“That’s completely untrue” – Hayne to fight sexual assault charge having turned down return to rugby league

Jarryd Hayne is one of the most controversial figures in rugby league.

The fullback is a two-time Dally M Medalist and was sensational when at his best especially when guiding the Parramatta Eels to the 2009 Grand Final.

He also starred in the NFL for San Francisco 49ers as well as notching 214 NRL appearances during a brilliant career brought crumbling down by off field controversies.

Hayne spent close to ten months in jail on sexual assault charges, Hayne was released early last year from the correction centre after his conviction was thrown out, however, the former fullback will face a third trial on March 6th.

Since then he has been trying his hand at Basketball but was offered a chance to come back to rugby league.

It wasn’t an NRL or Super League return on the cards but in fact a Group 6 offer that came his way, one of the lower leagues in Australia.

South West Goannas made the offer and it came from former Australian international and Manly Sea Eagles star Tony T-Rex Williams who acts as captain coach at the club.

They play in the same competition where former Leigh Leopards star Blake Ferguson will now ply his trade after leaving for compassionate reasons.

However, Hayne turned down the offer according to Zero Tackle.

Goannas’ president Mark Baird believes the former Eel was close to accepting the deal.

“Jarryd was thinking about it,” Baird said to The Daily Telegraph.

“He would have been a fantastic drawcard and put back into community rugby league.

“T Rex had a discussion with him about playing even just five games.

“It didn’t work out. Maybe he’s a bit out of shape. Maybe financially, it was going to be out of our league.”

Now Hayne has pleaded not guilty to a sexual assault charge stemming from an incident in 2018.

“If you hold sympathies for either the accused or the complainant … then it may be you cannot be impartial,” Judge Turnbull said according to ABC online.

Mr Hayne’s barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, later told the jurors that the sexual activity was “entirely consensual, entirely by agreement”.

“It was over in 30 seconds and it was over the instant Mr Hayne noticed the blood,” she said during an opening address.

“He didn’t mean to cause her any harm at all.”

Ms Cunneen said that after the tone of the messages the pair exchanged, their meeting was “always going to be sexual to some extent”.

Ms Cunneen read out many of the messages and said the complainant sent Mr Hayne photos of herself “in various stages of undress on Snapchat”.

The jury was told that after Mr Hayne left, the complainant sent him a message telling him she was “hurting so much”.

“I know I’ve talked about sex and stuff so much, but I didn’t want to do that after knowing the taxi was waiting for you,” the message continued.

The jury was told Mr Hayne replied: “Go doctor tomorrow.”

The court also heard that during a communication recorded by police, the woman put to Mr Hayne that she had said no.

He replied: “That’s completely untrue! Everything we did you consented to.”

A jury of 14 was chosen, with the trial expected to run for up to 10 days.