NRL 2022: Tim Mannah wants Parramatta Eels to welcome back fallen star Jarryd Hayne

Former Eels skipper Tim Mannah has opened up about Jarryd Hayne’s exile, the glory years, his fall from grace ... and why he hopes Parramatta embrace the ‘Hayne Plane’ again.

Jarryd Hayne and Tim Mannah.

Jarryd Hayne is the name no-one in rugby league wants to mention; the fallen superstar shunned even by his beloved Parramatta Eels.

But as Parramatta prepare for their shot at premiership glory, club stalwart Tim Mannah has appealed for Hayne — his 20-year friend — to be welcomed back by his Eels footballing family as the one-time NRL magician picks up the pieces of his turbulent life.

With the Eels just one win away from breaking a 36-year premiership drought in Sunday’s night grand final against Penrith, the controversial star’s most trusted confidantes have opened up to News Corp about the seismic rise and fall of The Hayne Plane.

“Jarryd is still the best player I ever played with,” says Mannah, the 233-game former Eels prop and skipper.

The last time the Eels were at the big dance in 2009, Hayne was Parramatta’s Pied Piper.

He was the freakish fullback with the Midas touch, propelling the Eels to the grand final against the Storm with a scorching burst of form rated the best purple patch in NRL history as the Hayne Plane soared to Dally M immortality.

By rights, Hayne, at age 34, could still be Parramatta’s senior strike weapon in this grand final derby against the Panthers.

Instead, he is now the Hayne Shame. He is a taboo topic at Parramatta.

Jarryd Hayne and Tim Mannah have been friends for over 20 years.

His legacy and reputation has been shredded, stained and desecrated by rape allegations, a jail stint, his shock release from prison and a third legal trial that hovers over Hayne ahead of Parramatta’s grand final return to the Homebush venue that was once his personal playground.

Contacted by News Corp, Parramatta bosses politely declined to talk about Hayne. Eels coach Brad Arthur adopted a silent diplomacy.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to comment on Jarryd ... I might get into trouble,” Arthur said.

Hayne is such a reviled figure that Channel 9 will not use images of the fullback when they screen highlights of Parramatta’s 2009 grand final against Melbourne in their coverage on Sunday.

When Parramatta celebrated their 75th anniversary in April - two months after his release from jail - Hayne was not invited.

At the luncheon, vision was shown of Parramatta’s glorious charge to the 2009 decider. Despite being the Eels’ main man that season, producing more magic than David Copperfield, Parramatta hit the delete button on Hayne’s heroics.

Amid the public vitriol and animosity that stalks him, Hayne still has the Eels in his heart. In recent social-media posts, Hayne has celebrated Parramatta’s return to the NRL grand final.

It is understood Hayne has embarked on a weekend getaway and will watch the Eels-Penrith decider in peace and quiet on a farm outside Sydney.

Mannah knows Hayne’s story, and his private pain, better than most, and while he understands the narrative is largely unpalatable, his hope is that the two-time Dally M Medallist is not totally erased from Eels history.

“There’s a lot of people lining up to throw stones at Jarryd,” says Mannah, who was born on February 15, 1988 — the same day, month and year as Hayne.

Jarryd Hayne was almost unstoppable in a stunning burst of form for the Eels in 2009. Picture: Robb Cox Action Photographics

“Jarryd is away on a trip at the moment so I don’t know if he will be at the game. I will be commentating on the game for radio.

“Jarryd is still a massive Parra fan and that’s a real credit to his character.

“He has been shunned a little bit, not just from the Eels, but people in general.

“His name is a bit of a taboo, but I really hope he is embraced by the club. His passion for Parra is still there.

“Talking to ‘Haynesy’, I know how excited he is for the boys. He can’t wait to watch the grand final.

“Me and Jarryd both want to see the Eels win a premiership we dreamed of and finally get that monkey off the club’s back after 36 long years.”

The NRL grand final is a bitter-sweet day of the calendar for Hayne.

Aside from Parramatta’s 23-16 loss to Melbourne in 2009, Hayne was charged with sexually assaulting a woman on the night of the 2018 grand final. In May last year, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years and nine months jail.

