Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 15 February 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who also briefly played
American football and
rugby union sevens.
Hayne began his career in 2006 as a er for the
Parramatta Eels, winning the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
's Dally M Rookie of the Year award. The following year, he made his debut for
New South Wales in
State of Origin and internationally, and began playing primarily as a . Hayne won the
Dally M Medal in 2009 and 2014 as the league's player of the year, and the
Rugby League International Federation's
International Player of the Year award in 2009. He represented Australia at the
2013 Rugby League World Cup
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013.
It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...
, and his father's native at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2017 tournaments when not selected for Australia.
Hayne attracted significant attention when he made the switch from one of the NRL's top players to a rookie with the
San Francisco 49ers in the
2015 NFL season
The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th in the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions w ...
. At the end of the season, Hayne ended his NFL career. In 2016, he represented in rugby union sevens, but after not being selected for the
2016 Olympic squad, he returned to the NRL with the
Gold Coast Titans before a final season with Parramatta in 2018.
In March 2021, he was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a woman at her home in
Newcastle, New South Wales in 2018, and was given a minimum sentence of three years and eight months in prison, with earliest release in January 2025. In February 2022, the
Court of Criminal Appeal allowed the appeal, quashed Hayne's conviction and ordered a fresh trial.
Background
Hayne was born in
Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
, Australia, on 15 February 1988. He is the son of a Fijian father,
Manoa Thompson
Manoa Thompson (born 11 June 1968) is a Fijian former professional rugby league footballer. Primarily playing as a , he played his first grade career with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Western Suburbs Magpies, and the Auckland Warriors in the NSW ...
, and an Australian mother, Jodie Hayne. His father played professional rugby league for South Sydney, Western Suburbs and the Auckland Warriors while also representing Fiji. Hayne was one of three children raised by his single mother, and grew up in a red brick
Campbelltown housing commission house in Minto. In early life Hayne took up athletics winning multiple titles. He still holds the under 8- and under 9-year-old Public School Sports Association (PSSA) 100 metre records. He competed in Little Athletics until under 15 age group. He attended school at John Warby Public School, Leumeah High and
Westfields Sports High School but dropped out of high school early to pursue a career in rugby league.
Rugby league career
Hayne began playing junior rugby league for
Campbelltown City,
East Campbelltown and
Cabramatta at the age of six.
2000s
Hayne made his NRL debut with the Parramatta Eels at 18 years of age on 19 May 2006 against the
Penrith Panthers at
CUA Stadium
Penrith Stadium (known commercially as BlueBet Stadium) is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthers who play in the N ...
.
Jason Taylor, who was making his first grade coaching debut, chose him on the wing. Taylor later said, "Everyone knew his talent, it wasn't just me." Hayne quickly made an impression on the competition scoring 17 tries within 16 games in his debut season.
This tally included a personal best of four tries in the
Parramatta Eels' 46–12 victory over
Newcastle Knights. His excellent try scoring ability saw him rewarded with the 2006
Dally M 'Rookie of the Year' award and a spot on the Kangaroos Squad. He was also named the
2006 Parramatta Eels season
The 2006 Parramatta Eels season was the 60th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and Jason Taylor and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership.
Summary
The Parramatta Eels began the 2006 seas ...
's rookie of the year.
He started the season at centre but later moved to fullback due to an injury to
Luke Burt and scored 12 tries, including the winning try against the
New Zealand Warriors in the First Qualifying Final of the
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
NRL Finals series. Following Parramatta's close victory against
Brisbane in July
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, Hayne was accused of
diving to impede Brisbane's momentum after a heavy hit from
Sam Thaiday. Then Brisbane coach
Wayne Bennett said "You talk about ethics in our sport. You talk about not laying
icon the ground" and then claimed Hayne should be cited for "bringing the game into disrepute." Hayne denied that he dived to deliberately impede Brisbane's momentum and claimed that he was genuinely hurt after the collision with Thaiday. He was never found guilty of any wrongdoing by the
NRL Judiciary. In the
2007 Grand Final qualifier, Hayne was again accused of diving when he stayed down and received a penalty for a high shot. Players also accused Hayne of winking after the incident,
Clint Newton
Clint Newton (born June 18, 1981) is an American former international rugby league footballer who played as a and . He played for the Newcastle Knights, Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers in the NRL, Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super Leagu ...
saying "To lay down like he did and then get up and wink, I don't think that's in the spirit of the game. Straight after he got up, he winked at
Dallas Johnson
Dallas Johnson (born 23 November 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia national rugby league team, Australia national and Queensland rugby league team, Queensland Stat ...
