Hayne weighs in on NRL future

Is Jarryd Hayne’s rugby league career drawing to a close?

Also published on https://www.zerotackle.com/hayne-weighs-in-on-nrl-future-34199/

Parramatta star Jarryd Hayne has said he will be making an important call on his future with the NRL at season’s end, admitting he thrives on uncertainty. Hayne on Tuesday repelled rumours he’d lost his passion for the game, revealing he played through a shoulder injury representing Fiji on Saturday. “I could have easily come off and said ‘enough is enough’,” Hayne said. “But I went in at half-time and said ‘just strap it.’ I had to play on the other side of the field just to protect it”. “If it got hit again I could have been out for the season. I knew the risk I was taking, but that’s called passion when you’re willing to go out there.” Former NSW teammate Michael Ennis expressed his concern regarding Hayne’s future following his performance in Fiji’s 26-14 loss against Papua New Guinea. “As the game rolled on he just looked disinterested at times and as the scoreboard got away from them — he just had no impact on the game at all,” Ennis told Big League Wrap. “I’m starting to wonder whether [he] really wants to play anymore. “His body language to me at times gives me a sense that he doesn’t have that love for it anymore. I’ve just got concerns that he’s had enough”. The Eels back is off-contract until the end of the season with the potential to become a free-agent in the NRL, but rumours are circulating Hayne is tempted to return to Union in a bid to play for Fiji at the 2019 World Cup. “For me it’s about the team [Eels]. I want to win games,” Hayne said. “It’s not about being the man or anything like that. It brings a kind of joy when you’re winning games with your mates. “My philosophy in life is that everything will look after itself. I’m not changing that for anyone.” Hayne left the NRL in late 2014 to play for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL – with his later return to the Eels hoping to have reinvigorated his love for the game. “Since he’s returned from the NFL, it [Hayne’s career] has been underwhelming to say the least,” Ennis said. Daily Telegraph reporter Paul Crawley said Hayne’s NRL career has “taken a sad turn” and that his legacy as a player is in danger. Hayne described his 2018 season so far as an “emotional rollercoaster”, battling injuries and an ongoing civil-suit rape allegation in the United States, from which he was later denied. But the two-time Dally M Medal winner seems content in his delayed decision-making, opting to go into the summer with his future unknown. “I enjoy not knowing what’s going to happen. I’ve done it before,” he said. “Even my manager, I don’t want him ringing anyone. I just want to get the season over, have a break, get my head straight, and whatever happens, happens. “I want to have a break. I’m not going to rush into any decision … take a big breath and once my head is clear then I’ll have a think – but not right now.”