Infamous NRL stars Jared Hayne and Manas Faino are said to be cellmates in Sydney Prison and will watch Origin I on Wednesday.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the two share the same cell at Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center – a correctional facility in Berkshire Park in Sydney’s northwest suburbs.
Hayne and Fainu are expected to watch the State of Origin opener next week, when New South Wales take on Queensland at Adelaide Oval.
The couple has access to Channel Nine to watch three NRL games a week, but they can’t watch matches on Fox Sports.
Hayne and Fainu were both represented at their trials by Margaret Cunneen SC and were reported to have known each other for several years.
Jared Hein is serving three years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault
Manasseh Vaino was sentenced to eight years in prison in December last year for stabbing a youth leader in a violent fight outside a Mormon church dance in 2019.
Hein is serving three years after being found guilty in April of two counts of sexual assault without consent related to an incident that took place at the women’s home in Newcastle on the night of the 2018 UEFA Champions League final.
The 35-year-old claimed the sexual encounter was entirely consensual, and the jury accepted the woman’s version of events, who repeatedly said “no” and “stop.”
The jury was told that the woman refused consent to sex because Heine had a taxi waiting outside.
This was the third time Heine faced trial over the same incident and the second time he was found guilty.
He had previously spent nine months in prison before his conviction was overturned on appeal in February last year.
The disgraced NRL star was handed a total sentence of four years and nine months, but it was deferred to 2 July 2022 to account for the previous nine months Hayne had spent in custody.
He was sentenced to no parole for three years. Counting the time he has already served, he could be released on May 6, 2025.
A Dally M winner in 2009 and 2014, Hayne has played 191 of 214 NRL games with Parramatta
Fanu has played 34 NRL matches for Manly over two seasons in 2018 and 2019
A Dally M winner in 2009 and 2014, Hayne has played 191 of 214 NRL games for Parramatta. He represented New South Wales on 23 occasions and played a combined 21 tests for Australia and Fiji.
Meanwhile, Faino was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of four years and three months in December after being found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The former Tonga international stabbed a youth leader in a violent fight outside a Mormon church dance in 2019.
The 24-year-old, who made 34 appearances for Manly over two NFL seasons, is currently appealing the ruling.
