Gold Coast Titans playmaker Jarryd Hayne being paid for 2009 form not current ability: Peter FitzSimons

Peter FitzSimons says Gold Coast’s Jarryd Hayne is still being paid on the success of his stellar 2009 NRL season, rather than on current form.

“Hayne in 2009 was up with Jonah Lomu in 1995,” FitzSimons said on ‘Five Minutes with Fitzy’.

“Just mesmerising every time he touched the ball. Absolutely electric. We haven’t seen anything like it since.

“To a certain extent he is paid for that level of brilliance but has not delivered that level of brilliance.”

FitzSimons’ opinions were echoed earlier this week by Parramatta great and Channel Nine NRL analyst Peter Sterling who said the Titans’ million-dollar man is nowhere near as valuable as he used to be.

''Jarryd Hayne – when you’re talking the best fullbacks in the game and the highest paid players in the game, and Jarryd is supposedly both of those – I’m not seeing the influence and effort from Jarryd Hayne that I’m seeing from Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic,” Sterling said.

''Their body language is excellent, they have effort-on-effort.

''There hasn’t been enough of that from Jarryd Hayne, I’m wondering whether we’ve seen the best football, when it comes to rugby league, already from Jarryd.

''I’m not quite sure he is [still] the player that he was. He’s got plenty of star power and appeal, but you’ve played a lot of money for that.”

FitzSimons also dismissed suggestions that Hayne’s teammates are behind him as Titans coach Neil Henry appears set to be dismissed by the club.

“How many of them have said that publicly? Those guys that say that [defend and support Hayne], they would see which way the wind is going, okay Henry’s going and Hayne’s staying,” FitzSimons said.

“It’s less impressive that they say that after the event. If they said that last week then I would give it some credence.”