Hayne Quits NFL

Honeysett wrote:My dream is to make millions of dollars doing sweet fuck all, smoke some joints and nail a different model each night. You reckon I could get away with that? I don't think so.

Who is Usain Bolt

Oz Sport Mad wrote:

Please, I religiously follow the 7's.....
Does going to the GC 7's count (before we lost the event)???

Regardless, how is it silly?
It's a perfectly reasonable aspect to query.

The other blokes you talk of all play Rugby and have played a lot of 7's......it's deadset chalk and cheese mate.

My earlier shit-stirring of Ice aside.....I'm not trying to be a Hayne-basher here.

If Hayne shows that he is a better player than some of these other blokes then fair enough but I'm not sure how he can possibly can prove that, particularly given such a small sample size.

Barring a standout player of the tournament performance in London; if Hayne is selected in the Rio squad, it is almost certainly a token/publicity selection......despite all this rhetoric about it being a legitimate contest.

Fair enough mate, I didn't realise you followed closely.

Look a couple of those guys have played a lot of sevens before, a couple are effectively debuting, and Nakarawa hasn't played for 4 years or so. Granted, they probably all played a ton of sevens growing up though so I get where you are coming from. What I was really doing was taking you up on the inference that perhaps the main issue was a guy losing his spot. My point really was that if you have been following the sevens series this year, whether its the Fiji team, the NZ team, or the OZ team, this has been an issue all along in Olympics year cause guys that have slogged it out in the series for years are now losing their spots to fullahs that are clearly just joining the fray as late as they can ONLY for the Olympics. So I don't really see the Hayne thing as much different in that sense. I agree that he is a slightly different case given his background, but in the end it amounts to the same thing, another guy losing his spot.

All the best mate, I think I can say safely, that the one thing we will all be doing is keeping a close eye on London to see how he goes

Rippin and Tearin wrote:

Fair enough mate, I didn't realise you followed closely.

Look a couple of those guys have played a lot of sevens before, a couple are effectively debuting, and Nakarawa hasn't played for 4 years or so. Granted, they probably all played a ton of sevens growing up though so I get where you are coming from. What I was really doing was taking you up on the inference that perhaps the main issue was a guy losing his spot. My point really was that if you have been following the sevens series this year, whether its the Fiji team, the NZ team, or the OZ team, this has been an issue all along in Olympics year cause guys that have slogged it out in the series for years are now losing their spots to fullahs that are clearly just joining the fray as late as they can ONLY for the Olympics. So I don't really see the Hayne thing as much different in that sense. I agree that he is a slightly different case given his background, but in the end it amounts to the same thing, another guy losing his spot.

All the best mate, I think I can say safely, that the one thing we will all be doing is keeping a close eye on London to see how he goes

All good mate, I was being sarcastic about following the 7's (although I did enjoy the Goldy event before it was lost).
Regardless, I appreciate the robust discussion and you raise some valid points.

I suppose putting myself in the shoes of a bloke that misses out on a plane ticket to Rio, you are correct in saying that you'd be disappointed either way.

I just think I would be able to accept it a little more knowing that the bloke that has blown in at the last minute and taken my spot, is a proven better 7's player and hasn't been primarily selected on promise or publicity.

Oz Sport Mad wrote:

All good mate, I was being sarcastic about following the 7's (although I did enjoy the Goldy event before it was lost).
Regardless, I appreciate the robust discussion and you raise some valid points.

I suppose putting myself in the shoes of a bloke that misses out on a plane ticket to Rio, you are correct in saying that you'd be disappointed either way.

I just think I would be able to accept it a little more knowing that the bloke that has blown in at the last minute and taken my spot, is a proven better 7's player and hasn't been primarily selected on promise or publicity.

