Tweet
Thought this was a good read. A walk down memory lane for some? Never knew this happened.
http://www.northweststar.com.au/stor...d-hayne/?cs=12
Code-hopper: Mark Harris celebrates Easts’ 1974 grand final win with Ron Coote and Russell Fairfax.
When Jarryd Hayne withdrew from Australia's Four Nations team during the week to follow his heart he was spared the public furore, which included the accusations of "treason" and burning of an effigy that Mark Harris experienced when he ruled himself out of selection for the 1973 Kangaroo tour to accept an NFL contract.
Harris, a hard-running centre for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, was an Australian representative when signed by NFL scouts who had travelled Down Under in search of talent. His mighty kick and powerful running resulted in him training with the Philadelphia Eagles before he played14 games for Montreal in the Canadian League.
Besides feeling excited for Hayne, Harris said the 26-year-old's announcement to follow his dream brought back memories of when an Australian public was so outraged that he chose America over his homeland that his farewell dinner from Easts was a clandestine operation.
"I'm very appreciative of the fact Jarryd goes with a lot more support from here," Harris said. "We're a little more sophisticated than 41 years ago, and he leaves with many more well-wishers than I did. They burnt an effigy of me when I left.
"I was called a 'traitor'. I was following my heart because the opportunity doesn't come along too often, it fell into my lap. The scouts came to Australia on a trip sponsored by a big radio program in America called The Sports Huddle, which had a syndicated audience of 30 million, and they wanted to prove athletes from other countries could play American football.
"I was originally in Boston but my management couldn't come to terms with them so I went into pre-season camp with Philadelphia. They started with 110 [athletes] and over the six-weeks they cut the numbers down and I stayed there until the last cut."
While Philadelphia realised Harris had potential they said it would be unlikely he'd play for them that season. However, Montreal's general manager, who'd sneaked into the closed training session, liked Harris and offered him $10,000 more to play in Canada.
"I would've liked to have stayed with an American team but the Eagles said they had an option and could put me in the Farm League but the standard was so much lower – and this may happen to Jarryd, too – than the NFL that even if you play you won't get many options to shine," Harris said.
He realised that with two kickers already on the Montreal roster he needed to do something special to make an impression, and that was where the mongrel instilled in him from playing rugby league as an expatriate in Papua New Guinea, and then for the Roosters, kicked in.
"Montreal carried me for the season and I basically just kicked off, but I did it as well as I could and a mate of mine from Canada called a few years ago and said, 'Do you know you still have the kick-off record here?'," Harris said. "I had a 61-yard kick-off average.
"I was expendable because I was an extra kicker on the squad, so what I'd do is chase my kick rather than head straight to the sideline [like other kickers]. I made a tackle on the three-yard-line from my first kick and they loved it.
"The week before I watched the game with the manager and the kicker kicked off and ran over the sideline. They had a good kick returner in the opposition and he ran straight through and when he ran past our kicker he just looked at him.
"I nearly fell out of the box. I said, 'I'd kill that bastard' and they were impressed. I couldn't believe our guy wouldn't try to make a tackle. I got a run in the next game."
Harris, now aged 67, and a member of the great Roosters teams that won the 1974 and '75 grand finals, had some pearls of wisdom for Hayne as he prepared to fly out for America on Sunday evening amid news the Seattle Seahawks, who he'd been linked to, had traded wide-receiver Percy Harvin.
"I haven't heard too many people talk about the advantages Jarryd has," he said.
"One is his intuitive play. I've watched him closely because I think he is brilliant, he goes with his instincts, and for some players it's not a good idea for them to go with their instincts because they don't have good ones.
"He gets through little gaps and for a big man you wonder how he makes it through sometimes. You have to choose an option within the tight and you have no time to do it; if you can go with your instinct and choose the right option – which he does – he gets a split-second advantage over his opponent. There are some people who think and act, and others who act while they're thinking."
Harris added few could appreciate the courage of Hayne's decision.
