Henry backs Hayne to stay at Titans in NRL

May 30, 2017 - 4:40 AM With only a day left for Jarryd Hayne to invoke the second year of his $1.2-million NRL contract with Gold Coast, coach Neil Henry still doesn't know for sure whether the star will stay at the Titans.

Hayne has until Wednesday to decide but Henry is confident the former NFL player will remain a Titan in 2018.

"We've had no update yet - the countdown is on ... I still think it's positive so we'll just go along with our training," Henry said.

"You'd always like things to happen a bit quicker but, to us, it's not a drama anyway.

"I think State of Origin is the most-important thing and he doesn't want to disrupt that so, time will tell. It will be over in a couple of days."

And if there is no decision made within 24 hours, Henry believes Hayne could stay at the club.

"It's an option (in the contract) that has to be taken up or refused until the 31st," Henry said.

If the centre/fullback does not invoke the tabled offer by the deadline, he will be contracted to the Titans only until the end of the 2017 season.

With no concrete information on what the NRL salary cap will look like in 2018, he could be throwing caution to the wind to see if any other clubs could fit him and his $1 million price tag in.

This would be an extremely risky manoeuvre from Hayne, who - since his return to the NRL - has been far from the player he was in 2014.

Hayne has previously stated his desire to return to Parramatta, however unlikely it seems.

Earlier this month, Eels chief Bernie Gurr said he'd not received any substantive approach about brining Hayne back, despite reports his representatives had contacted Parramatta to discuss a homecoming.

"I've not had an approach and, if it was coming, it would be through me," Gurr said of Hayne.

"There have been no substantial discussions around Jarryd Hayne returning to the club."

Source: AAP