Cool mate (sarcasm aint my strong point on forums lol, I missed that one), yeah my hunch after watching the press conference in full is that he won't make the squad. As you say, Fiji are stacked with amazing sevens players that tend to have been playing it all there lives. A couple of times they didn't even get his name right in the press conference, "Haynes" is what they called him. The coach, IMO, really looked a little uncomfortable about the whole thing as well. I feel like he was kinda saying, "well, he's here, so I kinda have to see what he can bring to the table, but seriously, we have so many great players I really can't see how a fullah that has never played the game before is gonna be able to make any headway into this squad in less than a week". It really is one of the most bizarre sports stories of the year given how high profile Hayne is. I can't wait to see him in action though, although I fear it could be a little embarrassing, much like Burgess when his team mates had to tell him where to go in the ruck mid game b/c he genuinely didn't have a fucken clue!

Anyone know what time it'll be for Ozzie/Kiwis if we wanna watch the series?

Rippin and Tearin wrote:SO just to clarify, assuming I heard correctly, Fiji got in touch with Hayne either 3 years ago or 1 year ago (sorry I can't be positive which one it was, but it was a while back), then 3 months ago Hayne got in touch with Ben Ryan and showed interest in Rio.

Why is this important? Well the way things got reported initially, and the way it seems some people have interpreted things, it was made to sound like Fiji had shoulder tapped him very recently and thats why he has gone to London, but by all accounts it was ages ago, and its actually Hayne approaching them more recently that has led to him heading to London.

I think this explains a lot. I was struggling to get my head around why Fiji would be pursuing Hayne so late in the piece, but actually they were not.

Also, did anyone listen / watch Ryans interview. I have to say after watching that I am far less confident Hayne will get a spot on the team.

Lastly I wish Hayne would get a different media manager/PR guy. He's not coming off well IMO. This whole "Im following my dream" thing is a little redundant now and I feel like he is taking us for fools.

That makes much more sense than them approaching him at the last minute, especially because they are so successful.

1. He is told he wont make the team
2. He approaches the 7s team after they approached him years ago to see if they still want him
3. They say, why not, give him a chance to play in the last tourny, if he kills it then they might pick him, if not, he wont make the team
4. He doesnt get picked he goes and plays union overseas until the NRL season starts again next year

The NFL dream has turned into a massive failure IMO.

Pieman wrote:

That makes much more sense than them approaching him at the last minute, especially because they are so successful.

1. He is told he wont make the team
2. He approaches the 7s team after they approached him years ago to see if they still want him
3. They say, why not, give him a chance to play in the last tourny, if he kills it then they might pick him, if not, he wont make the team
4. He doesnt get picked he goes and plays union overseas until the NRL season starts again next year

The NFL dream has turned into a massive failure IMO.

Agree absolutely with 2,3,4 and perhaps 1, but I think there is a chance they said you still have a good shot for the team but it won't be on offence (and he wasn't into that). Completely disagree on the last NFL point though. I think what he did was truly remarkable in the NFL. I would have loved to see him have another crack but regardless, what he achieved was out of this world given his background and I think anyone that knows how competitive the NFL is would agree.

Rippin and Tearin wrote:

Agree absolutely with 2,3,4 and perhaps 1, but I think there is a chance they said you still have a good shot for the team but it won't be on offence (and he wasn't into that). Completely disagree on the last NFL point though. I think what he did was truly remarkable in the NFL. I would have loved to see him have another crack but regardless, what he achieved was out of this world given his background and I think anyone that knows how competitive the NFL is would agree.

Well from the point of view of - him making a side in such a short amount of time and actually getting on the field in the season - and the brave part of quitting the NRL, moving to another country etc - its amazing. Totally think its incredible and I love that he did it. Its truely remarkable.

But Hayne did not "make it" in the NFL. His on field time was almost completely a disaster, he became more of a liability on the field than a benefit and he was literally cut from the team. Literally no other team in the league wanted to pick him up when they had the chance. He was then signed as a development project by the team that cut him and only made it back into the actual team (and arguably only ever got snaps at running back) because of the mass amount of RB injuries they had.
His pre-season punt returning was unreal to watch and it would have been great to see him do it more. A handful of his punt returns in the season were great too. He had like 1 or 2 decent runs from RB.
The fact he made the team though, and was in the position to do what he did, 100% remarkable and amazing.

