Jarryd Hayne has a decision to make – megastar or quiet achiever. He cannot have both. You can’t take the big contracts and demand the big money if you’re not going to perform and you can’t take criticism. Hayne blew up the other day because his coach said what everyone in rugby league knows – Hayne is not playing his best football.
We can question the merits of the coach doing this publicly and the media blowing things out of proportion, but the bottom line is a lot of fans don’t like Hayne because he attracts this sort of attention. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of young fans especially in Sydney love the guy. This is where Hayne has got his problems.
The guy has become a genuine superstar of the game on the back of four months of freakish football displayed last season. What we saw was a one-in-one-hundred year event. I don’t think any of us will ever see a player raise the bar so high and maintain it for so long again.
With that came the contracts and sponsorship and suddenly Hayne was transformed from a pretty good first grader with a stack of potential to absolute megastar. It’s one thing to take the contracts – and even demand more money and benefits (see: Test match ticket drama) – but he needs to back it up on the field. What’s more, he needs to take the good with the bad.
This season Hayne has been well below his best and although it’s unfair to expect anyone to replicate what he did last year, his inconsistencies and apparent laziness during games sparked that reaction from the coach.
Things could possibly have been handled differently, and reported accurately, but Hayne has to stop being so precious. When word gets out that Hayne is thinking about walking on the Eels I feel like telling him to grow up. If you take the money and play professional sport you need to take the criticism when it is warranted. Just like you take the praise and plaudits when things go well.
What got me today was Hayne saying on Twitter that his coach Anderson had “apologised” and everything was fine. I don’t think the coach needs to apologise for firing a rocket to an under-performing player – especially if it has been an issue building and sizzling away for a while.
For the sake of the Parramatta Eels season, they need to hope Hayne has now received the message loud and clear, has a big game in Origin III and returns to lead their push into the Top Eight.
Steven Price
Steve Price is a true champion of the game. Tags like that do get thrown around but in this case it is very true. He announced his retirement during the week after being unable to overcome injury and play any part in his final season. Price is a legend at the Bulldogs, a Queensland Origin hero and one of the true good guys of the NRL.
I started watching rugby league regularly around about the 1994 season and Price was one of my first favourite players. I was only nine or 10 years old at the time and I think what stood out was his enthusiasm and his headgear!
That made him very recognisable and I followed his career ever since. I thought his leadership on and off the field was absolute top shelf and it was always a pleasure watching him play for Queensland over the years.
It’s been a wonderful career for Steven Price and I’m sure he will do very well in whatever he decides to do next.
Meaningful Rounds
Very quickly, I really enjoyed the Women in League round last year with the pink theme carried across all games. I think our game can do more of these sorts of things, without going overboard. Rugby League is in a good position to promote worthwhile causes.
Along with the annual Women in League round, I would like to see a Round Against Racism (which may be on the cards) and a weekend devoted to Schoolyard Bullying.
I think these are big issues that every young fan in the game especially could relate to. While we argue reasonably about money and sponsorship, sometimes we also have to look at bigger society problems that our game can play a major role in assisting.
TIPPING
Tips – Broncos, Bulldogs, Canberra, Warriors, Dragons
Last Week – 5/8
Total – 64/116 (55%)
Once again thanks for coming back again this week, and welcome if you’re a first time reader! If you want to get involved you can comment below, email me directly (andrew.keyte@gmail.com) or find me on Twitter (@keyto316).
Cheers,
Keyto
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