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Twelve months ago a 49er, eight months ago a Fijian Olympic hopeful, six months ago settling down as a Gold Coast Titan. Aside from his enigmatic career, how will Jarryd Hayne be remembered?
When you try and recall Hayne’s achievements, there are a number of individual accolades but few team triumphs.
In 2009, Hayne lit up the NRL with a breathtaking run of form, unlikely to ever be matched. Almost single-handily, he took the Parramatta Eels all the way to the grand final, through sheer determination, skill and ability.
Fans, coaches and fellow players were in awe of his efforts, even his teammates just rode on the back of ‘Haynesy’. His first Dally M medal-winning year will be forever remembered by not just Eels fans, but all who witnessed.
Parra eventually fell on the final day of the season, to what would later be uncovered to be a cheating Melbourne Storm team, almost $1.5 million over the salary cap.
Arguably, that grand final loss was Hayne’s one shot at premiership glory. It’s easy to conclude that if the Storm weren’t cheating the salary cap and were without a player of the influence of Greg Inglis, Parramatta and Hayne would have been crowned NRL premiers.
Moving to Hayne’s only other period of real success – in which he helped NSW win the 2014 State of Origin series and took out a second Dally M Medal, alongside Johnathan Thurston – it’s easy to see why he is often referred to as an enigma.
Between the grand final loss and his second Dally M, Hayne achieved little at club level. In 2012 and 2013, Parramatta collected consecutive wooden spoons, failing to provide a team dynamic that could bring out the best in Hayne.
A move to the edges with the national team for the World Cup in 2013 allowed Hayne to show his talent while playing among the game’s best, as they took out the tournament.
Then came the cope-hopping, the challenges, the dreams. All respectable goals and journeys, which few would have the mindset or ability to dare attempt.
But given Hayne’s individual feats and skill, has he really achieved as much as he should have?
His work ethic and commitment have been questioned by his peers in the past – even his former Eels captain, Nathan Hindmarsh, called him the worst trainer he had seen.
The only time we’ve seen a fully committed Hayne, with the work ethic of a man possessed, was when he tried to make it in the NFL at the San Francisco 49ers. Surrounded by some of the best athletes in world sport and challenged to step up and learn the game, Hayne excelled in his devotion and efforts.
Outside of ’09 and the Blues Origin win in ’14, you could say Hayne’s time on the West Coast was the only time we’ve seen him emotionally invested in his training, dedicated to getting the best out of his skillset.
How often over the years have you seen Hayne sleep through games and dawdle across the rounds. This is where the problem with his legacy come in.
Cam Smith, Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston are all set to become Immortals because they are without question the most committed, dedicated and consistent players of the last decade.
But Hayne is at risk of blowing his legacy as a rugby league player, such has been his demise on the Gold Coast. Reports of poor training, individualism, a failure to buy in, and a meagre transformation, despite having his first full pre-season in years, led to suggestions the club should move Hayne on.
When he returns from an ankle injury in a few weeks, the Titans’ flagship signing has some serious ground to make up with the fans, pundits and even his teammates. There is no way he is displaying the dedication or form to be considered for the NSW State of Origin side, although he will probably be picked on ability alone.
As a kid who grew up in Sydney’s southwest, rose through the junior ranks of rugby league to make it to the top of his sport, and traversed a different path by leaving it all behind to pursue a dream, perhaps Hayne’s story is already written.
A couple of medals, some finals appearances, a trophy here and there, scintillating flashes of brilliance, and the ability to light up a rugby league crowd like only a select few can – it’s a very commendable career to look back on.
But many players are remembered for just the last few years of their journeys.
So will Hayne merely be recalled for enjoying a Gold Coast holiday for a couple of years before falling out of the game and shipping off to French rugby? It would hardly leave a legacy as a ‘great’ of the sport worth remembering.
The real question is: how does Jarryd Hayne want to be remembered?
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