COACH Paul McGregor has declared St George Illawarra will be prepared to launch a multi-million dollar bid for Jarryd Hayne’s signature, if the ex-NSW superstar returns to the NRL.
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Hayne is hoping to play for Fiji’s rugby sevens team at the Rio Olympics this year, but could yet find himself playing league again this season after his NFL career ended abruptly.
The 28-year-old’s former club Parramatta and the Roosters are among those expected to discuss Hayne’s future before June 30, even if he plays at the Games.
Having previously chased North Queensland fullback Lachlan Coote, the Dragons are in a position to offer Hayne a lucrative back-ended deal to fit him under the salary cap.
“He’s an exceptional talent,” McGregor said on Tuesday. “He’s someone that I’ve had a little bit to do with, through Fiji and NSW and we’re always after quality players and he’s at the top level of that. So if he’s on the market, we’d like to be in the mix for sure.”
If he makes the Fiji team, the sevens Olympic tournament is played in the first week in Brazil in August, meaning he could return to play the final three NRL rounds. However, the $1 million-a-year price tag would have to be put under the scrutiny of an NRL salary cap audit before approval, meaning Hayne may not play until next year. Hayne joining the Dragons would provide a long-term solution to allow Josh Dugan to play in the centres, after the failed experiment this season.
Any Hayne return to the NRL is made more complicated after allegations he received off-the-books payments while at Parramatta.
In London, Hayne denied knowledge of the payments, alleged to add up to $465,000, all hidden from the NRL, as part of the Parramatta salary cap scandal which has rocked the club.
