Jarryd Hayne says he welcomes the extra responsibility of playing fullback for NSW as he prepares to pull on the Blues No.1 jersey for the first time in three years.
Parramatta’s Hayne is one of the most experienced members of new NSW coach Laurie Daley’s team but has played at fullback in only two of his 16 appearances – the last being the final game in the 2010 series – with the vast majority of his caps coming on the wing.
With Josh Dugan having only just returned to the NRL with St George Illawarra after being sacked by Canberra and incumbent Brett Stewart out with a back injury, Hayne was on Sunday picked in the custodian role for the Blues.
The 25-year-old has risen to the challenge of the Eels captaincy this NRL season in his first year in charge of the struggling club and Hayne said he expects to also lift for NSW.
“I haven’t played there for a while so it will be exciting,” he said on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to the week and what it holds.
“Obviously it is a lot more important playing at fullback and there is a lot more responsibility which is what I’m looking forward to. Fullback is one of those key positions and I’m sure I’m going to enjoy it.”
Having never experienced a series win over Queensland, Hayne pinpointed the Blues backrow as one area where they may have an edge as they seek to break the Maroons’ seven-year stranglehold on the interstate series.
“Our second row has been there for a couple of years and with ‘Choc’ (Anthony Watmough) Trent Merrin and (Andrew) Fifita off the bench there is that good balance and it adds that bit of spark as well, he said.
The Blues were beaten 21-20 in last year’s decider in Brisbane under former coach Ricky Stuart and Hayne said he felt NSW could build on that improvement under Stuart’s former Canberra premiership-winning teammate Daley.
“We didn’t do too much wrong last year and it is about building on that and moving forward,” he said.
“There is not too much to change from last year. We will just have to finetune everything we have been working on.”
The Eels slumped to another heavy loss on Sunday, 42-4 to the Gold Coast in Mudgee.
Parramatta now sit on the bottom rung of the premiership ladder with three wins alongside the Warriors and Wests Tigers who both enjoyed round-11 victories.
Hayne said he would look to temporarily put his club’s woes behind him to concentrate on his job for NSW.
“I’m just going to focus on the Blues,” he said.
“It won’t be hard to make that adjustment … I have done it before.”
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.
Classic! With a round's worth of games to be played at Suncorp Stadium, Channel Nine's Billy Slater and Darren Lockyer gave a pitch report…
Reece Walsh's late withdrawal led to Selwyn Cobbo shifting to fullback and Josiah Karapani getting his first game. The young centre spoke to Channel…
A dubious high tackle penalty against Jaxson Paulo gave the Broncos the field position they needed to slot the winning field goal as Jock…
The father of NRL star Payne Haas has been arrested in the Philippines and faces extradition to Indonesia, where he is accused of drug…
Canberra raised a few eyebrows when they re-signed Ricky Stuart earlier this week to a long-term contract extension but perhaps they know what they're…
It’s no surprise Manly are opting out of hosting a Magic Round game each year against Brisbane. Although it helps the club’s finances, it…
