Hayne . . . or not

Super League promotion hopefuls Leigh came “very close” to signing former NRL superstar Jarryd Hayne on a short-term contract, the club’s head coach Neil Jukes has confirmed. The 28-year-old ex-NSW and Parramatta fullback is without a job following stints in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and in rugby sevens with Fiji, where he failed to make the cut for the island nation’s Olympic team.