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The obvious talking point to emerge from this round of the NRL is Jarryd Hayne and his hamstring. The question on everyone’s lips, north or south of the border, is “will he be fit to play by Origin II in two and a half weeks?”
Hayne has been quoted saying that he will work round the clock to make sure he’s fit in time. From doing up to six rehab sessions per day, to having blood injections to help his recovery, Hayne has said that he will do whatever it takes.
Hayne’s performance on Wednesday night was brilliant. He was one of the best on the field, and had seemingly made the NSW number one jersey his own.
He has been part of the NSW set up for many years now. He is the Blues’ most experienced player and, whether he played wing, fullback or centre, he has consistently been one of the Blues’ best.
Surely after all of that he deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt by coach Laurie Daley when it comes to his fitness.
Well, I’m not so sure. There are several things making me question whether or not Hayne should be given as much time as possible to prove his fitness for Origin two.
The first is Jonathan Thurston.
We saw on Wednesday night the effect that niggling injuries had on Thurston; it was probably his worst Origin performance to date.
I would hope that the Thurston situation would make Laurie Daley think twice about allowing Hayne to play if he’s not completely fit, especially considering how much a hamstring injury can impact upon a player’s explosiveness, agility and running stride.
Hayne is a very explosive ball runner – his running game is one of his biggest strengths. A niggling hamstring would severely hamper his impact from kick returns and in broken play.
The second factor is Hayne himself. We know that Jarryd Hayne is an enigma.
At his best (like 2009 and Wednesday night) he is one of the best in the world.
At his worst he can be one of the most frustrating players to watch. He will go missing in games, make silly errors, and try to rectify all of that with a hail Mary play that rarely comes off.
2013 (so far) has undoubtedly been Hayne’s best year since 2009, and based on his recent form, there’s no real reason to suggest that he would give anything but 100 percent for the Blues, whether he’s injured or not.
But for Hayne to be at his best, he needs his body to be 100 percent.
It would be a massive gamble to play Hayne at fullback in Origin II if he is not at 100 percent. The difference between his best and his worst is massive, and it could be the difference between NSW winning and losing at Suncorp.
The third factor is Josh Dugan. If I had to make a choice between an underdone Jarryd Hayne, an even more underdone Brett Stewart, and ageing Anthony Minichiello, I would have to go with Hayne.
But, the reemergence of Dugan as a genuine game changer makes me wonder if it’s really worth gambling on Hayne’s fitness in Origin II.
Dugan has been the best player on the field every time he has pulled on the Red V. I know that four games is not much to go on, but he has been absolutely brilliant in all four of those games.
Dugan has played Origin once before in 2011 with mixed success. But with the form he is in now I doubt he would let anyone down if he was picked again.
As I mentioned before, Hayne has stated he will do “whatever it takes” to be fit for Origin II. But even if he is fit in time, he still won’t have played any footy for nearly three weeks before the game.
So is it worth gambling on Jarryd Hayne’s fitness for Origin II? Personally, I think not.
Obviously there is a chance that Hayne will recover in plenty of time, and he will be running at 100 percent by the time camp starts on Monday week.
If that’s the case, then as an outsider looking in, I’m obviously in no position to make a call on Hayne’s fitness.
But if I were Laurie Daley, and I had any doubts about Hayne’s fitness I would let him rest up so that he’s 100 percent ready to go for game III and I would give Dugan a run in game two
With Josh Dugan in the form of his life, I don’t think it’s worth playing Jarryd Hayne and risking him putting in a bad performance or worse – aggravating his injury halfway through the game, leaving NSW without a proper fullback.
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