News that the Eels will hold off contract negotiations with Brad Arthur until June has put an end to recent speculation that a coaching decision was coming within six weeks.
When speculation of a first quarter review of the season and Arthur’s tenure started to gain traction amongst supporters, I personally found the rumours to be puzzling.
It was a timeline that would have placed Eels coaching dramas on the sporting front pages in the very week that the club was staging its inaugural match at the new BankWest Stadium. It made zero sense.
Even more concerning, any discussion around the coach’s future so early in the season would only serve to destabilise the building blocks of the 2019 campaign. The repercussions would effectively consign another season to the scrap heap and make a mockery of the staffing and structural changes which resulted from the 2018 review.
Arthur doing his thing at Saleyards
The discussions around the disasters of 2018 have been numerous and are now consigned to history. I regarded last season as an anomaly, but one which provided invaluable lessons for Arthur and the club.
The Eels had previously been on an upward trajectory under BA’s coaching, even overcoming the 2016 salary cap scandal roadblock. Not too many coaches have been subjected to the penalties imposed on the Eels during that season. A collapse in 2016 and 2017 would not have surprised but the opposite transpired.
Disappointingly, the 2018 performances bore no similarity to the teams of the previous two seasons. But they did push the structure of the football department into the spotlight, and highlight the need for a better resourced operation.
Moving into 2019, the staffing changes and restructures resulting from 2018 need time to take effect. They don’t need the disruptions that follow any change in coach and the resultant loss of support staff.
Stability is paramount for the Eels, especially at a time when Arthur’s investment in youth is just coming to the fore.
Since our inception, The Cumberland Throw has consistently reported that a talented group of juniors was progressing through the Harold Matthews, SG Ball and Flegg teams. It has required an element of patience from supporters, especially if those supporters had never seen these youngsters in action. But the evidence is now there in the composition of the full time squad.
This progression has taken time. The right youngsters had to be identified by people such as Anthony Field. Quality coaching was needed. The JETS program was implemented by Joey Grima (now the Eels Elite Pathways Coaching Director). The NRL staff mentored elite players at Old Saleyards.
It’s been a five year process. The goal – a greater percentage of Parramatta developed NRL players within the Eels Top 30. The club has confirmed the philosophy by identifying itself as a “Development Club”.
The Cumberland Throw has been an unapologetic supporter of Brad Arthur because our writers have witnessed his investment in development first hand. BA has been instrumental in driving change in how the club develops players. Along with Bernie Gurr and other NRL staff, Arthur can be seen at virtually every junior and lower grade match that doesn’t clash with first grade. The Development Club philosophy is evident.
Make no mistake. This is a crucial year for the Parramatta Eels.
Dylan Brown is part of the youth focus at the club
Young players such as Mahoney, Salmon, Niukore, Stone and Kaufusi debuted last season. Brown and Sivo – a recruit identified and targetted by Grima and Arthur – have kicked off the 2019 debuts. The changing of the guard is in progress. The next 24 months will shape the future of the Eels.
This last pre-season has been unlike any I’ve witnessed before. The intensity of the sessions and the resolve of the players was inspiring to watch.
Round one needed to produce a victory. Others may say that evidence of a new attitude was enough. I reckon that after last year, we could not risk that monkey on the back becoming a gorilla. The win loosened his grip. That performance must now be backed up on a weekly basis, and I’m confident that it will be.
I welcome Bernie Gurr’s announcement of a more reasonable time frame, but remain staunch in my opinion that Arthur is the right man to take the club forward.
By the middle of this season we will hopefully have this confirmed.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Well put together Sixties. spot on again. He deserves the time to show he is the best coach to take this squad and juniors forward. I believe he is. We just need our fare share of luck with injuries.
Thanks Milo. I hope that the first step is a one to two year extension. That period will coincide with the transition of many of the talented young players into the NRL. I do have hopes of a finish between 7th – 10th this year. Anything better is a bonus.
Yes, I agree. 2018 was not indicative of BA’s ability (not many coaches have had to deal with what he has since joining Parra). As you noted, lessons have been learned (especially about club culture) and so far, so good. I’m quietly confident 2019 will be a positive season for the Eels.
Yes Shaun. BA inherited a mess, and it culminated in the 2016 Cap penalty. I don’t advocate that BA simply deserves the opportunity to redeem himself. Like you, I simply believe that last year was not indicative of his talents as a coach.
