How much do you love the Eels dropping some good news on us late on Friday afternoon!
There’s nothing better than hitting the weekend with a spring in the step, and I’m doing everything in my power to not gloat in the direction of certain media types.
If there’s one thing that age is teaching me, it’s that rugby league often produces the unexpected. And when it comes to the silly season, I go with the flow. What will be, will be.
It’s all a matter of trusting the process, and the Eels have a decent track record over recent seasons.
And when the first of big announcements was made today, it had company. Pleasant company at that.
Let the good times roll. Bumpers up!
Reg Remains An Eel
Imagine being part of the Eels media team today.
Firstly, the club puts out their statement about the contract negotiation process. (More on that in a moment).
RCG
They then hit supporters with the unexpected news of RCG agreeing to a further three years with the club.
Eels fans had been feeling somewhat tense regarding contract news, so the announcement about Reg was naturally well-received.
In retrospect, the actions of the big prop in declining the player option put him back in control of his contract, making it one that is now more definitive.
I have no problem with players making hay while the sun shines, and no doubt the new contract will be rewarding. Nonetheless it’s still good to see a key player like Reagan recognising the value of remaining at the Eels, especially when he is playing so well wearing the Blue and Gold.
Expect more news soon.
Aland Extends
Aland will continue to feature front and centre on the jersey
The positive news kept coming on Friday arvo with the announcement that Aland will continue to be the Eels major corporate partner for a further three years.
Commencing as a sleeve sponsor in 2017, the property development organisation first took on the major sponsorship of the Eels in 2018. Their faith in the club has since been rewarded with Parra reaching finals footy for the last three years.
The term “destination club” is often used to describe the influence of a strong club in the player market. Unquestionably, the Eels consistent results have also made them a destination club for commercial partners.
Fox NRL Reaction
Friday also saw the Eels issue a public statement regarding its contract negotiation policy.
Essentially, Parramatta clarified that they are not in the business of playing out such negotiations in the media.
The most relevant section of that statement reads as follows:
“Our approach is not to engage publicly in speculation regarding player negotiations. It is disrespectful to the players involved, is unhelpful in building a team that is set up for success, and most importantly, goes against how we aim to operate as a Club.”
It seems very straight forward. Right?
Not according to Fox NRL.
They responded with a “staff writers” article which begins,
“The Parramatta Eels have released a bizarre statement taking aim at the “disrespectful” media”.
Nowhere in the Eels statement is there any criticism of the media. In fact, the club stated the following:
“The media has a job to do in reporting player movements which we respect as we understand the public interest in our players.”
When it comes to the “bizarre”, I’m prepared to lock the Fox NRL article firmly under that category.
Not only is this journalistic masterpiece credited to unnamed staff writers, the individual or individuals responsible have demonstrated an inability to comprehend even the most uncomplicated of club statements.
There are many fine rugby league people associated with Fox NRL. The organisation would do well to employ a tighter editorial control with their “staff writers”.
Mary and the Menace
One door closes, another opens.
The recent news of Joey Johns’ departure from the Eels was regarded as further evidence of the club losing its way.
I was a fan of the work done by the Knight’s immortal and was disappointed that he would no longer be part of the coaching staff.
The welcome announcement
However, the arrival of a premiership winning dummy half like Michael Ennis should ensure that the education of the Eels spine continues. The value of such learning was seen in the development of Mitch Moses’ game over the past two seasons – something that has seen him debut in Origin footy, and resulted in his recognition as one of the NRL’s best halves.
I’m keen to see the impact of Ennis on Reed Mahoney. He will undoubtedly provide a different voice and perspective to the number 9 role.
I believe that Ennis was close to linking with the Eels a couple of years ago. I was at Old Saleyards when he turned up to training, had a look around and spent some time speaking with BA and Reed. This time he’ll have much better facilities to check out at Kellyville.
As for Paul McGregor, he should have an important role when it comes to the exciting group of young backs in the Eels squad. As an outside back, McGregor played at the highest levels. He also brings his own coaching experience to the table.
I’m sure he’ll provide a valuable resource for both the players and the coaching staff.
Pathways News
Over the last couple of weeks, the Eels have been conducting the all important induction meetings for their pathways players.
