We have only just reached round 11 of this year’s premiership and already 2016 is unlike any season in the history of the Parramatta Eels. It’s likely that all Parra fans would love to have a crystal ball that could tell us what the future has in store. The dark clouds of the past month have perhaps painted a gloomy picture, yet the months ahead might just prove to be the important part of a year which will define and shape a greater future for our club.
The Playing Group (The Best Laid Plans)
Back in 2015, Forty, Miatch and I attended the Ken Thornett Medal evening. This end of year presentation occurs during the NRL Finals Series and celebrates the individual achievements of Parramatta players during the season. Attending this event provided us with a wonderful insight into the mindset of the football department heading into the next season.
That night I came away with the certainty that a big season was heading our way in 2016. To a man, the players put on their game faces when talking about wasted opportunities from the season just gone. They spoke of specific aspects of their play, especially their discipline, that needed to be improved. Indeed, Brad Arthur and his charges didn’t want an off-season. They were chomping at the bit to prepare for the new season.
The cliche “toughest pre-season ever” is often over used, but it was certainly appropriate when it came to describing the physical preparation that the players endured throughout November and December. By the time I was able to report on their training in January, I witnessed new combinations and a new attitude. I was genuinely anticipating a successful season, and my confidence was buoyed by the late addition of Michael Jennings to the playing roster.
But as they say, the best laid plans …..
Before the season even commenced, the man-mountain Pauli Pauli was released to create cap space. Following a training mishap, it also became apparent that Anthony Watmough would struggle to take the field this year. His medical retirement was soon followed by the release of Ryan Morgan and the much publicised release of Nathan Peats. (In retrospect, it’s extraordinary that the removal of four significant salaries still left our club stretching the limits of the cap – no doubt highlighting the impact of TPAs being loaded into the calculations). In such a tight-knit group, four unplanned changes must impact the players. Throw in the absence of Kiren Foran, a key component of the team, and you have a full bodied blow to the season’s plans.
Nonetheless, the players have not weakened in their resolve to play with pride every week. Not for a long time have I felt that those wearing the blue and gold jersey were doing their best to honour it. This is a cultural change that will build our future.
Learning how to win and how to face incredible challenges.
The Media Spotlight
Has any club ever come under the media microscope the way Parramatta has this year? In 50 years of following rugby league and the Eels, I can recall nothing to compare it to. Of course, there was plenty written when the Storm and the Bulldogs committed their breaches, but it was nothing like the trial by media conducted before, during and after the NRL investigation.
Throughout it all, Brad Arthur and the team have conducted themselves with class and composure during the incessant questioning posed in virtually every media call. Furthermore, the on-field performances have been stronger than at any time during recent seasons.
Now we have the media focussing on the private lives of the players through a journalist that I care not to mention. I shall give her no recognition here and I choose not to name her. Needless to say, it’s another demonstration of the pressure applied to people associated with our club.
Such media attention has been a baptism of fire for many players not used to such exposure. What will this mean for the future? Knowing the mindset of Brad Arthur, it will be used as a learning experience for all involved.
The Club’s Relationship With The NRL
To most pundits, the success of the NRL is intrinsically linked to the performance of the Parramatta club. With around half a million Australians identifying Parramatta as their favourite NRL team, a highly competitive Eels is important in the key demographic of Western Sydney. To suggest that the NRL would want the club to fail would surely be ludicrous. It would be akin to the governing body setting themselves up for failure.
So how do we approach what seems to be the harsh penalties imposed by the NRL on our club? Do we fight tooth and nail for some reduction in the penalties or do we simply cop the punishment, sweep a boom through the club and move on?
To be honest, I’ve wavered on this ever since the findings were announced by the NRL. That other NRL clubs have creative ways of assembling their squads, there can be no doubt. That Todd Greenberg, through his previous role as a club CEO, is aware of the type of deals that are struck, must be acknowledged.
However, it is vital that the club works to restore its relationship with the controlling body. If the club has compelling evidence that the NRL determinations are inherently wrong, I would hope that this is achieved in a non adversarial context. Let it be achieved in mediation before litigation from a club perspective. If the evidence proves that people need legal redress as a result of what has transpired, and I wouldn’t begrudge this if it’s deserved, then let that take place as individual action.
Our club needs to move forward.
How Will This Season Define Our Future?
