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Jarryd Hayne to face Parramatta for first time since defection to Gold Coast when Titans and Eels clash in pre-season
Emma Greenwood, Gold Coast Bulletin
November 12, 2016 1:00am
JARRYD Hayne will line up against his former club for the first time since returning to the NRL when the Titans face Parramatta in a pre-season trial in Alice Springs in February.
The Titans will play two trial matches, as well as the Auckland Nines, ahead of their likely Round 1 clash against the Roosters at Cbus Super Stadium on March 4.
The season-opener will be Titans fans’ first glimpse of their team in action since the elimination final loss to the Broncos in September though, with both the Gold Coast’s pre-season matches away from home.
The Titans will take on the Eels in Alice Springs on February 11, before heading to New Zealand to play the Warriors in Palmerston in their final pre-season hitout on February 19.
They will open their pre-season at the Auckland Nines on February 4-5.
Hayne played 176 NRL games for the Eels between 2006-2014, becoming a club darling after winning two Dally M medals and helping the side to the 2009 grand final.
But he shocked the league world when he left at the end of the 2014 season to try and break into the NFL, eventually achieving his dream by playing for the San Francisco 49ers.
But his signing with the Titans earlier this year caused a stir among Eels fans given Hayne had pledged to maintain his links to Parramatta if he returned to rugby league.
Hayne played six games for the Titans in 2016 but none was against the Eels and it’s likely his return clash will draw plenty of attention, with the 28-year-old a polarising figure among Parramatta fans, many of whom have not forgiven him for linking with the Gold Coast.
Hayne’s availability for the clash could be in doubt though with the All Stars match on in Newcastle on February 10 and the fullback a prime candidate for the World All Stars line-up.
Titans boss Graham Annesley confirmed the pre-season schedule and welcomed the Round 1 fixture against the Roosters, if correct.
“Both of our trial matches are away so the Roosters game will be the first chance to see our team since we were knocked out of the finals,” Annesley said.
Likely Gold Coast halves pairing Kane Elgey and Ashley Taylor will face a test straight off the bat in the clash against the Roosters at CBus Super Stadium.
While the NRL draw has not yet been finalised, News Corp has obtained the likely first round and Annesley said if confirmed, the Titans would welcome a home opener.
“We’ve had no indication at all from the NRL but if that is our opening game, then it’s great to open the season with a home game following on the back of our finish to last season,’’ he said.
“It’s great that it’s a Saturday night, even though it looks like it’s an 8pm kick-off local time.
“The Roosters are a foundation club and have been very successful in their own right over recent years, except for last year, of course.
“They’re a strong club and they’ll bounce back and it’ll be a good test for us in Round 1 if it’s correct.’’
With broadcasters Channel 9 and Fox Sports holding power over the schedule until the new rights deal kicks in next season, the club has been unable to make specific requests for the fixture, which will be released later this month.
However, the Titans have asked that afternoon kick-offs be avoided in the opening month of the season.
“Our only request over the last few years has been to try and avoid afternoon matches for the first month or so of the competition and that’s purely from a player welfare point of view and also comfort of fans,’’ Annesley said of home matches.
“Hopefully that will be a focus again.
“Other than that, it doesn’t matter what your draw is, you’ve got to win at least half of your matches to be in the mix for the finals and hopefully we can do a little bit better than that.’’
Bart does, very much.
It’s a girl! Jarryd Hayne and Amellia Bonnici become first-time parents
The Sunday Telegraph
December 18, 2016 12:00am
NRL player Jarryd Hayne has become a father for the first time, with Amellia Bonnici giving birth to their child in recent days.
The pair, who found out they were expecting a baby after only having met weeks earlier on Instagram, welcomed a baby girl into the world “a few days ago”.
Sources say the couple are “elated” and “besotted” with their new arrival.
Jarryd Hayne and Amellia Bonnici have welcomed the arrival of their first child. Picture: Coleman-Rayner
Hayne and Miss Bonnici were photographed on the Gold Coast a few weeks ago, with the 25-year-old looking as though the arrival of their first child was imminent.
Miss Bonnici is thought to have given birth in a Gold Coast private hospital, near their home in Mermaid Beach.
News the duo were expecting their first child broke in September, with Hayne said to have been shocked by the turn of events but embracing the responsibility and immediately moving Miss Bonnici to his Gold Coast apartment and promising to support her.
Jarryd Hayne is said to be ‘elated’ over the birth of his first child. Picture: Adam Head
At the time, CEO of the Titans Graham Annesley confirmed the 28-year-old athlete was expecting to become a father with Miss Bonnici but refused to provide further details.
“We never comment on players’ private lives,” he said.
Hayne has been just as reluctant to discuss the impending arrival.
When interviewed by The Project in October, presenter Peter Helliar discussed fatherhood with the athlete. “There’s been some reports you may be becoming a father soon,” said Helliar.
“Hypothetically speaking, if one day you would be blessed enough to become a father, which jumper would you be giving the child — an Eels jumper, San Francisco, Titans?”
Hayne laughed and avoided giving an in-depth answer.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“(It) obviously depends where I’m at. A Titans one, at the moment.”
Jarryd Hayne in action for the Gold Coast Titans. Picture: Richard Gosling
Sources said Hayne relocated to Australia in a bid to work on his new relationship with Miss Bonnici, who was living in Coogee when she met him earlier this year online.
And it seems to be working. Hayne’s mother Jodie has met and become close to Miss Bonnici’s mother Donna.
It’s been a tumultuous few years for Hayne, who quit playing for the Parramatta Eels to work with the NFL San Francisco 49ers last year, only to walk away, and failing to make the Fiji Rugby Sevens gold medal-winning Olympic side.
In August Hayne rejoined the NRL, signing a $1.2 million-a-season deal with the Titans.
Hayne was previously romantically linked to US girl group Fifth Harmony member Dinah Jane Hansen in 2015, with the pair photographed together while Hayne was Stateside chasing his NFL career.
Both Miss Bonnici and Hayne appear to share an interest in religion and have been photographed outside a Hillsong church.
He'd rather the bloke who used to wear that jersey under his Christmas tree
On Christmas morning 
He'd rather the bloke who used to wear that jersey under his Christmas tree
The Gaping Anus emoticon is barts fav.WTF with this butthole emoticon -- >
he made you Jarryd
Couldn't agree more. When I was at the open training session this week I still saw plenty of kids with his jersey, his apparel and the number 38.
