What is a narrative?
Basically it’s a story, or a telling of events, that can be either factual or imagined, depending on its purpose.
Then there are those occasions when fiction is strangely interpreted as fact.
Any actor who’s been abused as a result of a nefarious on-screen role will tell you that the lines between fantasy and reality become blurred for some of their audience. In the case of rugby league, when an influencer’s narrative has been told ad nauseam, it becomes fact far too easily.
Take the familiar story of Parra’s “late season fade”.
Make no mistake, there’s a decent fade going on right now. However, the real story is that the fade is new, but the problem behind it is far too familiar.
There are probably punters reading this and immediately believing that I’ve lost my mind.
However, a quick check of history will support my stance.
Removing the 2018 season, which was an entire season fade, the 2017 to 2020 seasons tell a completely different story.
Gutho
In 2017, the Eels won nine of their last ten games to finish fourth. Clint Gutherson, who had been on track to take out the Dally M Award, was injured in Round 20. They then lost 18 to 16 in a controversial finals match to the Storm. The Storm would win their next two games 30 to nil and 34 to 6 to take out the title.
Unfortunately for the Eels, that season was judged by their next match, which was a disappointing 24 to 16 loss to grand finalists, the Cowboys. Without question, the Eels failed to rally after the disappointment of the loss to the Storm, but to suggest that there was a late season fade in 2017 was a nonsense.
The 2019 season saw Parra win five of their last seven to finish 5th. This was a decent back end to the year for a team that had finished with the spoon in a disastrous 2018. They then defeated the Broncos 58 nil in the first week of the finals before the Storm did what they do to most teams in the finals. Once again the Storm were the Eels nemesis and the entire season was judged on one ugly finals loss.
Last season, 2020, Parra won seven of their last ten, including three of their last four. I’m not sure how anyone else defines a late season fade, but that list of results doesn’t read that way. There was a bad loss to Souths in that run, and there were some tight wins that didn’t feature champagne football, but the Eels finished the season with a 75% win record.
Furthermore, the finals series matches last year were judged way too harshly.
Consider the facts. The Eels took it to the Storm, the premiers, before a sequence of injuries during the match took their toll. But they fought hard in the circumstances to lose 36 to 24.
Jenko
The following week they were challenging Souths, despite going into the match without three of their four outside backs, and despite the chaos of losing Jennings on the morning of the match to a drug suspension. Furthermore, Kane Evans was the only middle forward on the bench.
It then requires repeating that an awful officiating decision to not bin Damien Cook was a significant turning point in that match. The Eels lost their way after Moses missed the ensuing penalty kick for that incident, but it’s fair to say that a different outcome might have resulted from a justified sin bin. And again the entire Eels season was incorrectly assessed.
There was a narrative from those seasons, but it wasn’t about late season fading. The real narrative was the team’s inability to find resilience in circumstances beyond the team’s control.
In 2017, it was a bad response to a controversial loss in the first week of the finals to the Storm.
In 2019, it was a disastrous collapse after a poor start to the finals match against the Storm, a team that had a far stronger roster.
In 2020, an inconsistent officiating decision, and a missed goal, led to a shock try in the final against the Rabbitohs. From there the Eels lost resilience and composure.
Resilience, or lack thereof, in a key finals match has been the real narrative. That, and a roster which has never quite matched the Storm.
The team’s current malaise is all too real. It’s a fade, and there’s a fair bit wrong going on, but that lack of mental resilience remains very much at the core.
What’s the answer?
Whether the player wears the Captain’s hat or not, having strong, experienced, on-field leadership must be the way forward.
How vital is it?
The Roosters played Cooper Cronk in a grand final despite an injury that should have seen him sidelined for months. His stats in the match were non-existent but his leadership and direction were not.
The Storm literally had an on-field coach and referee whisperer for the best part of two decades in Cameron Smith.
Steven .Edge
When speaking with us, Parra legend Steve Ella referred to the importance of on-field leaders such as Steve Edge, Bob O’Reilly, Ray Price, Mick Cronin in guiding young, inexperienced players to a title.
