Parramatta superstar fullback Jarryd Hayne says while the side have plenty of flare and flamboyance, they need to develop an ugly side to match it with the NRL’s big guns.
Despite beating Cronulla 32-12 on Saturday, the Eels they say they left Remondis Stadium aware they have plenty to work on.
Parramatta went into the weekend in 12th and the victory was an important one for their top-eight chances.
Hayne said he viewed the last five rounds as a dress rehearsal for the semi-finals and wanted the side to develop a hard edge during that time.
He said they were guilty of gifting the last-placed Sharks too many chances and predicted the Eels would be put to the sword if they did so against the best sides in the competition.
While they were a side capable of moments of brilliance, he said they needed to play consistent, grinding football to be competitive come September.
“I think we’ve got everything we need to play finals footy,” he told AAP.
“I think it’s just getting used to the grind, getting used to playing hard, tough, ugly football. I think that’s something we’re not known for.
“We’ve got the flamboyant side of things; we’ve got the flare. We don’t lack in that department but we need to work on the grinding and the tough stuff.”
As he had done so often this year, Hayne sparked the Eels’ win, opening the scoring before coming up with a length-of-the-field effort to snuff out a Sharks comeback.
After playing a deciding hand in NSW’s first State of Origin series win in nine years, Hayne appears to be back to the form he displayed in 2009 when he carried the Eels to the grand final.
He said there were no comparisons to be drawn between their 2009 and 2014 campaigns and his form could be attributed to the Eels’ style of play.
“I think we’re doing a lot of ab-lib things at training and playing a lot of games, playing a lot of support games,” he said.
“We’re doing what we’re doing at training – which is just playing football.
“We’ve got a lot of talent in our team when we play to our potential – that’s all we can do.”