The more I think about coaching and the impact another change would bring, even the BA critics should see that what is needed is stability. One of the major problems in 2018 was a very poor playing style, whether that was due to the players or the coaching staff, it needed to be front and centre of any review or change.
Potter , Kidwell and others have started this process and with the younger players staking a claim, it sort of feels foolish to just dump BA as the building blocks of juniors he Started are now coming got through.
Again , like most there were times last year when a change to the coach seemed the simple and inevitable solution, on reflection as more resources have been made available maybe stability is more important. Just some immediate thoughts on what may benefit the club going forward.
Well put Derek. Stability is important. To an extent, the results between now and June might well determine BA’s fate, but whether other factors are taken into account we probably won’t be privy to. I’m confident we will produce much improved results.
Sixties, totally agree. I posted over on the other site a reply to a blog set up by Poppa with the following as the last line
Limiting a coaches time at a club, not sure it would really benefit overall. Our current coach would still have his critics amongst certain people if at the end of the time frame announced by the club we were leading the competition, they would want him sacked.
How long did it take the likes of Bennett, Bellamy and others to get their teams to where they were constant winners? I also mentioned the Knights situation where they have used the statement that this year is the culmination of 6 years of progress to success.
I said many times last year that the players have to own up and take responsibility for their on field performances, same applies this year and so far through the adversities of the first game and players unavailable the team stood up to be countered, they did the same in 16/17, last year is gone, hard to forget it but easy to move on from it and that I believe the journey has started.
Anther thoughtful contribution Colin. The Eels have required a major rebuild, and the first 3 years of the NRL rebuild were basically lost in 2016. The achievements of 2017 defied the upheaval. The form in 2018 has been covered extensively. I know the players have done a lot of soul searching. You can guarantee the coaches have too. The pre-season was impressive. The first shot fired this year has been encouraging. I have faith that BA will keep things positive.
Thanks sixties I originally had the thought that we would do better than many believed, quietly confident my thinking. The loss of some players to injury is a dampener, but not by much, how we perform over the next few weeks including the first game at the new stadium may well be the catalyst for our season. Quiet, yes but not so much now, but that may change./
You’re Blue and Gold through and through Colin.
I have been a big supporter of BA from the moment he arrived. Not that I knew much about him but I was drawn to his families connection to the Eels. Who better to understand what the Eels fans have been going through than a life long Eels fan. I will never forget the way he stood up in 2016 and would love to see him succeed & stay in charge for years to come like Bellamy at the Storm. We were a club in trouble when he arrived & after a lot of hard work it looks like we are finally finding our true identity. We are a development club & as most of us know development doesn’t happen over the off season, it can take years to bring through the talent. Well now that we are at the beginning of a new era for the Eels where our juniors play for us instead of watching them star at other clubs I think BA is the man to take us forward. I spoke to Brad a couple of weeks ago at Cabra during rep games & he is such an easy guy to approach & happy to have a chat with fans. It’s not the first time I met him & every time I have seen him at junior games he is happy to spend time with the fans. This guy bleeds Blue & Gold so I hope to see him around for many years to come.
I’m so happy that you’ve replied to this post Jim. I’ve written before about how bullshit just doesn’t exist with BA and his staff. Your personal anecdote about your interactions with Brad certainly mirror my own experiences. It’s the same with all of the staff. The respect for supporters is genuine. But of course, the job is coaching, not public relations. To gauge that, I’ve watched years of training, and spoken to players. I’ve never asked them about BA or his staff. They have volunteered their impressions. Their respect. That has always said plenty for me.
Aren’t you concerned that leaving the decision late will hinder our recruitment and retention efforts? No one will want to sign a contract if they don’t know who the coach will be moving forward. It’s such an important decision, and the club will need time to move in a new direction if BA is not offered a new deal.
Jetta as you said its a very important decision and one that they cannot make in the first 6 matches or so (IMO anyway). I think they have made a mature call, and would obviously have thoughts and ideas in motion before that time anyway. The good thing about the board etc. is that we do not seem to have the ‘old type’ of leaks that occurred previously.
I understand your point. Someone like Gutherson is holding off on his own contract talks. Other players would also be waiting. For mine, when the review was completed and changes implemented, BA should have been given a one year extension to have the necessary stability. But I understand why that didn’t happen. Given the results, it may not have been the best public relations exercise.
So ideally, I would like an early decision to extend BA’s contract. If that can’t be done without the decision makers wanting results, then June is better than April.