Until last weekend’s match against the Cowboys, Clint Gutherson looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He hadn’t been playing his typical footy of high involvement around the ruck. Other team leaders have also been struggling for form.
The lack of a genuine game breaker in the Eels squad has been highlighted in recent weeks, and I won’t disagree with that.
Yet, it is now more evident than ever before that if the Eels are to take a step forward, they must add to their leadership group. The current leaders provide leadership in many critical ways, whether it be motivating their peers to train hard, supporting young players in their development or being role models as community members.
Unquestionably, that capacity to drive the team on the field when adversity hits has been the missing ingredient.
Whether the players believe this to be true or not, is up to them. However, surely the Eels would have benefited by having a Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk or Steve Edge type of leader helping the cause during finals matches.
Parramatta need to target a player who meets that need. Maybe such an individual is not off contract at the moment, but his recruitment must be prioritised.
It cannot be part of a wish list. It must be approached with a “get it done” attitude.
Only then will the Eels real narrative have the much sought after happy ending.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Maybe we should have jettisoned Nrown and gone all out for Finucane. Hindsight hey. I can’t see anyone else that fits that bill. Professional development for Guth, Moses and Jnr in the off season?
In retrospect, maybe Finucane did fit the bill. Leadership training can’t hurt. But I think we need somebody who has that experience of staying composed in tough times. Who knows what winning big matches is about. I think we have to buy that experience.
Joey Manu as has been suggested on here before. We sure would be paying for it though.
Yes, I’ve specifically named him in some posts. I’m sure we are interested in him – like many others.
Why would Joey Manu want to leave a professional club with a top coach to come to Parramatta ?
Why would players leave the Storm? They get either opportunity to play in a different position or to earn money that they can’t get there because of how much is paid to others.
I think you have hit the nail on the head Sixties. I noticed during Saturday’s game that Moses was talking a lot more than usual, and more key was the fact that he was in discussions with his halves partner, something we rarely see on-field. We also saw a much more focused and calm Gutherson. These two players are our critical leaders, and they need to be switched on at all times. You could argue that our recent fade has a lot to do with these players not able to provide that leadership – Moses with his injury and Gutherson with contract issues hanging over his head (and probably something else besides).
Agreed though that we need another leader. I also feel that Moses needs to be captain next year, to help him take control of the team, and to help him to learn to be a leader.
Longfin, I was very deliberate in saying that we needed to add to the leadership group, not replace it. If we can recruit the right person, he could help those in the current group to grow. Whether we replace the official captain my not matter. Like you, I really believe that Gutho missed Moses being on the field in a couple of those losses.
Completely agree with everything said. Although Eels could do with a little for X-factor in the roster, the overall player quality is very high; notwithstanding current injuries which have plagued most of the team. Highly effective on-field leadership is, however, critically important and a key ingredient of good leadership is emotional intelligence and self-control. Gutherson is a first-class player and his outstanding commitment to every minute of every game is indisputable. For example, last weekend’s game against the Cowboys, where Gutho was absolutely everywhere on the field and performing miracles; what about the hand of god, try saver! Clearly, the man has the goods as a player, however, his onfield leadership can be improved. Regardless of his frustrations with game dynamics, Gutho has to must maintain composure and a level head, especially when leading millennials.
Cheers Anon. Agreed, there was a distinct difference in Gutho’s game as well as his demeanour against the Cows. It wasn’t just being more comfortable against a lesser opponent, as the Eels made enough errors to create pressure on themselves. Obviously BA had instructed them to play without stressing themselves – a natural follow up to a more relaxed training week. But Gutho had been looking so “unGutho” both in form and attitude lately. Leadership support would help him during such hard times.
