Jodie Hayne's inspiring story of raising her son to be an NRL superstar
PEOPLE used to look down on Jarryd Hayne's mother Jodie for being a "single mum with a half-caste child". But, she says: "that just made me prouder and stronger."
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WHEN Jarryd Hayne dodged a bullet in Kings Cross in March last year, it served as an emphatic reminder of what he stood to lose.
On Tuesday night, as he stood on stage at the State Theatre with the Dally M Medal around his neck, it was an emphatic reminder to mum Jodie of how far they had come.
"From the days when people would look down their nose at me because I was a single mother with a half-caste child," said Jodie, who was the Parramatta superstar's date at the swanky black-tie function. "And that just made me prouder and stronger. I couldn't have been any prouder than last night."
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Mums; what would we do without them? Hayne couldn't get the words out of his mouth quick enough in his acceptance speech when he was asked who he wanted to thank: "My Mum. My rock."
The glamorous function didn't rest easily with Jodie. She caught the train down from Umina on the Central Coast and arrived in a Hummer. But there, among the fake tans and designer frocks, she felt like she had slipped into a parallel universe.
"I'm not used to being in a dress like that," she said.
"To get my hair and make-up done, I hate it. It's not me.
"Jarryd dresses immaculately. He doesn't get that from me."
On the train back to Umina yesterday, passengers recognised the photo in The Daily Telegraph of her with her famous son on the red carpet and congratulated her.
"I've had two hours sleep," she laughed yesterday afternoon.
"I lay awake all night. I'm still on a high. I spoke to Jarryd today and when I hung up I got all emotional. I kept thinking about when he was a baby, what it has been like ... "
The hard road the Hayne family has travelled hasn't been as simple as the train trip back home.
Hayne is the son of former Fijian and Rabbitohs' star Manoa Thompson but grew up between Minto and Airds near Campbelltown under the watchful eye of his mum in housing commission.
He was raised by mum Jodie and grandmother Robin and took their surname while Thompson chased a career overseas.
"When we lived in Airds, it was tough," Jodie said.
"Because I was a young mother and had a half-caste child, people would look down at me. That was 20 years ago. Even the Islanders would give me filthy look. People would ask me if Jarryd was adopted.
"I didn't care. As long as I was there for him, that was my thing."
And she was.
When Hayne was a youngster, Jodie would ride a bike to the train station at 5am so she could work in the city to support the family. Hayne has two younger sisters in Jessi-Lee, 12, and Taygan, 13.
It is little wonder, then, Hayne credited Jodie so distinctly on Tuesday night. She says: "When he had his 21st in Fiji, he said the same thing: `Mum's my rock. If it wasn't for mum I'd have nothing'."
Being there for every step of the journey also means Jodie Hayne is best placed to talk about the personal and footballing revolution her son has gone through.
Hayne has been extraordinarily candid about the last 18 months, from the incident at Kings Cross to the spiritual awakening he had while playing for Fiji in last year's World Cup. It's a redemption story that has almost become a cliche.
Then Jodie Hayne snaps you back to reality when his mum makes this sobering observation "The Kings Cross shooting really woke him up. I didn't realise how much it affected him. He's matured so much. I think the lifestyle he's got with rugby league, all the scandals that have happened this season ... I think he's realised how quick you can lose it."
As for the religious thing, she is happy about that, too.
"I saw him a couple of weeks ago and he said we had to have a prayer before lunch," she said. "I had no problem with that. He goes, `Mum, a prayer ...' Then he asks, `When are you coming to church?' I said, `Take your sisters. I'll go when I'm ready'. If he enjoys it, I'm rapped. I'm glad he's found something outside of football."
He mightn't have been around much when his rugby league career dragged him overseas, but in recent years Thompson has become a rock-solid influence in his life.
He started screaming wildly in the loungeroom of his St Peter's home as he heard the Prime Minister read out his son's name.
"My advice to him has always been that you will get out of the game what you put into it," said Thompson, who rises at 3am every morning for his delivery business. "He was born with a special gift and he should make the most of it. You play to a certain age and then you have to look after yourself."
Hayne puts his newly confirmed status as the game's best player to the test on Sunday when the Eels attempt to turnaround their 37-0 defeat against St Illawarra in the first week of the finals.
Like clockwork, his mobile phone will beep with a text message from The Rock before the match. Like clockwork, his mobile phone will ring with a call from her straight after.
"Sometimes," she says, "I can't believe any of this is happening."