I agree on that, in an ideal situation the sooner the better? maybe not as those with the power need to be sure that what decision is made is the right one, it will affect more than one area so caution is kept away from the wind.
100% Sixties. Nicely done. BA will survive and thrive.
As he should Jeff.
Well put Sixties…
With so many players coming off contract this year the club really is walking a double edged sword here. Procrastinate too long and we might lose players. Procrastinate too long and any options beyond BA may not be an option anymore. But seriously, how many other genuine options are there in terms of coaches being available for 2020?
The big signings of Ivan Cleary, Michael Maguire, Wayne Bennett, Anthony Seibold are done. Apart from an existing NRL coach being thrown out of their current job as a result of poor performance this year, is there actually anyone left that would be worth chasing???
The game as we well know is now so cut throat that unfortunately, there is little room for loyalty these days. Loyalty doesn’t win you games, OR DOES IT?
I’d like to put it out there that an early sign from the club that there actually is faith in BA and what he has brought to the club in terms of player development is worth something. That in spite of a disastrous year in 2018, the journey we are starting now is an exciting one and acknowledging the fact that BA has had a lot to do with this journey will have a positive impact on the squad. This could well translate into additional motivation for the players to want to “play for their coach” as so many have been quoted as saying during the 2016/17 seasons.
The big difference now is that there is a real sense of not just playing for their coach, but also for each other and for themselves. I for one would be totally dismayed if the board elected not to extend BA for another 1 or 2 years. Give the team and the man one last show of faith and show that loyalty does actually still mean something. If BA cant turn the existing squad, with the current and emerging crop of talent into a serious title contender (for me that means top 4, in 2 – 3 consecutive years) then maybe it’ll be time for BA to move on, but until then I think he deserves the loyalty of the players, the club and the fans.
Well articulated JonBoy. There is a double edged sword associated with this. Go too late and there is a risk of delaying signatures for the following year. I believe that the Eels had to extend Arthur for 1 year after the review because of that need for stability, and because I believe he’s the right man. But I understand that last year’s results made that an awkward decision.
To go in a different direction with a coach would mean going with an unproven coach with little understanding of the players in our system or a coach who has previously lost a job. Right now it is the last thing we need.
sixties, totally agree with your reply, more especially what you say in the last paragraph. BA has been the oversee of the young players that have come up, last year how many were calling for it, and now its started, on that score alone he deserves the job going forward and to take those players along and up with him.
As it stands, what other coach could anyone honestly suggest as an eels coach is available, even amongst those in a position now?
I cant help but feel that this announcement by the Eels following the good win against Penrith has been good for BA.
I have seen a lot of love for BA since the announcement of the June deadline for a decision on his future. Time will tell I guess but I wish him well and feel he is a better than an even chance to get an extension.
Agree John, thanks.
Can I just say there was no reason for this story on nrl.com to be public after a great win. Bernie should of kept this private. To me this seems like the club will go a new direction for next season and that won’t include Brad.
It’s disappointing this couldn’t be between Brad and the club.
A valid point Terry and on one hand I agree. On the other hand I suspect it is more of a deflection of the constant questions on the topic. Unfortunately I think the way the media work now it’ll just add to the fire with any loss or hiccup.
Terry and JonBoy I think there’s a damned no matter which way it went. I couldn’t tell you how many people had told me the 6 week rumour. It was even put to me by someone that I knew the KPIs involved. I didn’t and had heard nothing until the rumours began.
I would normally agree with you Terry 100% of the time as I believe that contract negotiations be it with staff or players belong behind closed doors. In this instance the speculation and media questioning may have destabilised the early part of the season. This statement is still not ideal as I don’t believe we should be making a coach decision so soon AFTER a restructure. That said something probably needed to be said in reply to the strong speculation. But I have faith that the information gathered during the review and this year’s performances will see BA extended.
A great read as usual and I for one am a supporter of B A. This is definitely the right direction Parra. Thanks for all the hard work Parra and sixties.
All I know is that out in the world of business and commerce, board and management decisions to do with strategy, direction, people and governance that turn the business into a train wreck take years to clean up. The larger the business the more complex the task becomes.
In the sport market, the Eels are a large business. Brad Arthur wandered into an absolute train wreck, then had to watch the old adage take place..’you have to hit rock bottom before before you begin to rise again’.
In these circumstances, I have difficulty in considering all the micro events that occur, because they happen when things have gone crazy, like recruiting when the spreadsheet is fudged, doesn’t add up and is seemingly on the back of a coaster. He deserves some clean air.