– facing us." Hayne denied the accusations, saying, "I don't engage in that shit, I just score tries and make people happy".
Before the start of the 2008 season, Hayne was on a night out with St George player
Mark Gasnier when a fight broke out between them and another group. Hayne and Gasnier were subsequently shot at by a gunman in a passing taxi. In the coming years, Hayne has said that the shooting incident changed his life and was a turning point in his career.
Parramatta announced Hayne had signed with the club for a $2M extension. On 15 September, he was officially announced as Rugby League's fastest man, after becoming the highest placed league player in the Gatorade Bolt, although other noted league speedsters such as
David Mead David Mead may refer to:
*David Mead (military general), founder of Meadville, Pennsylvania
*David Mead (musician), American pop singer and songwriter
*David Mead (rugby league)
David Mead (born David Moore on 4 November 1988) is a Papua New Gui ...
,
Michael Jennings,
Brett Stewart and
Kevin Gordon did not participate.
At the start of the
2009 NRL season
The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership ...
, Hayne played at with very limited success. Hayne was moved back to his preferred position of fullback just before the round 8 clash with the North Queensland Cowboys. His return to form at prompted Dean Ritchie of ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' to call Hayne "the most gifted Parramatta player since the great
Brett Kenny."
Hayne's performances for Parramatta stepped up to another level as the 2009 season progressed. His influence on the game from fullback was lauded by many pundits as the Eels made a late season surge. From Round 19 to Round 24, he won six consecutive Man of the Match awards. He was described as "the best player in any code of football in Australia" by
Phil Gould. Hayne has won the
Dally M Medals for ''Player of the Year'' and ''Fullback of the Year'' respectively. He became one of the youngest winners of the prestigious award and only the second fullback in history to be crowned Dally M ''Player of the Year''. Hayne escaped a grade two charge after coming into contact with the head of
Bryson Goodwin, sliding in with his knees to stop Goodwin in the act of scoring a try during the Preliminary Final against the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Hayne pleaded guilty to a grade one charge, however a grade two charge would have resulted in Hayne missing the
2009 NRL Grand Final
The 2009 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership season. Played on 4 October 2009 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium was contested between the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm, the latte ...
.
Hayne ran 4,429 metres with the ball in 2009, more than any other player in the competition.
In 2009, Hayne was the Dally M Medal winner, Dally M fullback of the year, NSW State of Origin player of the series, International Federation player of the year, Parramatta player of the season, Fiji Bati player of the year
and ''
Rugby League Week'' player of the year.
Hayne's performance for the
Parramatta Eels in the 2009 grand final against the
Melbourne Storm was largely viewed in Australian and New Zealand media as disappointing. Journalist Josh Massoud, writing for ''
The Daily Telegraph'' wrote, "For reasons only known to the god he recently discovered, Eels superstar Hayne failed to contest the ball." Prior to the game the media focused much on Hayne's match-up with the Melbourne Storm fullback
Billy Slater which was touted as "one of the most anticipated individual match-ups in Grand Final history". Phil Gould said "Hayne was just shut out of the game, his performance wasn't actually that bad".
Hayne's 2009 season has since been described as one of the greatest individual seasons in Australian rugby league history. Such was the euphoria surrounding Parramatta's run to the 2009 grand final that the then NSW Premier
Nathan Rees pledged to name one of the new trains which were due to be rolled out next year on The Sydney network "The Hayne Train" if Parramatta were to have won the match. The train was to be painted blue and gold and run on the western line.
