AUSSIE Jarryd Hayne has been the easiest target on social media for the past 24 hours.
Seemingly the most hated man in western Sydney, Hayne has gone from the Parramatta Eels favourite son to the man that walked away from the club.
The 28-year-old was the second-highest trending topic on Twitter in Australia on Wednesday at one point, but he’d clearly had enough of the vitriol on Thursday.
Awake early on Thursday morning before his first training session with his new Gold Coast Titans teammates, Hayne fired back at a claim from Channel 9 sports presenter Tim Gilbert.
The Today Show presenter appeared to question Hayne’s character in a post on Twitter on Wednesday night and criticised Hayne for back-flipping on the “lifetime deal” he famously claimed to have signed with the Eels when he left the NRL to play in the NFL at the end of the 2014 season.
Hayne;s response was as fed-up as it was intriguing.
The former 49ers running back said if he was chasing money alone he would have signed with a rival Sydney club.
Hayne appears to have suggested he could have earned more money if he’d accepted a deal with a rival Sydney club.
The Dragons are reportedly one of several rival clubs based in NSW to have chased Hayne’s signature before he signed with the Gold Coast on Tuesday night.
Hayne’s manager Wayne Beavis admitted on Wednesday night that St George Illawarra had tabled a formal offer to the code-hopper.
Eels coach Brad Arthur revealed on Thursday Parramatta could actually have matched the Titans’ offer if they’d wanted to.
Speaking at his weekly press conference at Pirtek Stadium, Arthur said he holds no resentment over Hayne’s decision to snub the club that developed him.
“If we wanted to, we could match Gold Coasts’ offer but we’ve got to consider where we are at with our playing group,” Arthur said.
Done deal.Source:Getty Images
“At the end of the day our offer couldn’t cut it with Gold Coast.
“He has to do what’s best for him. I’ve got a responsibility to the club and to the fans long term in making sure we put ourselves in a good space and a good place with our list. That we can retain everyone. I’m also accountable to this team and keeping this team together. I’m committed and we’re committed to the blokes that are committed to us.”
He said the club’s negotiations with star playmaker Corey Norman have not been negatively impacted by Hayne’s snub.
He even said the club now has the potential to chase a big-name signing to partner Norman in the halves next year.
“We have a bit of money to chase a specialist halfback for our squad,” he said.
Arthur said he only found out his club had missed out on signing Hayne when his kids told him the bad news after seeing it on television.
It came as Channel 7 chief rugby league reporter Josh Massoud said something appears amiss about Hayne’s Titans deal.
Massoud told Triple M there appears to be more to Hayne’s decision to walk away from Parramatta than meets the eye.
Touchdown.Source:Getty Images
“It’s the perfect thing for the NRL on the Gold Coast,” Hayne told The Grill Team.
“I know I’m supposedly a grubby journo and whatever, but there is something more to this.
“From Jarryd Hayne’s perspective, to leave western Sydney where he has a huge fan base and a lot of his friends. To turn his life upside down in 24 hours? I think there is a bigger story behind it. I’m looking forward to finding out what that is.
“He spent a lot longer than 24 hours weighing up his decision to leave Parramatta to go to the NFL.”
He said Parramatta’s salary cap scandal still appears to be a genuine reason Hayne baulked at the chance to come back.
“They were negotiating with Parra, but I know there was a lot of resentment over their names getting dragged through the mud over the salary cap scandal,” Massoud said of Hayne and Beavis.
“When Hayne walked away he was essentially $400K out of pocket through third-party deals that didn’t eventuate.
Replies
it's simple Brad was not going to tear this team apart so we could get the princess back.full stop, can somebody remind me how that worked out for us before he left to follow he's dream. well done Brad i think it was a great call.
The fact he didn't have the guts to inform BA speaks of his character. That's just pure gutless from Hayne.
I still think that Gold Coast offered the highest, so he went there. case closed.
Hayne saw Foran gone & thought the Eels would give it all to him. BA is a smart operator that knows these fairy tail stories like if Hayne came back don't often work out. There is only one way to win a comp & that is hard work. Hayne is not the hard worker we need. He has skills that others dream of having ( Hey a dream that's not Haynes ) but teams built on that premise usually have awesome attack but crap defence ( Just like the Eels were a few seasons ago ) & need to score at least 30 points to win a game. The other issue which we all know well is the attack where you do 4 hit up's then pass the ball to Hayne so something can happen. We are a team now not just the Hayne ground crew & as we have seen over the past 2 seasons, we are better off. Hayne coming back would of made us all feel warm & fuzzy but at the end of the day it is the Eels we support. I'm waiting for 2017 when we play the Titans & Beau Scott lets Hayne know how we really feel about it.
Go The Mighty Eels & remember, In Brad We Trust.
It's the bit under the last photo that is the most interesting. Sounds to me that Beavis is getting nervous with his past dodgy dealings with clubs. Couldn't wait to offload Hayne and get his commission.