Jarryd Hayne’s 1 in 59 shot comes off in Campbelltown Stadium return
Jarryd Hayne waited 10 years to turn out at his hometown ground of Campbelltown.
He marked the occassion with a last minute, match-winning field goal – a one in 59 shot, and his first NRL one-pointer in over 1100 days.
The first edition of Hayne’s NRL career featured just three drop goals in 176 games (one every 59 outings) for Parramatta amongst a slew of match-winning and breathtaking plays.
The last of those successful drop punts came in round nine 2013, a first half field goal against Brisbane eventually proving the difference in a 19-18 thriller at Parramatta Stadium.
On the Campbelltown turf he knew so well as a junior, but waited so long to grace at senior level, the match-winning one-pointer came exactly 1191 days between drinks.
Earlier the cross-code superstar endured a rough start in his return home.
His first major involvement was a last-tackle kick in play which he managed to put out on the full when chipping to his left wing.
Hayne then proceeded to give away penalties in the 10th and 14th minutes to help the Tigers snatch an early 8-0 lead.
He eventually redeemed himself in the 19th minute when he pinched an intercept deep in his own half and sprinted about 40 metres to set up a Titans try on the next play.
Then he set up Gold Coast’s third try with a deft chip to right winger Anthony Don to snatch it in the air and score, handing Titans a lead at half time.
But whatever mistakes he made early on were well and truly forgiven by his teammates at least, if not the home fans.
