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Jarryd Hayne in action during the Week 3 Playoff NRL match between the Bulldogs and the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Friday, Sept. 25, 2009.The Eels beat the Bulldogs 22 - 12. AAP Image/Action Photographics, Robb Cox
We asked for your opinion, and you gave it to us. Jarryd Hayne has beaten a hot field to win the Roar Sportsperson Of The Year award. And let’s face it, 2009 (or at least five months of it) has been all about the Hayne Train.
Parramatta went from laughing stock to premiership runners up all on the back of the coming of age of a player who now faces the challenge of living up to the hype for the rest of his career.
Hayne always had the talent, but whether he had the work ethic and consistency were the big doubts over him until the second half of this year.
When things started to go well for Parramatta a few months out from the finals, it quickly became apparent that Hayne was at the centre of nearly everything.
His floating role worked far better than the failed switch to five eighth at the start of the season and when he scored a sublime chip and chase against the Wests Tigers at the SFS to win one of the best games of the season the Kings Cross drive by shootings seemed a long way away.
A player who twelve months before couldn’t even make the Australian side was suddenly being compared to all the greats and he compiled a highlight reel over a dozen matches which certainly played back like one.
However, his stint with Fiji was credited with adding an element of a humility to a player who previously had been accused of being overly brash and too eager to pat himself on the back for a job well done.
But what made Hayne’s game change was his sudden work ethic and his team mates ability to get him the ball when he wanted it. The whole Parramatta side grew from Hayne’s confidence and this was best shown in the halves pairing of Jeff Robson and Daniel Mortimer.
Admittedly the season didn’t end with any sort of fairytale finish with the Storm shutting down Hayne in the final, and their efforts will be studied by every NRL coach over the summer months.
As Peter Sterling shrewdly noted at the height of the Hayne hype ‘the challenge for Jaryd is to be spoken about in the same way 12 months from now.’
But now is not the time for prediction, but rather reflection, and Hayne certainly captivated Australia’s sporting public this year.
So 2009 ends for Jaryd Hayne with the Roar’s Sportsperson of the year to go alongside his Dally M and International Rugby League Player of the Year award.
What a way to round out a trifecta!
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