There’s been plenty for the players to take in, from Covid compliance to Eels documentation and training responsibilities. It’s all part of a learning process that prepares young footballers for what lies ahead should they be successful in becoming professionals.
Joey Grima
Next year’s junior Rep competitions have been brought forward by a week, so the process of finalising squads and completing the preseason will be a bit tighter than usual.
The Cumberland Throw has been privileged to be able to share our insights about the Eels pathways programs with our readers for many years now. This would not be possible without the welcome afforded to us by Joey Grima and all of the Eels staff.
Forty and I will be speaking with Joey about the latest pathways news in next week’s episode of the Tip Sheet.
It should make for fascinating listening.
Eels forever!
Sixties
This is great news all round. As I was just saying to Colin the signing of Michael Ennis is a bit of a surprise.
Shelley might get a shock. Don’t get me wrong, I think he is a good get.
It will also help get Reed over the line to extend. Given what Reed got from Joey over the last two (interrupted) years, this could do a lot to put the polish on Reed.
Really upbeat and happy about RCG.
John, it is positive stuff all round. There is not one negative that anyone could make out of yesterday’s announcements.
Well, what a day! surprises galore, not the least from Reg, as he for all purposes was heading to Sea World or was that a faint in the pool amongst the Dolphins?
Great resigning, and an extension to his contract too boot. Surprises never seem to end it would seem. I doubt really that he would fit in a lifestyle on the QLD Coast, dare I suggest that with his recommitment the first dominoe has fallen, now for the rest.
The announcement regarding Mary and Ennis is something of a shock, and an unexpected one that really adds icing and fresh cream to the cake. Mary I believe will work well with the backs, and bring out the best in them, a real new era has begun.
Michael Ennis, wow. The niggling grub that was the perfect baiting player, his niggles against certain players were first clase, one only needs to see how Nathan Hindmarsh reacted with one of them that had boxing gloves tossed aside and a free for take place after he ran to take on Ennis.
Wonder if there’s a spot behind a Kellyville stand for the two of them to re-againt with each other, would be a fun and interesting time indeed.
All that aside, Ennis was a player that I would have liked to see at the eels as a specialist coach to work with our spine as the primary and predominant position. I see him working with our spine, of Reed, MM & DB, also in other key areas as well. For me he will bring out the best in each of them and the opposition will need to be wary of them.
I also believe that the arrival of these two ex players and insightful in their abilties to work with young players of today may well be a huge catalyst in being able to keep most of the current squad, and have those thinking of leaving to re-asses their decisions.
Welcome on board to the eels, Mary and Niggle Grub.
These two voices are now another perspective. I liked Joey’s voice and now we get two new voices. It keeps things fresh to get a couple of different perspectives whilst maintaining what BA and his staff continue to achieve.
Danny Buderus, Knights Football Manager, played a solid part in getting one of his best mates to the Knights. Joey will go to Newcastle on a Monday, stay overnight at Danny’s home, and return to Sydney on a Tuesday, after 2 sessions per week. Ignore what you read in gossip columns about any conflicting reason why Joey left the Eels.
Cheers Graz. I wasn’t aware of those arrangements with the Knights. I figured he’d simply stay with his parents as it’s quite a hike for him to travel up there for a couple of sessions. esp the early morning or evening sessions.
Yeah, there were no dramas at Parra with Joey.
The importance of the Ennis signing is that it adds value to Reed’s time at the Eels but it is value that is outside he salary cap. Good thinking and an excellent move that should take Reed’s game to the next level.
Well noted Anon.
Parra has become a true destination club. The signing of Reg, I expect will be the first boulder in an avalanche of player contact reviews/ extensions.
I feel very comfortable that the duck on a pond approach by the back office is the right one.
I know where to get my Eels information, and it’s not Fox.
Trouser, that was just an awful piece of “journalism” from Fox. Primary school teachers would be disappointed to see such poor comprehension skills in the interpretation of the Eels statement. It’s almost as if the author had such a hatred of the Eels that it impacted their ability to read a very uncomplicated statement. There are people at Fox who would honestly be embarrassed that their organisation published such tripe.
I think primary staff are scattered everywhere at fox….have you seen some of their newsreaders? weather staff?
