Ricky keeps faith in Gen Y

MUCH has been made about Blues star Jarryd Hayne in the lead-up to the State of Origin series opener, but coach Ricky Stuart has kept faith in the controversial Eel.

Questions were raised about the Parramatta star’s attitude before the NSW team was selected but Stuart said modern coaches needed to appreciate the traits of younger players.

Hayne, fullback for the Eels, was selected on the Blues’ wing after he played five-eighth outside Mitchell Pearce for City Origin and, while his attitude was regularly questioned as Parramatta languished at the bottom of the ladder, Stuart described the 24-year-old as a player who could provide an X-factor.

‘‘I’ve never had an issue with Jarryd,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘I’ve never had an issue with him in camp and he’s always performed at this level.’’

Stuart said coaches needed to appreciate the mindsets of Gen Y, born in the mid-to-late 1980s and generally characterised by their familiarity with social media, digital technology, being achievementoriented, selfish and individualistic.

‘‘There’s not as much peer-group pressure these days,’’ Stuart said. ‘‘There’s a lot of individual kids today. Some are quiet, some like to be coached one way and not the other . . . but we all have our idiosyncrasies and it’s now a matter for the coach to understand them.’’

While the Blues team for Wednesday’s opening Origin match is dominated by Gen Y, with Hayne, Michael Jennings, Akuila Uate, Todd Carney, Pearce, Trent Merrin, James Tamou and Jamie Buhrer, Stuart said each player had proven they were made of the right stuff.

‘‘You have to be a special breed to play Origin football,’’ he said.

He said history proved a player’s time in the Origin camp was mentally and physically demanding, but it had also helped to accelerate careers.