Jarryd Hayne shares his prison cell with convict Manly Young Gun Manase Fainu and the disgraced NRL stars get to watch Origin I in prison next week
Disgraced NRL stars Jarryd Hayne and Manase Fainu are reportedly cell mates at a Sydney prison and will watch Origin I on Wednesday.
According to the Daily telegramthe two share the same cell at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center – a correctional facility in Berkshire Park in Sydney’s northwestern suburbs.
Hayne and Fainu are expected to watch the State of Origin opener next week, when New South Wales take on Queensland at the Adelaide Oval.
The pair can access Channel Nine to watch three NRL matches a week, but cannot watch the matches on Fox Sports.
Hayne and Fainu were both represented at their respective trials by Margaret Cunneen SC and have reportedly known each other for several years.
Jarryd Hayne is serving a three-year sentence after being found guilty of assault
Manase Fainu was sentenced to eight years in prison last December for stabbing a youth leader during a violent brawl outside a 2019 Mormon church dance
Hayne has been jailed for three years after being found guilty in April of two counts of unauthorized assault in relation to an incident at the woman’s home in Newcastle on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final.
The 35-year-old claimed the sexual encounter was entirely consensual, the jury accepting the woman’s version of events that she said “no” and “stop” repeatedly.
The jury was told that the woman refused to consent to sex because Hayne had a taxi waiting outside.
It was Hayne’s third time on trial for the same incident and the second time he was found guilty.
He had previously served nine months in prison before his conviction was overturned on appeal in February last year.
The disgraced NRL star was given a total sentence of four years and nine months, but that was retroactive to July 2, 2022 to take into account the previous nine months Hayne had spent in custody.
He was given a three-year non-parole period. Taking into account the time already plotted, he could be released on May 6, 2025.
A Dally M winner in 2009 and 2014, Hayne played 191 of his 214 NRL games for Parramatta
Fanu made 34 NRL appearances for Manly in two seasons in 2018 and 2019
A Dally M winner in 2009 and 2014, Hayne played 191 of his 214 NRL games for Parramatta. He represented New South Wales on 23 occasions, playing a total of 21 Tests for Australia and Fiji.
Meanwhile, Fainu was sentenced to eight years with a non-parole period of four years and three months in December after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
The former Tonga international stabbed a youth leader in 2019 during a violent brawl outside a Mormon church dance.
The 24-year-old, who made 34 appearances for Manly in two NRL seasons, is currently appealing the sentence.