The Hayne Planes Taking Off
Jarryd Haynes very long and action packed career started when he was only 18 years of age. He debuted for the Parramatta Eels in 2006, starting on the wing. Hayne was quick to prove his ability, with 17 tries in the first 16 games of the season in only his debut season. That year he was named rookie of the year and was picked for the Australian Kangaroos squad. His next year also proved to be very successful, scoring the winning try in the quarter final and aiding the Eels to 5th spot on the ladder. Thanks to his ability on the field, the club signed him for a further 2 million dollars.
Jarryd Hayne was dubbed the “the most gifted Parramatta Eels player since Brett Kenny”. Also because of his incredible performance in the last 6 games of the 2009 season, awarded man of the match in all games, he was called by some “the best footballer across all codes of sport in the whole of Australia.”
That year Hayne won many awards, including the Dally M fullback of the year, Dally M player of the year, NSW player of the series, international federation player and Parramatta player of the year.
Many call Jarryd Hayne's 2009 season to be the greatest individual season by a player ever.
The 2010’s proved to be good years for Jarryd Hayne, for the first time he was named co captain for the Parramatta Eels, and in 2014. He produced a man of the match performance in Origin game 1. Aiding NSW to win the first match. The same year also brought up his 100 try mark for Parramatta. Joining Luke Bert and Brett Kenny in that very exclusive club.
Overall this period of Jarryd Hayne's career proved to be very successful for him. By the age of 25 he was known as one of Australia's best rugby league players, with a very long and promising career ahead of him.
2014 was a very big year for Jarryd Haynes. During a press conference he announced a code switch to the NFL, and was signed for the San Francisco 49ers. Prior to his announcement he was set to have signed another five year contract with Parramatta worth 1.35 million dollars a season. Which would equate to 20% of the NRL’s salary cap of 6.55 million dollars. This would have been the most a single NRL player would be payed.
Haynes success in Rugby League didn’t carry on over. As it proved for it to be a tough time to get picked for the 49ers squad. His overall performance in game with the 49ers was satisfactory and was finished as the leading rusher in the second match of the preseason.
By Fletcher Holdich