Jayden Hodges is now a forgotten man without a club. He is only 23 though, but a anterior cruciate ligament injury that wiped him out for 2016 have left some clubs weary.
"MOST NRL players reluctantly returned to pre-season training last week and have come to the realisation the festive season is well and truly over.
This weekend their feet would be up as they prepare for their first full week back at training in 2017.
Former Manly hooker Jayden Hodges would kill to be amongst them.
“It’s pretty tough, being unemployed without a contract and without a team,” Hodges told
foxsports.com.au.
“As a player you just miss being on the field. I miss tackling, I miss passing, I miss kicking.
“I just miss being in a team and mixing it up with the boys.”
Instead Hodges is doing it alone.
The Manly discard returned to his hometown of Cairns before Christmas to be with his family as he keeps his desperate bid for an NRL contract alive.
“I was waiting in Sydney for an NRL opportunity and the waiting game was just a bit tough, especially being away from family,” the 23-year-old said.
“It’ll mean everything to me getting another opportunity. It’s what I want.
“I know how hard the (NRL) boys are working so I’ve tried to just emulate that while I’m up here.
“It’s good coming up here and doing my own little pre-season.”
The 23-year-old welcomed the New Year with open arms after enduring the toughest 12 months of his life.
He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament at the Auckland Nines in February last year — ending his 2016 NRL campaign before it began."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...a/news-story/b7ff9d0a18f4ebd44ec2f293560076cc