- Have pledged to play for ‘stacked’ United Sporting Club
- Nines footy tournament on the Gold Coast later this month
- Off-field scandals have plagued the talented footy stars
Former NRL bad boys Jarryd Hayne, Ben Barba and Michael Jennings are all tipped to make a footy comeback – in the same team – at the Premier League Nines tournament on the Gold Coast later this month.
Joining the trio will be the likes of Cronulla premiership-winner Andrew Fifita, his brother David, ex-Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin and Eels winger Ken Sio.
Andrew Fifita later shared the proposed team list in an Instagram story – and acknowledged the United Sporting Club are ‘stacked.’
‘Please remember we are now a retirement village,’ the decorated prop said, addressing the ages of the players.
‘But take us back 10 years, ain’t nobody stopping us.’
All talented footy stars in their prime, off-field dramas have engulfed the likes of Hayne, Barba and Jennings.
Jarryd Hayne is tipped to feature at the Premier League Nines tournament on the Gold Coast later this month (pictured, with fellow Eels legend Peter Wynn)
Joining Hayne will be Ben Barba, who was a fan favourite at the Bulldogs then the Sharks, where he won a premiership in 2016 (pictured)
Former NSW Blues centre Michael Jennings is another ex-NRL star who has been named to represent the United Sporting Club
Hayne – who is rumoured to be playing for Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup this season – was convicted twice and served time in prison after he charged with sexual assault in 2018.
He was accused of assaulting a woman – who lived on the outskirts of Newcastle in NSW – with his hands and mouth, where he left her bleeding from the genitals.
Hayne has always maintained the acts of digital penetration and oral sex were ‘entirely consensual’.
His convictions were overturned on appeal in November of 2023, and he was released from jail.
He also settled a civil lawsuit over an alleged rape while he was in the US playing NFL for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.
Barba, who won a premiership with the Sharks in 2016, was released by the North Queensland Cowboys in 2019 before playing a game following an alleged domestic violence incident involving his partner Ainslie Currie at Townsville’s Ville Resort Casino.
Currie did not press charges. Barba was given a lifetime ban by the NRL after the league’s Integrity Unit viewed CCTV of the alleged incident at the casino.
The Dally M Medallist in 2012 also tested positive for cocaine after winning the grand final with the Sharks.
Sharks cult hero Andrew Fifita shared the proposed team list in an Instagram story – and acknowledged the United Sporting Club are ‘stacked’
Barba was later forced to find work as a metal worker after his colourful footy career abruptly ended.
Jennings was accused of raping his ex-wife Kirra Wilden in a civil case and also was suspended by the NRL after testing positive for a banned steroid when on the books of the Eels in 2020.
He also lost an appeal in 2023 following a court order that he pay Wilden almost $500,000 in damages.
The centre, 36, played for the Roosters last season but wasn’t offered an NRL deal for 2025 and beyond.