2010s
For the
2010 ANZAC Test, Hayne was selected to play for
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
on the wing in their victory against
New Zealand.
Being named as co-captain of Parramatta in 2013, Hayne has had an impressive season, particularly with regards to his goal line defence. This earned him a call up for New South Wales in the first game of the 2013 Origin Series at his preferred position of fullback after incumbent
Brett Stewart was injured. Hayne scored the first try of the series for NSW and was instrumental once again in their only victory of the series.
In 2014 Hayne started the season with his most consistent display of rugby league, leading the Dally M medal rankings after 10 Rounds. He was selected for
New South Wales in his favoured fullback position for Game One of the
2014 State of Origin series
The 2014 State of Origin series was the 33rd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams has been played entirely under 'state of origin' rules (1980 and 1981 were only 1 game series). It is ...
. He produced a man of the match performance, setting up one try and scoring one to deliver New South Wales a 12–8 win in Brisbane and a 1–0 series lead. During the annual 2014 players poll, where 100 players from the 16 clubs are interviewed, Hayne was voted as 'best in the game,' the first NSW player since Andrew Johns won the honour in 2006. In Round 22 of the season, playing against the Canberra Raiders, Hayne scored another 50m solo try to bring up his 100th career try. He became only the third player behind Luke Burt and Brett Kenny to score 100 tries for Parramatta. In Round 23 of the season Hayne topped his 2006 try scoring effort, reaching his 18th for the season against the Bulldogs. Hayne finished the season as the NRL's leading try-scorer with 20 for the season. On 29 September 2014, on the Dally M Awards night, Hayne and North Queensland Queensland Cowboys
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Johnathan Thurston were the joint winners of the 2014 Dally M Player of the Year Award after the most thrilling countdown in the award's history. For Hayne, it is his second Dally M Player of the Year award following his win in 2009 and also claimed the Fullback of the Year and Best Representative Player awards, respectively.
Return to league
On 2 August 2016, after his time in American football and rugby sevens, it was announced that Hayne would be returning to the NRL, signing a two-year contract with the
Gold Coast Titans. His contract was touted to be as worth as much as $1.2 million a season, the most any NRL player has been paid in one year. Hayne made himself available for immediate selection and made his debut for the Titans against the
New Zealand Warriors on 7 August 2016. In Round 22, in his second game back, Hayne kicked the match-winning field goal in the Titans' 19–18 victory over the
Wests Tigers. The win catapulted the Titans into a rare finals berth against Brisbane, resulting in a 44–28 loss in week one of the finals.
In the
2017 NRL season
The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...
, Hayne was involved in a long running
player-coach feud with Gold Coast coach
Neil Henry. In an interview, Hayne declared he was willing to walk away from the club if Henry does not want him. He claimed the coach had stopped talking to him. After months of media speculation and poor performances on the field by Hayne and the rest of the Gold Coast side the board had an emergency meeting to discuss the future of Hayne and Henry. On 20 August 2017, the board decided to terminate Henry effective immediately. Later in the year on 30 November, just 16 months and winning just eight of 23 matches, the Gold Coast granted Hayne a release from the final year of his contract. On 1 December 2017, Hayne joined his old club, the Parramatta Eels, announcing it will be a one-year deal.
On 11 March 2018, Hayne played his 200th NRL game in his first game back for Parramatta in a 24–14 loss. In round 3 against Cronulla, Hayne was taken off the field after 30 minutes with a hip injury that ruled him out for the next four-weeks. Hayne returned in Round 7 against Manly but was taken off the field just 10 minutes into the match after re-injuring his hip. In April 2018, Parramatta went on to win their first game of the season 44–10.
On 9 June 2018, Hayne returned to the starting side and scored two tries for Parramatta in their 20–14 victory over North Queensland. On 11 August 2018, Hayne scored a hat-trick in Parramatta's 40–4 victory over St George.