Firstly, the learning curve for the coaches and the playing group has definitely been a steep one. Nothing could prepare these blokes for a season like this, but the events of this year can embolden everyone for anything that could challenge them in the future. That Brad Arthur will grow in stature and experience as a result of this season is undoubted. That we will have a resilient playing group going into next year is a certainty. As previously stated, Brad Arthur would look for the learning and improvement that can be taken from these circumstances. He has a philosophy of always moving forward. This is the ideal leadership mantra for our team.
From a media perspective, the club has the opportunity to make a statement about our ability to stay strong in the face of adversity. By moving forward as a club, rather than collapsing under the pressure, the acknowledgement of the club’s achievements will ultimately come. After all, the media also need Parramatta to generate and maintain readership.
Ultimately, the most important change that we can make this year is to bring an end to factionalism within our club. No matter what side of the Parramatta political divide you have sat, there will be no progress until people put personal agendas aside and work together towards making our club great again. If we achieve nothing else this year, we must achieve this.
We can truly make this the defining season in our club’s history, both on and off the field. Rather than dark times, this can be a new dawn. The future can be great.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Image courtesy of Parramatta Eels and the NRL
Good read Sixties and I hope as well this year is the end of all this rubbish but it just seems to be in the eels DNA so who knows. The eels seem to be under the microscope when any other number of clubs could be. That is not an excuse as the club has been in the wrong on a number of fronts but I almost get the feeling that the eels are being laid bare as a line in the sand type of scenario for the amenity have that will follow for the other clubs.
Eels forever.
60’s As usual you put out an article that is spot on, well put together & a credit.
I agree with the direction you have taken the article & especially about mending what seems to be a fire affected bridge between the club & NRL headquarters. Seems there is two sided aspects as my mind thinks back a bit when it all came out, well actually before the guilty verdict was presented anyway.
The news coming out from the club when they had the cap issues come out & when the media circus opened the ring events was from club chairman & CEO that we were working with the NRL, were open & had presented everything needed, access to computers & all the stuff needed. Once the NRL handed down the guilty verdict we here from them that the board rather than co-operating had affectively ignored their requests to meet them, which has me wondering who is telling the truth, & the same two sided statements kept coming.
Certainly it seems that the bridge was damaged when the board & the 5 deemed guilty decided to challenge the decision & now are to respond to the NRL before the final verdict is handed down. In this case the Eels board is deemed the one side in the wrong, but really are they wrong in that they have wanted fair time to respond rather than just accept the guilty verdict without seeing the evidence against them?
I have sat back & wavered between both sides as to who was most in the wrong or not, not that that’s a perfect equation either. Certainly what has come out since that fateful day is a lot of other side issues such as TPA’s & Player managers, things about brown paper bags & bagmen abounding, which again has me thinking that the board did the right thing in the challenge, but maybe they could have fronted the NRL in a closed table discussion first (or did they try, or not?) to go through the whole saga before the decision was handed down, in other words the NRL give the club the charges, & then the defence & counter arguments to reach a common ground decision to the benefit of all.
We are told by the accusers that they want to see the club the powerhouse of the NRL as it once was & deserves to be. We all stand, shout in agreement, but at what cost to both sides, & will the attempts at destruction be completed in such a way that it will or might take years before it happens?
Where we sit now, is a matter of around 2 more weeks at most before the clubs reply is handed to the NRL then a 10 day maximum time before then NRL responds & makes its final decision. The whole thing smacks to me much like the end of WW 2 Nuremburg trials of the Nazi & German high command, which accused all the high ranking people with many various charges of war crimes & waging a war of aggression, the last one has always amused me, as, tell me of any war that has not involved aggression, does that fit the current scenario the eels are facing, but in a different way?
The German accused all tried to lay blame at the feet of their superiors & they had just been following orders in face of being shot. True up to a point, but that point was, the vast majority of them were guilty of charged, so are the charges against us in the main correct & we are guilty, but what sort of judgment overall when some are seen to be not guilty items.
In this area, both the NRL & the eels have to find a common ground for both to go forward both in this year & from 2017 to be clear in what has happened & the future direction. To have restrictive penalties applied against the club for next year will provide no relief for the club, especially if the NRL allows points & penalties carried over & make it all but impossible to be competitive next year after how hard we have been penalized for this year as well. Suffer in this current year & start the new one with hope, along with new direction in the front office & on the work floor.
