He’s a bit nervous': Eels reveal Jarryd Hayne's 2018 position
Michael Jennings has opened up about the Eels’ plans for 2018, giving details of where Parramatta’s Prodigal Son, Jarryd Hayne, will play in his return season to the blue and golds.
However, if the Hayne Plane is going to pick up the award for a third time, he’ll be doing it from a new position, his previous pair coming while wearing the Eels’ number 1 jersey.
Coach Brad Arthur has a glut of options at the back, headlined by Clint Gutherson and Bevan French, while Will Smith was the team’s custodian during their 2017 finals campaign.
It means Hayne is unlikely to spend much – if any – time in his preferred position, instead likely to partner with Jennings as the club’s new centre pairing.
As for which side of the field fans will see Hayne lining up on, Jennings joked that Hayne “doesn’t know how to play on the left”.
“I’ve been training on the left. I’ve spoken to Brad about where I’m going to play and we’ve spoken about being on the right and how successful that was,” Jennings told Fox Sports.
“Haynesy has been training on the right and he won’t switch over. I think he doesn’t know how to play on the left. He’s a bit nervous on the left so he’s just been staying on the right. I’m pretty fine with wherever I play, it’s no biggie.”
Speaking about their inauspicious exit from last year’s finals, Jennings said a preseason camp on the NSW Central Coast had seen the team air some brutal truths.
”We got together as a group and had some honest opinions. Everyone was pretty hard on each other,” Jennings said.
“Our inexperience of playing semi-final footy hurt us there a bit. We needed some key players to really step up — myself — to really lead from the front.
“I’m pretty hard on myself but I could have done better at the back end of the year and really led the team from what I’ve done previous years.
“We had some honest truth. We fell short. We know we have to try and find something extra this year and that’s what we’re going to try and do. Off the field, on the field, whatever it takes to try and get us to the finals.”
https://pickle.nine.com.au/2018/01/...-where-parramatta-eels-will-play-jarryd-hayne