Jarryd's Dally M tribute to mum
PARRAMATTA star Jarryd Hayne paid an emotional tribute to his mother Jodie when crowned 2009 Dally M medallist. "My Mum, my rock, " said a tearful Hayne.
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FOR months now, we have all known about Jarryd Hayne's supreme form. Nobody had to tell us. It's been there before our eyes, for all to see.
Last night came the confirmation when the 21-year-old was crowned the Dally M Player of the Year following an unprecedented late-season streak of six man-of-the-match performances.
Hayne credited his mother Jodie and his experience playing for Fiji in last year's World Cup with resurrecting his career.
"I feel like crying," an emotional Hayne said. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
"My mum, my rock, the Fijian World Cup team - if I'm not in that team I'm not here."
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The remaking of the Parramatta fullback is now complete - from a self-described "rock star" dodging gunshot bullets in Kings Cross early last year to the best player in the game who credits God, his mum and the Fiji team for the turnaround.
"I owe it all to those guys (the Fijians)," Hayne said.
"That brought me back to why I love the game so much.
"They were something I was missing - and something I thought I'd lost."
The Parramatta superstar finished on 30 points - ahead of Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston (27) and St George Illawarra playmaker Jamie Soward (26).
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Not even a final-round flop against the Dragons in which he attracted no votes from the judges could prevent Hayne from winning the game's most prestigious award.
Hayne's score of virtuoso performances have drawn comparisons with the game's elite and spirited his side into the finals when all had seemed doomed earlier in the year.
Since coach Daniel Anderson abandoned the experiment of playing him at five-eighth and switched him to his customary role of fullback, he has been as easy to stop as a freight train.
He was easily NSW's best player during their Origin series defeat, but his golden Dally M run started straight after during round 19 in the Eels' 18-16 victory over the Storm at Parramatta Stadium.
When Hayne collected three points that night, he was ranked eighth on the leaderboard - six points adrift of first-placed Thurston.
By round 22, he had caught the Cowboys captain and was sitting in equal second position with him behind Soward.
In the next round, in the 40-4 smash-up of the Warriors, he produced a supernatural play that most believe sums up his season.
Receiving an inside pass one off the ruck, Hayne caught and chip- kicked within a nanosecond before casually regathering and sending Eric Grothe over for a try.
Three points from that game saw him assume the lead for the first time, one point ahead of Soward.
He took full points against the Wests Tigers and one against the Panthers in the following rounds, and still had enough breathing space after attracting zero points after the final-round hiding against the Dragons.
In winning the Dally M, Hayne prevents Thurston from joining Andrew Johns as the only man to win the award three times.
At the tender age of 21, Hayne might just finish ahead of them all.
* DRAGONS five-eighth Jamie Soward may have been overrun for the Dally M Medal but gained some consolation by picking up the Provan Summons Medal last night.
The people's choice trophy was presented to Soward by living legends Norm Provan and Arthur Summons, forever immortalised as the two battle-weary protagonists on the Telstra Premiership trophy.
Soward enjoyed a stellar season with St George Illawarra and proved highly popular, finishing ahead of Gold Coast Titans playmaker Scott Prince and Canberra Raiders pivot Terry Campese.
FULL WINNERS LIST:
Peter Frilingos Memorial Award
Nathan Merritt (South Sydney)
Top points scorer
Hazem El Masri (Bulldogs)
Top try scorer
Brett Morris (St George Illawarra)
Team of the year
Fullback
Jarryd Hayne (Eels)
Winger
Taniela Tuiaki (Tigers)
Centre
Josh Morris (Bulldogs)
Five-eighth
Jamie Soward (Dragons)
Halfback
Johnathan Thurston (NQ)
Lock
David Stagg (Bulldogs)
Second-rower
Anthony Watmough (Manly)
Prop
Ben Hannant (Bulldogs)
Hooker
Michael Ennis (Bulldogs)
Captain
Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs)
Coach
Kevin Moore (Bulldogs)
Rookie
Jamal Idris (Bulldogs)
Toyota Cup player
Beau Henry (Dragons)
Rep player
Greg Inglis (Storm)
Provan Summons Medal
Jamie Soward (Dragons)