But after serving nine months in Cooma Correctional Centre, the Hayne saga took an extraordinary twist when he was released after having the rape conviction quashed by a Court of Appeal.

Hayne now faces a third trial in March and his most trusted allies concede his fall from grace is as tragic as it is unfathomable.

“I can’t begin to imagine what Jarryd has gone through,” says Norm Black, the business tycoon whose company TripADeal tipped in $400,000 as a sponsor to bring Hayne to the Gold Coast Titans in 2016.

Jarryd Hayne and Tim Mannah remain close friends. Picture: Instagram

“You can’t sugarcoat the situation. The reality is Jarryd has been on rape charges and still has some legal matters ahead. Anyone who has been on rape allegations, and gone to jail, will not go through an easy time.

“I stayed in touch with Jarryd (during his time behind bars). I have spoken to Jarryd quite a bit since he got out of jail. We still check in on each other.

“I guess I hope Parramatta will embrace him if he can clear his name again.

“Jarryd would have thought his name was cleared, but he has another trial and this is the world we live in.

“The courts have to run their case and I can understand any sporting organisation would find it difficult to embrace him.

“Even if he is a superstar of the Eels, it’s hard to celebrate him when there is a dark cloud still hovering over him.

“It’s unfortunate, but that’s life and that’s the reality of his situation.

“His life has been tipped upside down and Jarryd has just focused on his family and his kids.

“That’s the one thing - family - that has kept him going, as it would keep anyone going.”

Jarryd Hayne was released from Cooma Correctional Centre in February. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

During his NRL career, Hayne was portrayed as aloof, selfish and difficult to manage.

But Black says he has seen a genuine side to the former Test and Origin flyer, who captivated millions of Australian sports fans with his head-spinning switch to the NFL, where he played six games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.

“It’s a strange one with Jarryd,” Black said. “He tended to alienate the media early on. I honestly believe it was shyness rather than arrogance. I know that sounds weird because of how Jarryd played with so much confidence, but he did lack self-belief away from the game.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better guy to have around my family. My kids adore Jarryd. Every conversation I have with Jarryd, he still asks about my kids. People like Tim Mannah who know the real Jarryd, they will know he had goodness in him.

“The guy was a sporting freak. It’s sad, but we forget what he achieved in the NFL as well.

“For an NRL player to go to America and beat millions of local athletes to play in the NFL is simply phenomenal.

“Jarryd should be one of our most iconic, celebrated sportsmen but unfortunately it’s now a different narrative.”

Jarryd Hayne was a fan favourite at the Eels.

Mannah admits he will never be able to adequately explain Hayne’s implosion, but prefers to treasure the happier moments, headlined by their journey from lower-grade titles at the Eels to teammates in the 2009 grand final.

“To be honest, I can’t even answer why it all happened,” he says.

“I think Jarryd found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time sometimes. I don’t know what started the fall, but there’s no denying the talent he had and what he could do. As his mate, I always like to remember his career and what he did.

“It’s been hard to see him go through the tough times.

“At the height of his career, there was a stage where he was everyone’s hero and a household name. To see what he went through after that was tough, but Jarryd will always be my friend and I have always been there for him.

“We met at 14. We were born on the same day, in the same year, but you couldn’t pick two more different blokes.

.

“We are total opposites. I’m punctual, organised and orderly. Jarryd is a free spirit who runs on Fijian time, but we are still best mates.

“It was unbelievable watching Jarryd that year (in 2009). He was in the zone. People talk about Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell in the last few years with individual performances, but nothing will ever beat Jarryd Hayne for me in 2009.

“You can argue other guys in our team played well, but if it wasn’t for Haynesy’s magic, there’s no way we would have made the grand final.

“For all the noise that comes when you say his name, people have their own thoughts and reaction to Jarryd, but you can’t take away from the player he was.

“Jarryd had a skill set that I have never seen from anyone else. He was the complete package.”

ALL YOUR NRL GRAND FINAL PUNTING NEEDS: BEST MULTIS, CLIVE CHURCHILL MEDAL & MORE