Big day at Ron Massey Cup on Saturday March 15 - unless Jarryd pulls a hammy at "training" first.
Jarryd Hayne’s rugby league return locked in after signing with Eels feeder club Wentworthville Magpies
Jarryd Hayne’s rugby league return is locked in after the Parramatta Eels great signed a deal to return to the footy field.
Jarryd Hayne has officially locked in his rugby league return after signing with Parramatta Eels feeder team Wentworthville Magpies.
The two-time Dally M medal winner agreed to a one-year NSWRL contract to play in the Ron Massey Cup in 2025.
The agreement was formally lodged to NSWRL by the Magpies on Tuesday night, according to
Code Sports.
It means Hayne’s bold bid to play his first full season in seven years is now a reality.
The Ron Massey Cup is a semi-professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition in NSWRL, with clubs and players feeding into the NSW Cup.
It is understood the 36-year-old has already begun training two to three nights a week with his Ron Massey teammates, with his first match for his new team scheduled for March 15.
Hayne played his last NRL game in 2018 but has been looking to get back to the top of the sport since being released from jail – where he spent nearly two years due to sexual assault charges – after his convictions were quashed by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.
He recently was one of several former NRL players who
played in the 2025 Nines Premier League trophy.
The former Eels star has been signed on a one-year deal, and he will not just return to the field but will help with coaching and mentoring the club’s juniors.
The Magpies – the most successful club in the Ron Massey Cup with six premierships – get their season underway at home against Ryde-Eastwood on March 15 at Ringrose Park, with Hayne expected to line up.
The news of Hayne’s signing comes after Wentworthville Magpies junior rugby league president Elias Kassab said last week that the game was built on second chances in the wake of cricitsm about the former NRL star wanting to return to the sport.
“We have looked thoroughly into this before making the decision to have Jarryd join us,” Kassab said.
“He’s a different person now. We’re happy that he could be playing for us and working with the little ones coming through the grades.
“A lot of people will have their opinions, but we know how sincere Jarryd is in wanting to give back to the game in a positive fashion … We are willing to give anyone a second chance so long as they are sincere and Jarryd has been nothing but sincere and honest about things.’’
Kassab also went on to say it would be “up to the coach” if Hayne takes the field as fullback, the position that saw him shoot to superstardom in the NRL.
