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Hayne continues to attempt the impossible

21st January, 2015
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Jarryd Hayne is off to play at the Gold Coast Titans. (Photo by Colin Whelan copyright © nrlphotos.com).
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21st January, 2015
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‘Impossible’ is a hard label to dish out these days because as humans we have overcome many hurdles and achieve many great things. What was once thought of as impossible many years ago can well be a regular achievement today.

It’s getting harder to think of doing something extraordinary that hasn’t been done yet.

There is, however, an example. A professional rugby league player at the height of his career wanting to try his luck at the most competitive and complex game on the face of the planet, the NFL.

It’s really quite refreshing to be able to say the word impossible again and have it mean just that. But in the back of all of our minds, haters or lovers, with him or against him, there are two words floating around and thats, what if?

What if Jarryd Hayne could? It is a gutsy decision or equally stupid one, to walk away from a simple game he knows in and out, to give up everything to play a game he knows nothing about.

When I was a lot younger I had a poster on my bedroom wall that had a saying on it that went “some people dream of climbing mountains, but others wake up and climb them”.

When I think of this, I think of Hayne.

From all reports I’m hearing, Jarryd wants to be a running back. Other then Reggie Bush and a few die hard Hayne fans, everyone else is saying this is such a tall order – maybe too tall in Haynes case.

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You see Jarryd’s height is a big problem, as the perfect height for a NFL running back is 5’11. Jarryd is a tall 6’2, that would make Hayne one of the tallest running backs in the NFL. Out of all 148 running backs who are contracted to an NFL franchise, only eight are 6’2 or taller. 

It is beneficial for a running back to be pocket sized because a running back may hide behind his own offensive linesmen. A taller running back could be seen a lot easier by the opposition’s defence.

There is also talk about Hayne moving into a wide receiver role, he has the speed and the size even the athleticism to play this position but he should have to memorise a playbook the size of all of J. R. R. Tolkien novels put together.

In the words of Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, “football is a game of inches, the margin for error is so small , one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it, one half a second too slow, too fast and you don’t quite catch it, the inches we need are all around us”.

If Hayne doesn’t know the playbook inside and out, he is going to struggle to make that catch or grab that extra inch. He is competing for a spot against players who have the same speed or faster, the same athleticism or better. However, there is one thing that each one has that Hayne doesn’t – everyone of them breathe that playbook.

It comes to them as second nature because they’ve been rehearsing those plays well before Hayne woke up and realised his dream of becoming an NFL star.

The other position that Hayne should easily walk straight into and play should be a kick return on an NFL franchise special teams. But is Jarryd seriously going to leave the greatest game on earth to go and prove to himself and a bunch of Americans that he can catch a ball and maybe run it up the middle once or twice a game?

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It is not much of an achievement when you consider that every fullback and winger in the NRL, Super League and rugby union has the attributes and ability to play this role.

In my opinion it should seem that if he does end up in this role it would be unfortunate ending to a highly talented athletic career.

I will leave you with this statistic. Out of all American high school players, two per cent of players go on to play in the college system. Out of all college football players one per cent end up playing in the NFL.

High profile NRL players trying their luck in the NFL? We’re still waiting for that statistical data to come through.

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