Jarryd Hayne could be stripped of Dally M medals and awards by NRL
The former Parramatta Eels player won the game's highest honour in 2009 and 2014.
The NRL is expected to consider stripping Jarryd Hayne of his two Dally M Medals after being found guilty of raping a woman on the night of the 2018 grand final. One of the biggest names in rugby league during the 21st century, Hayne is now awaiting sentencing over two counts of sexual assault.
After being found guilty in 2021 and spending nine months behind bars, Hayne successfully won the right to a retrial the following year before Tuesday's judgement. His next verdict is likely to come in the ARL Commission's boardroom.
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Hayne is a two-time Dally M Medallist, taking home the NRL's major gong in 2009 and 2014. He was also the NRL's winger of the year in 2007, before twice collecting the honour of the game's best fullback.
Any decision on whether the 35-year-old will be stripped of those awards will come after an avenue for appeal is closed, after Hayne maintained his innocence on Tuesday and indicated an appeal could follow. If so, it would mark the first time the NRL has taken titles away from an individual.
They have previously done so in a team sense, with Melbourne's 2007 and 2009 premierships stripped after salary cap cheating. At Parramatta, it's likely they will follow the NRL's lead.
Hayne is a two-time recipient of the Eels' illustrious Ken Thornett Medal, while he also won the Jack Gibson coach's award in 2009 and was the club's rookie of the year in 2006. The fullback has largely been missing from the NRL highlights reels in recent years after being one of the game's most recognisable players.
He shot to prominence during Parramatta's run to the 2009 grand final, putting on one of the most dominant runs in memory to help the Eels to their first decider in eight years. He was also the man behind NSW's drought-breaking State of Origin success in 2014, starring in Game I and then running the ball dead to clinch the series in Sydney.
Jarryd Hayne's fall from grace
In total he scored 121 tries in 214 NRL games, represented NSW 23 times and Australia and Fiji in a combined 21 matches. He was also never far from the headlines after being targeted by a drive-by shooting in Kings Cross in 2008 and shocking the NRL in late 2014 by deciding to pursue a career in the NFL.
By the time Hayne was charged, he had returned to the NRL but his best playing days were behind him. His final year at Parramatta resulted in a wooden spoon, and Hayne was set to enter the 2019 pre-season unsigned.
Off the back of his previous achievements, it was likely he would still earn a contract. But by 20 days into the official rugby league year in November 2018 he was charged over the sexual assault of a woman in Newcastle. After four-and-a-half years of unsuccessfully fighting those charges, Hayne's rugby league achievements could be stripped among the final punishments.
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