UNIVERSITY student Tom Newbold saw space on Tuesday night. So he went for it.
Clutching an American football tight to his chest, this young UTS Gator weaved through the blocking, shoving chaos of yet another training scrimmage, headed for what he thought was that open space when ... thwack.
“Absolutely hammered,’’ the 22-year-old laughs. “But what can you do? It’s not every day Jarryd Hayne opposes you at safety.”
An anonymous bunch of students, scaffolders, bankers and labourers who, for the past month, have been secretly assisting with the greatest shock in Australian sports history.
Despite playing for nothing in the little-known Sydney competition — and shelling out more than $1000 each for team uniforms — these gutsy park footballers have been hand-picked by Hayne to help ready him for an NFL dream.
As part of a relationship that first began two years ago, the NSW Origin star has spent the past month training intensely with athletes like accountancy student Newbold, glazier Ryan King and Woolworths warehouse employee Jamie McGrory.
“Hasn’t missed one of our past six sessions,’’ reveals Gators linebacker Marcos Delana. “So, yeah, we all knew Jarryd was keen on American footy ... but nobody expected anything like this.”
While they may lack media coverage, boast no home ground and have a following restricted to “wives and girlfriends”, the UTS Gators are suddenly the most talked about amateur sports team in Sydney.
“I’ve had 20 calls in the past 48 hours,’’ laughs president Matt Steel. “We’re not exactly used to this.”
Better, they’re no mugs.
Take Gators linebacker McGrory, who has only recently returned from a stint of college football with San Jose City. Or defensive lineman Tim Clulow, who recently signed on to play for Dakota State.
“Although Jarryd’s switch has received a little more attention than mine,’’ Clulow grins. “But with the athleticism he has, he won’t struggle to earn a train-on spot.”
McGrory agrees adding: “What Jarryd Hayne has is rare. And it’s not only rare in Australia, it’s rare in America too”.
While Hayne’s decision may have shocked the NRL, the Parramatta superstar has been quietly plotting his switch since late 2012 — when he knocked back a four-year contract extension for two.
Telling then coach Ricky Stuart how by the end of 2014 “I won’t even be playing NRL anymore”.
It was around this time Hayne was also introduced to the Gators by running back Fred Khousis, a childhood mate from Westfields Sports High. The Eels star shocking everyone when he simply arrived at a training session unannounced.
“And initially, we didn’t want to let him suit up,’’ Steel recalls. “It was only a couple of weeks before he was due to play for Australia and, had he got injured ... well, you can imagine the headlines.
“But Jarryd, he threw on the shoulder pads, the helmet and ripped straight in. At first I’m not sure a lot of the guys knew exactly who they were up against.”
But they do now. Just ask the accountancy student who thought he saw space.
