Jarryd Hayne has spent a sum estimated to be well over $3 million on legal fees to clear his name and win his freedom. Some sources have told me the figure is closer to $4 million when you include potential lost football earnings.
The former NRL star, who during the week had his convictions for sexual assault quashed, has sold property he had earmarked to provide an income after his retirement from football to finance his court battles.
It’s no surprise, then, that those around him have suggested he will try and recoup some of those losses by selling his story to the media. But it would be a surprise if any of the networks were willing to fork out big bucks in the current climate.
Of far more concern is the mental toll the saga has taken on the families of Hayne and the young woman involved, and that should not be forgotten amid the sight of Hayne walking free from jail.
Hayne was so confident of his release that it seemed almost a fait accompli even before the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal found in his favour. Some of his former teammates had confidently been telling people in the days leading up to the verdict that Hayne would be released. Even the family of the woman who accused Hayne of rape were prepared for his release.
The woman’s sister has been active on social media in recent days. She wrote: “Regardless of the Hayne outcome on Wednesday 12 June, I stand with a strong brave woman who put herself through hell to see it doesn’t happen again.”
Jarryd Hayne leaves prison after his successful appeal.Credit: Steven Siewert
After the verdict, she took to social media in a big way, publishing a string of posts expressing her disappointment with the outcome and highlighting details from the case.
And she reposted another that read: “To the unnamed survivor. You should not have to live through this. One trial is traumatic enough. Three is unimaginable. Four would be beyond comprehension. You have an entire community of survivors thinking of you and we are in your corner.”
It’s worth remembering that the woman was reluctant to come forward at first because she doubted whether she had the strength to go through the legal process. Her life has been turned upside down in the six years since that night in 2018, while Hayne’s image and legacy as a footballer has been tarnished forever.
Hayne was the standout player of his generation but will now be remembered for this case. I will never forget the last time I saw him before the charges were laid. He had just completed a sprint session in Centennial Park under the guidance of Roger Fabri and I interviewed him about his desire to play another season in the NRL, possibly for the Dragons, having failed to win a new deal at Parramatta.
It was an awkward situation for me, as by then I was aware that the family of the woman wanted to take action but at that point were still trying to decide how to go about it. The woman’s brother-in-law contacted me to ask my advice on how to deal with the matter, and instead of reporting the story I put them in touch with the NRL and the integrity officer of the time, Karyn Murphy. The family asked me not to divulge our conversation about the events of the night in Newcastle which led to Hayne’s arrest and subsequent legal battle. But once the police were involved and other reporters were starting to get hold of the information, I had no choice other than to break the story.
My distinct memory is of watching Hayne meet his partner and child as they were picking him up after the Centennial Park training session, thinking that it would quite possibly be one of his last moments of peace with those he loved before the story became public.
Smith’s battle
The story of Brandon Smith’s off-field battles is one he may or may not choose to tell one day.
It likely won’t be in this column, as we have called Smith out in the past. However nothing we have reported about Smith has been motivated by animosity.
Quite the opposite, in fact. He is the kind of player and personality the game needs.
What’s fair to say is that Smith’s issues are genuine and that he will need to get on top of them if he is to fulfil his obvious talent as a professional rugby league player. We hope Smith returns to the people he has sought out before for help.
It’s unclear whether the Roosters knew exactly what they were buying when they paid huge dollars to sign Smith from the Melbourne Storm.
What is certain is that the Storm were not unhappy to see the back of him. Not because he was an unpopular person, just that he was too much hard work. This column reported at the time that coach Craig Bellamy and others at the Storm were happy to see the back of Smith, and was duly slammed by News Corp, who published a puff piece saying how wrong we were and quoting Smith in a free kick at this columnist.
Brandon Smith is the kind of player and personality the game needs.Credit: Getty Images
It was a poorly researched and flimsy article. A call or two to well-placed sources at Melbourne would have confirmed everything we wrote.
