Titans recruit Jarryd Hayne and the referee collide. Credit:Fox Sports Hayne conceded he could not remember if he accidentally made contact with pocket referee Gavin Reynolds during the game that the Warriors won 24-14 at Cbus Super Stadium. Pictures emerged on social media on Sunday afternoon appearing to show Hayne, playing in his first match after two years away from rugby league, making contact with Reynolds. Hayne said he "couldn't understand" the rule which has caused a number of judiciary controversies this season, most recently when Dragons backrower Tyson Frizell was rubbed out for a week for inadvertently touching Chris James.

Asked about the incident, Hayne said: "I tried to stay as far away as I could. I don't know what I did. Was it a touch or did he walk back into me? I'm not too sure. "I really don't understand what the go is with the whole 'accidentally touching the ref thing'. Whatever happens happens. "It's probably the biggest mind-blowing thing ... that a person can miss a week for accidentally touching a ref. It's sad for someone to miss a week for a non-aggressive thing, I guess." Fox Sports marked the return of the former Eel with a special viewer option to press the red button on the remote for a camera trained exclusively on Hayne throughout the match.

It didn't see much action for the first 27 minutes as Hayne was glued to the bench, but showed his close encounter with Reynolds in the second half. The 28-year-old was used to dodging officials during his time in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and has returned to a game where even the most obscure contact with a referee comes under the glare of the officials. "They [NFL referees] have got a pretty tricky job because they stand [everywhere]," Hayne said. "One's in the line of scrimmage, one's in the defence as well so he's got to kind of read plays and get in and out as well. They've been run over a couple of times as well." A number of Frizell's NRL rivals have lashed out at the rule, which has resulted in a spate of contrary conduct charges in 2016.

The opposition to Frizell's ban - which meant he missed the Dragons' season-ending loss to the Broncos last Thursday night - was largely centred on the fact Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds escaped a suspension for tripping Joel Thompson in the same match. Gold Coast coach Neil Henry will be a relieved man now that he will have Hayne available for selection. Hayne, who showed flashes of the brilliance that marked his first stint in rugby league, will be vital in the crucial clash against the Tigers at Campbelltown Sports Ground next Saturday. The Tigers vaulted above the Titans into the top eight after upsetting premiers North Queensland on Sunday afternoon. Henry revealed five-eighth Tyrone Roberts will miss at least that match with a posterior cruciate ligament injury, with Hayne a candidate to wear the No.6 alongside Ash Taylor in the halves. Loading

But Hayne shied away from nominating his preferred position for the Titans' run-in, leaving that to Henry and the coaching staff. "That's not for me to say," Hayne said. "That's up to the coaching staff and where they see fit. The more game time I have no matter where I play the more comfortable I'll feel."