With an extensive list of players off contract in 2016, a busy year looms for Brad Arthur, Daniel Anderson and Ian Schubert. Placing players on one year deals will naturally produce such a circumstance and it may yet be the shape of things to come. Nonetheless, the challenge of which Parramatta players should be retained is upon us and it is an interesting topic to examine.
The cold hard numbers reveal 23 players and their managers ready to negotiate a new contract. The list is an intriguing mix of established stars and players seeking opportunity.
The Players
Listed in alphabetical order, the off-contract players are:
Alvaro
Cornish
De Gois
Faraimo
Fuimaono
Gordon
Hasson
Kelly
King
Moss
Nelson
Norman
O’Brien
Paulo
Peats
Pritchard
Schulte
Tanginoa
Toutai
Tuha
Ualesi
Wicks
Woods
At least half of the players listed above were signed on one year deals or they extended a prior one year deal to 2016. Good business sense for a try before you buy arrangement.
Danny Wicks – A great acquisition last year. Will he be part of the plans moving forward? (Sled missing from image!)
What Will Guide The Decisions?
The 23 names virtually read like an entire roster. (Guilty as charged for my method of listing.) There are likely to be different perspectives at play when contemplating which signatures are added to new contracts. We can only speculate, but surely they fall under the following categories:
- Salary Cap Balance
- Value for Money
- Player Satisfaction
- Room for growth
The first three perspectives are intertwined to a degree. You are likely to achieve a balanced cap and value for money when players are happy with where they are. It usually takes a considerably larger offer to tempt a player to leave his current club if he is happy.
This might seem like a “Captain Obvious” statement, but finding balance within the cap is crucial when assembling a roster. Paying player X a large component of the cap means that one or more players will absorb that amount through contracts that may not be reflective of their worth to the team. For Parramatta to field a quality spine, that magical backbone of all modern day teams, we have a number of squad members on moderate contracts that they could possibly better elsewhere.
As often discussed, players will accept less to play at particular clubs because it suits their needs in some way. Presently, the Eels have become an attractive place for players to ply their trade. Great facilities, a respected coach, a happy roster – these are the kinds of things that players discuss in the NRL community. Word gets around, so Parramatta is doing fine in that regard right now. However, if word of the near half a million dollars being offered to Paulo is correct, it’s hard to see the Eels matching that when his roster cohorts would be on much less. That’s the internal balance that I’m referring to.
As much as working within the cap is likely to be the major influence in signing players, I’d like to highlight a decision making factor that may soon take centre stage.
Mannah – went up a gear in 2016.
Potential For Growth
For a club to develop a culture of success, it must be continually evolving. Every year must be an improvement on the previous, otherwise the team treads water. This is true of team preparation as much as individual talent. For some clubs, this means that they will always turn over a minimum number of players, otherwise little changes.
For the player, it might mean coming under the microscope.
Does he have another level to go to?
Can he offer us something different?
Has the peak of the mountain been reached – with no benefit from retention?
In the modern game, these are cold questions. Yet, I see them increasingly applied as clubs juggle the challenge of remaining competitive. Club loyalty has become a distant memory unless said player continues to grow in what they can offer.
Case in Point – Tim Mannah
At last year’s Ken Thornett Medal, Mannah candidly revealed that he had received one of Brad Arthur’s straightforward talks about his game prior to the 2015 season. In essence, he needed to step up and offer more. It’s on the record now that Mannah’s seventh season of first grade was arguably his best. He proved that his senior status was no barrier to finding another level. This year he has been an absolute machine in pre-season training.
With that perspective explained, how will the Eels approach retention decisions? My personal belief is that the club will retain star power then look for those that they believe can take their own game forward. On that basis, Norman becomes the priority. I reckon that the calls made on many others will be determined in the first third of the season.
Like many fellow fans, I have my favourites and hope that the Eels retain these players. The reality is that loyalty doesn’t take a hit up, bust a line or complete a tackle. I’m expecting the Eels to retain just over a half of the players off contract. Then it’s back onto the market for others and hence grow the success of the club.
