Has Mason Cox overshadowed Jarryd Hayne for sport’s best code swap?

JARRYD Hayne hasn’t impressed everyone with his NFL transition, and he copped an absolute shellacking on Tuesday afternoon.

Hayne made plenty of Australians proud, but has he really achieved all that much?

FEW thought he could do it, but Jarryd Hayne proved the naysayers wrong when he made his NFL debut in 2015.

He made the incredible transformation from rugby league superstar to San Francisco 49ers punt returner and running back despite never having played American football before, and had what seemed like all of Australia following his every catch, every run, every tackle and every tweet during his time on America’s west coast.

But while he played eight games for then-coach Jim Tomsula’s outfit last season, the magnitude of his achievement has been vastly overshadowed by the debut of another code convert on the weekend, according to journalist Patrick Smith.

25-year-old Mason Cox played his first ever AFL match for Collingwood in their Anzac Day clash with Essendon on Monday, and impressed everyone with a sterling all-round effort. Coming from the US with a background in soccer and basketball, Cox had never even heard of Aussie rules until he was invited from Los Angeles to an AFL draft scouting combine in 2013.

After such a short learning period, the 2.11 metre giant kicked a goal, racked up 10 disposals and took marks — both low down and up high — with ease, looking completely comfortable with the Sherrin on the MCG turf.

Speaking on SEN radio on Tuesday afternoon, Smith said Cox’s achievement was for more impressive than what Hayne had been able to muster during his time in the northern hemisphere.

Cox had a first game to remember.

“Mason Cox is one of the great stories in Australian sporting history and it’s a far better story than Jarryd Hayne going over to San Francisco and doing bugger all,” said Smith.

“This boy Mason Cox is the same size as (injured Fremantle ruckman) Aaron Sandilands and I don’t think Aaron would have taken that first mark down low — a quick lead and getting down low then converting was so impressive.

“Then he contested well for the rest of the game — he got more touches than what (dropped Collingwood forward) Travis Cloke’s been getting.”

AFL is a difficult sport for plenty of Australians to get a grip on — particularly those who hail from the northern states on the eastern seaboard — so for Cox to play the way he did on football’s biggest occasion outside of a finals series was seriously impressive.

As excited as Smith was about the American’s performance, he felt the exact opposite about what Hayne’s pulled off since he ventured to the land of stars and stripes.

“He’s doing bugger all, what’s he done? He went over there and fumbled,” said Smith.

“Of course he did, he went over there and fumbled — when they wanted somebody to fumble they’d put out the special squad with Jarryd in it.”

Hayne’s NFL journey was a rollercoaster in 2015.

The 28-year-old starred in the pre-season with the 49ers, but couldn’t have started his NFL career proper any worse after fumbling a punt with his first touch of the ball in his debut against the Minnesota Vikings in September.

He had a couple of other nervy moments on the special teams squad, one of which included colliding with teammate LJ McCray against the Green Bay Packers to register another fumble. He then featured more as a running back, with Tomsula seeming to lose faith in his ability as a punt returner, before he was dropped to the practice squad for two months.

Hayne’s learning curve was a steep one, and he admitted the most difficult part of his transition was learning his team’s playbook, while also having to deal with hits he said were harder in the NFL than in the NRL.

But Smith wasn’t showing any leniency towards the former NSW fullback, saying the new environment he adapted to paled in comparison to what Cox must have gone through.

“He’s seen nothing like the sport before, Jarryd Hayne has been playing rugby league and all he’s done is gone over to the US and played rugby league with padding on and a helmet,” said Smith.

“That’s effectively what he did, this other boy has done something quite extraordinary — one of the great stories in Australian sport let alone AFL.”

Originally published as Has Mason Cox overshadowed Jarryd Hayne for sport’s best code swap?