Jarryd Hayne’s decision to quit NFL seems to point him into hands of the Roosters

JARRYD Hayne’s decision to quit NFL seems to open more doors but really his path appears to be set for Sydney, live blog with PAUL KENT at 1pm.

YOU have to hand it to Jarryd Hayne.

The most absorbing story in sport took not just one sharp turn, but two. We can’t help but be interested. We can’t help to hope.

Hours after the San Francisco 49ers announced Hayne was quitting the NFL to chase Olympic glory with Fiji’s Rugby Sevens team in Rio in August, news emerged that Hayne might have gone off too quickly.

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Hayne with the Fijian rugby sevens team — but would that be a long-term move?

Under World Anti-Doping Agency laws, Hayne was forbidden from competing in Rio. It appeared a massive oversight.

But then you figure it is Jarryd Hayne and he has a way of making the unlikely possible and so he is better than even money to get there.

Hayne has a nation involved now. Once again.

What’s more, he does it with barely a public utterance. A statement, a Tweet, and the world is left to speculate.

By saying nothing more than confirming the story, he creates the conversation around him. And with each conversation intrigue grows and his value goes up.

Not once he lands in a sport, but before.

Sport has never been more complex. The true battle within sport nowadays is the competition between the codes while trying to maintain the integrity of the code. It has never been more important for a sport to know what it stands for and where it is going.

What will a code do to accommodate a talent like Hayne?

While rugby looks set to be home for the next three months Hayne will walk out of the Olympics into a free market.

They might as well start lining up now. Hayne is a wonderful athlete, the best of what we can provide as a people, so what code would not want him?

But with desire comes choices and temptation.

Naturally the International Rugby Board want Hayne at the Olympics. He would bring more publicity to the game here than the Australian team already on its way, even though he would be playing for Fiji.

In the battle against rival sports, Hayne is a gimme. Wall-to-wall feel-good publicity. But Hayne is banned as it currently stands.

The rules are actually quite simple. The NFL is not WADA-compliant. For any athlete to compete at an Olympics they must be available and have undergone random testing for six months before competition.

The Olympics are just 80 days away.

Hayne can ask WADA for a six month special consideration, dispensation to play given his unusual circumstances. After all, they are so bizarre it is almost certain WADA would not have to consider anything like it.

What pressure the IRB brings to WADA, though, remains to be seen.

What happens after the Olympics, though?

Hayne represented Fiji at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.

It is three more years until the next Rugby World Cup. Who would Hayne play for?

Fiji is favourite to win gold at Rio so it makes complete sense for Hayne to align himself there, even though he must still make the squad and has just one tournament to prove himself.

It will snow in Fiji before they win a Rugby World Cup.

Not long after Hayne left the NRL the Australian Rugby Union decided that if Hayne ever returned from America it would have a dip.

LIVE BLOG WITH PAUL KENT BELOW AT 1PM AEST

But a Fiji Sevens jersey disqualifies him from the Wallabies.

It looks increasingly likely Hayne read the tea leaves at the 49ers and did not believe he would make the cut after the 49ers spent two high draft spots picking up running backs.

So he is heading back to the NRL but decided to take in a brief joy ride to Rio on the way through?

Eels fans would clearly love to have their idol back in blue and gold.

While rumours persist that Hayne has already struck a deal to play with Sydney Roosters should he ever return, it is likely that, however unfeasible, the ARU or an international rugby team will still be “interested” with offers too good for the NRL, even with its $7 million salary cap.

But sitting in plain view, the wart on the princess, is the NRL’s often talked about, never used war chest. At some point it is sure to get a mention.

We can’t let him go to rugby, will go the argument, we need to dip into the war chest. Will it spook NRL boss Todd Greenberg into action? I hope not.

The right fit for Hayne, of course, would be Parramatta.

But a year after fining Parramatta $1 million and stripping them 12 competition points, could the NRL then privately fund Hayne’s return to the Eels, effectively legalising Parramatta to be over the salary cap as the war chest is absurdly designed to do, to the disadvantage of the 15 other clubs.

Thankfully, Greenberg is not a fan of the war chest. What does this mean for Hayne after Rio? No Wallabies, no war chest.

Hello, uncle Nick.