Nines Premier League 2025: Results and coverage from day two, Jarryd Hayne returns to field
Jarryd Hayne’s return to the footy field has been soured by injury and despite trying to play through the pain, it wasn’t enough for his side which was stacked with ex-NRL talent. WATCH THE VIDEO.
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Sydney Roosters lock Victor Radley was more than happy to take on the unfamiliar role of trainer for his beloved Salty Pigs at the Nines Premier League carnival on the Gold Coast.
From running drinks and barking instructions, to rubbing players down pre-game, Radley was as involved as he could be without strapping on the boots.
Only he wishes that wasn’t the case.
“It’s fun, I wanted to play the last two games to be honest,” Radley said.
“I felt like I wish I could put my boots on and actually play this one, especially when the boys started looking tired I thought I could give them some fresh legs.”
The Salty Pigs finished the tournament as runners up after they were pipped 12-6 by Dawgs in an enthralling final on Sunday afternoon.
Radley said the team began as a group of six mates who all knew each other from playing in the Sydney Roosters pathways system.
“We all played rugby together at the Roosters in the under-18s and under-20s, I first met Jesse and Ben Marschke when I was 16,” Radley said.
“We had a group chat called The Pigs, for no reason we’re not pigs or anything, I’ve got a belly and a big nose but that’s about it.
“They’re my best friends, we’ve had a great two days just enjoying company and playing footy together, tournaments like this when you’re 15, 13, it’s what you do when you’re a kid and why you love playing footy, it’s not for the money.
“We had such a great weekend, I’m spewing we lost in the final.”
Radley has since wasted no time in returning to preparations for the upcoming NRL season, pictured back at Sydney Roosters training bright and early on Monday morning.
A flashpoint of the Salty Pigs grand final loss came early in the second half when, trailing 8-0, Ben Marschke gunned for a bonus point try under the posts, only to be bundled into touch before grounding the footy.
The former Rooster came to blows with Brayden Musgrove after the incident as tempers flared, and both were sin binned while a Pigs trainer that found himself in the thick of the action was also given his marching orders.
The drama didn’t end there, as the Pigs almost pulled off an unthinkable comeback from 12-0 down in the final minutes.
A late try brought them within striking distance with the scores at 12-6, and then a penalty on the hooter and monster kick for touch set up one do-or-die play. The Pigs very nearly did, with the ball finding Lewis Radley on the edge before he dropped it cold.
Dawgs captain-coach Jacek McLaurin was thrilled with the win after his side lost last year’s grand final, and the $30,000 cheque they pocketed.
“It’s so awesome aye, I f****** grew up with these boys and to get the job done after last year … to go one better there’s nothing better,” McLaurin said.
“It’s always going to be tough, they’re a great team and it came down to the last two minutes of the game, we were hanging on by a thread.”
McLaurin is now a two-time Nines Premier League champion, having one they inaugural instalment with the Southern Sharks before he created the Dawgs team, who hail from Wollongong, last year.
Jayden Harris was the best-on-ground for Dawgs in the final, while Tom Demeio took home player of the tournament honours.
Dawgs take out Nines as Hayne’s comeback underwhelms
Jarryd Hayne’s return to rugby league was soured by a hamstring injury and semi final loss for United SC at the Nines Premier League Carnival on the Gold Coast.
Hayne returned to the field for United SC’s semi final after further injuring his hamstring earlier in the day, but it wasn’t enough as the stacked squad boasting Ben Barba and Andrew and David Fifita was toppled by eventual champions Dawgs.
The underdogs – no pun intended – boasted nowhere near the level of ex-NRL firepower of their opponents and blitzed United SC 13-4 in a strong showing.
Hayne had his left hamstring strapped and looked to be moving more comfortably than he had earlier in the day.
He was injected into the game for the final three minutes of the first half and attempted a 40-20 – and very nearly pulled it off – with his second touch.
He would take himself out of the game after two more minutes in the second half and painted an exhausted picture on the touch line.
It came after he appeared to injure the already tight hamstring with his first touch of the footy in the earlier quarterfinal
United SC coach Blake McLean was full of praise for Hayne despite the hamstring trouble.
“He twinged the hammy the week of this competition, just awesome to get him back out there and be involved in it,” McLean said.
“He’s Jarryd Hayne, he’s a superstar and one of the best players to ever do it. We just love having him, just having in camp’s been really good, awesome person.
Two-time champions Southern Sharks, who had added James Maloney to the fold, were bundled out of the quarterfinals by United SC despite a strong kicking performance from the two-time NRL premiership winner.