Hayne finished 2018 with a club best 10 tries from 15 appearances, as well as topping the Parramatta charts for line breaks and tackle busts. Parramatta finished 2018 with their third wooden spoon in just seven seasons. And although he went public with his ambition to re-sign with the Parramatta club, they resisted in making him an offer due to allegations of sexual assault. He would never play another
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
game again.
On August 21, 2019, Hayne was voted as one of the best players of the decade in the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
team of the decade announcement which spanned from the 2010 to 2019 seasons. Premiership-winning coaches
Phil Gould,
Craig Bellamy,
Trent Robinson
Trent Robinson (born 15 March 1977) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer.
He has previously held coaching positions at Tou ...
and
Ricky Stuart were also part of the panel along with Hall of Famers
Peter Sterling,
Darren Lockyer,
Danny Buderus and
Laurie Daley.
Representative rugby league
Debut
Hayne made his representative rugby league debut for the Australian
Prime Minister's XIII on 30 September 2006 against
Papua New Guinea at
Lloyd Robson Oval in
Port Moresby. He would be the top try scorer in his team's 28–8 victory. On 3 May 2007, Hayne was selected to make his debut on the wing for the
City New South Wales team in the
City vs Country Origin clash in
Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...
. He impressed enough in his City debut to secure a place in the
New South Wales state team for the
2007 State of Origin Game I on 23 May 2007 at
Suncorp Stadium in
Brisbane. He would go on to represent New South Wales in each of the three state games in 2007, scoring two tries in the process. On 21 October 2007, Hayne made his international debut for
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the Trans-Tasman Test against
New Zealand at
Westpac Stadium in
Wellington. He scored a solo try on debut in Australia's record 58–0 victory.
New South Wales
After competing in each of the three
State of Origin matches for
New South Wales in 2007, Hayne was selected for NSW in two of the three games in 2008 and only missed Game II through suspension. In 2010, Hayne was named and played for the
NSW Blues in all three losing matches in the
2010 State of Origin series
The 2010 State of Origin series was the 29th State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales ...
against the
Queensland Maroons.
In 2011, Hayne was controversially not named in the
NSW Blues side for Game 1, which they lost. However, he returned to the side in Game Two, helping them win 18 – 8. He also played in the deciding Game 3, this time in the centres. To the surprise of many, Hayne's long kicking ability was utilised by the Blues, in an effort to stop the ensuing Queensland attack. Despite losing, Hayne made two line breaks, and scored one try. He also had the second highest run metres for NSW (156m) behind
Paul Gallen (160m). He is likely to have played on the wing for Australia following the 2011 season, but was not selected due to injury.
Hayne was selected to play on the wing for
New South Wales in all three games of the
2012 State of Origin series
The 2012 State of Origin series was the 31st time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. For the fourth successive year a Queensland victor ...
which was again won by
Queensland. Hayne was moved to his preferred position of fullback for Game I of the
2013 State of Origin series
The 2013 State of Origin series was the 32nd time the State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams was played ent ...
and scored a try during New South Wales' 14–6 victory. A
hamstring injury ruled Hayne out for the remainder of the series as New South Wales would again taste series defeat for the eighth straight year.
A determined Hayne returned to the fold for Game I of the
2014 State of Origin series
The 2014 State of Origin series was the 33rd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams has been played entirely under 'state of origin' rules (1980 and 1981 were only 1 game series). It is ...
and was selected a fullback for each of the three games. The Blues would finally secure a series victory in what would be Hayne's last State of Origin series before switching to American football. Hayne was awarded The
Brad Fittler Medal for being NSW's best player in The 2014 series. One of the enduring moments in Origin history is when Hayne ran into the crowd after NSW won it first series in 9 years. In the post match interview with
Andrew Johns, a visibly emotional Hayne said “Ooh, it's been a long time, it's been a long time. We fought hard. Whoah. Yes, son! Yes, son!".
