They might be at a low ebb but that hasn't stopped Knights officials from thinking big.

A day after Newcastle's club-record 62-0 pounding from Cronulla at Hunter Stadium – which left them as $1.40 favourites for their second consecutive wooden spoon – chief executive Matt Gidley confirmed they would be interested in making a play for code-switching superstar Jarryd Hayne.

Hayne made the surprise announcement on Monday that he was quitting the San Francisco 49ers and retiring from NFL. The former Parramatta, NSW and Kangaroos fullback now plans to represent Fiji at the Rio Olympics in rugby union sevens.