Jarryd Hayne returns to Origin arena side-by-side with his family

Jarryd Hayne, the former NSW Blues fullback, made a rare return to the State of Origin arena at the decider in Sydney.

It was his heroics that helped NSW on the field 11 years ago, but Jarryd Hayne had a different seat in the Origin house on Wednesday night.

The once Blues fullback and his wife Amellia marked a touching family moment with their kids at the State of Origin decider, sharing wholesome photos to social media while at the game.

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The 37-year-old took to Facebook to show the smiling family all decked out in Blues gear, with Hayne and his kids in hoodies and Amellia along with the children in NSW caps.

Each looked smitten among the 80,000 sellout crowd, with his daughter even bringing along a small hand drawn poster to help celebrate.

Jarryd Hayne taking in Origin with his family. Credit: Facebook/Jarryd Hayne

The Hayne family in the stands for Origin. Credit: Facebook/Jarryd Hayne

Sadly celebrations would have been few as Hayne’s former side dropped to a disappointing 24-12 loss, handing the series shield back to Queensland on home soil.

“Taking our babies to there (sic) first Origin game,” Hayne captioned the images.

“Wasn’t our night last night but couldn’t wipe the smile from there faces,” adding a heart emoji.

The “Hayne plane” notched up 23 appearances for the Blues across 10 years and is the state’s joint top try scorer with Josh Addo-Carr and Michael O’Connor on 11.

Hayne was a critical member of the infamous 2014 series where NSW ended an eight-year drought, taking home the Brad Fittler medal as NSW’s best player in the series.

He then made the sensational move to America after signing for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 before moving back to Australia.

Hayne was in the spotlight in 2023 after being sentenced for two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, but it was overturned a year later.

He was freed from prison in June 2024 after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the conviction.

It’s been 11 years since Hayne’s role in NSW’s heroic 2014 series win. Photo: Jason O'Brien/Getty Images.

Hayne returned to football with the Wentworthville Magpies’ Ron Massey Cup side in May. Photo: Backgrid/news.com.au

Hayne made his return to rugby league this year after signing to play with the Wentworthville Magpies, making his debut for the side in the Ron Massey Cup in May.

A large part of his motivation in coming back was to play football in front of his children.

“Never did I imagine that I would ever come back,” he said at the time.

“I am excited to begin my journey at a family club like Wenty, especially to play in front of my children, which was part of the reason that inspired me to come back.”

But the disappointment of this year’s Origin series means Hayne and his family will have to wait another year to potentially see NSW lift the shield once more.

Originally published as Jarryd Hayne returns to Origin arena side-by-side with his family