St George Illawarra Dragons have denied that they offered Jarryd Hayne a contract a year before he was charged with sexual assault, Fox Sports has reported.
Hayne’s defence barrister, Richard Pontello SC, told the judge last week that his client was offered a deal worth $500,000 by the Dragons after he was released by Parramatta. However, the deal was withdrawn after Hayne was arrested and charged.
St George officials denied a contract was ever put on the table for Hayne.
“There was no point where we actually made an offer,” Dragons general manager Ben Haran told The Telegraph and reported by Fox Sports.
“We had a meeting with him like we do with a lot of players and there are multiple things that you look at. We didn’t get to a stage where we thought we should take it any further.”
Hayne was sentenced to a maximum five years and nine months in prison for raping a woman in 2018.
