Jarryd Hayne’s shock signing with the Titans ended in disaster

From kitchen bench negotiations to secret meetings at closed cafes, the story behind Jarryd Hayne joining the Titans is a rollercoaster – and it all happened in a day.

Within an hour of the Hayne Plane landing on the Gold Coast, he was sitting at the kitchen bench of Titans co-owner Rebecca Frizelle.

Jarryd Hayne had never met Frizelle.

In fact, he had never spoken to head coach Neil Henry, CEO Graham Annesley or other Titans co-owner Darryl Kelly, who were also sitting opposite the headline act.

Yet within just seven hours, Hayne had agreed to a deal worth close to $2.4 million to become a Gold Coast Titan.

The turbulent relationship would last just 16 months, beginning with capacity crowds and a finals appearance before ending in a bitter fallout with Henry.

It was on August 3, 2016, that Hayne flew into the Gold Coast. He only had the clothes on his back with a return ticket to Sydney later that afternoon.

It was a flight he would never take.

Frizelle had been gesturing interest in Hayne with his long-time agent, Wayne Beavis, over the previous six weeks, after the star footballer had walked out on his NFL career with the 49ers in an unsuccessful bid to represent Fiji in Rugby Sevens at the Rio Olympics.

In just his second match Jarryd Hayne led the Titans to a famous win over the Tigers to mark his return to the NRL. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

With only a month remaining in the 2016 NRL season, the Titans were one of few – if any – clubs with the salary cap space to commit to a major play for a player of Hayne’s calibre.

Hayne knew his financial options were slim and so, when Beavis suggested to Frizelle that if a deal was to be done that they needed to meet, Hayne landed at Coolangatta Airport.

Around Frizelle’s kitchen bench the two parties danced for an hour to better understand if they liked each other. The mood was upbeat and positive. Hayne stood up, shook hands then said goodbye.

The Titans thought Hayne was flying back to Sydney. Sitting in Beavis’ car, Hayne told how he still had more questions he needed answering.

So Beavis asked the Titans hierarchy for another meeting only an hour later at a Main Beach cafe.

Having closed for the day, the cafe manager opened the doors for the Titans powerbrokers and the two-time Dally M winner to further dissect the possibility of him joining the Coast.

PODCAST BONUS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JARRYD HAYNE

Beavis and Hayne left the meeting knowing they were going to sign for the Titans, but playing the long game, they said that he and his client needed some time to discuss the proposal. Beavis cancelled Hayne’s flight back to Sydney. It was Annesley who then received another call from Beavis.

If a deal was going to be struck – it needed to be done tonight, Beavis suggested.

Desperate to avoid the spotlight of any media, Hayne checked into the lavish QT Hotel at Surfers Paradise. Once the rock star of rugby league on the field, Hayne clearly believed he was also a rock star off it.

Annesley and a club lawyer arrived at the QT with the contract that had been hurriedly drawn up back at Titans HQ. On a coffee table, Hayne formally signed his contract to return to the NRL in his room at 9.45pm.

Jarryd Hayne with Kane Elgey at the launch of a TripaDeal sponsorship. Picture: Scott Fletcher

By midnight, Annesley was still in his office at Titans headquarters processing Hayne’s registration with the NRL.

“We thought we were just having a meet and greet and within a matter of seven or eight hours from the time of meeting at Rebecca’s house, we’d signed a contract and put in place a plan to announce it the next morning,’’ one of the Titans’ powerbrokers said.

“That first day that we ever met him, is the day that we signed him.’’

So unexpectedly fast was the deal struck, Hayne was driven around the Gold Coast for a spare pair of clothes for the lavish press conference which the Titans hurriedly organised to hold the following day.

They staged the marquee signing announcement of the ‘Hayne Plane’ surrounded by private jets at motorcycle legend Mick Doohan’s hangar on the Gold Coast.

Hayne’s signing had an immediate effect on the club’s financial fortunes.

In the hours after his deal was announced, the Titans sold more than $40,000 worth of tickets for their next game against the Warriors – to be played just four days later.

Jarryd Hayne’s arrival on the Gold Coast had an immediate impact on crowd numbers. Picture: Adam Head

Before the announcement, they had sold just $10,000 worth of tickets.

