How do you adapt from being able to demand the ball whenever you want to someone that wily opponents are able to render a passenger in the space of just 12 months.
Albeit in a different sport, Jarryd Hayne was touching the ball at least once every set of six for both the Parramatta Eels and NSW Blues for near on a decade.
Now he is playing in the NFL, a sport where his burgeoning talent as a punt returner is resulting in decreased opportunities.
Hayne may still be learning a new game, but the directional kicking employed by recent opponents suggest he is no longer viewed as some blow-in from across the Pacific.
Two main factors are contributing to Hayne's decreasing game time of late, the perfect case in point being his three-return, 12-yard day in last weekend's loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The first is the concerning inability of the San Francisco 49ers' defence to limit opponents to short drives, which force punts. The remaining reason - that coaches are control freaks - sums up the NFL perfectly.
These guys want to micro-manage every play. Wide open spaces for opposition players can lead to nightmares. One cause of such nightmares can come from the returning of punts.
Kick-offs, which come at the start of each half and after touchdowns and field goals, can be nullified by a lead-footed kicker launching the ball out the back out the end zone. Such kickers allow their coaches to control everything about that play. That makes for happy coaches.
Punting is not so easy to control. From the work of the specialist long snapper to the catch and launch of the ball down the field and the discipline of the chasing brigade, plenty can go awry. The stuff of nightmares for head coaches and their special teams staff.
That's why teams are often willing to forsake a few yards in distance for a chance to pin a feared returner on the sideline or even kick the ball straight out.
Such concepts bring us to the two Australians who will feature in Monday's clash between Hayne's 49ers and Brad Wing's New York Giants.
Wing, like all punters, will head into the game knowing the less he is required usually has an inverse relationship with the success of his team.
Kicking on: Brad Wing punts for the New York Giants. Photo: Al Bello
Hayne, on the other hand, wants to see plenty of Wing. He's hoping the Niners' second trip east is much better than the flogging they copped at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in week two.
Hayne has already had one meeting with an Australian punter (Jordan Berry of the Steelers in week two).
He'll be hoping for greater opportunity and some of that craved - and nightmare-inducing- open space at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Wing has enjoyed a good start to his time in New York. He has made 20 punts over the opening four weeks, including a league-high 12 that have landed inside the opposition 20-yard line.
If he can continue that effectiveness, the New York boo-birds will give him another week of peace.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS.
The hand-wringing was well underway in New York after a pair of painful losses to start the season.
Back-to-back defeats in which double-digit fourth-quarter leads were squandered was a legitimate cause for concern.
Things have improved greatly since. Good wins over division rivals Washington and intra-state neighbours Buffalo have Big Blue smiling agin.
They will start as prohibitive favourites against the travelling Niners. With offensive talent such as two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning and acrobatic wide receiver Odell Beckham jnr, the 49ers look set for another long day.
The 49ers-Giants match will be screened on 7mate and ESPN on Monday from 11.30am (AEDT).
