Keating feared he'd take wrap for Hayne
Parramatta hooker Matthew Keating feared he would take the fall for star teammate Jarryd Hayne and be rubbed out of Sunday's NRL grand final against Melbourne.
The pair faced an anxious wait after being charged for separate dangerous contact charges in Friday night's preliminary final victory over the Bulldogs.
Keating said he didn't expect the match review committee to allow both he and Hayne off the hook for their infringements.
Then there was a discerning feeling - if someone was going to escape penalty, it would likely be the newly-crowned Dally M medallist.
"Honestly, I thought they were going to let Haynesy off and I was going to cop the punishment," Keating said on Monday.
"I said it to a lot of people and they couldn't answer me, they sort of had to turn away.
"It was a very nervous wait, I was just sitting in front of the TV all morning, watching The Footy Show, watching the Sunday Roast and then (Eels CEO) Paul Osborne rang me and said you're all clear, it was just so relieving."
Hayne said he wouldn't allow himself to believe he could miss Parramatta's first grand final since 2001.
"It didn't really hit me because everything felt a buzz," Hayne said on Monday.
"It wasn't until (Sunday) morning when my roommate came in and woke me up.
"We were sort of mucking around and I said `I'm playing in a grand final next week,' and he said `No, you're not, not according to the papers'.
"That's when it sort of sunk in."
Keating said immediately after learning he would realise his grand final dream, he received a SMS message from Hayne.
"I got a text from him saying `Yeah baby, we're all go,' and then he invited us to church.
"I had a few tingles down my back, actually all over my body."
Hayne was slapped with a grade one dangerous contact charge after collecting Bulldogs winger Bryson Goodwin with a knee to the head early in Friday night's blockbuster.
The NSW Origin star was able to take an early guilty plea which reduced his penalty to below the 100-point barrier - where a one week suspension kicks in.
Goodwin leapt to Hayne's defence post-match, calling the hit which left him groggy, unintentional.
Hayne paid tribute to Goodwin as he told of his elation upon hearing he will play in Sunday's grand final.
"I was sitting at a cafe with my roommate and didn't know whether I should cry, jump up and down, or whatever," Hayne said.
"Very happy and very pleased. A special thanks to Bryson for coming out and showing his support which was good.
"Just overwhelmed and finally now I can prepare for a grand final."
Keating was charged with grade one dangerous contact for his chicken wing tackle on Bulldogs prop Ben Hannant.
Like Hayne, Keating escaped a ban and missing the grand final with an early guilty plea.
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