over it all or make it warm and fuzzy. That is my opinion.”
Well, based on what we have seen from the Eels this year, there is no competition for the five-eighth position, so Ricky should have no problems in putting his money where his mouth is.
I have a heap of mates who are mad Eels supporters and have done it very tough for a long while, and I sincerely hope that Ricky can turn the famous club around, but I have not seen anything from the playing list or the incoming coach’s resume that would excite me.
I hope I am wrong but Ricky Stuart would be one of the few coaches in the game who does not think Jarryd Hayne is a fullback.
Like his many about-fronts in Origin, can we expect him to have a change of heart?
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July 23rd 2012 @ 7:39am
steve b said | July 23rd 2012 @ 7:39am | Report comment
Scott i was only saying the same thing to my son in law when we heard Ricky was to take over ,,he has been showing some form of late at fullback but 5/8 i dont know ,,interesting times ahead at Parra …
July 23rd 2012 @ 9:47am
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 9:47am | Report comment
steve
The Eels go so much better with him at fullback – its a no brainer, but Ricky is pig headed so……
July 23rd 2012 @ 8:02am
Damn Straight said | July 23rd 2012 @ 8:02am | Report comment
Whilst his passing game can be superb, he is more dangerous when he is free to roam around, popping up in the middle and finding a hole, or pressing on the fringes and creating an overlap by drawing defenders. His step and running game is deadly when he is on.
More importantly though, he has to develop his mental toughness and work ethic to become a truly consistent performer and a champion in any position, be it five eighth or fullback. Jarryd has become known as a player who turns up “if he feels like it”, or if origin is on. The hunger is gone. I truly believe that 2009 Dally M run he had inflated his ego to the point where he feels like he has “made it” and can get a walk up start because of his former glories. His efforts the last 3 seasons have shown that he goes missing in games way too much.
You cannot blame that on Steve Kearney, or Daniel Anderson for that matter. Maybe whoever is coaching him needs to drop him back to NSW cup when he is consistently bludging, like Ivan Cleary has done with Michael Jennings, another extremely talented footballer with questionable work ethics
Even though i’m a Parra supporter, i would swap Jarryd Hayne for Ben Barba any day of the week.
July 23rd 2012 @ 9:49am
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 9:49am | Report comment
Damn
Thats a good question, Hayne for Barba mmmm.
They are both world class players who bring the crowds and they can both play 5/8, but are most effective at 1.
July 23rd 2012 @ 10:06am
Jay said | July 23rd 2012 @ 10:06am | Report comment
Looks like it was be another genius decision by Sticky.. similar to when he was at cronulla and chose to sign Trent Barrett from ESL over Kimmorley…
July 23rd 2012 @ 11:12am
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
Jay
Dont forget Corey Hughes over Isaac De Gois, …oh and some gems, Misi Taulapapa, Luke Covell, Brett Seymour the list is massive.
July 23rd 2012 @ 10:18am
SamClench said | July 23rd 2012 @ 10:18am | Report comment
Hayne has the skill to play 5/8 on paper, but never seems to deliver when he’s moved there. Better to keep him at fullback, where we know he can be devastating.
July 23rd 2012 @ 11:13am
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 11:13am | Report comment
Sam
He he such a class act that he would be effective anyway as we say in Origin, but he is best suited at parra at 1.
July 23rd 2012 @ 10:58am
tonysalerno said | July 23rd 2012 @ 10:58am | Report comment
No.
Despite Jarryd Hayne being Parramatta’s best ball player he can’t afford to be switched back to five eighth. The experiment has already been tried by both Daniel Anderson and Steven Kearney and ultimately it failed. Hayne is too exposed in defence and does not have the luxury of getting the ball in open space.
July 23rd 2012 @ 11:16am
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Tony,
Im not sure he is their best playmaker but he is their best runner. Joseph Paulo, Reni Maitua and Matthew Ryan are all excellent with the ball.
July 23rd 2012 @ 11:36am
Gremlin said | July 23rd 2012 @ 11:36am | Report comment
If Ricky does sign on then he is going to have to come to the sme realisation that kearny never did. John lang once said while at Souths. Sandow is the type of player you build a structure around, not the other way around. I would put Hayne in this catagory to, as most RL observers would, both these guys play whats in front of them not to some grand plan. Perhaps Ricky carries enough respect for these two guys to try and change a life time of playing this way, it will be his career his putting on the line if he goes down this road. lets hope he looks at what Des has done with the Dogs and coachs to the players strenghts, not some idea of what a team should be.
July 23rd 2012 @ 1:38pm
mushi said | July 23rd 2012 @ 1:38pm | Report comment
That works when you are a lewis, johns or fittler but Chris sandow doesn’t have the talent to play the rouge gunman. He needs to figure out that to be better at something sometimes involves knowing your limitations as much as your strengths. Less is More
July 23rd 2012 @ 4:02pm
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 4:02pm | Report comment
mushi
If he gets Pearce, maybe Sandow can play hooker but then who would do the tackling?
July 23rd 2012 @ 4:27pm
Jay said | July 23rd 2012 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
seems right.. look at Sticky’s track record with halfbacks..