Tks sixties. A good thoughtful piece, which I”ll put in my have a deeper think about it file. In that Souths semi last year, I thought we started losing our way late in the first half after putting a 12 or 16 point lead on the Bunnies, composure got trumped by touch football, got Souths settled then after oranges they not only surged but got all the luck in a 15 minute spell which seemed to blunt us. Leadership was an issue nonetheless I’d say. Like a worn record, I’m going to say we’ll never win a GF with the defensive lapses on show over past 2 years, no amount of leadership would overcome that.Also our error count is hard to continually recover from. Turning over possession and allowing soft tries, puts a strain on everything I can think about in a football team.
Cheers BDon. I’ve voiced my concerns about defensive systems, but even with a changed system, we would still need more from the team during moments of adversity.
Totally agree. Our on field leadership seems to be lacking or some semblance of leadership. Not sure what the answer is but I don’t think the current structure can unlock it. From the outside looking in…. Things always start from the top and trickle down. That is where I believe we need to start.
*cough 2014 cough*
We lost the final 2 games to teams outside the top 8 to miss the finals. Fade. We only needed to win 1 to make the 8 and lost both on the back of terrible defense.
So you think that it’s relevant to go back to 2014 – to the team that was essentially the previous year’s spoon team? They finished the season with two losses but finished equal 8th that year. Yeah, it was disappointing to finish that way but there was far more positive from that season than the previous 4 seasons.
Mr Sixties, that Parra has faded at the business end of this season is undeniable. However there are mitigating circumstances. Cash Mahoney was close to the best hooker in the NRL and got hurt. I say again because no one is listening, he got hurt because of poor captaincy. Then Moses got selected for Origin 3 – good for him – he was paying really well and got seriously hurt in that game and clearly has come back carrying that injury. All of a sudden Parra has lost their two most creative players. And against the Titans Ash Taylor did a job in Gutherson’s ribs which he carried for some weeks. Added to that is his stupid contract negotiations and you have our captain out of sorts. Then RCG does a boiler and he is out for weeks. Clearly RCG was our best forward. Then Cash is rushed back and blows his shoulder again. All this at the wrong time of the year.
To cap all this off you have a coach who made wrong team selections that really hurt.
What team can afford the loss of those quality players and not suffer.
Let’s recall two games both lost at the death x1 point and two points, both could have been won and nearly was.
This fade out has a number of contributors as we just discussed.
Now, Mr Sixties there is nothing wrong with our leadership group. What Parra is clearly lacking is a game breaker.
When Parra won three in a row they the best back line the NRL has seen. It has not been matched by any modern team. They were quality gamebreakers and the only I can think of that would come close today is Latrell Mitchell. We can’t have him then who is next? Cam Munster.
We have a good team who are down on their luck. Will it get better – we hope so. Bad luck has killed confidence which has contributed to poor form.
I believe Parra’s season is almost over and we have to work out where and how we can fix it for 2022.
Zero, I am not ignoring the need for a game breaker. I’ve written about going all in for Joey Manu.
Im also on board with many of your mitigating factors around this year.
There are some great qualities in our leadership group, but I’m not sure that all of them thrive with that responsibility in a game or are natural on-field leaders. Maybe it’s about the experience of facing adversity but coming out as a winner. Do our group have that experience? I’d say not, but adding someone who has that could bring out the best in them.
When Steve Edge was brought to the eels and was captain, he brought with him quality in a big way, played under some fair coaches at the dragons, and becoming a winning captain for the eels under notable coaches who added to his quality as a player and captainship.
On reflection and reading this blog, I have to admit that I cannot find the eels with a captain with those qualities since Steve, the best though with Steve was his post eels playing years he stayed at the eels in a role that enhanced him in a big way. Going back into my messy memory bank, which is also fading, his position as hooker was a key position and he controlled the game from there, rarely did I see him in the attacking team not go to the dummy half position, it was his role to play from and direct the play, in that role his leadership was reflected from his clear mind that seemed to me to be in motion and the next play also ready to be either enacted on, or changed quickly if needed, always it seemed to me that he had a second plan ready to take over as he watched the opposition as he went to the DH position.
Would love it if he could provide some insight for Reed with some tips and helps.