Perhaps the Roosters are kicking themselves for not doing their due diligence. To the club’s credit, they have done plenty behind the scenes to try and get Smith on the right path. Partly to help him as a person, but also because they have made a huge financial investment in the player.
Smith has a big future as a media performer, but that should still be some way down the track at the conclusion of a long and successful top-flight playing career.
Whether or not that is as a Rooster remains to be seen. The club can lose patience with players quickly, but can fall in love with them again just as easily. Everything is in Smith’s hands, but without a significant redirection of his life, it’s looking like this will be his last year at the Roosters.
Agent of change
At the heart of Lachlan Galvin’s issues with Wests Tigers has been his agent’s intense dislike of coach Benji Marshall.
The Tigers say they don’t know where it stems from, but they acknowledge it as a fact.
What they want cleared up is the suggestion the club was in any way irresponsible by “making” the 18-year-old play with a broken hand. The club walked Galvin’s family through the situation with his injury during the week, and by the end of the meeting they were satisfied with the explanation.
It’s been widely reported Galvin’s agent, Isaac Moses, asked the Tigers for a fourth time to release his client. What is not as well known is that, as a schoolboy, Galvin had agreed to join the Tigers’ rivals, Canterbury.
Lachlan Galvin after the Tigers’ win against the Sharks in March.Credit: Getty Images
Galvin was previously managed by Moses’ employee Adam Brame, who had agreed terms with the Bulldogs for Galvin. Moses was suspended as an agent at the time, but took over negotiations when he got his licence back.
He wouldn’t let Galvin sign with the Dogs and instead negotiated a deal with then Tigers recruitment manager Warren McDonnell – against the advice of many in the game. Now, with Galvin having signed a lucrative contract at the Tigers until the end of 2026, Moses wants the Tigers to release him so he can move elsewhere.
Too many Cooks?
Damien Cook deserves to leave South Sydney with his head held high after years of sterling service. But there have been strong suggestions the club was prepared to let him go immediately. It would be wrong for a player of his standing to depart in such a way.
This has been denied by Cook’s agent, Mario Tartak, who is likely to rev-up talks with Souths and the Dragons this week. There is no better person in the game than Cook. He is a quality human and tremendous player. Let’s hope he leaves Souths in a positive fashion and kicks on at his new club.
Dog slips past Eels
Blake Wilson, the Bulldogs’ two-try hero against Parramatta on Monday, probably should’ve been playing for the Eels after they made a significant play for him last year.
There was more money on the table, plus a shot at the fullback position, where Wilson certainly has the ability to play. When he was deciding which club to join, he took a call from Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson, who said he’d move out of fullback to make way for the rising star. Wilson felt a sense of loyalty to the Bulldogs, who plucked him out of the Sunshine Coast where he was in the Storm’s feeder system and gave him a chance on a train-and-trial deal. He signed on for about $50,000 and, since that time, has proved to be a first-grader of real worth.
Meanwhile, there were lovely scenes at the end of Monday’s game when Dogs captain Stephen Crichton gave his boots and headgear to the two boys from the Abdallah family. The looks on the lads’ faces were priceless. The family was hit by tragedy in 2020 when three of their children and a niece were killed by a drunk driver as they walked to get ice-cream.
Matildas’ own goal
The Matildas are darlings of the Australian sporting public, but they aren’t as well loved by a media finding them increasingly frustrating to deal with.
An example during the week: the Matildas were announcing $15 million in federal government funding for the 2026 Asian Cup, which Australia is hosting. Sports Minister Anika Wells and Football Australia CEO James Johnson were in attendance at The Rocks, as were three Matildas – only one of whom, Cortnee Vine, is in the 18-player squad for the Paris Olympics.
FA officials said Vine was not available to answer questions from the media because she was tired after playing two friendlies the previous week.
That kind of thing is par for the course, according to those who have to cover them on a regular basis. The Matildas are flying high now but, if they hit the skids, there are plenty of media types who won’t forget their treatment.
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