Once again certain media people look like fools again , they contrive and make up stories without fact but more importantly without knowledge , this club now stands by its processes and manages to keep its business in house where it belongs , its on a need to know basis kept within our walls until it becomes appropriate for release , unlike previous boards whose priority it was to secure their own jobs this administration is committed to doing whats best for the club and its supporters, more than anything it seems to irk the media that inhouse is just that and they have to wait outside until called . Kudos to this administration ,the board ,mark oniell and the coaching staff deserve our gratitude and full support , look where we were before doubting where we are . 👏👏
Well said old timer – and if we lose a player or two, don’t assume that there has been some sort of stuff up that meant the loss has occurred. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting infallibility. But any decision made will be with the goal of assembling the best possible roster with the limitations of the cap. You can’t always meet outlier bids when a player is on the market or wants to test their price. At some point meeting a demand has the cost of losing others.
At a high level it is disturbing at how the NRL accede power to the media to cannibalise the game. And it is not just player agents who then use this. It is obvious some clubs still play out their contract negotiations in the media. Parra’s public stance that doing so is disrespectful to the players to do so is welcome especially as Foxsports had a dummy spit over it. It will also annoy player agents as a bonus.
On Mary, it is possible that as a consultant with a specific brief he could prove to be valuable.
Now to bring in Hindy as a consultant to work with Ennis.
Shaun, it’s interesting that when the term disrespectful was used in the Eels statement, that the Fox Staff writers naturally assumed it was directed at them. Why would that be?
If the shoe fits…
👍 👍 👍
Well according to much of the media we were no hope of keeping RCG … could write him off now in our apparent desperate battle to keep others. Are the pance of such writers down around their knees or their ankles ???? AS for the menace who is he going to teach to be more annoying ? I think Mary is a great buy for our centres and wings, particularly the centres
Brelogail, do you think it’s in the DNA of a dummy half to be annoying? Some just master that better than others! What I remember most about Mary’s time as a coach was his directness in answering media questions when he was under the greatest pressure. His composure and honesty was outstanding. If he can deliver specialist advice in a similar manner – and he certainly has the playing background to do so – then he’ll prove a valuable resource.
I was thinking Gutho might need some lessons …. or Browny …. or Mitch. They seem to have half the Menaces heart for it !!! In all seriousness, the club is in good hands and the commentators media people need to take a good hard listen to themselves. Sometimes I wonder if some of them spend much time actually watching the games and considering the facts. My ignorant prediction is that most of those. perhaps minus 1-2, who the media thinks we are in danger of loosing will be pulling on blue and gold in 2023.
I’ll back your prediction in Brelogail
Great news.
All round RCG was our best middle forward last year, still has a bit of upside and I hear is a leader. So very happy
I blame Ennis for the Raiders success, so very happy he is with us and especially if it gets Reed over the line.
BA will be much better with a similar level coach providing input – if he and Mary get on. I don’t know if that is McGregor’s or Ennis’s brief but it could really help e.g. BA does some smart stuff but sometimes keeps it going too long instead of changing to stay one step ahead of the opposition – just think BA would be more successful with another wise head to talk to.
Negative?- there is always as negative – Ennis and McGregor are only consultants. Would be better if they were assistants – more time and more part of the team instead of outsiders giving some advice. But consultants is a good place to start.
what we aren’t aware of is how much time they can provide to the club. Neither might be interested in full time assistant roles. BA has never been opposed to adding different voices. They utilised Kimmorley and Johns, now Ennis and McGregor. Others have been sounded out in previous years but haven’t been available for whatever reason. Even Ennis was close to taking on a role about 3 years ago.
Signing up Michael Ennis might just turn out to be a master stroke.
Certainly he’s a grub…who can forget when he got under the skin of Nathan Hindmarsh and we lost the plot and lost the game we were winning comfortably.
But he was a great player and he just might be a factor in Reed Mahoney deciding to stay.
Ennis’s mentoring of Mahoney could well make him an even better dummy half than he is mow
Its a very interesting appointment. Ennis has been critical of Parra over the last couple of years, but he has been an admirer of Mahoney. I’m looking forward to watching his mentoring sessions.