Something about him quitting his "lifelong dream" after he is so close to achieving it, after how "successful" he was with no experience, just stinks. It reeks that something else is going on.
Even if he was told he wont get a run at the 49ers, why not try out for other teams if he is so deadset on it?
If he wants to play RB and not just special teams as you suggested, why not try out for other teams? Why not keep going? Why quit?
To me it just reeks of jumping before being pushed, he tested the waters and no one wanted to take the punt on him so hes like ... fuck what do I do now till the NRL starts again next year?

For my own selfish reason that Rugby League is my favourite sport, I want to see him back in the NRL because I think he's one of the best at it. I don't really care for Union or NFL, and don't really care about other country's Olympics bid so for my personal enjoyment Hayne doing any of those means nothing to me.

Still, I'm also comfortable with Hayne doing what he wants and not needing to justify it to me or anyone else. I think some of the way he explains things is a bit strange, but I don't hold that against him as he doesn't need to explain it to me in the first place.

I genuinely don't think he's doing it for the money or anything like that. The thing that probably made the most sense to me was when he basically said "life is about experiences". As he was growing up he probably wanted to be on the big stage. First he probably wanted to play first grade. Then he did that, so probably wanted to play Origin and for Australia. He did that. Sure he didn't win a GF, but he played in one, and if the motivation for him is being up on the biggest stage he has been there on that day too.

Just like an adrenaline junkie who is always pushing to do something new and bigger, I can imagine him sitting down at some time and thinking what could he do, and the NFL was a logical progression given the status of the game in the US. Sure he didn't play in a Superbowl, but realistically that opportunity was probably never going to come to him. Having played MNF on the opening weekend, i can imagine him saying to himself that he's made it just by being there (and I agree with that as well).

I get that if he is looking for life experiences, why he would then see the biggest sporting event in the world, that is only held every 4 years, and want to be part of that in a sport that for the first time, has skills reasonably similar to what his base skill set is. Hayne was probably never going to be an Olympian in any other sport where he could also be "on the big stage" on a regular basis. Lets be honest, that's generally what the Olympics are all about - sportspersons building up for the one event every 4 years that basically anyone cares about. Sure people like Usain Bolt are superstars, but aside from him, how many people know who for example, is the form 400m runner in the world, much less actually gone or watched an IAAF meeting. And that's in a blue ribbon event, not something like shooting or yachting. Hayne can potentially scratch that itch, and look back in 20 years and say "Yeah, I was an Olympian and marched in the opening ceremony".

So was his time in NFL a failure? If you're looking at it from the 49'ers point of view it probably was, but if you're looking at it from Hayne's point of view I would say definitely not, and that it was a success if he measure of success was reaching the big stage.

agree with most of that dip


from a personal stand point, I don't think i'll follow Hayne latest code hop much, him going to the NFL was amazing and i was behind him the whole way. Him playing rugby for a different nation interest me as much as SBW playing rugby for a different nation which is: No interest, i don't care if he succeeds, i kinda hope he fails so he comes back to NRL and can help NSW win 2 in a row in 2017

Dip wrote:For my own selfish reason that Rugby League is my favourite sport, I want to see him back in the NRL because I think he's one of the best at it. I don't really care for Union or NFL, and don't really care about other country's Olympics bid so for my personal enjoyment Hayne doing any of those means nothing to me.

Still, I'm also comfortable with Hayne doing what he wants and not needing to justify it to me or anyone else. I think some of the way he explains things is a bit strange, but I don't hold that against him as he doesn't need to explain it to me in the first place.

I genuinely don't think he's doing it for the money or anything like that. The thing that probably made the most sense to me was when he basically said "life is about experiences". As he was growing up he probably wanted to be on the big stage. First he probably wanted to play first grade. Then he did that, so probably wanted to play Origin and for Australia. He did that. Sure he didn't win a GF, but he played in one, and if the motivation for him is being up on the biggest stage he has been there on that day too.

Just like an adrenaline junkie who is always pushing to do something new and bigger, I can imagine him sitting down at some time and thinking what could he do, and the NFL was a logical progression given the status of the game in the US. Sure he didn't play in a Superbowl, but realistically that opportunity was probably never going to come to him. Having played MNF on the opening weekend, i can imagine him saying to himself that he's made it just by being there (and I agree with that as well).

