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Jarryd Hayne has refused to set his sights on a State of Origin return for NSW as he prepares to enter his first full NRL pre-season in four years.
Hayne was NSW’s player of the series when they last won the Shield in 2014, however he has not stepped foot in the representative arena since after leaving for the NFL and the rugby sevens.
And while NSW coach Laurie Daley has previously indicated he would be prepared to play Hayne in any number of positions, the Gold Coast fullback suggested any Origin talk was a little premature for him.
“I never come into a season wanting to play (Origin),” he said.
“We’ve got a luxury at NSW with the amount of backs we have coming through.
“I’ve got to worry about playing good footy and getting in good shape and getting in good form.”
Hayne will return to training with the Titans on Thursday when they kick-off their pre-season, marking the first time he has been available for day one since Parramatta in 2012.
He missed the early stages of preparation for 2014 while playing in the 2013 World Cup, and then debuted for the Titans in round 21 last season just five days after signing with the club following his departure from the game in late 2014.
It also meant he went into the final two months of the season with no fitness training centred around rugby league, after spending no more than minutes at a time on the field in the NFL and for Fiji in the sevens.
And it’s there he believes he will gain his biggest improvement heading into the 2017 season.
“Eighty minutes isn’t the hard part,” he said.
“It’s backing it up every six or seven days over the course of a season.
“That’s where it’s tough and that’s where pre-season is important to get that base and punch out all those games.”
The 28-year-old won his second Dally M Medal alongside Johnathan Thurston in his last full season in the NRL, and showed patches of his best in his seven matches with the Titans last year.
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