Eels Blogs

THE TITANS were cruising to a top-eight finish before Jarryd Hayne joined the team and now could miss the finals altogether. If Gold Coast lose to the Cowboys in Townsville in the final round and the Tigers beat the Raiders at Leichaardt, it will be the Titans who will miss the finals after being a sure thing in most people’s eyes no less than a month ago. The three games before Hayne’s signing, the Titans thrashed the Eels and Dragons and drew with the high-flying Sharks to end Cronulla’s 15 game winning streak. Since Hayne joined the ranks, the Titans have gone 2-2, having lost to the Panthers and the hapless Warriors and only beat the Tigers by a point and a woeful Knights team.. Granted, Hayne has had his moments in kicking the decisive drop goal against the Tigers and running for over 200 metres in his return to fullback against the Panthers. But more concerning is the form of his team-mates since Hayne has come on board. Ashley Taylor has been a shadow of the player he was earlier in the season since Hayne’s addition to the roster. The former Eels fullback came into the halves for the injured Tyrone Roberts and the fact that he demands the ball at every opportunity has seen Taylor defer more than usual and there is no doubt he has gone into his shell in recent weeks. As soon as Hayne joined the club coach Neil Henry was quick to point out that the Titans were Taylor’s team, but such is the dominance of Hayne’s personality it is hard for the rookie Titans halfback not to be affected on the field. The Titans attack that looked so strong against the Dragons and the Eels has turned into a disjointed and dis-functional system with players no longer sure of their roles. David Mead was in career best form at fullback only a month ago and now finds himself in reserve grade. No one can doubt the positive impact Hayne has had on the Titans bottom line with a huge jump crowd numbers and merchandise sales as well as attracting interest from prospective sponsors. However, the timing of Hayne’s arrival could be called into question and from a football perspective, it may have been wise to afford Hayne a full off-season with the club before injecting him. Let’s not forget the two-time Dally M player of the year had not played rugby league for two years prior to his comeback against the Warriors in round 22. His conditioning is not at the right level to play top flight NRL week in and week out – as exemplified by his passenger like performance against the Knights. Hayne’s brilliance cannot be denied. He is an absolute freak and we have seen some sparkling moments in the last month but at what cost for the Titans finals aspirations? The Titans were ‘the little engine that could’ a month ago. Toiling away flying under the radar on the back of good completion rates, physical defence and a halves pairing playing as good as any scrum base duo in the competition. Taylor was a runaway certainty for rookie of the year honours prior to Hayne’s arrival, but he now looks hesitant at times and isn’t stamping his authority on games in the manner he did so seamlessly earlier in the year. The fast-finishing Tigers are every chance of upsetting the Raiders at Leichhardt which means the Titans will have to play the game of their life to beat the the premiers in Townsville. Hayne hasn’t played finals football since 2009 and that drought may well continue if results don’t go the Titans way this weekend. The ‘Hayne Plane’ will likely prove the most important signing in the club’s history but if the Titans miss the eight in 2016, the timing of his addition to the team could well be deemed a real failure.

http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/hayne-signing-derailed-titans-season/?adbsc=social_20160829_65347426&adbid=1223959160978658&adbpl=fb&adbpr=110919635615955