State of Origin Player Profiles: Jarryd Hayne

Nick Fray, Origin Online and Over the Line Sports

We are now just a week out from one of the most highly-anticipated Origin clashes in history, with the New South Wales Blues presented with a golden opportunity to end eight torturous years of Origin heartache as they take a 1-0 lead to ANZ Stadium where they will look to finally win back the shield in front of their adoring fans.

To celebrate the countdown to Game Two, we begin our series of profiles on the players who will take part in the big game, starting of course with the two men who were arguably the best on the field in Game One, fullbacks Billy Slater and Jarryd Hayne. Here we look at Eels superstar Hayne, who will be looking to back up his Game One heroics with another star turn as the Blues look to secure their first series win since 2005.

Jarryd Hayne, New South Wales

Fullback, Parramatta Eels

Origin Games: 18

Origin Tries: 9

Origin Status: On the cusp of greatness

For so long one of the NRL’s most talented yet frustrating players, 2014 looks to be the year Jarryd Hayne finally fulfils his immense promise, and next week’s clash at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium may just be the site of his coronation as the best player in the game today. Hayne’s Man of the Match performance in Game One was the difference between the two sides in one of the most intense and evenly-matched Origin clashes ever seen, and with his form at club level equally brilliant this year he appears primed to propel the Blues to that long-awaited series win.

Oddly enough, despite being labelled an inconsistent and enigmatic player in club football, Hayne has been a consistent standout at Origin level since his debut in 2007, where, playing on the wing, he won the Brad Fittler Medal as the Blues’ best player at just 19 years of age. Hayne was also brilliant in 2009, although it wasn’t enough to deliver Origin glory for the boys in blue. Many will also remember 2009 as the year Hayne rattled off an extraordinary string of six consecutive man of the match awards in club football to win the Dally M Medal and propel the Eels to the most unlikely of grand final appearances.

Since then, however, Hayne has struggled to build upon the promise of 2009 in a struggling Eels team, with frequent injury problems also conspiring to stall his progress in the game. However, he has always proven a force to be reckoned with at Origin level, which has given him a reputation as a confidence player. That spells bad news for Queensland, as his confidence has never been higher and he is currently a heavy favourite to repeat his 2009 Dally M triumph.

If he can lead the Blues to victory in Game Two and continue his great form with Parramatta, Hayne’s standing in the game will once again be at the same lofty heights as 2009 when he looked to have the world at his feet. The only difference now is that Hayne is a more experienced and mature player who has developed the mentality to go on with it and be a consistently outstanding player for the remainder of his career. At just 26 years of age, there are still plenty of good years ahead of him and it is not out of the question that he could put together a body of work worthy of ‘Immortal’ status. While there is a fair way to go before anything like that happens, a big performance in Game Two may one day be looked back upon as a key moment in his career.