Featured Image Credit: NRL/Supplied. Jarryd Hayne/Instagram.
Topics: NRL, Rugby League, Australia
Jayden Collins
Topics: NRL, Rugby League, Australia
The NRL is considering stripping Jarryd Hayne of his Dally M honours after the former player was found guilty of sexual assault.
On Tuesday (March 4) the former Eels star was convicted of two counts of sexual assault without consent relating to an incident following the 2018 Grand Final.
After six days of deliberation, the ex-NFL convert was found guilty to have sexually assaulted a woman at her Newcastle home.
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The 35-year-old maintained his innocence following the conviction saying that he ‘did not lie or cover up evidence’ while fighting back tears.
He faces a maximum possible jail sentence of 14 years.
The decision leaves the NRL needing to make a call on whether to rescind the awards he earned during his playing career.
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Fox Sports reports that the league is expected to make a call now that the decision has been handed down.
He won the league’s top award, the Dally M Medal, in 2009 and 2014, whilst he has also made the Team of the Year three times.
He was also named Rookie of the Year in 2006 and was twice honoured as the Eels’ Player of the Year.
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The NRL is yet to make a decision, however, ARL chairman Peter V’landys has discussed the possibility in the past.
In 2021, when Hayne was first convicted before he successfully appealed, V’landys announced that the NRL would consider taking action.
The ARL boss repealed that it wasn’t ‘hard to take them away’, however, they didn’t want to interfere with the legal process.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Parramatta Eels will not be considering Hayne as a Parramatta life member regardless.
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The former Parra star would be eligible for life membership next year as he would have been retired for five years.
Hayne has indicated that he would be appealing the decision.
He told reporters: “I never lied to police, I never deleted evidence, I never hid witnesses, do the maths.”
SPORTbible has reached out to Jarryd Hayne for comment.