arryd Hayne ... 'all everybody is taking about'. Mark Evans
Jarryd Hayne can develop into the greatest player in rugby league history, and is "worth every cent" of his $1 million-a-season price tag, Andrew Johns says.
The Parramatta ace was mesmerising again as the Eels dismantled finals hopefuls Penrith on Friday to continue their own charge towards the play-offs.
Parramatta have won seven successive matches on the back of Hayne's brilliance, and they face a final-round showdown with ladder-leading St George Illawarra on Friday.
Hayne's blazing form has become the talk of the league world.
In two months, the Eels fullback has turned himself into the game's most influential player, leaving even Johns searching for superlatives.
"The way he's going, he's probably worth even more than a million a year," Johns said on Saturday.
"He can pack stadiums on his own. Why wouldn't there be full houses when you get to watch a kid of his freakish skills play?
"He's the best in the game right now and if he keeps going the way he is, he could be our best ever. He's all everybody is taking about."
Johns was in Townsville for the North Queensland Cowboys-Brisbane Broncos match on Friday night , but he rushed back to his hotel room to catch the second half of the Eels game on television.
"Some of the things he's doing on the footy field are mind blowing," Johns said.
"That inside ball he threw for Daniel Mortimer to score under the posts - only a handful of players in the world in either rugby code could have pulled that off.
"And then he rushes to the crowd and high-fives the fans. How good was that?
"If that sort of thing doesn't bring people flooding to our games, nothing will. It was just sensational."
Johns believes Hayne already is pushing the limits of greatness, and says he feels sorry for rival fullbacks such as Melbourne Storm custodian Billy Slater and Newcastle Knights No.1 Kurt Gidley.
"There is nothing wrong with the form of Billy or Kurt right now, but Jarryd is just unstoppable," Johns said.
"Billy was the best player in the world last year and he is probably playing at a similar level, but Jarryd is now in a world of his own.
"That's how good he's going."
Johns believes Hayne's Rugby League World Cup experience with Fiji last year was the catalyst for his extraordinary season.
"I know during the Origin series, he was telling everyone that playing for Fiji was the greatest thing he had done," Johns said.
"That's how much it meant to him.
"I'm not sure how, but it's turned his footy career around and it's probably helped turn his life around as well.
"He's still only a kid but he has grown up a lot. He seems a lot more settled off the field.
"Gihe field.
"Given what's happened, I'm surprised just how level-headed he is. It's a credit to him and the people around him.
"I know he is close to his mum, and she has obviously been a big influence."
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