Dawgs – a team comprised of a group of mates from Wollongong – took out the coveted trophy division title after losing last year’s grand final.
Tensions were high in the 12-6 win over Salty Pigs, with an altercation in the second half seeing fists flying and a trainer sent off who was in the middle of it.
Victor Radley was one of the founders of the team that finished runners up in Salty Pigs, created by a group of Roosters Jersey Flegg teammates. Radley was on the sidelines running water and passionately supporting the Pigs all weekend, and mused how he wished he could have thrown the boots on.
In the earlier Shield grand final (for teams that finished in the bottom half of their pool), the Alex Glenn-created Legacy team, which boasted no less than 10 former Broncos, trumped the North Coast Marlins in a dramatic golden try finish after the Marlins tied the scores at eight apiece with a dubious yet spectacular corner grounding after the buzzer.
Josh Hoffman flew over in the corner to seal Legacy’s win in golden try.
“He could still be in the NRL, he was outstanding for us,” Glenn said of Hoffman.
Watch the Nines Premier League Sat Jan 25 & Sun Jan 26 on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
Hayne makes brief return to the field
Jarryd Hayne returned to the field for United SC’s Nines Premier League semi final after further injuring his hamstring earlier in the day, but it wasn’t enough as the stacked squad was toppled by Dawgs
The underdogs – no pun intended – boasted nowhere near the level of ex-NRL firepower of their opponents and blitzed United SC 13-4 in a strong showing.
Hayne had his left hamstring strapped and looked to be moving more comfortably than he had earlier in the day.
He was injected into the game for the final three minutes of the first half and attempted a 40-20 – and very nearly pulled it off – with his second touch.
Hayne stayed on the field for the start of the second half and produced another testing kick, as seen in the above video, but would take himself out of the game after two more minutes and painted an exhausted picture on the touch line.
Dawgs will face Salty Pigs in the trophy division decider at 5.15pm local time.
United hopeful of Hayne recovery
United SC coach Blake McLean remains hopeful that Jarryd Hayne will take to the field again.
It comes despite a short-lived return in the earlier quarterfinal win where he tweaked his hamstring with his first touch and spent no more than two minutes in total on the ground.
“He twinged the hammy the week of this competition, just awesome to get him back out there and be involved in it,” McLean said.
“He’s Jarryd Hayne, he’s a superstar and one of the best players to ever do it. We just love having him, just having in camp’s been really good, awesome person.
“I think he’ll suit up next game, we’ll see how we go, I don’t think he can do too much more with it, it can’t get worse, it’s just a pain thing so we’ll see how he goes.”
United SC remained undefeated following their quarterfinal win over Reborn, and McLean hopes the best is still yet to come from the stacked outfit.
“We’ve just been doing enough, we haven’t really put a score on anyone yet,” McLean said.
In the first trophy division quarterfinal of the day, the RLPA side hung on in a gripping 11-8 victory over two-time champions Southern Sharks.
It means the Sharks outfit boasting James Maloney has been bundled out of the competition with just one win. Despite the loss, Maloney’s kicking game shone in Southern’s final outing, setting up the first try with a pinpoint chip and causing plenty more headaches.
Recently retired stars Matt Moylan and Tyrone Peachey have been spearheading the RLPA side, and Moylan played a significant hand in the triumph with his early try.
He also delivered some big hits, including one which gave away a penalty.
“Today now that the finals are on you can tell he wants some more minutes,” said RLPA coach Tom Symonds of Moylan, who only finished his professional career last year after a season with Leigh Leopards in the Super League.
“He said himself he’s not known for his defence but it shows what a difference just being out of the game makes, he’s put a few people on their butts.
“We call ourselves the fossils which is a bit of a gee up but also a little serious. Last year we just had a bunch of tired old middle forwards and we didn’t play that well, this year we happened to add a few guys who are recently retired … Matt Moylan and Tyrone Peachey.
“If you watch our games we’re having a laugh but as soon as we’re out on the field everyone goes into game mode.”
Despite the RLPA’s success thus far, Symonds reiterated the important off-field role the team was playing.
“The part of this tournament that we’re here for is to enjoy each other’s company and get a group together, so winning any game is a bonus,” he said.
“One of the things (the RLPA) started last year was a new past players transition program, this is a really cool way to do it because not only do we get 20 of our past players and put on a great weekend, they can enjoy it and learn more about our people and program and how we can help them post footy.
