Jarryd Hayne's Gold Coast Titans deal: Why Parramatta Eels fans should be filthy
On the day he announced his decision to leave Parramatta to pursue his NFL dream, the Eels issued a statement which said, in part: "Hayne has signed a 'lifetime agreement' with the Eels, so if he chooses to return to the NRL, he will come back to Parramatta without question."
The Hayne Plane has landed on the Gold Coast. Hayne has been an Eel, a Blue, a Kangaroo, a 49er, a dual Fijian international. Now he is a Titan.
It is the biggest signing in the franchise's 10-year history and eases the pain of Daly Cherry-Evans' decision to renege on a deal to shift to the holiday strip.
In Hayne, the Titans have an even bigger drawcard than 'DCE' in what may prove an even more prudent use of their salary cap funds.
Long-suffering Parramatta fans had been banking on the return of their prodigal son. This was to be the good-news story they had been craving after so many of the other variety.
Like being fined $1 million for rorting the salary; being stripped of 12 competition points; releasing skipper Kieran Foran for personal reasons; the Corey Norman drugs drama; the sacking of the Parramatta board by the NSW government and the Semi Radradra domestic violence allegations, to name a few.
Parramatta officials responded to the news of Hayne's Titans deal by removing the last of his San Francisco 49er jerseys from the shelves of their merchandise store on Wednesday morning.
Perhaps now, more than two months after coach Brad Arthur declared the club had hit rock bottom, it is finally so.
The Gold Coast contract was finalised at 10pm on Tuesday night in Hayne's hotel room. The Eels, according to Hayne, had not yet tabled an offer.
"How can you go back when you haven't got an offer on the table?" Hayne said at the press conference trumpeting the Titans deal.
"I waited as long as I could and for me the opportunity came up to play up here and be with a strong club not only on the field but off the field was a key indicator.
"I never thought I would join another club. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I would be up here on the Gold Coast.
"Everything happens for a reason. I always wanted to go back to Parra. I was waiting and waiting. It's kind of tough because there's no one there at the moment to do all the stuff.
"I had to make a decision and it's torn me apart. It was tough emotionally but deep down it's the right one."
Hayne was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Parramatta's off-the-book payments, which in his case totalled $465,000. Ironically, the Eels weren't in a position to offer the two-time Dally M Medal winner a timely deal because they were still dealing with the fallout from such transactions. They are now paying an even heavier price for that decision.
The NRL, which owns the Titans, rubberstamped the deal.
Hayne said he wanted to come back to Parramatta but the "fighting and innuendo" at the club meant a return wasn't possible.
"They need to get the inside stuff right," he said.
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