Mates suspect even Hayne doesn't know what he's doing - until he's doing it
March 23, 2010
Jarryd Hayne is rugby league's rock star. That much was clear yesterday as the water at the Parramatta Swimming Centre, where the recovering Eels soaked up his miraculous triple-play to sink Manly.
There were the screaming girls, the cameras and microphones thrust in his face, the dark shades and a nonchalance from the man himself. ''I touched his arm!'' one girl in her early teens giddily screeched to her friends after Hayne posed for photos.
''It's Jarryd Hayne, it's Jarryd Hayne!'' said another as the Eels frontman joined his teammates, relegated like a drummer to a mere supporting role, in the water with his young step brother, Jonah, on his shoulders.
Not that Luke Burt or Nathan Cayless or Daniel Mortimer could care if Hayne is hogging the stage. They would as soon be the triangle players in the Parramatta band if their star attraction can get them out of jail with the proficiency that he did last Sunday.
How Hayne keeps his feet on the ground amid such an avalanche of adoration is anyone's guess. Daniel Anderson, the Eels coach, made insisted after the win over the Sea Eagles that his fullback was not cocky, and that he remained very down to earth with his teammates despite his deeds.
His colleagues may be keeping him grounded but in public they were lavishing him with praise yesterday. Collectively, they acknowledged that his awe-inspiring 60-metre run, in which he beat four Manly defenders after receiving a pass from winger Luke Burt in the in-goal, was the moment that swung the match.
''It would have great to see him go all the way,'' said Cayless, the Eels captain. ''That was a great effort, great vision by Burty as well. It might have turned out to be a drop-out but Haynsey was good enough to turn it into a try for us and we had enough support there. It was one of the best tries I've ever seen.''
Ben Smith, Hayne's housemate, said the fullback was ''just one of those blokes who pulls something out of nothing''. ''There's not too many blokes who can do that in any sort of sport; create that sort of play especially when you need it,'' Smith said. ''He's a game-breaker in all senses of the word. You can't really work anything with him - you don't know what he's doing because he doesn't know what he's doing.''
Kris Keating, who combined with Hayne in the second of his three decisive plays to send centre Joel Reddy over seven minutes before full-time, said Hayne's teammates were left wondering how he was capable of such ingenuity.
Keating's pass to Reddy was forward - as referees' coach Robert Finch admitted yesterday - and Eels halfback Jeff Robson was offside in the same play. But Hayne's involvement in setting up the movement with a chip-and-chase could not be forgotten.
''Some of the things he does you just shake your head and say, 'How did he do that?','' Keating said. ''Players like that can pull plays out of nowhere. You know he's got something in him all the time.''
Hayne's triple play, and the Eels' win, was secured in the 77th minute when he pulled another swifty on the Sea Eagles' defence, sending a cut-out pass to winger Eric Grothe to score in the right corner. Grothe said he stood inside the stripe and waited for the fullback to conjure something. ''It's like he kind of sees things before they happen. He's a brilliant player,'' he said. ''It's like everyone is in slow motion and he's in normal play. His vision is something I've never seen before.''
