SYDNEY radio station 2UE believes it has uncovered proof of a “secret meeting” between Jarryd Hayne and Roosters coach Trent Robinson.

The station was tipped off by a listener, who took this photograph of the San Francisco 49ers player and Robinson at a Sydney hotel recently.

Presenters John Stanley and Garry Linnell revealed the sighting on Tuesday morning, which was described as a “secret meeting” by another 2UE presenter on Twitter.

John and Garry on @NewsTalk2UE reveal a secret meeting has taken place between Jarryd Hayne and the Sydney Roosters #NRL — Troy Dodds (@troydodds) January 11, 2016

Hayne’s potential return to the NRL — particularly with the Roosters — has been a popular rumour in recent months.

The Daily Telegraph reported Roosters supremo Nick Politis and Penrith counterpart Phil Gould were set for a bidding war to land the former Parramatta Eel’s signature in November.

But Hayne has regularly affirmed his commitment to continuing to pursue his NFL career, including when he arrived at Sydney airport after returning from San Francisco last week.

“Obviously with a new coach on board, hopefully he wants me back and, if that’s the case, I’ll be back to Santa Clara, California," Hayne told reporters.

And by the looks of his response to this latest speculation nothing has changed. “This is all time!” Hayne tweeted in reply to another post about his meeting with Robinson. “You say hello to a coach and media make a story out of it.”

😂😂😂 this is all time! You say hello to a coach and media make a story out of it. https://t.co/OHNR2VAoXG — jarryd hayne (@JarrydHayne) January 11, 2016

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the meeting took place on the eve of a match between former players from Liverpool and the Socceroos.

“One of the organisers of the exhibition match was Roosters training staff member Hayden Knowles — one of Hayne’s closest friends — who had organised for Robinson to spend some time with former Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier,” the SMH report said.

“Hayne, a Liverpool FC fan himself, was also in town promoting the event and joined former NSW Blues teammate Robbie Farah at the Liverpool Legends hotel to meet some of the players.”

Some believed Hayne’s midseason demotion to the practice squad could trigger a return to Australia.

But on reflection, Hayne accepts the six-week relegation may have saved his NFL career.

Arguably the best performance of Hayne’s season came against the Lions in the 49ers’ penultimate game of a hugely disappointing 5-11 campaign.

It was Hayne’s return game from his time on the outer and he excelled with five receptions and nine carries for a combined 47 yards after being activated as a running back.

“It was great being in the practice squad,” the former NRL ace said after returning home to Sydney on Wednesday for a holiday. “Obviously I got a lot of reps at running back. I had to mimic the other teams that we were playing.

“We played some really good teams. We played against the (Atlanta) Falcons against Devonta Freeman, who is one of their best rushers, and (against) the Seattle Seahawks, where it was Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls.

“We worked extremely hard and all the guys do. That’s probably one of the biggest things; that everybody works really hard and for me to give me the opportunity in those last two games, I was very thankful.

“I really didn’t realise how much I was going to play in that Detroit game, so that was huge and gave me a lot of confidence and being out there for a long period.”

Hayne says now that the 49ers’ playbook “is pretty much embedded in my brain”, he’ll try to relax with the family after his rollercoaster debut season before hopefully return in April to San Francisco, who retain the 27-year-old’s contract rights.

“It’s going to be the task to switch off,” Hayne said.

“Obviously with the playoffs coming up, it’s going to be fun watching that and I guess diagnosing their defence and offence. “I’m still a student of the game, so there is always going to be a learning process that I enjoy.”

— with AAP