Hayne to remain on wing for Roos: Sheens - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Hayne to remain on wing for Roos: Sheens

By Steve Jancetic 26/10/2009 07:22:56 PM Comments (0)

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens says he'll leave Dally M medal winner Jarryd Hayne on the wing despite the Parramatta superstar having little more involvement than fans in the stands during Australia's draw with New Zealand.

The man who took the NRL by storm in 2009 failed to make an impact for the Kangaroos, struggling with the limitations imposed by his switch from fullback to wing as Australia escaped with a 20-all draw in their Four Nations series opener in London.

Where Hayne had a licence to roam and wreak havoc for Parramatta, he seemed restricted to the flank against the Kiwis, his one telling involvement being the crucial tap back from the short kick-off which led to Cameron Smith's late match-levelling try.

Not helping Australia was the fact fullback Billy Slater also struggled to get into the game, leaving the Kangaroos without two potent points of attack.

But Sheens has vowed to stick with Slater at the back and Hayne on the wing for Saturday's must-win encounter against England in Wigan - his one concession being the possibility of switching Hayne from the right to the left, the same side from which he caused Queensland plenty of headaches in the State of Origin series.

That leaves Brett Morris' spot up in the air, Morris having played the entire season on the left for St George Illawarra.

But one thing is for sure, Sheens wants more out of the Hayne-Slater double act as the Kangaroos look to stay alive in the race for a berth in the final.

"Billy didn't get into the game, Jarryd didn't get into the game, both of them really weren't that effective and neither of them are happy with that," Sheens said.

"I don't think one being dropped or changing them is going to be the answer either.

"Whether or not Jarryd plays on the right or left wing might change, but I don't think changing our wingers is going to solve our issues - our issue was we didn't get the link between the nine, seven and six going well enough."

But while he appeared frustrated at times on the field at his limited opportunities, Hayne said he would continue working on his wing play in a bid to become more effective as he admitted to struggling with the position.

"That was probably the hardest part, not playing that position given I've been at fullback," Hayne said.

"That's my position and I've been there for a while so it took a bit of getting used to but I'm sure over the series I'll get used to it.

"It was always going to be one of those games where it was going to be hard to shift it out wide.

"It was a case of just holding the ball and completing our sets - we were more worried about that."

Brought to you by AAP AAP © 2024 AAP

0 Comments about this article

Post a comment about this article

Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.

« All sports news