Jarryd Hayne has made himself unavailable for the upcoming representative round as he buckles down on preparing for a fairytale State of Origin return for NSW.
The Gold Coast star showed flashes of his best in Saturday's upset of defending premiers Cronulla after missing the past five weeks with an ankle injury.
But more importantly for the Titans, as well as Blues coach Laurie Daley, the code-hopper came through unscathed in a flawless 80-minute effort.
"Pretty sore, pretty banged up, but it's always good to get the win. A lot of pain definitely was expected. Just happy to make 80 minutes, that was the biggest thing," Hayne said after the match.
The 29-year-old now aims to lift another notch in next week's match against Newcastle before putting himself at the mercy of the Titans' trainers during the representative weekend.
Hayne had previously considered putting his hand up to play for Fiji against Samoa, however informed Bati coach Rick Stone that he is focusing on regaining full health.
"That's the week where I won't have it off, we'll get that extra conditioning in and try and catch up with the rest of the guys because I need it," he said.
"We've got 2-3 games after that and then it's into Origin season. Just getting the body right."
Hayne conceded that while his ankle is back to full health, the rest of his body needs time to catch up ahead of what looms to be a gruelling Origin campaign.
The former Blues fullback, who updated Daley on his health a fortnight ago, hasn't played in the interstate series since NSW broke Queensland's eight-year streak in 2014.
"(Daley) just said he wants me to get back out there, get healthy. Every year I played Origin, I just worry about my form and the rest will worry about itself," he said.
"Obviously you want to give it your best and be in good form. Nights like tonight are definitely stepping stones for that.
"It's not my ankle itself, it's the muscles around it and getting used to running again. I started running seven days ago - I've done three sessions and two skills sessions.
"Running forwards is one thing but when you start to run sideways and play a bit of football, hammies, groins, hips, they all come into account and that's something that I struggle with."
Hayne also addressed the looming deadline to take up the second-year and remain at the Titans next season, saying he would begin considering his options after the Knights game.
The former Parramatta star has until May to activate the option.
"I'm not thinking about that at the moment. I've got other things on my plate. Tonight was about getting our season back on track, we did that," he said.
Share
