- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Well, that was unexpected. One of the game’s best, most watched, commercially-driven talents has up and left, following his heart after heightened Madden play-time.
Hayne could have been an immortal; he showed no signs of slowing down this year with a shared Dally M medal to now finish his NRL career.
It’s hard to see him chucking a Benji Marshall and ever coming back. Once (if) he gets a taste of American Football, returning to the NRL would be like skipping a Springsteen concert to catch a Fall Out Boy sideshow.
So which one of the many gaping holes that Jarryd will leave in the NRL shall I look at?
The Eels? No thanks, I’d be writing for days. The league itself? Scary to think with the likes of Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Burgess already skipping town only weeks ago – Channel Nine must be sweating on the fitness of Greg Inglis during the Four Nations tour.
The now ‘vacant’ spot in the Australian squad? Wait, no, scratch that. Didn’t even realise he was picked until today.
I’ll go for the less-stressful approach of looking at Hayne’s successor in next year’s Origin series.
With a quick glance, the options are a little unnerving.
Brett Stewart
Brett had a reasonably quiet year, his attitude seemed to fade once he was told his brother Glenn was to switch allegiances in 2015, so placing him as a first-choice fullback in place of Hayne would be a roll of the dice.
His 2014 statistics read as such: 10 tries, 22 try assists, 10 metres average kick returns, and 87 metres per game.
At 29 Laurie Daley will likely look for longevity in the number 1 role – my guess is Brett Stewart has played his last game in sky blue.
Josh Dugan
After a positional switch from fullback in an obvious attempt to snatch the vacant right centre position this year, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not he’ll look to revert back to his preferred position.
Looking at his 2014 stats won’t give much of an indication, as he played centre for half of the year and was injured for the first leg of the season, however he ended with 10 tries, 3 assists, 124 average run metres, 14 metres kick returns, and 4.9 tackle busts.
Dugan seems to be in with the selectors, grabbing the available spots when others are injured. Having been there before it’s likely he’ll get a shot should anything happen to…
Matt Moylan
The wonder kid from Penrith stole most of their headlines this year. With 9 tries, 17 try assists, 9 metere kick returns, and 13 line breaks, it’s the way in which he led the team with Jamie Soward deep into the finals and grew into a consistent performer that makes him the odds-on favourite.
Moylan may have given one of the wingers a run for their spot had Hayne been playing, and at 23 is the most likely candidate for the job.
Injury-prone but worth the gamble.
Outside possibilities
James Tedesco: Worth more than a thought, but the injuries are keeping him out of the game for way too long. Needs a solid season under his belt.
Michael Gordon: The best player at an awful club this year, however getting older and would be at long odds to even play in City versus Country again.
Reece Robinson: Shift to Parramatta could actually prove to be a good move for the underrated Canberra utility.
Kurt Gidley: I kid.
And, that’s it. Counting Justin Hodges, Queensland will field four better fullbacks in their team than any of these talented options, that is now an unfortunate reality if you are a Blues fan.
Obviously, there’s a long long way to go until Origin rolls around again, and like we always say, anything can happen. Players can lose or gain form, and there are always injuries and suspensions, but clearly there’s a tonne of ground to be made up between now and then.
If you don’t believe me, go ask a Queenslander how they feel on taking on one of the above mentioned players in favour of Jarryd Hayne.
After nine years, NSW finally had a(!) position in their spine which matched, or bettered, their opposites. My thoughts after this year’s series was that Hayne would be the main-stay the NSW fullback position until well into his 30s, taking over captaincy once Paul Gallen retired.
Now it’s back to square one.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.