- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
I originally wrote this article just a few hours before it was reported Kieran Foran wanted to leave the NRL. The team at The Roar very kindly emailed me to ask if I wanted to rethink it considering the news.
Before I could get to that, the news came out that not only was Jarryd Hayne not going to Rio, but he was eligible to immediately return to the NRL seeing as how he was not already a registered player for this season.
Initially I thought that this article was dead and buried. But as I’ve spent more time thinking about it, I’ve decided that actually it still applies.
So let me make a bold statement – Jarryd Hayne is not going to return to play for the Eels.
At the time of writing, stories are all over the internet and newspapers about how the stars are aligning for the Eels to swoop and sign Hayne to start playing immediately. Well, that’s all going to come to nothing!
It’s not surprising that rumours are circulating about where he will move to next. For a talented athlete like Hayne, there are exciting options, but sadly for the Eels faithful, their 2016 season is not going to end on a high with their hero returning. In fact, judging by how 2016 has already gone for them, it is likely to end with three to four more disasters – Semi Radradra leaving, Brad Arthur leaving, Foran leaving, and Hayne pulling on the jersey of one of the other Sydney teams.
Where could he end up? NRL – very likely. Super Rugby – possibly. French rugby – possible but less likely. AFL – okay, let’s not get carried away here. NFL – that boat has sailed.
With Hayne back in Sydney from Fiji, there is plenty of time to join either an NRL side or a Super Rugby side for pre-season training. In fact, in the case of the NRL, he could even start playing this season.
In the past couple of weeks, there have been reports that the Waratahs are meeting with Hayne’s management and discussing how a move to Super Rugby could work. His move to union would most likely be far more in the Israel Folau-style than the Benji Marshall-style, and with his pace, strength and good hands he could make a powerful weapon in the back line.
Put him together with Israel at the Tahs and the Kiwi hold on the Super Rugby title would look a little weaker for 2017. Super Rugby offers some interesting travel, especially as the tournament grows to include clubs in five different countries. From a commercial point of view, union has good money to offer a player of Hayne’s quality too.
So looks like a good option? Well yes, but there is one major issue – Hayne cannot play for the Wallabies.
As soon as he stepped foot on the Twickenham turf earlier this year for Fiji at the London Sevens, his card was marked as a Fijian international. Union doesn’t allow the same kind of nationality switching that rugby league does, and so the lure of pulling on Wallabies gold, the ARU cash top-up, and all the travel and excitement that would be involved is not an option.
He could play for Fiji at the international level, and while they don’t have quite the exposure of the tier one nations, he could still be playing in a World Cup in three years. There would need to be an ongoing adjustment though – sevens is very different to the 15-man version, and Hayne might feel after having to learn American football and then sevens within 18 months that he would prefer to move into a sport he knows well.
The NRL is his home in many ways, and clubs are already lining up to attract Hayne’s attention. There are many (even outside of Parramatta) who feel that the Eels should get first refusal, but there aren’t any contractual terms that mean this will happen.
With the current season from hell that the Eels are experiencing, they are not exactly doing themselves any favours when it comes to the transfer market. Hayne will see a club where senior management have deceived and lied. Where players have had to move on to allow for the rest of the club to be under the salary cap and actually play for points. Where the club has lost 12 points as a punishment, meaning they face an almost impossible task to make the finals. Where the club captain is currently trying to extricate himself from the club.
Oh, and Hayne’s recent flight companion (who would be his partner in crime at the back should Hayne regain the Eels’ number 1 jersey) has missed training, been accused of assault by his ex-partner, and is rumoured to have half an eye on French rugby.
Not exactly the stable, exciting, progressive club for which Hayne would be looking.
In recent days there’s been speculation that the Eels have spoken with Hayne’s manager, with talk his signature would cost around $1 million per season for 2017 onwards, but maybe only $250,000 for the rest of 2016.
If you do the sums (insert joke here about the Eels and their counting skills!) then it’s clear that with Foran possibly going, there could well be cash available for Hayne. That’s a big investment for the Eels, especially at a time when they need to lock in Corey Norman and a few others.
It would be interesting to see as well if the Eels can attract the third party deals they would need to attract Hayne in the long term. These types of deals have got them into a lot of trouble, and both corporates and Hayne might be a bit anxious about this topic with the Eels. In fact, deals specifically involving Hayne have raised many questions at NRL HQ during the investigations into Parramatta.
There are also stories that the recently de-registered five senior executives and directors from the club will appeal against the NRL’s punishment. If they do, then the uncertainty and lack of stability will continue, when what the club really needs is to draw a line in the sand and move on.
One final area of confusion was brought up by Benji Marshall in a recent Fox Sports interview, when he questioned whether the Eels would be able to remove Foran’s 2016 salary from their books in order to create the space for Hayne.
There are myriad issues that need to be solved and navigated quickly if Hayne is to re-join the Eels, and the longer these take, the less likely he is to rejoin, and the more time other clubs (and codes) have to woo him.
There are some big clubs in the hunt for Hayne’s signature. Stories have abounded that the Roosters are keen on Hayne and that he might be keen on them. He’d be a great replacement for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and could help the club forget about a terrible 2016. There’s solid management and coaching at the Roosters, and solid financials too – especially in the third party area. The same cannot be said of the Eels.
Beyond the club decision, Hayne would surely be keen to regain his Blues and Kangaroos jerseys. Sure, the international scene isn’t quite as exciting as the union international scene, but there’s a good battle going on with the Kiwis at the moment, and the Blues could certainly do with a matchwinner like Hayne back in the team for Game 1 in Brisbane next year.
So where does this leave us? With sevens gone, it comes down to NRL vs union. The 15-man code certainly offers some pros that league cannot, but probably not enough to swing it in their favour.
Returning to the NRL looks highly likely for Hayne. But which club? Well, despite how hard the Eels PR and media team will be working to convince us (and maybe themselves) of how a reunion is just around the corner, Hayne will end up somewhere else.
Where exactly is harder to say, but it’s likely to be Sydney, and Bondi sure is looking a nice place to play some footy.
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.