Titans crack down could have Jarryd Hayne firing for Gold Coast

THE Titans have come down on Jarryd Hayne over his training as they make it clear the superstar is not bigger than the club, writes PAUL KENT.

LIKE everything with Jarryd Hayne, it remains shrouded in magician’s smoke.

There was a training session over the off-season and Hayne was putting in the kind of summer effort that suggests his next football game is a long way away when finally somebody had enough.

The players were ordered to do it again. The whole session. The popular version is that Titans coach Neil Henry had seen enough — or, in this case, not enough — and ordered them to do it again.

It’s the old one-in, all-in trick. Someone says it wasn’t the coach. It was the players who ordered the do-over. It is a strong step for a club ready to make the step to the genuine, and regular, premiership threats.

Standards and discipline are all done in-house and their success relies on the strength of their commitment and that relies on privacy.

The moment players think other players are talking about it, it collapses. But it is a defining moment for the club.

NINE’S FREEFALL: Ratings plummet

SHARKS SHOCK: New recruit’s fast track

Artwork: Scott “Boo” Bailey

The Titans’ leadership group drives the culture within the club and over the summer there have been a number of reasons to come down on a number of players for various infringements.

Hayne is not alone. Penalties sometimes take the form of a monetary fine or extra training drills. No player is immune. Half a dozen Titans have copped a tickle-up over the summer. But Hayne stands out because he is, well, Hayne. He is no ordinary footballer. Nobody is when they come with their own logo.

Hayne has a little habit of disappearing during training sessions. A quick toilet break that often happens, no doubt quite by accident, when the really tough stuff begins. It annoyed the Titans and they finally called him on it. Former Parramatta teammate Nathan Hindmarsh was frank on Matty Johns’s show on Thursday night describing how, even as a senior teammate, he never figured out a way to consistently get Hayne to perform close to his best. Take out the big stick or give him a cuddle? Neither seemed to work. More, neither was an indication how he might respond the next time.

Jarryd Hayne feels the pain during Titans pre-season training. Picture: Richard Gosling

The Eels never worked out the puzzle. The club was battling to avoid the wooden spoon in 2013 and were desperate for Hayne to recover from a hamstring injury. Their winning chances jumped almost 20 per cent with Hayne in the side. He missed seven games, returned with four rounds remaining, and after two games was again named and declared. The Eels looked like they might do it. Then Hayne withdrew on game day.

When the side returned to training the following round, Hayne ran out and began tossing the ball around with teammates.

“What are you doing?” asked then coach Ricky Stuart. Hayne was a little confused.

“Training?” he said.

“No, you’re not,” Stuart said.

“You’re still injured, so get up there with the injured squad.”

Gold Coast Titans star Jarryd Hayne at the Auckland Nines.

Or words to that effect. Stuart knew, and Hayne knew that Stuart knew. So later, after a video session the same day, Hayne asked Stuart if he could address the players.

He stood in front of them and apologised for pulling out, confessing it wasn’t because he was injured but because he wanted to go to a concert the night before. The Parramatta players tried with Hayne but he was always different and nearly always treated differently by coaching staff at the club.

At the Titans, Henry coaches like a socialist. Everybody is equal. If the rookie has to do 50 push-ups as punishment, so does the superstar. Henry’s only clue towards this came way back when the Titans landed Hayne, the big one, and as everybody applauded the club and wondered what Henry will do different now he has the shiny new toy, the coach said Hayne’s success will depend as much on how he fits in with the players as how the players fit in with him.

Buzz Rothfield joins Fiona Bollen and Matt Logue to talk through his who, where, why and how of his Top 50 NRL players for 2017.

So when Hayne began shirking at training, the Titans, inspired by Henry but led by the leadership group, began calling him on it. Some believe that’s why Hayne was making noises before Christmas, talking about where he might go next with his career and privately whingeing about life at the Gold Coast. That all changed after Christmas. The ball was introduced to training sessions and Hayne suddenly got interested.

Suddenly, the Titans saw the genius of Hayne. He began to move and get fit and quicker than anybody expected his legs found the miles to have him ready to play fullback this season. And they need him there. Hayne often talks about legacy. More than most he is aware of his reputation beyond the game and the potential he has with it. Much of how he will be remembered will be based on how he finishes, not how he started.

For that, he needs to be playing fullback and he needs to be fit. His teammates might just get him there.

Originally published as Titans crack down could have Jarryd Hayne firing for Gold Coast