Wing, Finch, Kimmorley
July 23rd 2012 @ 2:53pm
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 2:53pm | Report comment
Gremlin,
In the fair dinkum department, parra have made a heap of bad decisions in recruitment. Starting with who is in charge of recruitment. The players they have purchased over the years I have just laughed at and shaken my head. I have been very vocal about Sandow and dedicated a column on him saying that my ratings value him at around 180k and they paid 550k – go figure. Sadly they have got their coaches wrong also, but to be fair their has not been much cattle. Readers will know that I dont rate Ricky as a coach but I hope he can prove me wrong and get the Eels into the semis next year, but it will be on the back of Hayne playing 1.
July 23rd 2012 @ 4:34pm
Gremlin said | July 23rd 2012 @ 4:34pm | Report comment
Guys, never compared Sandow To the group mentioned above, that wuold be silly, mushi. Don’t agree with paying “overs” for personel either. but when your going busted you don’t have choice some times. I to am not convinced at Stick’s club credability, horses for course’s as they say. I do think he is a good fit for a few years. The mian point of my post is about the “type” of player Ricky will have in his roster at parra.
Take the Kearny road or the Desie road and coach the players you have at the club.
July 23rd 2012 @ 12:15pm
Gareth said | July 23rd 2012 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
I think Ricky gets confused with what the game used to be and what the game currently is. It’s not like Hayne is unique snowflake that has somehow infused the spirit of a five-eighth into his game. It’s entirely common for teams to have a half on either side and a fullback the slots in at second or third receiver when the play shifts that way. Likewise, it’s not unusual for a fullback to have the ball and look to either throw a short ball to a second rower off his hip, to a centre a bit wider, or a cutout to their winger. In fact, it’s probably atypical to have a fullback who isn’t primarily a ball-player in attack.
The structure of the game is very different to what it was 20 years ago. The half/five-eighth combo is now essentially left half/right half. What used to be a second rower is now an inside centre. And a fullback plays a lot like a roaming five-eighth.
Obviously, Ricky isn’t stupid, but he was clearly playing some sort of mind game with his Hayne as five-eighth comments last year. This will be a very interesting experiment for the Eels, given Ricky’s track record.
July 23rd 2012 @ 2:55pm
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 2:55pm | Report comment
Gareth
NSW had fullback injuries last year and the series was on the line yet he chose to play Mini at fullback and got beaten by a lap. Trust me that is NOT intelligent.
You are correct about the modern fullback and you only have to look at how Bowen and Inglis play to underline that.
July 23rd 2012 @ 12:46pm
The Third Eye said | July 23rd 2012 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
What will be just as interesting Scott, will be the elephant in the room that nobody wishes to talk about. How will Ricky Stuart and Chris Sandow gel. Look at how many half backs Stuart has worked with, and what success rate he has had with them? We all remember the July 2008 Sun Herald column by Phil Gould listing all his failings in that area. Further, can you name one aboriginal player that Stuart has embraced and built a long term partnership with? Can we ever forget the oil and water relationship with Justin Hodges when they were both at the Roosters? Not only has Ricky Stuart got a questionable record as a coach and won the jackpot getting the Eels to pay him as much as they are, he has an appauling record in detecting talent and cultivating it. Shillington, Hannant and Soward were just three of many players who given a real go under his coaching. The insame selection of Minichiello in Origin in 2011, the near equally insane selection of Buderus for Origin 2012 (which fortunately for Stuart and NSW was folied only by a Buderus injury on the eve of Origin One) and an Origin 2012 Game 3 bench comprised of four back rowers. His selection of bench players and the use of those bench players has been a laughing stock since the 2003 Grand Final. Good luck to the Eels – with that roster (most of whom are grossly overpaid and contracted for a number of years) and this new coach – they are going to need plenty of it.
July 23rd 2012 @ 3:01pm
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 3:01pm | Report comment
TTE
Agree 100% with everything you wrote. You have left out many players who went on to rep and he sacked them. He had Hodges on the bench for the Roosters and he went to bris and became the worlds best right centre. Cuthbetson was playing park footy at the Sharks. He paid 225k for a kid who plays park footy now and never went near first grade.
But he is a super star with the media and idiots like the NSW Blues and parra Board get sucked in and believe what his mates write about him.
I dont rate the Raiders coach but they have at least an opportunity to find someone better now, Stuart would not have been any better than who they have now.
July 23rd 2012 @ 3:39pm
Tony Archers Maroon Underwear said | July 23rd 2012 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
Looking forward to seeing Will Hopoate back in the NRL in 2014 if he regains his form he could eventually push Hayne into a 5/8 role.
Paulo and Kelly both seem good prospects, Kelly I think is out for the season now but hes shown enough to be given a crack for the role next season.
With Lewis going to the Sharks it would be good to see Jeremy Smith in Blue and Gold he could add a bit of starch to the pack
July 23rd 2012 @ 4:00pm
ScottWoodward.me said | July 23rd 2012 @ 4:00pm | Report comment
Tony
Kelly is not your answer for mine, but I would like to see him with a good 7.
I think Hoppa is a centre which is something that you havent got but you cannot pay a guy as much as they gave Hoppa and not play him in a spine position otherwise your cap is stuffed.
July 23rd 2012 @ 11:11pm
Dubble Bubble said | July 23rd 2012 @ 11:11pm | Report comment
I see Hopoate like Inglis. Inglis is a tremendous centre but is wasted there.I was glad someoene finally saw sense and moved him to fullback. If Hopoate is at center I think he too will also be somewhat wasted, he should be getting the ball with as much room to move as possible and to me that means fullback but then where to play Hayne? I doubt Hayne will ever be a 5/8.