The question of who is captain or is to be captain, meand a player of quality, skills into reading the game both in attack and moreso I think in defence as he needs to be able to read the opposition and their game play/plan when they are defending, it then becomes a play & working of the captains witts. But, that is also in play with attack.
Our main two now is Gutho & MM, of the two, I would like to see MM with the C against his name and VC with Gutho. As Gutho is more often than not running the backline and not quite involved as MM, I tend to believe that Gutho would be better without the burden of being Captain.
So, who for captain going forward? I believe the best option out of the current squad would be Reed. He reminds me of a pocket sized Edge, the question though is how long his eels career going forward.
There is one caveat to that decision, but one that would not raise at this point of time.
Hang on Joe. You said before you weren’t looking to get personal! For your information, anyone can attend Eels training at Kellyville. I’m not on special privileges there.
As for Flanagan, that will do me! You are welcome to take a bloke who’d been involved in all of the Sharks stuff, been suspended, then ignored the suspension, but I wouldn’t. That will do me!
Joe, I didn’t call him a criminal, and a job at Foxsports bears no similarity to being in charge of an NRL team. Flanno is a repeat NRL rule offender.
In contrast, the investigation into the Eels NRL cap issues heavily punished the club and individuals. BA was not one of them, and as such, there should be no implications made about that.
Colin, I just believe that we need to add that experience to the group. Whether such an addition is named captain might be a secondary concern. But getting that person has to be a priority.
Don’t give you what? A pathways system for two years? What?Comment all you want but I will provide my own facts and arguments.
If you don’t think that the Eels need to recruit any players, you go sit on that rock. The thing about any development system is that there will be times when it doesn’t meet every need. And incidentally, I was highly critical of the Eels for not locking up Stefano.
As for recruitment, you can even look at Parra’s own history. Even with our great juniors, and other leaders in the team, the club selectively recruited a leader in Steven Edge. At the Roosters, who already had a great leader in Boyd Cordner, they still recruited Cooper Cronk.
But nah, let’s just go pointing an agenda finger rather than looking at a solution.
Rattled my cage? Is that your point for visiting TCT? Firstly you haven’t.
Furthermore, there are a number of the first grade team, as well as the extended squad who’ve played NRL this year with a background in Parra pathways. Dunster, Penisini, Russell, Brown, Moses, Arthur, Paulo, Matterson, Kaufusi. Then you have those who were added at the lower grade level and developed into regular NRL players like Mahoney, Stone, Sivo and Niukore. Maybe Makatoa will be one. Then there are others that haven’t debuted as yet. I’m not even going back to previous squads to add more.
But as I said, your pathways don’t always meet all of your needs. Even the Broncos with virtually a state to develop from have to recruit to improve. And so do the Panthers.
Anyway, what you are trying to do is to hijack a post on one topic and turn it into a debate about something else.
Reed Mahoney anyone? Dylan Brown? Isaiah Papili’i? Sure they aren’t top game breakers yet, but Reed should’ve played Origin this year, and Ice is most people’s pick for buy of the year.
Selective editing of facts in your post I’m afraid, where you leave out the bits that don’t support your opinion.
Wilhelmina, this bloke has come here to “rattle the cage”. We can debate facts but he’s brought his intent with him and facts won’t dissuade him.
There are some juniors that we shouldn’t have lost, but also plenty that we couldn’t have prevented (see Manly and it’s generally Western Sydney for then, not just Parra. Their feeder team is based in Penrith’s junior area!)There is a junior rule that will be implemented next year that might ease some of that.
As I said, this post is not about which juniors are playing elsewhere.
Joe, mistakes are sometimes made. I don’t believe that the club should have lost Sean Keppie or Stefano. We should have looked to recruit a local like Jason Saab to the club instead of Manly picking him up from the Dragons. I’ve been critical when needed. Mate, I’d love for the NRL team to be full of locals, but there are many reasons for a junior moving.
