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Australian rugby league players Jarryd Hayne (left) and Nathan Hindmarsh take part in a team training session in Sydney on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009. AAP Image/Paul Miller
2009 saw the NRL’s marketing department make some very poor choices. When selecting the faces of their advertising campaign, they determined that the masses would be best moved by the pure talent of young starlets Brett Stewart and Greg Inglis to bring a stadium to its feet with freakish football.
No one could deny that these two young men would make outstanding choices for the national team back line, but as leading figures in a multi-million dollar off-field push for corporate sponsorship and the hearts and minds of mums and dads, eager to find a sport for their young children to play and support, the NRL could not have found two less appropriate individuals.
Admittedly, the NRL can’t have known at the time what was to happen next.
Without the aid of a crystal ball, neither player would have been expected to become embroiled in separate off field scandals and as outstanding footballers and youth on their side, who better to promote the game, than exponents of attacking rugby league at its best?
I would strongly argue that Nathan Hindmarsh would be a better, somewhat safer choice.
Steve Price might have been another. Petero Civoneceva, Matt Orford, Cameron Smith or Nathan Cayless are others that would fit the bill as far as I am concerned.
None of these players exhibit the same freakish attacking prowess on the field, and I appreciate that this is what the NRL was thinking in their marketing approach, but all of these players have age, experience and proven leadership on their side.
I am a big Eels fan, but I would put the freakishly talented Jarryd Hayne in a similar category to Inglis and Stewart. Brilliant on field, but an obvious and flawed choice as a poster boy off the field, as evidenced by his night out in the Cross in early 2008. I would urge the leadership of the Eels to resist the temptation to elevate a still young Hayne to an even more prominent position than he already holds as a leading player.
Let Hayne do his talking in the 80 minutes of game time on a weekend, and allow him the time to grow into his role as a superstar before handing him even more of the trappings of fame.
Nathan Hindmarsh has been chosen by the NRL to spearhead the campaign against the rise of the Greater Western Sydney team due to enter the AFL competition in 2012.
There could be no smarter choice or safer bet. Hindmarsh is inspirational on the field and an absolute role model off it. He has been playing the game at the top level for over 10 years and has seen and done almost everything there is to do.
Importantly, he is old enough and wise enough to deal with the public fawning over him like puppy dogs without bathing in the excess that such celebrity has to offer.
I am hopeful that Jarryd Hayne will find a similar balance with time, but the NRL and the clubs should do their bit by not expecting or granting too much to young players before they get their heads screwed on and their feet firmly on the ground.
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