- Jarryd Hayne trains with renowned sprint coach
- Coach hints at comeback for former NRL star
- Came after he was released from prison on June 11
Former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne has dropped a major hint that he is planning to return to professional sport after videos emerged of him training with a renowned Sydney sprint coach.
Hayne, 36, last played NRL football in 2018, but the former Eels superstar has now surfaced on social media training with famed sprint coach Roger Fabri.
Fabri, who has worked with NRL stars including James Tedesco, Michael Jennings and Josh Addo-Carr, posted a clip of Hayne sprinting on a football field.
“You thought it was over!!! You don’t even know what Jarryd Hayne is going to do,” Fabri captioned his post.
Hayne, 36, was released from prison on June 12 after his convictions were overturned. He had spent more than a year behind bars after a jury found him guilty in April 2023 of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
The ruling by the New South Wales Court of Appeal ended a six-year saga that saw the two-time Dally M winner appear in court three times after he was accused of raping a woman in Newcastle during the 2018 NRL final.
After Hayne regained his freedom, he kept a low profile and returned to socializing with his family.
At the height of his glittering football career, he once earned a million-dollar salary and hundreds of thousands of dollars in endorsement deals.
Jarryd Hayne (pictured playing for the Eels in 2018) may be planning a comeback to professional sport after videos emerged of him training in Sydney
Hayne was emotional when the sexual abuse charges were officially dropped
But Hayne has now moved far from the man predicted in 2015 to be Australia’s highest-paid athlete.
The legal ordeal has had a devastating impact on his finances, which have been depleted by legal fees for years. This situation has been compounded by the fact that he was allegedly defrauded of $780,000 by a fellow inmate in a Bitcoin scam.
It is not yet known what Hayne will do next, but Lyall Mercer, a public relations and crisis communications strategist, said it was “sad that we live in an age where reputations are defined by commentary and speculation on social media rather than facts”.
“Everyone has the right to a fair trial and Jarryd has been through the legal process which has ultimately determined that at this point he remains innocent until proven guilty,” he told Ny Breaking Australia.
‘If there is no new trial, he remains innocent, regardless of what anyone thinks.
‘Jarryd has a long way to go to repair his damaged reputation.
Hayne is pictured with his wife Amellia Bonnici on the day they got engaged
It is not known what the former football star’s next step will be
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Mr Mercer pointed out that the NRL, where Hayne twice won the Dally M Medal for player of the year, is littered with stars who have been found guilty of crimes but have been given the chance to restore their reputations.
“So it would be hypocritical for them (the NRL) to do anything other than offer support to Jarryd, who has not been convicted at this time, and welcome him back into their community,” Mercer said.
Whether that will actually happen is another matter.
Both the NRL and Haynes’ former club, the Parramatta Eels, have refused to recognise him since late 2018, when he was first accused of sexual abuse.
Hayne, one of the Eels’ greatest ever players, was not mentioned once during the club’s 75th anniversary celebrations in April 2022, as he awaited his third trial.