NFL 2016

barbarian

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="580242" data-time="1463434410">
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you'd have to think there will be significant pressure from the Fijian Rugby Union (via sponsors) to ensure Hayne gets a run!
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Yeah but they said that about Quade and the Aussie squad, but it seems that has been pushed to the side in the quest for gold.
 
I don't know the ins and outs of Fijian rugby admin, but I'd be amazed if they put marketing $$ ahead of a gold medal, especially the first time it's at the Olympics in a sport that means SO much to that nation.

Crucial

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="580260" data-time="1463439864">
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Yeah but they said that about Quade and the Aussie squad, but it seems that has been pushed to the side in the quest for gold.
 
I don't know the ins and outs of Fijian rugby admin, but I'd be amazed if they put marketing $$ ahead of a gold medal, especially the first time it's at the Olympics in a sport that means SO much to that nation.
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Chance for Fiji's first ever Olympic medal of any colour.

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="580260" data-time="1463439864">
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Yeah but they said that about Quade and the Aussie squad, but it seems that has been pushed to the side in the quest for gold.
 
I don't know the ins and outs of Fijian rugby admin, but I'd be amazed if they put marketing $$ ahead of a gold medal, especially the first time it's at the Olympics in a sport that means SO much to that nation.
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dunno if the sponsor dollars are as important to Aus as they would be to Fiji?
 
Hopefully you are right, but.....

Crucial

I'm not a league follower at all so have never really watched him play, but can someone tell me if he remotely lives up to the hype?

ACT Crusader

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mofitzy" data-cid="580249" data-time="1463436030">It's not as if they are struggling without him.</blockquote>
 
I guess it's a combination of marketing, quality athlete and generating interest. 
Sorry did I just explain what the ABs did when they brought in Sonny Bill. We certainly weren't struggling without him.....

ACT Crusader

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="580268" data-time="1463440494">I'm not a league follower at all so have never really watched him play, but can someone tell me if he remotely lives up to the hype?</blockquote>
 
He's a quality league player. Probably the best in the world in the last couple of years before he went to the NFL. 
He did some pretty crazy stuff. Almost Rupeni like in running at full tilt and scooping up a ball off the deck and then evading players. He wasn't a big 'stepper' (although he did use it), but more a swerver at pace. 
Because the Eels were a struggling team they turned him into their 2nd playmaker, a role he played pretty well.

Mofitzy

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="580272" data-time="1463440908">
I guess it's a combination of marketing, quality athlete and generating interest. 
Sorry did I just explain what the ABs did when they brought in Sonny Bill. We certainly weren't struggling without him.....</blockquote>
Situation is quite different but I take your point. SBW was selected on merit though, unless Hayne lights it up between now and the Olympics it will be a mockery to take him to Rio.

mariner4life

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="580274" data-time="1463441149">
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He's a quality league player. Probably the best in the world in the last couple of years before he went to the NFL. 
He did some pretty crazy stuff. Almost Rupeni like in running at full tilt and scooping up a ball off the deck and then evading players. He wasn't a big 'stepper' (although he did use it), but more a swerver at pace. 
Because the Eels were a struggling team they turned him into their 2nd playmaker, a role he played pretty well.
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whoa whoa whoa, easy on there. Quality? yes. Best outside back? probably. Best player? That's over egging it.
 
His best season was when he got the Eels to the GF pretty much by himself (with a side of Fuifui). He was unplayable that year, tore teams apart from the back.
 
He's fucking good on his feet, with great hands. He wasn't a natural playmaker when they tried to make him a 6, but the man can run. I would imagine the NFL has improved his explosiveness, but i would worry about his aerobic capacity.

MN5

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="580293" data-time="1463443554">
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whoa whoa whoa, easy on there. Quality? yes. Best outside back? probably. Best player? That's over egging it.
 
His best season was when he got the Eels to the GF pretty much by himself (with a side of Fuifui). He was unplayable that year, tore teams apart from the back.
 
He's fucking good on his feet, with great hands. He wasn't a natural playmaker when they tried to make him a 6, but the man can run. I would imagine the NFL has improved his explosiveness, but i would worry about his aerobic capacity. 
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He looked more explosive than most when he played league so that's a huge call.
 
I don't think he was ever as amazing as Inglis at his best though.

ACT Crusader

I thought in 2014 he was superior to JT and Inglis. 
Back in 09, when the Eels lost the GF he was on fire but I thought over the next few years his stock increased big time when he became a more rounded player.

mariner4life

I think JT has been the best for about the last 4 years straight, but it's personal opinion. 
 
I could never understand why NSW never played him at fullback, instead of sticking him on a wing. 
 