Sixties
All images courtesy of the Parramatta Eels
Good read mate, its an exciting time to support the eels. With bar raised it will interesting which players are retained due to on field efforts.
Yes good call mate.
That list is a touchy one. A few of those names ring a bell to move on. I could name 5-7 from that list to move on. Paulo is one of the, of those numbers being offered are correct. I count 9 on that list who’ve not been in our top 25 before, and that will be interesting. Value for money buys are a key, along with talent and good juniors coming though.
I have posed a similar thread on the 1eyeeels site, yet it did not attract much attention, which had me wondering why, maybe with the list there are so many players that are for many unknowns, even the names do not ring any bells, which is where I am in the question.
The players in the list are really in 2 primary groups, those with some experience of 1st grade football, Norman, & Peats, both mid 20’s so new contracts would be of 3 years from their perspective, perhaps with another year as an option, taking them well up towards the 30 mark. Others, such as O’Brien are in the same age group but not with the amount of 1st grade experience.
Overall though the majority seem to be in the younger group of around 20 & a bit above, with few of them being seen in the top grade for any length of time such as Gutherson,, perhaps the most in the top grade, It is in this group that the main competition will be on show, especially with those who push for top grade spots.
Losing Paulo will be sad, as he is likely in the same boat as other juniors at the same or younger ages who went elsewhere to further their careers, some succesfully others not so much after big money offers that the eels could/would not match.
The killer for some however may well be season killing injuries especially those who have experienced this before, such as Pritchard, & Peats. I honestly think that will be the position that will be most hotly contested one this year & will determine the futures of those wanting that position.
Absolutely that dummy half position will be hotly contested because you could throw Cornish or Nelson onto a bench role. I’m still hopeful about Junior. If he stays, we will know that money didn’t talk.
Stimulating substance sixties, and of course making a call on most of the players on this list will depend upon their development as fringe 1st graders in 2016. The conviction to put in, week in and week out for Wenty this year and the individual desire for success will no doubt play a huge role in determining whether BA offers half of this list another contract.
Of the established top 17 players in this list, 3 of which have suffered injuries that kept them out for extended periods in 2015. I would hope each one has a good run with injuries so we can keep them for at least another year. That’s Gordon, Peats and Wicks. As you say Norman is a must if he continues the progress he showed last season. I include Gordon because I believe we need to take French along steadily as other successful clubs have done with Theboysabitch from manly and Tooheysratherrich from the chooks. both were kept back and learnt their trade in U20’s and on the wing behind very good custodians at their own clubs for at least a couple of years. There is much to learn from Gordon if he stays fit and plays his best footy for us.
Nice observation Rowdy and cheers for helping me to understand the correct pronunciation of those names. Your thoughts about putting in at Wenty is valid. The problem for us being the separation of Wenty from Parra. Must be a psychological impact.
It’s a significant part of our squad and no doubt represents a policy implemented by Anderson/Arthur. One could imagine the logic being; to keep players on their toes, controlling the salary cap and importantly, it increases the power the club has during the negotiation process. This balance of power changes as we approach June 30 and other clubs start calling (like Parra to Gordon last year). Higher risk approach than we’ve seen in recent years.
Very informative once again 60’s, it’s a question I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I would love to be a fly on the wall when the inner sanctum of BA & DA etc have their discussions on retention / recruitment. I would think all players are set KPI’s at the start of the season and maybe these players coming off contract have additional KPI’s that the coaching staff use in there methodology to help assist determine whether to retain and or use as benchmarks for contract values ?.
Tim Mannah needs to develop an offload. The opposition know he will run head down and bum up and not pass the ball.
Not always the case at all, while is primarilly a battering ram which he does quite well, he also has a good offload which is not a dump as many others do, or pass the ball to someone else just for sake of passing which often ends up with ground being lost.
Resurrecting this post, with all the debate over the cap, loss of players etc, I had a browse & noticed that Pritchard’s name is named as off contract at years end, & thought he had been signed for another 2 or 3 years, would love to see an update on the list as its probably very relevant now