Colin, the NRL have been totally unprofessional from my point of view, leaking info to the media profusely, including the final penalty about 2 days before being actually read out by TG. This is not conducive to a behind closed doors scenario.
I have no idea if the club is guilty or not, in part they definitely seem guilty of some underhanded tactics, but what part Seaward played without board knowledge or approval, is unknown. Has the club guaranteed TPAs? What the club desperately needs to do is get clarity as this has the potential to affect us for 2017 & 2018. Mere suspicion is not proof so have the NRL proved anything or have just made an assumption? This is probably what the courts needs to determine.
Glenn
As someone who has been blaming the NRL over their actions more than the board, I am still of an open mind & would not say one is likely to more unprofessional than the other. The points you make are ones that I hope I included in what I said first up as you are correct in saying them.
This again brings the point that I asked who is/was telling the truth, regarding the eels saying they were co-operating fully with the NRL & then the NRL say they were waiting on the eels, the other thing then, which points to the NRL’s attitude is something that just came back to me, was when the 5 said they were going to the high court, the NRL closed the door. Which again begs the question who is worse between the two, Eels for daring to challenge, or the NRL for shutting the door, as they cannot negotiate with a gun at their head, but that’s the exact same position they hit the eels with, guilty but no recourse of appeal, at least in the initial instance?
I am very mystified as to why Seward was ever appointed in the first place as well, but then to carry on like a loose cannon showed the ineptness of the board, especially after the praise given him when appointed, “best young up & coming CEO in the league” if I remember correctly.
If we end up keeping the points for this year, but then get hit with points loss as well as reduced cap for next year, that will definitely show the NRL up in the way they are treating this club. At the end of the day, though where the club is really showing their own unproffesional & inept business acumen is even with just 4 board members left they are still infighting & showing the factions that were supposed to have been put aside are right in the front of them. None of them really can take the club into the future, & need to go & we have a proper board of management with a professional CEO, & again I push for Bernie Gurr to get the job, & that all has to be in place before the training for 2017 kicks off. Along with the extension of BA’s contract.
I’ve always admired your optimism, which has been tinged with a healthy dose of realism.
A lot of us have been there when times are tough, the Eels mantra – “there’s always next year” comes to mind. It’s something we’ve always been able to cling to.
The new culture is helping us move away from this. It’s more a case of “who cares what everybody else says, our footy will do the talking.” Thank goodness it’s here because I think if all we had was “there’s always next year” with such a diabolical set of circumstances thrust upon us, many may just have given up the club as a basket case, not worthy of our support.
The front offices’ seeming inability to negotiate in an honourable and astute fashion (Will Hopoate contract, Kieren Foran contract, or apparently an endless number of TPA’s that should have been kept at arms length) piled on top of legal action, drug allegations and players not taking the field when we expect them to, presents death by a thousand cuts for long term fans. It’s a hard pill to swallow when the Bulldogs supporters can (rightfully?) say we’re an embarrassment to the game.
I will not give up, I cannot give up, I bleed blue and gold. As long as the fans in the stadium and the boys who take the field keep that attitude, I’ll be there.
Thank God for BA, the players and the fans. The rest can go stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Great read Sixties. I am standing to applaud this. (I normally only applaud hundreds) I wonder if the directors would read and see this as a need for the club? The fans are the ones who attend the games, and the players / coaches play and form the team. I sincerely hope something positive from the club side comes out of this as we as fans have been put through a lot; and the players more.
Hi Sixtiesboy,
Enjoyed the read and cannot help but agree that we have to overlook the factions for a while and get our club back on its feet.
We need strong and legal stewardship from our board now and well into the future. Our board must consist of members who display proven business accumen and exhibit the abilities to lead a six million dollar corporation.
We need this new board to lead the players group, accept their responsibilities and accept it as an honour to serve the Eels club. This board must provide long term direction for the club, its members and the playing group. If they can do this they will receive the accolades of the members, the playing group and the public at large.
A new and reinvigorated board needs to provide leadership and take responsibility for their actions and decisions.
Finally I want to take this opportunity to thank Brad, his coaching team and last but by no means least the playing team for turning up, facing the media where necessary, and giving their all on the paddock.
Thank you gentlemen.
Eels member
Eels supporter
Big Pete
well said Big Pete. BA knows how much the TCT community supports his work under very difficult circumstances.
hope you’re enjoying the site mate.