The fact so many fans see/saw Ennis as a ‘grub’ simply confirms his status as a very good player (at the least) who successfully executed a very effective game plan. Like his style or not, it was a conscious effort that often proved fruitful. That has no bearing on the type of person he is now. His ability to pick apart opponents, coupled with his wealth of experience can only make him a quite intuitive addition to the training team.
I’m sure that there were opponents who regarded Ray Price as a grub too. But Price was the ultimate competitor. Is that a fair comment about Ennis? Again, I’m looking forward to watching his mentoring.
There’s a lot of comments about how this will help further Reed’s development. To me Reed is the best all-round dummy half in the competition. He’s the best passer from the ground, he’s the best kicker from the ruck, and he’s right up there for engaging the markers and making the most of lazy ruck defence. To me bringing in Ennis is more to work with Jayden Yates, Jacob Davis and potentially Ray Stone on furthering their games as dummy halves. No doubt there will be a lesson to be learnt for Reed but we have a bit of a gap in dummy halves coming through and this appointment is to get those young players up to a level where we can trust them to do a job in reserves and further.
As stated McGregor will likely help with the development and specific training for our young backs coming through and who will all be used as depth for first grade. I’m a bit more hesitant of him given the alleged happenings of his time at the dragons with favouritism and supposed lack of development of players but this is a reduced role and may suit him more than being the main coach
Ham, I take it as a given that Ennis will work with some younger players, just as Joey did. I also expect him to see what he can add to the ruck, perhaps with identifying opportunities and executing plays.
As for Mary, there are some coaches who thrive as assistants. It will be interesting to see how he will be utilised.
Mary was an outstanding centre for Dragons and Blues. In both attack and defence. He has been appointed a Blues assistant coach. No dud. Agree, assistant coach looks like his niche.
The role of head coach encompasses so many different aspects. A consultant/specialist can be far more focussed in what they offer.
In about 30% of games last year, our defence out wider on the park was abysmal, the slicker teams looked like they were executing at training. We were never going to be a true threat while that was lurking. Late in the year, we finally appeared to have some control over that part of our game ( Penisini and Marata both contributed plus our scramble D)I’m thinking McGregor will have his eyes on this, ensuring this vulnerability is being surgically removed, if it’s not, forget the late September victory lap.
BDon, was it particular teams that found us out? Certainly we looked ordinary in three of those losses in that run of four. We struggled each time against Souths and Manly yet performed exceptionally well in defence against the Storm and Penrith.
I believe that Will Penisini demonstrates very good defensive instincts and the edges communicated better in those “big games”.
i won’t disagree that it is an aspect of our play that we need to keep working on.
Sixties I believe that BA has for a long time had the secret to beating the Storm. This goes back to the Semi in Melbourne when we were awfully unlucky.
I think that the problem for BA is that in the past he has not had the cattle or footy IQ in the team to pull it off. However times have changed and he now does.
With his inside knowledge of the Storm and the team that he has built at the Eels he is in a good opportunity of knocking them over again
And others
You’re prob right sixties, 30% a touch high, but let’s say 5 games or 20%, but there were games where the weakness showed but we managed to win. I recall a game against the Warriors where they continually went through us out wide but couldn’t finish, they caught the bad hands, bad passes virus. Whatever, we have to remove it from our game.
One can only assume, from the complete ridiculousness of your posts, that you are only here to troll and rile people up.
Well, that was apropos of nothing.
Four juniors debuted last year.
Great news re RCG. I’m baffled at the turnaround in outcome, given what had been said in recent weeks, but I’ll take it. Have to think seeing his signature locked in is going to lower the cost of keeping some other blokes on board too.
Ennis and Mary, I don’t have a view on. I don’t know much about what they will do or where their strengths will lie. But bringing some fresh ideas in, in a controlled manner, has to be a good thing I’d think.
Mick, id say the Dolphins stuff was a red herring. He now has a contract till 2025 and good security. I figure that was key.
I can only see positive impact that mick ennis n mary will bring. Was confused at 1st but looking back i understand these signings.
Got 1 question is kidwell still at parra with these 2 coming over ?
Ennis will be a big plus for reedy n mary with our backs.
