Stateside: Jarryd Hayne with Parramatta teammates Tim Mannah and Joseph Paulo at a Dallas Cowboys game. Credit:Instagram "For me, life's always about a challenge. Playing Origin is a huge challenge and beating Queensland is obviously a huge challenge. Bringing Parramatta back up from the bottom of the ladder is another challenge. What lies beyond that I'm not too sure. As long as I'm still getting challenged in league, then I'll be here." UTS Gridiron president and Gridiron Australia director Matt Steel helped set up Hayne's sessions in the off-season. Hayne trained as a wide receiver in his first session and as a safety in the second session, showing enough promise for Gridiron Australia officials to take his request of seeking a try-out in the US seriously. "We spoke about whether we could get him a try-out overseas," Steel said. "He said he had a strong desire to try and get over there. But he'd be giving up a lot to go over there. I think he was genuinely interested in going over. When we spoke to him, we told him we could put him in contact with some people that could open a few doors. I opened up a few doors for him after seeing what I could do but, by that stage, he had taken off to the World Cup.

"The people I spoke to were happy to put out an expression of interest to open up a few avenues for him but the World Cup took a bit of the shine off his dream." UTS vice president and coach Matt Long admitted age was a huge factor in determining the 26-year-old's chances of making it in the sport, but believes Hayne has the ability – as long as he has the dedication – to make a fist of any opportunity he pursued in the US. "If he was to go over and dedicate himself, I'm pretty sure he'd be able to go over there and make a really good crack at it and he'd stand a fairly good chance at being a first- or second-stringer." Long said. "It's a hard sport to get into with some of the specific stuff because it is so specialised. But if he wanted to play NFL and someone decided to pick him up and give him the training, I think he wouldn't be out of place. If he was to go through the normal route, through high school and colleges, that would be impossible. But if he was to go over now to an NFL team and they gave him the intense training, he'd be a chance. "He's got that natural athleticism, he's got the speed. He'd already be one of our top players in the country. He can tackle pretty well and has got a turn of speed. Playing fullback he has that eye of being able to read the field. Cornerback or the safety position where you have the over watch for all of what's happening on defence would suit him."