Bevan French steals the show from Jarryd Hayne as Parramatta beat Newcastle in NRL trial

ALL eyes were on Jarryd Hayne, but it was his replacement in the fullback jersey who stole the show as Bevan French starred in Parramatta’s 26-6 trial win over Newcastle.

NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA — FEBRUARY 24: Jarryd Hayne of the Eels is tackled during the NRL Trial Match between the Newcastle Knights and the Parramatta Eels at Maitland No 1 Showground on February 24, 2018 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

UPDATE: JARRYD Hayne last wore the Parramatta No.1 jersey 1267 days ago. And finally the Eels have found his replacement.

All summer the Eels have stressed that Hayne has come back to with no pressure or expectations – he is no longer one man band he was before he left to pursue his dreams. And if last night’s 26-6 win against Newcastle is any indication, the Eels were right to folk out about half of Hayne’s million dollar a season contract at the Titans. Hayne slotted in at right centre in the opening half before switching to the fullback role at half-time. While the focus was on Hayne’s return it was Bevan French who set the match alight with a blistering open half where he scored a try, set up another and only a forward pass would deny him another try assist after a 60 metre break from dummy half wearing the No.1 jersey.

Hayne won’t be the only Eels player getting used to a new position if French’s form continues with Clint Gutherson also needing to find a spot in the backline when he returns from a knee injury in the opening stages of the season.

Hayne started the match at right centre.

Hayne touched the ball just three times in the opening 20 minutes with most of Parramatta’s attack coming down the opposite edge through Michael Jennings. His best involvement came at fullback, when he broke through a tackle and fired a cut-out pass to send French over on the wing for his second try. It was the final significant play of Hayne’s 60 minute stint in front of 6526 people in Maitland.

Eels coach Brad Arthur said Hayne was “solid”.

“I said to him before the game that I feel honoured that we’ve got him back and he should feel honoured,” Arthur said. “I loved seeing him play his first game (back) in blue and gold colours…he has a lot of close mates. It meant a lot for him.”

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The Knights quickly slid into old habits as the Eels raced in six tries to one with Parramatta looking every bit a top four prospect. The scoreline flattered he Knights with Mitchell Moses landing just one conversion.

A Connor Watson cut-out pass to Shaun Kenny-Dowall gave the Knights a 6-0 lead after five minutes. French laid on Josh Hoffman’s try next before Corey Norman threw a no-look, catch and pass cut out ball on the opposite side of the field for Kirisome Auva’a to score.

The Knights started well but couldn’t go on with it.

The Eels led 12-6 at half-time after French caught a sliding Watson on his defensive try line to carry Watson over the try line to score.

Both sides were denied tries shortly after half-time before Hayne and French combined to extend the Eels lead to 10.

Moses started and finished the movement for the next try before Jennings finally exploded through space – after threatening for much of the night – to give the Eels a 26-6 lead with 15 minutes remaining.

Knights coach Nathan Brown expected more from his side.

“We defended for the whole game and Parramatta practiced their good ball sets,” Brown said. “It was a good lesson but a tough one. We have higher expectations than we’ve had the past two years.

“Regardless of what you’ve got you still have to do parts of the game well. It’s not a disaster but I did expect us to do a little bit better.”

Originally published as Bevan French steals the show from Jarryd Hayne as Parramatta beat Newcastle in NRL trial