Hayne was selected to play in The 2017 State of Origin series at Centre. In game one he starred for New South Wales on the field scoring a try in a convincing 28–4 victory over Queensland. In game two, Hayne scored a try in the first half as New South Wales raced out to a 16–6 lead. Just before half time, Hayne had the chance to put winger
Brett Morris over for a try in the corner to make it 20-6 but decided to attempt the try himself but was tackled short of the goal line. This was seen as a turning point in the match as Queensland came back in the second half to win the game 18–16. Former Queensland coach
Wayne Bennett said to the media that Hayne's decision not to pass the ball to Morris was ''Selfish'' and a ''Show boat'' move, he then said “For Jarryd Hayne, there's no excuses for why he didn't pass the ball to Morris,”. Hayne kept his spot in the side for Game three where New South Wales lost to Queensland 22–6 at
Suncorp Stadium.
2008 World Cup
Despite having already represented Australia, Hayne was selected to play for his father's native
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
in the
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...
. On 1 November 2008 he made his debut for the Fiji Bati against
France at
WIN Stadium in
Wollongong and scored two tries. Fiji topped
Group B and advanced to the Semi-final qualifier against
Ireland at
Skilled Park on the
Gold Coast. Hayne was instrumental in Fiji's 30–14 victory. Fiji then lost to Australia in the semi-final at
Sydney Football Stadium
The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...
. Hayne later said he found God during his 2008 World Cup experience with Fiji and believed his participation helped him become the best rugby league player in the world in 2009.
All Star selection
Hayne was voted by the public to play fullback for the
NRL All Stars team in the inaugural
2010 All Stars match at Skilled Park. He was again voted as the starting fullback for the
NRL All Stars team in the
2013 All Stars match
The 2013 All Stars Match was the fourth of the annual representative exhibition matches played between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars team which was held on 9 February 2013. Once again the players were selected through a voti ...
at
Suncorp Stadium in
Brisbane and scored the only try for the NRL All Stars.
2013 World Cup
Hayne was named at centre by
Australian coach
Tim Sheens for the Kangaroos' squad for the
2013 Rugby League World Cup
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013.
It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...
, which was held in England, France, Wales and Ireland. He scored two tries against
Ireland before becoming the sixth Australian to score four tries in a world cup match when he did so against the
United States in Australia's 62–0 win. A week later Hayne scored three tries and set up two in Australia's 64–0 win over Fiji to make himself the competition's lead try scorer. Hayne continued his run of form in the
Grand final against New Zealand, after almost being knocked unconscious inside the game's first five minutes. He went on to produce two remarkable try assists for winger
Brett Morris as Australia were crowned 2013 world champions. He was named Australia's joint players-player alongside
Johnathan Thurston. Hayne's world cup campaign was hailed by his Kangaroos teammates,
Brett Morris declaring that "If there was a Harlem Globetrotters of rugby league, he'd be in it. To play outside him for the last couple of weeks is something I'll remember." By the end of the tournament Hayne was the equal top try scorer with teammate Brett Morris.
2017 World Cup
Hayne again represented Fiji in the
2017 World Cup and the
2018 Pacific Rugby League Tests The 2018 Pacific Rugby League Tests are a group of rugby league test matches that were played on 23 June 2018 at Campbelltown Stadium in Sydney, Australiahttps://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/international-series-test-match/3402-2018-pacific-test-invita ...
.
Rugby league career statistics
''Last updated: 10 September 2018''
''Last updated: 7 July 2018''
''Last updated: 7 July 2018''
''Last updated: 6 October 2014''
Awards and honours
Individual
*2006:
Dally M Rookie of the Year
*2006:
Parramatta Eels Rookie of the Year
*2007:
Dally M Winger of the Year
*2007:
New South Wales Player of the Year
*2009:
RLIF International Player of the Year
*2009:
Dally M Player of the Year
*2009:
Dally M Fullback of the Year
*2009:
New South Wales Player of the Year
*2009:
Parramatta Eels Player of the Year
*2010:
Parramatta Eels Player of the Year
*2013:
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
Player's Player
*2013:
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
Top Tryscorer
*2014:
Dally M Player of the Year
*2014:
Dally M Fullback of the Year
*2014:
Dally M Representative Player of the Year
*2014:
Dally M Top Tryscorer (20)
*2014:
New South Wales Player of the Year
*2019:
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
team of the decade member 2010–2019.
