Life after Jarryd Hayne officially began on Friday when the Kangaroos assembled in Brisbane for their Four Nations campaign – with captain Cameron Smith seemingly still getting his head around it.
While Australian coach Tim Sheens claimed Hayne’s sensational decision to try his hand at NFL had reinvigorated his squad, Smith was left wondering what might have been.
Apart from the shock value, Hayne’s withdrawal was another blow to an Australian squad that now boasts 11 rookies.
“I was pretty shocked, to be honest,” Smith told AAP when asked about Hayne’s decision.
“But you are never going to hold back one of your peers to do something that they believe in – good luck to him.
“It is disappointing to lose such a great player.
“Unfortunately, it is happening more and more often these days.
“But we are not going to sulk about it.
“The challenge is now to get those young blokes to understand what it means to play for Australia.”
Smith did not believe Hayne’s massive call would have a knock-on affect in the NRL.
“What he has done is a pretty big risk,” he said.
“He has freakish talent and physical attributes; not everyone can do what he does.
“I don’t think we will have 10 guys in the next couple of years trying out for the NFL.
“I think everyone has to understand it is a huge risk, what he is doing.
“But it is not a spur of the moment decision for him.
“Let’s hope we don’t see more of our elite players switching sports.”
Sheens tried to put a positive spin on Hayne’s departure.
“I think it has reinvigorated the team, let alone the public, who will now say ‘I want to have a look at this’ because there are new faces,” he said.
“We have still got a good core of seniors with 15 or 16 (having) played Origin and, if you have played Origin, you can play Test match footy.”
Asked how big a blow Hayne’s departure was to Australia’s Four Nations campaign, Sheens said: “Time will tell.
“But he is a quality player and we didn’t want him out.
“But he has an itch to scratch.
“In the meantime, it ensures a young bloke is closer to a starting spot.”
Sheens is expected to name a new-look Kangaroos team on Monday ahead of their Four Nations opener against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium on October 25.
Jordan
Guest
Refs, have had too much control the last 24 months have been filled with howlers my 4 year old nephew wouldn't have called. If they butcher the result in a close game then they deserve to be named and shamed.
Casper
Guest
Totally disagree that rugby league is fast fading, records falling everywhere & the other rugby code is a walking disaster. Wayne Bennett is already getting Brisbane fans excited without saying anything, Newcastle showed enough late in the season to hope that they'll have a ripper season & we know their fans are passionate, the Rabbitohs will be in the news as they try to go back to back, Canterbury fans will hope to go one better, Penrith fans will turn out in their numbers with the improvement shown in 2014, Melbourne fans will keep turning up to watch the big 3, the Cowboys fans will genuinely feel they have a team that can make the top 4, Tiger fans will hope their kids progress & everyone else will be optomistic about their chances in 2015. I'm happy for Jarryd Hayne that he can afford to drop out of the game I follow and have a crack at his dream, but he needs to remember that the NRL gave him the chance to earn the money to get that start or he'd be some big kid running around shooting hoops with his mates in Sydney's west. Can we now move on and have a Jarryd Hayne free year. Last year all I wanted was a Sonny Bill free Year but channel nine made sure that never happened. Lets try to report on up and coming stars of the game like Matt Moylan, Dylan Walker & Alex Johnston and hope Parramatta fans can revel in the fact that Will Hopoate is probably going to be a star at fullback for the Eels next year.
up in the north
Guest
I'm actually pretty keen on the fact there are so many debutants for Oz in this series. From a selfish perspective it means there's several games extra that my teams superstars don't have to play, giving them a nice long break after a pretty full on season. I don't think the Roos will be too weak to be competitive by any stretch, the new guys have everything to gain in these games and it's an honour to be selected for your country so you can bet the quality will be high. In fact Haynes timing isn't all that bad in some ways, it has added to the generational change in the team that has been creeping up on us for a while now.
Johnnyball
Guest
I agree Scott but all about a fairy tale really Seasons ratings not consistent I am only sounding off because the game has changed into something almost bland in its execution
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Hey Johnny We just had record ratings and attendance for the Grand Final.
ranga
Guest
Naaaa in my opinion Johnnyball, the game has been held back for so long now and the muppet Gallop never done a thing for RL besides tow the News Limited line. We have plenty of money in the bank now, we have a decent sized TV deal, the ARLC brought back Touch and Tag into the fold taking RL participation in this country to over 1 million all up. They have already voted on years out where the next RLWC will be and with how many teams (that's a first this far out), they have also put in place a mid season test each year for the Pac Island teams to battle it out to make the 4 nations. We have had expressions of interest from at least 6 new clubs wanting into the comp, Gallop and co just blew smoke in their direction for over a decade. Memberships have doubled since the ARLC has taken over taking the total to over a quarter of a million memberships club wide. The ARLC has put a PNG side into the Qld cup to bring that nation and its RL program forward, they are doing the same next year with Fiji. To say they have done nothing and have been a failure is completely opposite to what is actually happening, I think too many people in this country listen to shock jocks and big mouths with an agenda much to much and all the lies and spin slowly is allowed to seep into their minds which eventually takes over all rational thoughts, or so it looks.. I can see where they need to improve the game especially in regards to kick off times and TV times, but there wasn't much they could do while news and 9 had the first and lasts rights agreement in place, the ARLC had to take the money with a hopeless scheduled just to get back on their feet with some $$$ after all the years of gallop, News and 9 bleeding them dry. I think we'll really start to see some major changes over the next 2 years and from around 2017, the game will be completely different and for the better.
Knight Vision
Guest
Johnnyball that's the best comment I've read in years. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Who was the idiot that scheduled the Junior Kangaroos v the Junior Kiwis up against the Bledisloe Cup ? This will be a game that will showcase the stars of the future and would have been an ideal platform to attract an incremental crowd in Auckland.
Elma Dudd
Guest
I agree RD. It seems these people think if you put Hayne in the title it will attract attention and be read regardless of it's regurgitated boring content . I can't wait for the flood of "Hayne returns to league " "The Hayne plane has landed back in oz " "Hayne set for massive year at parra " Blah blah blah .
robertdowney
Guest
im getting bored with the hayne/nfl stuff already.........
Johnnyball
Guest
Personally I really don't care if Hayne leaves or Ingliss or whoever. I do care about bankers running the game and changing its very fabric. League is dying because it has mutated into some weird product to please changing views in society. I care about refs that no longer have any control over the game and journalists always seeking headlines to flash their name up in lights, if the story is detrimental, who cares? Greed, stupidity and lack of vision have killed the game. The salary cap is rediculous and now we look for special dispensation for elite players; for Christs sake, everyone worth his salt is going to try it on. Gallop might have been reactionary but he sure understood the game better than this mob. the goose is dead, no more golden eggs.