Don’t sack Jarryd Hayne – make him Gold Coast captain.
That was Mal Meninga’s left-field solution to the reported feud between Hayne and embattled Titans coach Neil Henry.
The Titans board will meet next week to decide the pair’s fate after reports they had already decided Henry will be axed.
Hayne’s management has pre-empted a potential move to oust him with reports claiming they would demand his full $1.2 million 2018 salary be paid out if dumped, rejecting a subsidised deal.
Hayne may have already played his final game for Gold Coast after being ruled out of Thursday’s clash with Parramatta due to an ankle injury.
The speculation prompted Titans boss Graham Annesley to send a message to club members on Wednesday night, denying the board had already made a decision on either Hayne or Henry.
Australia coach Meninga believed there was a simple solution – name Hayne skipper.
“I think they need to both stay for the benefit of the club,” Meninga told Fox Sports’ Queenslanders Only.
“Name Jarryd captain, maybe he has a better relationship (with Henry).
“It’s about trying to get the best out of Jarryd.
“Give him some responsibility and make him captain. Make him accountable and then Neil has to work with that.
“He may not train as well as the rest of them but if he is leading the team then they can be winning and that is the most important part.”
Meninga defended the besieged Henry amid reports he would be axed after falling out with players other than Hayne.
“Have a look at the turmoil the club has been through the last three or four years, and he has been the mainstay there – longer than what the administrators there at the moment have,” Meninga said.
The Titans board will reportedly meet by Tuesday to determine whether to sack Henry and dump Hayne after another tumultuous week at the club.
The Gold Coast board met for three hours on Monday before deferring a decision until next week.
However, News Corp Australia reported Henry would be axed after the Eels clash.
Annesley said the Titans board were yet to make a decision on the pair in the video link sent to all Gold Coast members.
“At this stage I don’t know what the outcome of that decision will be,” he said.
“The board will reconvene within the next week to make a decision they believe will be in the best interests of the club which always has to be more important than the individuals concerned.”
Annesley said the Titans board were the “only ones with all the information” and was confident they would make the right decision next week.
“There’s been a lot of public comment, a lot of it has been personal comment, particularly from media commentators and there’s been a fair amount of misinformation also in the public area,” he said.
Matt dustby
Guest
Maybe you could be his personal life coach ?
BigJ
Roar Guru
Its simple, give Hayne a right good boot to the backside and tell him to pull his finger out and earn his paycheck. I wrote an article about four months ago stating that big money does not always give big results. Hayne once again proves that this is more often than not, true. Who does he think he is Wally Lewis.???. As for Meninga i can see his idea has merit but they should of done this at the start of the year not now. But i look forward to hopefully meeting him again when he comes up to Darwin again next month
Duncan Smith
Guest
Reward bad attitude and performance with a promotion? Yeah ... I guess that's the answer. Neil Henry took a team of no-names to the finals in 2016, so sack him and make Hayne captain. It's makes sense in the Bizarro world.
Simon SS
Roar Rookie
Hahahahaha, "Annesley said the Titans board were the “only ones with all the information” and was confident they would make the right decision next week." I love when so called administrators say this kinda rubbish. If Annesley just made everything public he wouldn't have the problem of looking like a guy who's overpaid a dreamer and is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. Oh wait he would because he created this little problem didn't he...