Jarryd Hayne signs for Titans: Eels’ offer was too little, too late to regain favourite son

JARRYD Hayne openly discussed his frustration at Parramatta’s tardiness with a contract offer. But still the club didn’t realise the clock was ticking.

IT was the private lunch inside Restaurant 317 on Church Street, Parramatta, where Jarryd Hayne openly began questioning Parramatta.

“He was concerned he hadn’t had a formal offer from the club yet and he wanted to know where he stood,” Eels captain Tim Mannah told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

Mannah was dining with Hayne and another friend when he realised his good mate may walk away and join a rival NRL club. Acting as an unofficial go-between, Mannah went straight to Eels coach Brad Arthur at the club’s training facility at Old Saleyards Reserve.

Restaurant 317 at Parramatta where Eels captain Tim Mannah met with Hayne.

As The Daily Telegraph revealed, Arthur and Eels administrator Max Donnelly had been working on a Hayne plan and by Monday afternoon had approved a three-year offer worth $2.4m.

But Hayne claimed he had not received an offer from Parramatta, a suggestion which has angered Eels officials.

“There was nothing on the table,” Hayne said after being announced as the biggest signing in the Gold Coast’s history.

“I know there was speculation that had come out that they’d tabled an offer. But none of that got brought to me formally. It was disappointing.

“I’ve been back from Fiji for over a month now and every week I’d ask my manager ‘What’s Parra doing? Where’s Parra’s offer?

“I was waiting for Parra’s offer. I was waiting. I was waiting. I was waiting. It got to the point where I was having lunch with Timmy on Monday and I said, ‘What’s going on? Are you guys going to offer me a contract or not?’”

A war of words has since broken out between Hayne’s camp and the Eels, who insist they had confirmed their offer to Hayne’s manager, Wayne Beavis, on Monday night, while he was at the Gold Coast.

Beavis confirmed he received a call from the Eels but that did not amount to an official offer.

“(Hayne) said he didn’t get a formal offer. He didn’t say he didn’t get an offer,” Beavis said.

Late Tuesday, two Eels officials rang Beavis from a car to discuss exact money, but were quickly told their offer was significantly inferior.

With suggestions Parramatta’s offer was up to $500,000 less a season than that being offered by Gold Coast, Beavis allegedly told the Eels officials you’ll need to “sharpen your pencil.”

But it was too late.

Hayne rang Mannah on Tuesday night to tell him he was joining the Titans.

The Daily Telegraph spoke with Donnelly at 6.30pm on Tuesday to verify the club’s offer. Donnelly was unaware that, up on the Gold Coast, Hayne was preparing to put pen to paper on a mega-rich contract in a hotel room at 10pm the same night.

Parramatta concede their were too slow — but reject they didn’t make an offer. The Eels wanted Hayne — but lack of office staff cost the club. They had no CEO or football manager when chasing Hayne.

Hayne wanted to be an Eel but says he couldn’t wait any longer for the Parramatta offer because he wanted to play finals footy this season.

“He seemed a bit concerned (at lunch) — I could tell he wanted to make a decision pretty quickly and he mentioned he wanted to play again this year,” Mannah told The Daily Telegraph.

“I don’t think the club knew there was a huge rush. They didn’t know he wanted to play this year. Once they understood that, they kind of got the wheels turning a lot quicker and they got something off to him really quickly but there was something obviously already in place. We’re talking a day or two (too) late, not months.”

Parra’s interim boss Max Donnelly can't be blamed for his lack of knowledge of footy contracts.

Asked could his club be accused of being too slow to react, Mannah said: “Yes and no. It’s a bit difficult at the moment, we don’t have a head of football or CEO. We didn’t have the leadership to make the right calls.

“In defence of the club, that’s what happens when you don’t have a head of football or CEO. That leaves you vulnerable to missing these opportunities.

“Jarryd was torn. He is very passionate about Parramatta. I spoke to Brad and he is good at getting things done. Brad wants a good football team and I told him this was the situation and that he (Hayne) was a bit concerned.”

Acting Eels CEO Bevan Paul also stated his club did in fact table on offer.

“The Parramatta Eels did communicate an offer to Jarryd Hayne’s management in the past 48 hours,” Paul said.

Parra were too slow — so Titans coach Neil Henry got a season-changing gift.

“This offer was made after reviewing the consequences of the NRL salary cap decision and the importance of maintaining a strong roster for 2017 and 2018. While it was a substantial offer, we were advised by Jarryd’s management that it was not comparable to the other proposals. The club wishes Jarryd well in his future endeavours”

Hayne stressed over and again he wanted to stay at Parramatta.

“There were a few clubs that offered straight away and I always wanted to go back to Parra,” Hayne said. “I had to make a decision. It’s obviously torn me apart. It was tough emotionally, but deep down it’s the right one.”

Mannah was supportive of Hayne but did say Eels fans would be upset.

“I guess the fans have a reason to be upset,” Mannah said. “But the club is bigger than one player. It gives us a chance to move on. They fans have every right to feel let down but he is trying to look after himself and his future. I’ll never talk badly about someone looking after his family.”