'Hayne Plane' ready for new heights: Inu

It’s both a measure of his freakish talents and a scary insight into what might lie ahead for Jarryd Hayne that his spectacular feats of late have barely elicited a reaction from the man that knows him best.<br><br>Parramatta winger Krisnan Inu grew up playing alongside Hayne in Minto and the pair worked their way through the Eels’ ranks together; so ask the 23-year-old if he, too, has been gob-smacked by his good mate’s brilliance and he replies: “Actually, not really… I’m not really surprised at all. <br><br>“Growing up with him, when he does something like that now I just say ‘Oh yeah, I’ve seen that before’. It’s just normal.”<br><br>Instead, Inu insists that Hayne’s match-winning efforts in consecutive games against North Queensland, Penrith and Canterbury over the past three weeks – and a similar run of the spectacular to help Parramatta to the grand final 12 months ago – are merely a preview of greater things ahead.<br><br>“His best is definitely ahead of him,” he told NRL.com in the lead-up to tomorrow night’s NRL blockbuster against the Sydney Roosters.<br><br>“No-one is perfect and everyone always has something to work on. Jarryd is the same.<br><br>“I’ve seen him play for a lot of years now and this just reminds me of how he used to rip up when he was younger. He would tear teams apart. <br><br>“I think that all he is really doing now is what he has always done but he is showing everyone else that hasn’t seen it what he is capable of.<br><br>“It’s good for me to be playing outside of him when he’s playing like that.”<br><br>While it’s probably true to some extent that the huge crowd expected to fill Parramatta Stadium tomorrow night are there to see either Hayne or Roosters playmaker Todd Carney, or both, the clash also pits two sides in season-best form against one another.<br><br>The Roosters, coached by former Eels mentor Brian Smith, struggled for consistency earlier in the season but have rocketed up to third on the NRL ladder with five wins from their past six games – and four in a row over the past month.<br><br>“They’ve got an awesome team and they’re one of the teams you want to play – especially coming into the finals,” Inu said. <br><br>“Preparing well and playing the better teams is good for that, so it’s going to be a big game.<br><br>“The Roosters are playing well and they’ve been playing well pretty much all season, whereas we’re only just starting to pick up our form now. <br><br>“Hopefully that can continue.”<br><br>Inu said it was pointless trying to compare the Eels’ recent run of form to last year’s miraculous finish, crediting the reversal instead to a simple change in attitude.<br><br>“We just decided that we needed to work a bit harder on certain areas and it seems to be working for us,” he said of an Eels side that only notched 30 points in a game for the first time this season against North Queensland three weeks ago but has done so in every game since.<br><br>“We could always score the points but it depends how hard you work in defence – what we could do defensively to get some better ball.<br><br>“It’s funny – everyone tries to compare it to last year but we’ve got a whole new team this year. We’re just focusing on how we’re going this year and what we need to do to win this year. <br><br>“Not only are we a different team but every other team is a different team as well.”<br><br>Another finals appearance in 2010 would prove a fitting farewell for Inu, who is one of a number of Eels leaving the club at the end of the season. In many ways it’s the end of an era, with captain Nathan Cayless retiring and long-serving winger Eric Grothe off contract and unlikely to be re-signed, while Inu and lock Feleti Mateo are off to join the Warriors.<br><br>But the feet-footed winger said he had no regrets over his decision to leave the Eels in 2011.<br><br>“You can’t have any regrets,” he said. “I’ve got to look after myself and my future, but I’m definitely going to miss the place. It’s always going to be my home. <br><br>“At the same time, I’m excited to be going to the Warriors and trying something new. <br><br>“It’s going to be a new challenge for myself and for Feleti as well – Parra has always been a home for both of us and we both grew up here.”<br><br><b>Late NRL news:</b><br>•&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The Roosters will welcome back key duo Mitchell Pearce and Nate Myles against Parramatta after both were late withdrawals before last Monday’s win over Brisbane.<br>•&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Wade McKinnon is almost certain to be ruled out of the Tigers’ clash with Cronulla tomorrow night after struggling with an ongoing hamstring problem.<br>•&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;South Sydney’s finals hopes have received a huge boost with hooker Issac Luke making an early return from a dislocated shoulder against Canterbury tonight.