Jarryd Hayne quits NRL for NFL: Why Parramatta Eels superstar is NRL’s biggest ever loss
WHEN a text message arrived today saying that Jarryd Hayne was quitting the NRL to play gridiron, the story had to be double and triple checked.
Opinion
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THE news was delivered with the force of an atomic bomb.
When a text message arrived today saying that Jarryd Hayne was quitting the NRL to play gridiron, the story had to be double and triple checked before The Daily Telegraph broke it online.
WHY I QUIT: HAYNE’S STATEMENT IN FULL
It was just too unbelievable to be true.
“You’re kidding me,” said coach Tim Sheens when I rang and told him.
“I’m shocked that he didn’t say anything.”
Hayne is rugby league’s biggest drawcard.
Throw in Sonny Bill Williams, Sam Burgess, Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis or Billy Slater, the Hayne Plane is bigger.
Kids adore him. Women love him. Fans can’t get enough of him.
He is the most popular player in Parramatta Eels history, bigger than even Sterling and Kenny, Cronin and Grothe, Thornett and Price.
Parramatta’s long time sports store owner Peter Wynn says there has never been a player like him.
WHY I QUIT: HAYNE’S STATEMENT IN FULL
“Jarryd Hayne’s jersey is the biggest seller of any sport, any team, any player, or any item,” Wynn said.
“It’s just massive.
“Everyone wants his No 1 on the back and his name.”
Hayne is a marketing and merchandise phenomenon.
When he started wearing yellow Nike boots back in 2009, every child playing junior footy wanted the same colour and same design.
Rebel, Peter Wynn, Nike and all the sports stores couldn’t keep up with the demand.
His loss is a huge blow to the Eels and the NRL.
Not just for his extraordinary ability on the football field but for his popularity off it.
He is probably the only rugby league player who could be described as irreplaceable.
South Sydney will find new forwards to replace Sam Burgess and Ben Te’o.
The Roosters will get by without Sonny Bill Williams.
Parramatta now has $1 million in the salary cap to find a new fullback.
The likes of Manly’s Brett Stewart and the Broncos’ Josh Hoffman will be mentioned.
But they will never find another Jarryd Hayne.
The boy from the housing commission who became an absolute superstar.
The boy with dreams to now make it on an ever bigger stage.
A dream his army of fans could never deny him from chasing.
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