Team
*
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
:
NRL Grand Final –
Parramatta Eels – Runners-Up
*
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
:
Rugby League Four Nations –
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
– Winners
*
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
:
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
–
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
– Winners
*
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
:
State of Origin series –
New South Wales – Winners
Hayne Plane celebration
In his rugby league career, Hayne is known for his post-
try celebration nicknamed the 'Hayne Plane'. After scoring a try he would extend both arms to the side and replicate the wings of a plane, the adjacent picture shows the 'Hayne Plane' in action.
American football career
In 2009, it was reported that the new
Greater Western Sydney franchise in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
had offered Hayne a contract worth $1.5 million a season to quit rugby league and take up
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
. On 17 December 2009, Hayne announced he would remain in the National Rugby League by re-signing with Parramatta for a further four years. The deal was reportedly worth $500,000 a season. Greater Western Sydney Giants CEO Dave Matthews later confirmed the club did approach Hayne about a code switch in 2009. He was also reportedly chased by several rugby union teams at the time.
In 2011, aged 23, Hayne intended to quit rugby league to pursue his dream of playing in the
National Football League via the American collegiate system. However, his failure to complete 12th grade and receive his
High School Certificate (HSC) meant Hayne was ineligible to play
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
in the United States. In 2013, he organised two American football training sessions with college team
UTS between the
2013 NRL season
The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
and the
2013 Rugby League World Cup
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013.
It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...
. He also requested
Gridiron Australia organise an open trial with an NFL franchise but his commitments to the
Australian national rugby league team during the 2013 Rugby League World Cup prohibited him from attempting the sport switch at that time. In June 2014, NFL star and future 49ers teammate
Reggie Bush viewed Hayne's rugby league highlights tape and commented "He actually looks like an NFL running back. Looks like he could come play with us tomorrow." On 15 October 2014, Hayne announced during a press conference that he would be departing rugby league in pursuit of a career in the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
. Prior to his announcement, Hayne was reportedly in negotiations with Parramatta to sign a new five-year contract worth $1.35 million a season, which would equate to more than 20% of the
NRL's 2015 salary cap of $6.55 million, which would have been the largest playing contract ever offered to an NRL player.
On 3 March 2015, the
San Francisco 49ers of the
National Football League (NFL) announced they had signed undrafted free agent Hayne to a three-year contract with a base salary of US$1,575,000 over duration of the contract and a US$115,000 guarantee should he not make 53-man roster in his first preseason. Hayne impressed several veteran Niners during the team's off season workouts in
Phoenix, Arizona in early 2015. Then–starting
quarterback Colin Kaepernick called him "a phenomenal athlete", adding, "It doesn't seem like there's much of a learning curve for him." Running back
Reggie Bush predicted that Hayne would likely make the 49ers' 53-man roster. He was expected to compete for the running back, kick returner, and other special teams positions.
On 15 August 2015, Hayne made his preseason debut against the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
, completing a 53-yard run with his second touch of the ball. He finished the game with 5 rushes for 63 yards (avg 12.6), 2 punt returns for 24 yards (avg 12.0) and 1 kick return for 33 yards.
In Hayne's second preseason game against the
Dallas Cowboys, Hayne impressed again, finishing as the game's leading rusher with 54 yards on eight carries. Again, in one of Hayne's first touches of the game, he pulled off a huge play, this time off a punt return, catching the ball over his shoulders and running for a 27-yard gain. Hayne also impressed at running back, bursting through a hole and broke free down the left sideline for a gain of 34 yards. He played all four preseason games.
On 5 September 2015, Hayne made the 53-man final roster by surviving the last day of cuts before the start of the regular season, capping a swift transition to his new sport. On 14 September 2015, Hayne made his NFL debut for the 49ers against the
Minnesota Vikings at
Levi's Stadium in Week 1 of the
2015 NFL season
The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th in the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions w ...
. He recorded 20 yards from scrimmage in San Francisco's 20–3 victory over the Vikings. However, Hayne also muffed his first attempt at a punt reception in front of the U.S. television audience on ''
Monday Night Football''.
