Brad Arthur says he will give Jarryd Hayne some ownership over the Parramatta team as he attempts to get the best out of the Eels superstar for a second time.
Arthur is one of few coaches to have survived and prospered with the divisive outside back at his club, given Hayne has played under eight coaches in his 11-year NRL career.
Arthur began his turnaround of the Eels with Hayne in his team in 2013 and 2014, where the NSW Origin star won the Dally M in his last season before shifting to American Football.
The Eels mentor told Fox League's NRL 360 that the key would again be giving Hayne a voice in the club's premiership charge.
"You've got to give the players some input which allows them to have a bit of ownership of the team," Arthur said.
"I find with Jarryd he likes to have input into the team. You've got to be really honest and firm with him but also you need to have an ear to listen because he knows the game really well.
"In the back of 2014 we still had Corey Norman but he nearly single-handedly got us into semi-finals on the back of his performances."
"He's very good and smart and he can see the game a lot of the time before it's unfolding."
Hayne's recruitment has the potential to go against the low-key approach Arthur has taken in his five years at the Eels.
A throng of reporters turned up for his first day at Eels training in January, while he was also by far and away the most popular player for interview at a club media day last week.
But Arthur was confident that Hayne, back at home in Sydney's west, would fire again in a more familiar environment after a disappointing stint on the Gold Coast.
The 30-year-old will play his 200th NRL game in his Eels return against Penrith on Sunday, and Arthur revealed the plan to bring the prodigal son back didn't begin to develop until the back end of 2017.
"It wasn't really until the end of the season that the idea came around," Arthur said.
"I remember a game the Gold Coast were playing against Wests at Campbelltown (in round 16). There was a period of 10 or 15 minutes where he really injected himself into the game out the back.
"They jammed on him and he made a pass and the next time they backed off on him and he carried them over the line.
"He injected himself and showed his class and with ball in hand he can do whatever he can when his mind is on the job."
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