Hayne ran out to a crowd of 25,109 at Robina Stadium – a little more than 2000 people short of a sellout.

Against the notoriously low-crowd drawing opposition of the Warriors, the Titans attracted almost 10,000 more spectators for Hayne’s debut than what the club had one week earlier when they played against eventual premiers Cronulla.

Despite losing to the Warriors 24-14, Hayne’s new fans only had to wait one week for him to deliver when he kicked a last-minute field goal to beat the Wests Tigers 19-18 at Campbelltown.

The win catapulted the Titans into a rare finals berth against Brisbane – and although they were bundled out in easy fashion 44-28 in week one of the finals, optimism was high at the end of full-time ahead of the 2017 season.

But that glimmer of hope was erased within 24 hours.

A social media video posted on Snapchat, showed Hayne with alleged Hells Angels bikie Chris Bloomfield, the night after losing to the Broncos.

Jarryd Hayne in a Snapchat video with Ex-Titan player Chris Bloomfield

Neil Henry was moved on as coach of the Titans. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

The post showed Bloomfield holding $5000 in cash which he said Hayne gave to him.

The NRL Integrity Unit issued a warning for Hayne to distance himself from consorting with criminals.

Hayne’s troubles continued however, when two months later, he was caught in an embarrassing pornography gaffe while presenting an online safety talk at a Gold Coast high school.

Hayne’s online browsing history was being shown on a screen at the school, featuring mostly sports images, when a pornographic website was displayed on the screen to the 200-plus students in attendance at Robina State High School.

Norton later claimed the information displayed wasn’t from Hayne’s device.

The headlines weren’t what the Titans signed Hayne for and the souring relationship at management level was nothing like what was unfolding within the coaching staff, particularly with Henry.

Porn awkwardly popped up during a Jarryd Hayne web safety talk. Picture: Robina State High School Facebook Page.

Hayne was eventually granted a release at the end of 2017. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

“Neil liked players who conformed … and well, Jarryd sometimes didn’t do that,’’ a Titans staff member said.

“Everything that the Titans and Jarryd had to start with was going off the rails.’’

Hayne marked his cards in August, 2017 behind the grandstand at Kogarah Oval.

In an explosive interview, Hayne sensationally declared he was willing to walk away from the club if Henry does not want him.

He claimed the coach had stopped talking to him.

It was the finish line for Hayne as a Titan.

The Titans granted Hayne a release from the final year of his contract in November, 2017.

He won just eight of 23 matches and failed to live up to the lofty expectations of all involved.

Just 16 months after meeting the Titans for the first time, Hayne was finally on that flight back to Sydney, this time bound for Parramatta.

Jarryd Hayne returned to Parramatta for one final stint. Picture: Simon Bullard

It had been at his press conference when signing for the Titans that Hayne had bizarrely professed his sadness that he was unable to strike a deal with his beloved Eels – instead of the Gold Coast.

The comments put many of the Titans staffers on the outer with Hayne from the outset.

“A part of me is sad because I’m not going to go back to the club that I grew up with and loved as a kid,’’ Hayne said.

“At the end of the day I wanted to play footy this year. The way that the [Eels] board is – the way things have gone this year, couldn’t get something done, it’s sad and it hurts me just as much as I know it hurts the fans down there.”

Hayne would finally get his wish on December 1, 2017, with the former Eels captain returning to the club he debuted for in 2006.

The 30-year-old’s impact was sluggish, the result of a recurring hip injury and a stomach illness that caused him to feel bloated.

However, in a year to forget for a struggling Parramatta, the two-time Dally M medallist wasn’t without his moments.

Under coach Brad Arthur, Hayne played in a number of positions, but the role changes didn’t stop him from finishing the year with a club-best 10 tries from 15 appearances, as well as topping the Parramatta charts for line breaks and tackle busts.

The Eels finished 2018 with their third wooden spoon in just seven seasons. Despite his far-flung travels, Hayne reluctantly had been there for them.

And although he went public with his ambition to re-sign with the Eels, the club resisted in making him an offer.

Once the most wanted-player in the NRL, Hayne was now without love from the club he loved most.

He would never play another NRL game again.