I get that if he is looking for life experiences, why he would then see the biggest sporting event in the world, that is only held every 4 years, and want to be part of that in a sport that for the first time, has skills reasonably similar to what his base skill set is. Hayne was probably never going to be an Olympian in any other sport where he could also be "on the big stage" on a regular basis. Lets be honest, that's generally what the Olympics are all about - sportspersons building up for the one event every 4 years that basically anyone cares about. Sure people like Usain Bolt are superstars, but aside from him, how many people know who for example, is the form 400m runner in the world, much less actually gone or watched an IAAF meeting. And that's in a blue ribbon event, not something like shooting or yachting. Hayne can potentially scratch that itch, and look back in 20 years and say "Yeah, I was an Olympian and marched in the opening ceremony".

So was his time in NFL a failure? If you're looking at it from the 49'ers point of view it probably was, but if you're looking at it from Hayne's point of view I would say definitely not, and that it was a success if he measure of success was reaching the big stage.

Good post Dippy, and I agree with it from that point of view.

Who wants to just make it somewhere then not succeed tho??

And yep, I agree LG - unless he is playing rugby in australia for a super rugby team, I doubt I will ever watch a one of his games. I mean, ill get the highlights on facebook and what ever other news articles I look at so its not like ill miss out.

Dip wrote:For my own selfish reason that Rugby League is my favourite sport, I want to see him back in the NRL because I think he's one of the best at it. I don't really care for Union or NFL, and don't really care about other country's Olympics bid so for my personal enjoyment Hayne doing any of those means nothing to me.

Still, I'm also comfortable with Hayne doing what he wants and not needing to justify it to me or anyone else. I think some of the way he explains things is a bit strange, but I don't hold that against him as he doesn't need to explain it to me in the first place.

I genuinely don't think he's doing it for the money or anything like that. The thing that probably made the most sense to me was when he basically said "life is about experiences". As he was growing up he probably wanted to be on the big stage. First he probably wanted to play first grade. Then he did that, so probably wanted to play Origin and for Australia. He did that. Sure he didn't win a GF, but he played in one, and if the motivation for him is being up on the biggest stage he has been there on that day too.

Just like an adrenaline junkie who is always pushing to do something new and bigger, I can imagine him sitting down at some time and thinking what could he do, and the NFL was a logical progression given the status of the game in the US. Sure he didn't play in a Superbowl, but realistically that opportunity was probably never going to come to him. Having played MNF on the opening weekend, i can imagine him saying to himself that he's made it just by being there (and I agree with that as well).

I get that if he is looking for life experiences, why he would then see the biggest sporting event in the world, that is only held every 4 years, and want to be part of that in a sport that for the first time, has skills reasonably similar to what his base skill set is. Hayne was probably never going to be an Olympian in any other sport where he could also be "on the big stage" on a regular basis. Lets be honest, that's generally what the Olympics are all about - sportspersons building up for the one event every 4 years that basically anyone cares about. Sure people like Usain Bolt are superstars, but aside from him, how many people know who for example, is the form 400m runner in the world, much less actually gone or watched an IAAF meeting. And that's in a blue ribbon event, not something like shooting or yachting. Hayne can potentially scratch that itch, and look back in 20 years and say "Yeah, I was an Olympian and marched in the opening ceremony".

So was his time in NFL a failure? If you're looking at it from the 49'ers point of view it probably was, but if you're looking at it from Hayne's point of view I would say definitely not, and that it was a success if he measure of success was reaching the big stage.

Possibly one of the best posts I've read. I don't understand why we can't just acknowledge and celebrate a guy who doesn't follow the crowd, who dances to the beat of his own drum and chases his own dreams, however often they change. If you can't admire that, you can't admire anything. I think Lote said it best when he sarcastically called Hayne selfish for following his own heart and chasing his own dreams as opposed to thinking about what the masses say he should be doing in a twitter post of 140 characters.

