Jarryd Hayne's superhuman performance on Wednesday night is being hailed by his teammates as one of the greatest individual performances in Origin history.
Hayne was mobbed by fans at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday morning – and not just of the Blues variety.
His contribution to NSW's 12-8 victory will go down as one of the all-time best, with five-eighth Josh Reynolds not short of superlatives to sum up his fullback's blistering display.
Too hot to handle: Jarryd Hayne was outstanding in game one. Photo: Getty Images
"It was one of the best Origin performances I've ever seen," Reynolds said.
"He was unbelievable. He got us out of trouble a few times. He was courageous and did what everyone knows he can do. He really put them to the sword.
"I haven't seen something so dominant in Origin before. He probably showed glimpses of what he was doing that year [2009] when he blitzed the comp. And this is Origin, which is even harder, so fingers crossed he keeps it up."
Blues back-rower Ryan Hoffman is no stranger to watching the man in the No.1 jersey do freakish things, having played most of his career with Billy Slater at Melbourne.
While he recognised Hayne's input in attack, he insists the Blues fullback was on top of his game in all facets.
"We know what talent he can bring and how he can break a game wide open," Hoffman said.
"It's not just attack – in defence, he managed to get there and knock a few balls dead. They are the little things that don't go unnoticed either. It was fantastic. It was a joy to be out there with him. I'm glad he had a Blues jersey."
While skipper Paul Gallen believes Hayne's performance was "special", he was reluctant to take away from what was a gutsy team performance.
"He was outstanding, there's no doubt about it," Gallen said of Hayne.
"You just feel confident with him at the back. Haynesy played well and came up with some special plays, which is what you need from special players, but there were 17 players who put their bodies on the line."
Hayne's club coach, Brad Arthur, said the fullback's full-bore effort was what would be remembered long after this year's series was completed.
"He was good," the Parramatta coach said. "A couple of quality touches but I think his defence in the last 15 minutes on the try line, he got there as the last line of defender.
"[He] put his body on the line a couple of times off some little kicks in the in-goal, so he played pretty tough. He's always played tough but I think this year he's played tougher – more so in defence and just the little extra efforts."
Arthur texted Hayne straight after the match to convey his pride in a job done well.
"I congratulated him and told him I was proud of how tough he played," Arthur said. "I know there was two tries and he was in both of them but it's the little efforts he’s doing really well.
"There was a couple of times there late in the second half where they needed someone to carry the ball off the line – they'd got bashed there four times and [Hayne] made that line break. He's putting his body on the line at the moment."
Arthur added it was no coincidence Hayne's resurgence had coincided with the Eels storming to fourth place on the NRL ladder after finishing the last two seasons with the wooden spoon.
"There's a lot of aspects to it," he said of Hayne's form. "He's training well, the team's going well and he's confident. He's had an effect on the team, the team's had an effect on him."
Arthur believes his chat with Hayne, after he took on the role as coach, to discuss his expectations for the year provided the 2009 Dally M medallist with clarity.
"At the end of the day, he's just got to out there and worry about himself and let me worry about the team – and I think he's doing that at the moment," Arthur said.
"He's obviously one of the smartest [thinkers] in the game but, at the moment, he's kept it very simple, he's worried about his role in the team.
"He offers advice, he’s obviously very good for our younger players in terms of the knowledge he can give them but, at the moment, he's just focused on Jarryd Hayne and I think that's helping."
Replies
Interesting as soon as Hayne's performance is mentioned, Gallen says that there were 17 players working out there on Wednesday night?
He said the same on the Footy Show last night.
He basically said that he didn't want to look at individual performances but the entire team effort.
Face up to it Gal, the bloke blitzed everyone on the field and will again!
No, I agree with Gallan. Sure Hayne played like a demon, so to speak but there were also other players who threw their bodies hard on the line. Not one player but there's another 17 that played their hearts out. Hodkinson and Reynolds deserve a praise for their efforts. Gallen deserves a praise for his effort as well. So, yeah, not just ONE player but the whole team on whole played well...with an exception of a few....
What has been missed or overlooked by Hayne's performance was how good the forwards were & in particular Gallen who was brilliant, tough & courageous.
It's hardly fair to recognise only one player when all 17 played out of their skin. Hayne was the decisive factor no doubt, but everyone deserves equal recognition.
It was a team effort.....but does Gal necessarily say the same thing when people have wanted to be all over his sack for his past 200+ m running games, carrying the ball 20+ times?! Not so much.....
Yes a great team effort for sure but IMO, Hayne produced one of the finest performances ever in SOO. He has shown that his quality & talent r at the highest level in the NRL & that the Blues FB spot will be his for the forseeable future.
Unquestionably a unique talent that Parra r very lucky to have.
Nah, no they don't.
I didn't even notice any other players on the field apart from Hayne.
Jennings did fark all.
And here it is
The QUOTE of the YEAR
Arthur believes his chat with Hayne, after he took on the role as coach, to discuss his expectations for the year provided the 2009 Dally M medallist with clarity.
"At the end of the day, he's just got to out there and worry about himself and let me worry about the team – and I think he's doing that at the moment," Arthur said.
"He's obviously one of the smartest [thinkers] in the game but, at the moment, he's kept it very simple, he's worried about his role in the team.
.....and there you have it - WHY BA is such a good coach - re-read the bold and underlined sections
"At the end of the day, he's just got to out there and worry about himself and let me worry about the team – and I think he's doing that at the moment," Arthur said.
For years, you could see Hayne struggling with this - his role
Q - Why did Hayne eventually play fullback like a 5/8
A - He was worrying about the Team
Here it is AGAIN
The Quote Of The Year
"At the end of the day, he's just got to out there and worry about himself and let me worry about the team – and I think he's doing that at the moment," Arthur said.