- Hayne is making his return after seven years
- Is hoping to play Test footy at end of season
- Has been given a second chance in rugby league
Two-time Dally M winner Jarryd Hayne has set himself the goal of playing Test football for Fiji at the end of the season following a seven-year hiatus from rugby league.
The 37-year-old former NRL star is playing for the Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup, a semi-professional competition that feeds into the NSW Cup.
The season kicks off next weekend and Hayne is battling a hamstring injury to be fit in time.
Hayne’s return comes after he spent nearly two years in jail on sexual assault charges, which were ultimately quashed by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in June 2024.
Hayne, who is not interested in discussing his legal disputes, is focused again on rugby league and says that playing in the NRL again isn’t his goal right now.
‘The fairytale would be that. But I’m realistic as well. That [comeback] is long, long odds. It’s also not my focus,’ he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Jarryd Hayne has revealed he’s hoping to play Test footy at the end of the year
Jarryd Hayne was one of the most damaging players in the game at his peak in the NRL
‘For me, I want to get back and play in front of my kids.
‘I also want to do what I can to play Test football for Fiji at the end of the year. They’re due to play against Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands. That’s the aim.
‘[Coach] Wise [Kativerata] called me last year and asked if I wanted to play. I told him I’m not in shape, and said, “I wish you had told me earlier because I would have played local footy” I’ve been out of the game for so long.
‘I try to explain to people it’s about the contact. When you’re playing regularly, and you’re hit on a regular basis, your body gets [used to it]. But when you’ve been out of it for a while, it doesn’t matter how long you played beforehand, it takes a long time for your body to adjust to that impact.
‘I want to build up to playing for Fiji. But it starts with getting my body right, and having a good year with Wenty.’
Hayne had a celebrated NRL career primarily with the Parramatta Eels, debuting in 2006 and earning Dally M Medals in 2009 and 2014 as the league’s best player.
He also represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia internationally before leaving the NRL in 2014 to pursue an NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers.
After he was waived by the NFL club, he returned to the NRL for an injury-punctuated two-year stint at the Gold Coast Titans before a 15-game homecoming at Parramatta in 2018.
Hayne says he’s ‘long odds’ to play in the NRL again, but it would be ‘a fairytale’
His NRL career was effectively ended when he was charged with sexual assault in 2018, leading to three trials between 2020 and 2023 until his aquittal in 2024.
Hayne prides himself on his mental strength and says he’d like to pass on what he knows in a coaching capacity.
‘I wanted to get back to Parra and coach and go down that route, but it wasn’t to be,’ Hayne said.
‘As I’ve had time to really think about what I want to do, junior coaching appeals to me. I want to prep the younger guys and get them ready for the representative season.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .