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Jarryd Hayne’s failed early season experiment in the halves for Parramatta has thankfully been rectified by coach Daniel Anderson, in a move that has not only allowed the NSW winger to play his best football, but has also given former fullback Luke Burt a new lease of life on the flanks.
It took some demoralising early season losses for Anderson to realise that Hayne’s role at five-eighth simply had to come to an end, even if it meant shifting hardworking custodian Luke Burt to the wing for the remainder of the season.
Although Burt made it clear that his favoured position is fullback, he also knew that a player of Hayne’s supreme talents could not be wasted in the halves.
After finally gaining the no.1 jersey for Parramatta, Hayne has since become the NRL’s most influential player, guiding the Eels to a seven match winning streak that now sees them sixth on the premiership ladder.
On Friday night, the Penrith Panthers became the latest team to fall under Hayne’s spell, as the Eels fullback once again put on a master-class display that was only made possible by the determination of the man he replaced as custodian all those weeks ago.
Indeed the rise in form of winger Luke Burt should not be discounted in the Eels late season charge towards the finals.
Ever since he has moved to the flanks, Burt has established a deadly attacking combination with Hayne that was in full swing against the Panthers on Friday night.
Early in the first half, Hayne produced a perfectly weighted chip kick that allowed Burt to score a try that provided the Eels with a 12 nil lead.
Hayne also produced a forty twenty in the second half, thanks to the constant kick chase pressure that Burt applied to opposition fullback Jarred Sammut.
It was this same pressure that allowed Burt to score his second try, trapping Sammut in his in goal area, and producing a one on one strip that saw the Eels winger ground the football.
That play was once again on the end of a Jarryd Hayne kick.
Indeed Burt ended up being one of the primary reasons why Hayne was able to produce a perfect kicking game that garnered over 300 metres of territory for his side.
He was also the main reason why Panthers coach Matthew Elliott decided to axe Sammut with just over twenty minutes remaining in the contest.
For all his time at fullback, Burt produced one of the more dominant displays by a winger seen this season.
He was responsible for scoring 26 of the Eels 48 points, which included a perfect night with the boot with no conversions missed.
Although Hayne is currently the man of the moment for the Eels, Burt’s switch to the wing has played a significant role in allowing the Eels to rediscover their attacking vertigo.
Ever since Anderson moved him to the flanks, Parramatta have managed to unearth a winger that is as secure and potent as any in the NRL.
It may just prove to be the positional switch that may very well lead the Eels deep into a finals series that many thought was beyond them just eight weeks ago.