As for the rule, and I am told it should come into effect next year, junior players who qualify for Matts, Ball etc will have to play all of their footy in the area of the club they are playing for. So if a Parra, Tigers or Penrith junior was poached by Manly for Rep footy, they’d have to play all of their footy in the Manly district.
Thats how it was but some fool at nrl changed the rule and our juniors have been plundered ever since , manly jun reps full of our juniors in rep season then allowed come back play in our comps , complete stupidity , see how many want to travel to manly to play every week once reps over !!!
Play and train!
It seems there’s a few people who are treating captaincy and leadership as one and the same. They aren’t. This is professional sport. Your captain has to be able to talk to the ref and have him listen. They need to be able to front the media, sponsors, fans and represent the club with integrity. And they need to be seen as a leader by their teammates, someone who set standards and upholds them. (Note: multiple reasons there why Jack de Belin as a captain is a terrible idea).
But they don’t have to be the only leader, “the one” who fires them up or calms them down, through their words and their actions. That’s asking a lot of one bloke. Just like coaches, different players will respond best to different kinds of leaders. And different kinds of leaders will excel in different scenarios. That’s why clubs now have leadership groups.
The leadership gap I see, and the one that Gutho recently and oh so publicly failed at and will hopefully have learnt from, is that ability to bring calmness and focus to those around them. And that’s usually where clubs bring in an outsider with high levels of experience at pressure football (ie aging rep player), like the Roosters did with Cronk.
That doesn’t mean the club has failed internally to develop leaders. It means you’re targeting your recruitment to the gaps, instead of blindly throwing money at good players and hoping it all works out. There’s a few clubs languishing at the bottom of the table providing evidence of how well that works.
I like this post. However I would just like to add one point. There is a difference in bringing in a Cooper Cronk or a Steve Edge.
Cooper Cronk was recruited by the Roosters because he was so technically astute to the point as Sixties points out he was like having a coach on the field.
Whereas Steve Edge was a man manager. He was able to bring the players together as a unit.
Not sure which type is most applicable here. I went through last weeks team lists and nothing jumped out
Me too. James Fisher-Harris. Runs hard, tackles hard in the first minute and the last (and every one in between), constantly gets off the line quickly, constantly plays the ball quickly, never blinks or complains. Every game. Leader.
The scary thing is BDon that he was missing when the Panthers took the game by the scruff of the neck against the Bunnies.
Kikau came on dominated the game and Bunnies haled attack failed to score another point and looked pedestrian
I think that Gutho is that type of follow me leader. I reckon we’ve had others of a similar ilk. I am looking for something like what is debated above – Cronk or Edge.
I feel like both would be beneficial at times John, and I think Cronk had some of the Edge‘s qualities too. Forced to choose, I’d like an on field calm head like Edge.
Glad you added this reply Wilhelmina. There are leaders within the club, but there is that gap. And as you say, it becomes targeted recruitment to fill that gap.
Get Beau Scott out of retirement !! !! !! A hard man that commands your attention and doesn’t expect any more or less of others than he does himself!!
and no, my real name is not Beau Scott.
It’s been raised earlier, but Finucane but have been a viable target. Regardless, Welch would also fit the mould.
Great article , and great question? Leadership is an interesting thing – some players just have it – and set the standard but can do it differently. The 1980s team had a core of them – all brought a different quality but they all had a certain “something” that was leadership
I recall aa story about SBW when he came to the Roosters in 2013 for one year – at the first team meeting everyone was shorts and tshirts and caps – he turned up club polo/ pants/shoes and a notebook. It was that simple act that Robinson said later quietly set a standard, and soon everyone followed. Leading in the little things led to a lot
Question is – who would those leaders / that leader be that we could recruit?
Great anecdote Greg. No doubt, the aura of SBW would have led to others following his lead. He was perceived as a winner. As I have mentioned above, it’s Christian Welch. Outstanding footballer. Terrific communicator. Steady temperament. Winner. Respected by fan base and peers. You still need other leaders in the spine as they play 80 minutes and direct the play, but his addition to a leadership group would bring different qualities that I think we would benefit from.