"The one advantage I had was they came looking for athletes so I went over under contract," he said. "I had a little bit of security whereas he has none, and I admire him for having a go."
http://www.northweststar.com.au/stor...d-hayne/?cs=12
Code-hopper: Mark Harris celebrates Easts’ 1974 grand final win with Ron Coote and Russell Fairfax.
When Jarryd Hayne withdrew from Australia's Four Nations team during the week to follow his heart he was spared the public furore, which included the accusations of "treason" and burning of an effigy that Mark Harris experienced when he ruled himself out of selection for the 1973 Kangaroo tour to accept an NFL contract.
Harris, a hard-running centre for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, was an Australian representative when signed by NFL scouts who had travelled Down Under in search of talent. His mighty kick and powerful running resulted in him training with the Philadelphia Eagles before he played14 games for Montreal in the Canadian League.
Besides feeling excited for Hayne, Harris said the 26-year-old's announcement to follow his dream brought back memories of when an Australian public was so outraged that he chose America over his homeland that his farewell dinner from Easts was a clandestine operation.
"I'm very appreciative of the fact Jarryd goes with a lot more support from here," Harris said. "We're a little more sophisticated than 41 years ago, and he leaves with many more well-wishers than I did. They burnt an effigy of me when I left.
"I was called a 'traitor'. I was following my heart because the opportunity doesn't come along too often, it fell into my lap. The scouts came to Australia on a trip sponsored by a big radio program in America called The Sports Huddle, which had a syndicated audience of 30 million, and they wanted to prove athletes from other countries could play American football.
"I was originally in Boston but my management couldn't come to terms with them so I went into pre-season camp with Philadelphia. They started with 110 [athletes] and over the six-weeks they cut the numbers down and I stayed there until the last cut."
While Philadelphia realised Harris had potential they said it would be unlikely he'd play for them that season. However, Montreal's general manager, who'd sneaked into the closed training session, liked Harris and offered him $10,000 more to play in Canada.
"I would've liked to have stayed with an American team but the Eagles said they had an option and could put me in the Farm League but the standard was so much lower – and this may happen to Jarryd, too – than the NFL that even if you play you won't get many options to shine," Harris said.
He realised that with two kickers already on the Montreal roster he needed to do something special to make an impression, and that was where the mongrel instilled in him from playing rugby league as an expatriate in Papua New Guinea, and then for the Roosters, kicked in.
"Montreal carried me for the season and I basically just kicked off, but I did it as well as I could and a mate of mine from Canada called a few years ago and said, 'Do you know you still have the kick-off record here?'," Harris said. "I had a 61-yard kick-off average.
"I was expendable because I was an extra kicker on the squad, so what I'd do is chase my kick rather than head straight to the sideline [like other kickers]. I made a tackle on the three-yard-line from my first kick and they loved it.
"The week before I watched the game with the manager and the kicker kicked off and ran over the sideline. They had a good kick returner in the opposition and he ran straight through and when he ran past our kicker he just looked at him.
"I nearly fell out of the box. I said, 'I'd kill that bastard' and they were impressed. I couldn't believe our guy wouldn't try to make a tackle. I got a run in the next game."
Harris, now aged 67, and a member of the great Roosters teams that won the 1974 and '75 grand finals, had some pearls of wisdom for Hayne as he prepared to fly out for America on Sunday evening amid news the Seattle Seahawks, who he'd been linked to, had traded wide-receiver Percy Harvin.
"I haven't heard too many people talk about the advantages Jarryd has," he said.
"One is his intuitive play. I've watched him closely because I think he is brilliant, he goes with his instincts, and for some players it's not a good idea for them to go with their instincts because they don't have good ones.
"He gets through little gaps and for a big man you wonder how he makes it through sometimes. You have to choose an option within the tight and you have no time to do it; if you can go with your instinct and choose the right option – which he does – he gets a split-second advantage over his opponent. There are some people who think and act, and others who act while they're thinking."
Harris added few could appreciate the courage of Hayne's decision.
"The one advantage I had was they came looking for athletes so I went over under contract," he said. "I had a little bit of security whereas he has none, and I admire him for having a go."
Comment