Much has been said and written about Hayne's 2009 run of form v Trbojevic in 2021. Most "experts" have said Turbo's run has been better but I have no doubt there is recency bias there. They point to individual stats such as tackle breaks, run metres, try assists, tries etc which show Turbo having superior numbers but the changes in rules should really be factored in.
I point to these more qualitative arguments why I believe Hayne's run in 2009 was better:
1. Eels were shithouse in 14th place before Hayne sparked them to win 7 games in a row (Hayne received 6 MoM in these 7 games). Turbo's run has been exceptional and they were 0/4 but they still had plenty of time to find form.
2. Every one of those 7 games in 2009 before the final round against the Dragons was a must win. Lose and we were out of finals reckoning.
3. We finished 8th and Hayne sparked the team to beat the best team all year in the first final at their home ground. Hayne scored one of the greatest individual tries of all time to seal the win which BTW I noticed was another recency biased comparison suggesting Turbo's try against the 2nd worst team in a meaningless game was better. Turbo and Eagles did nothing last night against the best team on neutral ground.
3. We had no superstars in 2009 so Hayne had to do more to lift the side to achieve those feats. Our halves were a rookie and journeyman while Manly have internationals including the highest paid player in the game.
4. Hayne won the Dally M in 2009 beating a future immortal (Thurston). Turbo may still win the Dally M this year but will need to beat a potential future immortal (Cleary) for the medal.
5. Hayne led the team to the GF where they were defeated by a team which cheated the salary cap. It's now looking unlikely Turbo can do the same with Manly this year.
Turbo is an exceptional player and may end up having a better career than Hayne but as I said earlier recency bias is really driving people to overstate his form this year relative to Hayne's. Even Ben Barba in 2012 was able to win the Dally M and take his team to the GF.
Let's see if Trbojevic will be able to match or better those feats.
Replies
Every player that has a good run of form they wanna compare them to Hayne. That Tells u what a player Hayne was.
no one will ever compare to a 2009 Hayne
For sure . I agree no one will ever compare to Hayne looking through the eyes of us blue and gold fans . lol
https://youtu.be/tVol-ruR-cI
Hayne 09 is the best ever. Everyone just looks at turbos tries and try assists without any context of how the game has changed. Also how manly have a better team and still can't beat a top team.
And Manly are everybody's favourite team right now. Says it all about the commentators.
Look, I think Turbo's had a sensational year... but, if he can't get them to the Grand Final it doesn't even come close to Hayne's 09 run, and everyone knows it.
Both Hayne and Barbas years were exceptional but neither won a comp therefore their form and individual awards are redundant.
If turbo somehow is a premiership winner at the end of this run then he's will be the better one
A reminder of how good Hayne was only makes me annoyed of how he threw it all away. Such a wasted talent. Could have been one of the best
He was one of the best EAM. He could have been the greatest.
Haynes 09 and even Barbas is better then Turbo. The six again rule plus the reduced interchange has helped attacking players like Turbo. Plus there is a massive gap in competition between the top 5 and the rest. 2009 teams in the top 10 were way more competitive.