Dyldam Parramatta Eels co-captain Jarryd Hayne dazzled in the State of Origin last night and his Parramatta Head Coach Brad Arthur hailed him today as one of the smartest in the game.
“He’s obviously one of the smartest in the game, but at the moment he has kept it very simple,” Arthur said.
“He is worried about what he has to do and his role in the team and he offers some advice here and he’s very good for our younger players; at the moment he’s just focused on Jarryd Hayne and I think that’s helping.”
Hayne’s performance last night was a reflection of a strong start to the year in the Blue and Gold, and Brad insists that Jarryd’s influence around the club is a two-way street.
“He has a massive influence on everyone, the same as Chris has an influence on people in the team: it is just [about] knowing that people are there to do their job,” Arhur said.
“He’s not trying to overplay his hand. Chris knows that if he does his job then Jarryd will do his job, Normy will do his job and the forwards will do their job, so it’s not a one-man band, but Jarryd is doing well.”
Brad Arthur puts Hayne’s impressive string of performances down to new-found confidence and a strong chemistry within the Eels squad.
“He’s matured as a leader and obviously the confidence is high and the morale is high here at the club at the moment,” Arthur said.
“He was confident from the time he came back from the World Cup, he played really well there – he’s seen the quality of the squad that we had, he saw that we were training well, and he fitted straight in.”
Parramatta will be looking to seal three wins in a row when they travel to Penrith tomorrow night to face the equal-placed Panthers, and it is still unsure whether Hayne will be fit to back-up from last night’s victory.
“We usually wouldn’t ask him to train 48 hours after a game so it would be a big call to make him play, but I’ll have a chat with him this afternoon and see where he’s at,” Arthur said.
