http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...a/news-story/5b4fef5c28be98d56e8394a090d58ed6
Jarryd Hayne is no certainty to return to Parramarra
Paul Crawley, The Daily Telegraph
21 minutes ago
ATTENTION all NRL clubs, Jarryd Hayne to Parramatta is not a done deal.
That was the strong message from Hayne’s longtime manager on Monday, with Wayne Beavis declaring the door was officially open to all interested parties.
And that extends to rugby league and rugby union clubs in Australia and overseas.
Hayne has announced he had missed out a place in Fiji’s Rugby Sevens team for next month’s Rio Olympic Games, but Beavis was adamant his future was far from certain.
“I haven’t had the conversation with him,” Beavis said.
“His options are rugby league locally, rugby league overseas, rugby union locally, rugby union overseas.
“It is just a matter of what he wants to do.”
Beavis said Hayne would fly back into Sydney later this week, only then would they start planning Hayne’s future. But he warned NRL clubs could not compete with the money potentially on offer in rugby union overseas
“No. Can’t get close,” he said. “Definitely above what he can earn here in the NRL.”
But Beavis said ultimately the decision would be governed by what Hayne wants to do next.
While most thought Hayne would not be allowed to return to the NRL this year, it emerged yesterday there was a loophole in the June 30 player signing deadline, because that restriction only applies to contracted rugby league players.
Hayne has previously said that if he ever came back to the NRL his preference would be to play with Parramatta.
Asked if Parramatta was the only club in the race to sign Hayne, Beavis said: “That will be a discussion I need to have with him.
“And depending on the level of interest and what terms and playing terms and conditions are attached to each offer might sway his decision, I don’t know.
“He is not likely to go to Parramatta if they offer him three or four hundred (thousand) and someone else offers him eight hundred or nine hundred or a million.
“You have to sit down and gather all that information up, there is a fair bit of work in that.”
But there is growing speculation the Eels are set to pounce, using the money freed up by Kieran Foran’s shock decision to quit the game and his $5 million contract to try and entice Hayne home.
The Eels will have $300,000 left in their cap for the remainder of the season to pay Hayne if the club mutually agrees to terminate Foran’s contract on compassionate grounds.
Beavis denied he had held talks with Hayne, Parramatta or the NRL about a possible comeback this season.
“We have no immediate plan, trust me,” Beavis said.
“If I did have I would be happy to tell you but I haven’t got one despite what everyone wants to happen or is suggesting is going to happen.
“It hasn’t happened.
“There is no offers now because everyone thought he was going to Rio.
“This only happened in the last 48 hours,
“Things don’t move that quick unfortunately.”
NRL boss Todd Greenberg said that the NRL “would love to see him back playing with us”.
But it is understood a list of demands will be put in place to ensure any deal with Parramatta is salary cap compliant, and in the best interests of the club and the game long-term.
It’s believed the NRL will look to use Hayne’s potential signature as a bargaining chip for the Eels to replace their under-fire board and undergo widespread governance reforms.
Even if the Eels terminate Foran’s contract to make the salary cap room to sign Hayne, the NRL can still refuse to register the new contract if they deem it’s not in the best interests of the game.
The NRL last week stripped Parramatta of 12 competition points and fined the club $1 million as part of its punishment for cheating the salary cap.
It means the Eels now must win all of their remaining eight games to stay in contention for this year’s NRL finals series. While many experts believe that is almost an impossible task, there is no doubt Hayne’s inclusion would make it more achievable.
“Seriously, the interest for us is the offers that legitimately come to us sanctioned by the NRL.
“I am not going to second guess what they have left in the cap. I don’t know who has got money left in the cap for (2016).
“Everyone needs to take a breath.
“As I said, he went back to America, he went to London, he went back to Fiji, he came home, he went back to Fiji. He was going to Rio up until 48 hours ago.
“I will sit down and provide him with all the options, tell him where we can go, what we can do, how the cards fall, and he will them make up his mind.
“Someone was saying he has been talking to Parramatta and he is going to play this season.
“I haven’t had any talks to anyone from Parramatta. I haven’t had any talks to Jarryd. I haven’t had any talks to the NRL.”
It is understood if Hayne is to be allowed to return for the remainder of 2016, the NRL would also want Hayne to commit to the club for at least the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
But Beavis said: “Well, it has got nothing to do with them. He can do what he likes.
“He can sign with them for 10 minutes if he wants to.
“I am not going to be dictated to by the NRL.
“That won’t be happening, trust me.”
Asked if he could realistically see Hayne playing in NRL in next few weeks, Beavis added: “Personally I can’t but stranger things have happened.
“I don’t know if he has an appetite to play in the NRL. I don’t know if he needs a holiday.
“He needs a break in my view. But we will wait to see when he gets home and make the call.”