On 31 October 2015, he was waived by the 49ers, and subsequently signed with their practice squad. On 26 December 2015, the 49ers promoted Hayne to the 53-man roster again after placing
guard Alex Boone on their
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
list.
Hayne announced his retirement from the NFL on 15 May 2016, and joined the
Fiji sevens team in hopes of playing in the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in
Rio de Janeiro. He later explained that he retired due to not wanting to learn a new playbook, as the 49ers had hired
Chip Kelly to be their new head coach for the 2016 season.
Career statistics
''Source'':
Rugby sevens career
Hayne made his
rugby sevens debut for
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
on 21 May 2016 at
Twickenham Stadium in the
London Sevens. He competed in five of the six matches for a total game time of approximately fifteen minutes. Fiji reached the semi final of the Cup stage which was enough to secure the
2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series
The 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 17th annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by ...
. He made the initial 23-member training squad for the Fiji team for the Olympics,
but was not selected in the final squad.
Awards and honours
Team
*
2015-16:
World Rugby Sevens Series winner -
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
Sexual assault allegations and conviction
American allegation
In 2015, Hayne was accused of sexual assault in America by a woman known only by the initials JV. The woman claimed she was a virgin and heavily intoxicated when she met Hayne at a San Jose bar with friends in 2015 while he was playing in the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
with the
San Francisco 49ers. The woman alleged that Hayne went back to her apartment where he sexually assaulted her. Police investigated the incident but decided not to charge Hayne. The woman then filed a civil lawsuit against Hayne in December 2017. On 31 August 2019 Hayne settled the suit, paying almost $100,000 to the alleged victim.
Newcastle incident
On 19 November 2018, Hayne was charged with aggravated sexual assault and inflicting actual bodily harm for an alleged incident that took place in the Newcastle region on 30 September 2018. On 25 July 2019, Hayne pleaded not guilty to rape charges in relation to the incident.
On 7 December 2020, the judge presiding over Hayne's trial discharged the jury after they had failed to reach either a unanimous or a majority verdict.
On 16 December 2020, the case was set down for a
retrial in Sydney.
The retrial commenced on 8 March 2021. On 22 March 2021, Hayne was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, but not guilty of recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm. On 6 May 2021, Judge Syme sentenced Hayne to a maximum of 5 years and 9 months with a non-parole period of 3 years and 8 months. In February 2022, the
Court of Criminal Appeal quashed Hayne's conviction and ordered a fresh trial. Subsequently, Hayne was granted bail of $20,000 and released from Cooma Correctional Centre.
Personal life
Hayne is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. He became a member of the
Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global Evangelical charismatic movement, charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia.
The original church was established in 1983 as Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New ...
in 2008, partly inspired by his Fijian teammates at the 2008 World Cup. Hayne is a supporter of
Liverpool F.C. of the English football
Premier League, and considers
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...
as one of his sporting heroes.
In 2016, after returning to Australia following his brief career in the American
National Football League (NFL), Hayne met Amellia Bonnici. The couple have a daughter and married in January 2021.
References
External links
Parramatta Eels profileSan Francisco 49ers profileEels profilePlayers to watch – Jarryd Hayne (Fiji)*
2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayne, Jarryd
1988 births
Rugby league players from Sydney
Sportsmen from New South Wales
Australian rugby league players
Australian players of American football
Fijian players of American football
Australia national rugby league team players
Fiji national rugby league team players
American football running backs
Australian people of I-Taukei Fijian descent
Cabramatta Two Blues players
Converts to Christianity
Footballers who switched code
Junior Kangaroos players
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
NRL All Stars players
Parramatta Eels players
Gold Coast Titans players
Prime Minister's XIII players
San Francisco 49ers players
Rugby league centres
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league fullbacks
Rugby league wingers
Australian Pentecostals
Fijian Pentecostals
Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Fiji international rugby sevens players
Male rugby sevens players
Living people
Rugby union players that played in the NFL
People educated at Westfields Sports High School