JARRYD Hayne did as much as humanly possible in 80 minutes of football to turn the debate about the game’s best fullback into a three-way contest.
Hayne’s fourth start at fullback for NSW in his 18th Origin game gave his admirers all the more ammunition in their arguments that he should have been in the No.1 jersey all along.
The Parramatta ace started his evening by making a reflex catch from a Daly Cherry-Evans grubber which would have had Greg Dowling, the sticky-fingered Origin marvel from 30 years ago, nodding in approval.
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Jarryd Hayne of NSW orders his team around. Source: News Corp Australia
In the last five minutes of NSW’s stout-hearted 12-8 win at Suncorp Stadium, Hayne stopped a runaway Inglis in his tracks defensively.
On the next Queensland set inside NSW’s 20m, Hayne dived on a Johnathan Thurston grubber to concede a line drop-out.
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Jarryd Hayne makes a break. Source: News Corp Australia
Anyone inclined to rate Hayne, with his aeroplane try celebrations, as a Flash Harry will have to reconsider. Last
On Wednesday night he was the player Queensland fans least wanted to see with the ball in hand.
Hayne carried many briefs last night, but none was more important than how he ran as often as he could at Thurston.
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Jarryd Hayne of NSW in action. Source: News Corp Australia
The Maroons five-eighth, who had an unhappy night, missed Hayne in NSW’s first try, scored by Brett Morris, and could not apprend him in two attempts for the second Blues try which had his teammates demanding a double-movement call from the referees.
The game’s most replayed moment in years to come might when the thrilling play when Hayne sprinted clear in the 50th minute.
Halted by a grasping tackle by Maroons No.1 Billy Slater, he popped the ball back for a support only for Slater, with sleight of hand, to emerge with the ball.
Slater, subject to a season-long debate over whether South Sydney’s No.1 Inglis had gone past him as the game’s best fullback, had red alert moments in attack.
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Jarryd Hayne runs out for game 1 of the 2014 Origin series. Source: News Corp Australia
Inglis, at left centre, was well held, other than his assist for Darius Boyd’s second try.
Slater owed Queensland one after he had bailed out of a bomb put up by Hayne shortly before. From the dregs, NSW got a penalty for a 12-4 lead.
The Eels star scrapped around in desperation in NSW’s brave second-half defence and also kicked a lot in general play, a role which most expected to fall to his halves Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson
Replies
Yep... fair call.
Been saying all year he is the best player on the planet, if he stays injury free he will dominate the NRL for the next 5 years.
The obvious question is why Hayne hasn't been playing fullback for the blues every game. Just think what that one positional change could have made on SOO history.