“It’s also about building a connection with RLPA staff because there’s a whole bunch of services we run they can tap into after their career.”
Dawgs and Salty Pigs chalked up wins in the other trophy quarterfinals to progress to the final four at Tugun.
Hayne’s comeback ends quickly
Jarryd Hayne’s return to the rugby league was short-lived as he appeared to injure his hamstring with his first touch of the footy.
Hayne had started in United SC’s quarterfinal clash with Reborn, getting involved in two of the first three tackles before heading off inside two minutes with the first rotation of players.
He was unsighted again until the start of the second half, and after a clean catch-and-pass he pulled up before limping to the bench.
The apparent injury came after Hayne sat out all three matches yesterday, citing a tight hamstring.
Kyle McLean, who was awarded player of the match, confirmed Hayne had tweaked his hamstring in a post-match interview.
“We tried to get him (Hayne) off the tarmac there but we only got one stint out of him, but that was good enough,” McLean said
When asked what the plan was for the next match, McLean said: “More of the same.
“Hope Hayne is fit and give him the ball, like it’s under-12s.”
A fan club had gathered behind the United SC bench to show support for Hayne, donning ‘All aboard the Hayne Plane’ T-shirts and posters with a montage of photos of Hayne.
Tempers flare, jerseys tear
Tensions erupted in the second half of Salty Pigs quarterfinal clash with EZ Squad after play was stopped as a result of an all-on scuffle with just under six minutes to play in the second half.
Salty Pigs co-captain and former Sydney Rooster Ben Marschke was left with a torn jersey after the incident.
Tensions had been so high that tournament organisers Anthony Mitchell came from the other side of the field to deliver a telling off to both benches and tell everyone to calm down.
Salty Pigs would have the last laugh, stealing a late victory with a clutch try in the final handful of seconds.
Hayne comeback confirmed
Jarryd Hayne’s rugby league return is imminent.
Having last taken to the field in 2018, Hayne has donned the United SC playing strip at the Nines Premier League in Tugun and is warming up with group.
The United SC squad boasts a plethora of ex-NRL talent including Ben Barba, Andrew and David Fifita.
The team stayed undefeated in their round robin fixtures on Saturday to book a quarterfinal clash against Reborn.
The match will kick off at 1pm local time.
DAY ONE WRAP
After a tight hamstring kept him sidelined on Saturday, Jarryd Hayne could run out for United SC in Sunday’s quarterfinal.
“I’m sure the ‘plane’ will set off very soon,” teased David Fifita.
United SC stormed into the quarterfinals of the Nines Premier League undefeated, and Fifita wound back the clock in their second game of the day with a barnstorming length of the field try down the touchline that left hapless defenders barrelled in his wake.
“I like playing on the edge … I was just looking for my own blokes,” Fifita laughed of the brilliant try.
“It’s my second year here, it’s great, we’ve kept the majority of the boys (at United SC) and we’ve raised the brand a bit with Haynesy and Ben Barba.”
In their third match of the day, United SC toppled two-time champions Southern Sharks, who scraped into quarterfinals despite a 1-2 record.
Southern Sharks are set for a tantalising quarterfinal match up against the RLPA side, which includes a suite of former NRL names including Tyrone Peachey, Matt Moylan and Kevin Proctor.
United SC remained undefeated after earlier overcoming a 20-0 halftime deficit against the North Coast Marlins in their first match of the day. They will face Reborn in the quarterfinals.
CMBT, coached by Greg Bird, overcame the North Coast Marlins in their final round robin clash, but it wasn’t enough to earn a quarterfinal berth. Tensions were high in the clash with a scuffle leaving four jerseys torn.
They were distressing scenes in Matakesi’s 7-0 win over ACTV, with an ACTV player knocked out after a head clash with a teammate early in the second half. The player was fortunately responsive after the incident and was accompanied by his coach to the hospital.
Matakesi will face Dawgs in the quarterfinal, who finished the day with a convincing 18-4 win over fellow semi finalists EZ Squad.
Salty Pigs have an enlisted the services of Victor Radley as a trainer and are also in the quarterfinals after a clutch 13-12 triumph late in the day.
The big names weren’t restricted to the playing field, with Zac Lomax among the crowd members enjoying the rugby league on display.
Keen footy card collectors also made the most of the day, with a handful regularly stopping former NRL stars to get them to sign bundles of cards.
Originally published as Nines Premier League 2025: Results and coverage from day two, Jarryd Hayne returns to field
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