Yep, and while early in his career he might have come across as a bit arrogant or whiney, for the last few years I think he's been a fantastic role model for kids too. He clearly trains unbelievably hard, doesn't get arrested or piss on or beat anyone, has huge amounts of time for fans, and in every media interview I've heard him do in the last couple of years been nothing but incredibly humble about his progress and team mates.

I don't really understand how anyone can hate that (and there are plenty who do). I mean, talk by media and some fans about how good he was as a player is pretty sickening sometimes (and yes Te clearly was a top 5 player in the NRL at the end of his career imo), but it's not him making those statements.

Well unless he's an 11th hour inclusion he's not been named in the Fiji squad.

Although I would say he will be there.

I like the new forum. Blokes like Dip get credit, not shouted down and forced out. That's certainly given me a different perspective to consider Hayne from. Well, from at least one of my QLD heads, anyway

Honeysett wrote:Well unless he's an 11th hour inclusion he's not been named in the Fiji squad.

Although I would say he will be there.

Interested to hear what makes you think he will be there? Has something been said/implied?

My personal take on this is that Hayne was just in no way up to playing international sees, probably in terms of fitness as well as technical skills.

EDIT: Is the theory that despite Ben Ryan not wanting him, that a higher power has stepped in here and forced Ryan's hand? Thats what I am hearing.

On an interesting note Karl Tenana (one of NZ's greatest 7s players) made a few comments on Hayne and in general about non-sevens players trying to make it in 7s.

He said for guys like Pulu, SBW, etc (All Black quality Union players) in terms of fitness alone it takes around 4 tournaments to get your body used to the training and therefore what it takes to play sevens - and thats just talking fitness.

He also said in his opinion Fiji could easily take 2 squads to the Olympics (24 guys total) and each be very realistic gold medal chances - point being that not only will hayne have a massive task ahead of him, but also implied that if Hayne goes he will be taking the place of a player that is better than him.

KT said he thought Hayne would get a small run in London off the bench ( a couple minutes here and there) but didn't think he would make Rio.

Keeps getting more and more interesting

Hayne now included in Fiji's London squad.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/sevens/80237751/jarryd-hayne-included-in-fiji-sevens-squad-for-final-leg-of-world-series

Cant wait to see him in action.

i always thought he'd be included, whether he makes it or not, they're gonna wanna give him a taste in the lead up to him trying to make it

Yeah, he was always going to get a run in this tourny.

Im sure he will be brilliant in attack and as far as 1 on 1 tackling goes he will be fine. Its the rucking and stuff that he will struggle to pick up.

Im fucking keen to watch some of the 7s this weekend now.

Remember there is still 100 days before the olympics, thats a shit load of time for him to 1. get more cardio in and 2. learn the plays and learn how to play. He can already do all the things like kick pass run tackle beat players - its just learning little things about how 7s is played that he will need the crash courses in.

Its all interesting thats for sure!

Pieman wrote:Yeah, he was always going to get a run in this tourny.

Im sure he will be brilliant in attack and as far as 1 on 1 tackling goes he will be fine. Its the rucking and stuff that he will struggle to pick up.

Im fucking keen to watch some of the 7s this weekend now.

Remember there is still 100 days before the olympics, thats a shit load of time for him to 1. get more cardio in and 2. learn the plays and learn how to play. He can already do all the things like kick pass run tackle beat players - its just learning little things about how 7s is played that he will need the crash courses in.

Its all interesting thats for sure!

You guys gonna watch? I think its on in about 1 hr.

I've got 4 things on the go right now: Sevens. Super Rugby, NRL and Boxing... hard to keep up.

The Hayne thing is a joke. Many people over here saying the Fijian military/government have their hands in this one and Ben Ryan is being told what to do.

If I were Ryan (and I didn't want Hayne on my team - which it sounds like is the case) I would play him as much as possible this weekend so he gets really shown up. As it stands I bet you he gets 1 or 2 minutes in the 2nd and 3rd pool games and that may well be his dash unless Fiji are dominating in any of the finals matches!

As an aside. SBW has pretty much played all season. I reckon he has finally got his head around the game properly and he is supposed to be a code hoping freak and was already playing Union! Perspective on what Hayne will be able to achieve I reckon!