Storm player Billy Slater skips away from Andrew McCullough during the Rugby League, NRL Round 2, Brisbane Broncos v Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium, Friday March 20, 2009. Broncos won 16 - 14. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
The lead up to the NRL season has seen Jarryd Hayne’s face on the front and back pages of newspapers. It got me thinking, is Hayne really the best fullback Australia has to offer? Is he really is as good as the media has hyped him up to be?
In my opinion, Melbourne fullback Billy Slater has proven himself a far better player than Jarryd Hayne over the years. Not to say that Hayne isn’t as talented as Slater, he just lacks the week in week out consistency needed to be a superstar player.
Nobody can deny Hayne’s super run of form at the end of the season, but the question had to be asked, where was this form at the start of the season, when Parramatta were sitting close to the bottom of the table? Meanwhile, Billy Slater was producing brilliant football every week for Melbourne and for Queensland.
The 2009 grand final was probably the biggest indicator of who was the better player, with the pair playing against each other on the biggest of stages. Jarryd Hayne was hardly seen anywhere on the field whilst Slater produced a typical Slater performance and was awarded the Clive Churchill medal for best on ground.
So, in my opinion, Billy Slater is by far a better player than Jarryd Hayne in the present game and deserves as much press as Hayne.
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