 
 
The least surprising thing in all of this is, within a matter of minutes of this announcement, it was strongly suggested he would sign with the Roosters after Rio

antipodean

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="580240" data-time="1463434298">
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World Rugby have cleared up this 6-month thing: <a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.worldrugby.org/news/161018">http://www.worldrugby.org/news/161018</a> 
World Rugby notes the announcement that Jarryd Hayne wishes to pursue new sporting challenges with the Fiji rugby sevens team and has moved to address speculation regarding the playerâ€™s availability under Regulation 21 to play sevens. 
World Rugby is committed to the highest-possible anti-doping standards. The WADA-compliant World Rugby Regulation 21 mirrors the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Code and the WADA International Standard for Testing and Investigations. It does not require a player to be included in a testing pool for a defined period of time prior to selection if they are being selected for international competition for the first time. This position is entirely consistent with World Rugbyâ€™s approach to other cross-over athletes, including other ex-NFL athletes coming into rugby. 
Therefore, Hayne would be eligible for the London round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series subject to all other regulatory and registration matters being met. He would also be immediately included in World Rugbyâ€™s pre-Rio 2016 risk-based testing programme, which since January 2016 has included a comprehensive programme of targeted in and out of competition blood and urine testing on players likely to compete in Rio. The pre-Games programme also includes regular additional screening for substances such as ESAs and human growth hormone, and both steroidal and haematological athlete biological profiling
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So you can go from a sport that inhales peptides for breakfast to one that complies with WADA just before competition? What a joke.
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="580268" data-time="1463440494">
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I'm not a league follower at all so have never really watched him play, but can someone tell me if he remotely lives up to the hype?
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Yeah he did. Whether he can develop the fitness required for 7s in the next 10 weeks is another issue.

NTA

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="580304" data-time="1463445118">
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I think JT has been the best for about the last 4 years straight, but it's personal opinion. 
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FARKEN QUEENSLANDER MAYYYYYYYYYYTE!

MN5

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="580296" data-time="1463444132">
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I thought in 2014 he was superior to JT and Inglis. 
Back in 09, when the Eels lost the GF he was on fire but I thought over the next few years his stock increased big time when he became a more rounded player.
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Probably, Inglis has some serious brain farts that sometimes tarnish all the incredible good stuff he does but as a ball runner he's in the Lomu/Cullen league in my opinion.

mariner4life

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="580306" data-time="1463445371">
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FARKEN QUEENSLANDER MAYYYYYYYYYYTE!
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results speak for themselves frankly

Rancid Schnitzel

What do Fijians think of it? If anything it could be an unwanted distraction and cause disharmony among the team. This is really weird.

mariner4life

What does Semi Radrada think of it?

Chris B.

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="580242" data-time="1463434410">
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Voss was on the radio this morning, he was pretty scathing about the way Hayne has done this given he was supposedly approached in Feb, and then 3 months later decided to chase this dream...gotta feel for the bloke that's been in the squad all along that Hayne is gonna push out, just cos.
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Yeah - fuck Hayne, basically. I hope he doesn't make it.

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="580365" data-time="1463458662">Yeah - fuck Hayne, basically. I hope he doesn't make it.</blockquote>Hayne is a great athlete but there's no guarantee he can just walk into the number one 7s team on the planet, SBW wasn't an instant sensation his first time out

aucklandwarlord

I'd be interested to know whether the people who were pro SBW switching codes all the time are also pro Hayne, or whether they judge Hayne differently for some reason. 
 
If Hayne is successful in making the Fijian squad, he will absolutely push some guy out who has probably been in there a few years. But is it any different to SBW edging Tohu Harris out of the RLWC squad when he suddenly declared himself available at the last minute? Or any of the Super Rugby players who have gone back to sevens given it's Olympic year who will push a fringe player out of the squad?
 
Sport is a dog eat dog world. You're either in the team or you're not. Provided Hayne is picked on merit and not on his ability to draw in fans/sponsors, then surely they're better to have the best player on the team. That said, you'd think the fitness required for 7's rugby is quite different to the fitness required to be a running back in the NFL so I suspect he might find it hard to adjust. 
 
I read an article in one of the papers by a San Fran sports journo who basically thought Hayne was jumping before he was pushed. He had assessed him as about 5th string running back, and reckoned only 3 RB's would make the cut. I wonder if Hayne had been given a quiet word that he might not make the cut.
 
Either way, I find it hard to begrudge a guy for leaving a good gig (what was his NRL contract worth) to go and chase a far from certain dream, making the squad and managing to play a handful of games. The only thing I found was a bit weird was that the word "retired" was used to describe him leaving the NFL. I'd imagine "retirement" would be used for guys who have had long careers.

The Silver Fern

NFL 2016