Jarryd's birthday gift of inspiration
IF YOU are a millionaire rugby league superstar, how would you celebrate your 22nd birthday?
If you are Jarryd Hayne, you spend a few hours playing a game of touch football with some troubled teens at the Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre at Kariong.
Hayne put his birthday celebrations on hold early yesterday as he made the 90-minute drive up the F3 Freeway by himself to join some of his Eels teammates.
Less than 48 hours after Hayne had competed in the All Stars game on the Gold Coast, nobody expected him to arrive in Kariong, especially on his birthday.
But the the Dally M winner's selfless act was, according to Eels skipper Nathan Cayless, just another example of how much the playmaker has matured since that almost fateful night where he was shot at in Kings Cross nearly two years ago.
"It just shows how far Jarryd has come in the past 12 months,"Cayless said. "Obviously he's performed really well [on the field] and with that comes expectations and people wanting more of your time, but he's been really good with it all.
"It was a really enjoyable experience for all the boys. There were a few nerves when we first got there, but then we did some drills and really ripped in. There were some pretty handy players in there."
The boys at the justice centre were so chuffed by Hayne's cameo that they sang him Happy Birthday. Hayne had rescheduled a meeting with a specialist, who cleared him of a sternum injury he suffered in Saturday's match, so he could race up the freeway.
Hayne's manager Wayne Beavis said his star client had often gone out of his way to offer his support to various causes. "He is a very kind-hearted soul and he does have a heart. He goes out of his way to help people and support causes he believes in," Beavis said.
Up to a dozen Eels players, including Cayless, Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke Burt and Ben Smith, took time out from a weekend Central Coast training camp to visit the centre.
Those players who did not travel to Perth for Parramatta's trial on Sunday were only too happy to devote a few hours to the centre.
League legend Andrew Johns was also in attendance and proved hugely popular with the youth who asked questions and, according to one of the Eels staff, displayed a fair share of football skill.
"We might get a recruitment officer up there next time," the Eels staffer quipped.
Hayne, Cayless and Hindmarsh are all expected to play in Saturday's trial against Penrith at CUA Stadium with Cayless keen for the season proper to roll around.
Meanwhile, Hayne and Johnathan Thurston were yesterday listed $11 joint Dally M favourites with TAB Sportsbet.
