Jarryd Hayne trial: Former NRL star turns to leading lawyer Phillip Boulten

In a never-more-obvious indication of his intent to clear his name, Jarryd Hayne has sought the counsel of one of Australia’s leading criminal silks to aid his defence.

Jarryd Hayne after a court appearance in 2018.

On the football field, Jarryd Hayne used his abundant talent to single-handedly overcome the obstacle in front of him.

In the courtroom, the two-time Dally M Medal winner is relying on his equivalent.

Hayne, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse against a woman in the NSW Hunter Valley in 2018.

The most important two weeks of the one-time poster boy of the NRL begins on Monday, with the jury trial set to start at Newcastle District Court.

At times, Hayne has been described as aloof, disengaged and different. But it seems he is acutely clear-minded and aware of the potentially life-changing situation he’s in. 

In a never-more-obvious indication of his intent to clear his name, Hayne has sought the counsel of Phillip Boulten QC — one of Australia’s leading criminal silks — to aid his defence, alongside widely respected lawyer Penny Musgrave, who has been practising criminal law for 30 years.

For the uninitiated, if Boulten played rugby league, he’d be captaining Australia. 

The vastly experienced barrister knows his way around a courtroom with a massive media presence. 

Boulten has been involved in some of the state’s most high-profile trials and appeals over the past two decades, and his guidance of Hayne is considered from within the legal fraternity a significant flex by the former Test star.

Boulten has acted for the family of slain Lindt Cafe hostage Katrina Dawson.

Boulten also represented Harriet Wran, the daughter of former NSW Premier Neville Wran, who was convicted of accessory to murder in 2016.

Jarryd Hayne in action for the Parramatta Eels. Picture: Brett Costello

The former president of the NSW Bar has taken on a serious misconduct case against former Labor minister Ian Macdonald, while he also took on the case of former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer, who was found guilty of trying to injure Channel 7 news reporter Laura Banks as she tried to interview him.

Boulten is also the barrister for Matthew Doyle, one of three Eastern Suburbs party boys who made front page news after they were caught a police sting nabbed them in an international plot to bring more than $80 million of cocaine into Australia.

The Hayne case will return the former NRL star and one-time NFL aspirant to the headlines for all the wrong reasons. 

The story of his rise from the western Sydney suburbs of Minto and change from the bright lights of “Monday Night Football” in the NFL with the 49ers to be now facing serious criminal charges is one of the saddest and most perplexing stories in Australian sport.

Those close to the former Eels and Titans, NSW and Australian representative fullback say he is mentally prepared for a level of scrutiny that he hasn’t experienced since his shock decision to quit his beloved Parramatta in 2015 to join the San Francisco 49ers. 

In Newcastle District Court on Thursday, Crown Prosecutor Brian Costello and Musgrave confirmed the jury trial — which Hayne had specifically requested last April — was ready to go.

Hayne is leaning on two of the biggest legal guns in Australia in readiness for the fight of his life.

But unlike his greatest achievements, this isn’t a game. There will be no winners when the jury deliberates in early December. Only losers. 

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Originally published as Jarryd Hayne trial: Former NRL star turns to leading lawyer Phillip Boulten