- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
I’m worried about the prospect of Jarryd Hayne being chosen to play fullback for NSW in the State of Origin series.
I’m well aware the fullback ranks have thinned alarmingly, with Josh Dugan not having been sighted on the field since he was sacked by Canberra and Brett Stewart now having been injured playing for Manly, but I still wouldn’t pick Hayne there.
I’d go for Michael Gordon from Cronulla, but back to him later.
I just don’t think Hayne is a genuine fullback. He isn’t what you need playing there against a red-hot Maroons outfit going to challenge his weaknesses in that position.
To be honest, I don’t know what position best suits Hayne at club level. He’s just one of those rare people who is simply a great football player when he is in form.
But at Origin level, he’s a winger. He always has been and he always should be.
He’s done some great things out there for NSW and that’s where he should stay.
Greg Inglis has had much less practice at fullback than Hayne has, but he is a better fullback than him. Looking back, he was probably better straight away.
The thing is, Inglis looks like a fullback.
Hayne had a good game in Parramatta’s latest loss, against North Queensland, but let’s not get carried away.
He made a couple of try-saving tackles, using his great strength to wrap around and hold up players when they looked certain to score, but don’t let that fool you he has suddenly worked out his positional problems.
There was a try the Cowboys scored in that match, by making a sharp passing movement towards the wing, that Hayne never looked like getting across to in time.
Those tries he saved were closer in, and it’s when the ball is heading wider out that Hayne too often doesn’t judge things well and gets caught too far in to be able to help by getting across in cover.
I can just see Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk giving him a very difficult test with the ball both through the hands and off the boot when Queensland are attacking the Blues’ line.
The other thing is Hayne’s habit of not showing enough urgency with his kick returns.
He seems to fancy his chances of starting off slowly and then suddenly accelerating in a bid to bust through the line of chasers, but you can’t get away with that at Origin level.
The defensive line will smash you.
Every metre is like gold in an Origin match. You’ve got to charge the ball back to try to give your team the best possible position from which to start its set.
It’s not from kick returns that Hayne generally makes his big metres. It’s from other attacking positions.
Leave him on the wing for NSW, where he is capable of doing plenty of damage out wide and can also rove in-field a bit as a support player when the time is right.
But back to Gordon. In my opinion, he is better than Hayne in terms of positional play and kick returns. And, like Hayne, he is a dangerous attacker from all over the field.
Gordon and Hayne have each played eight games this season and have each run for more than 100 metres every time. But Gordon has run for over 200 metres in two games, and for 170 or more in another two.
Hayne has run for 170 or more once (171).
Some people might think it’s splitting hairs to compare their running figures when both are pretty good, but I really just wanted to highlight Gordon’s figures as proof of how well he is playing.
And if you leave Hayne on the wing and pick Gordon at fullback, you can always switch them if you’re not happy with the way things are working out in a game.
The idea of Hayne being the only option makes me nervous.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.