On the club making that statement regarding fox sports news i stand behind the club 100% how dare a organisation like fox tell parra how to run our club n tell them we should pay the player’s such n such. Go away fox sports
Rev, yes Dave Kidwell had his contract extended to next year. The other two are employed as “consultants”.
Sixties please explain to me what is kidwell’s roll at the club.
My understanding is that Kidwell is the defense coach. Given our struggles out wide over a number of seasons I think he is very lucky to still have a job. I think the only time we looked ok out wide was when Marata or Penisini played in the centres.
Clive, he was signed from the Storm at the time when the club had found BA had no assistants, at the time the club also agreed with the fact that BA needed help especially in the defense area. Bellamy ticked the box to allow him to come to the eels, and Bellamy replaced him at the club.
I read at some point this year that the two assistants to BA were reclassed in the their roles, with Murf the coach for the backs with Kidwell assigned as forwards coach.
While BA got a 2 year extension, I read where neither of the current assistants have been extended beyond next season.
They’ve been forwards/backs for some time. Naturally as a forwards coach there is more defence work but over the years I’ve seen all of the coaches involved in defence drills.
That makes 2 of us Clive, glaring weakness. Marata and Penisini are confident, aggressive, switched on, decisive and robust. 80 minute attitude players.
Forwards coach.
Great to see RCG re-signing; somewhat interesting times, and good that he is with us. Now for others..and I assume more to come v soon.
The advisers in Ennis and Mary will be interesting. I like the Ennis one v much, and trust he will assist our entire ruck area where needed.
Mary, i am not sure what he will bring but he has always seemed like a good bloke……. although we will see what his role is.
Great news on the sponsors, and even better media release about the club and comments regarding this process.
I gather from todays news about us looking at C Scott will mean he will end up at Gymea Gorillas…..who knows but i would not mind him playing with us, fit and good mentally. He has a lot to offer for me.
Milo, I thought that the Eels statement regarding contract negotiation was a good one – uncomplicated and respectful. How it’s been interpreted otherwise is baffling.
I believe we need experienced backline depth. We have players of the future in our ranks but the experience factor is something that needs addressing.
Agreed, and if we do gain Scott he can be v good, and we have some history with similar players. Mau for e.g. had a history. Scott is different i admit but to me he is and can still be a v good NRL centre.
It seems that it’s a done deal.
So much league and Parra news – thanks for continuing to bring it TCT team – and the footy is not even on. Great resigning of RCG. Hopefully having one of the team’s leaders re signing, it will help get others to stay. With the coaching consultants, Ennis won a comp as a dummy half so that can only help Reed…and McGregor was a terrific outside back both in attack and defence who played at Origin level – both were high quality players who can help with some specifics.
Thanks Greg. I’m completely on board with the consultant appointments. Watching previous consultants – Kimmorley and Johns in action was enlightening. Both of those men were completely different in their delivery. Different perspectives, different voices – it all brings new ideas and our coaching staff have always encouraged new ideas.
The sponsorship was an interesting renewal and it seem’s to reflect that the owner of that company is a diehard Parra supporter, which augers well for bad times as well as good. That company being in property development would have done extremely well in the past 18 months.
Finally I have a sneaky feeling that Parra may not lose anyone this year……another example of Fox and journalists in general seemingly misunderstanding that Parra has not used TPA’s with any note since the dark old days. Our board who continue to impress me, just might have a situation whereas a few companies maybe looking to recruit some of Parra’s very good and stabilised reputation as a corporate entity to make use of TPA’s.
We cannot expect our board to make anything public in this respect as TPA’s have to come to us, before they get to a board level, but I wonder if one has not already emerged for RCG, and maybe one could be on the cards for Reed, hopefully Niukure.
Good thoughts Poppa. I have said before you have a good sense of commercialism.
I wonder how he would look in commercials John, could be quite scary really.
Who was that bloke who sold the cleaners. Big Jim or something like that
Poppa, there will be lost players for 2023 but I expect all contracted players to fulfil their contracts next year.
There is a value for every player and to go well above that to retain any player places other contracts at risk and creates unrest from others who aren’t similarly valued. I have no issues with Parra not matching some of the rumoured amounts.
Curtis Scott just confirmed on Sunrise. 1 year deal
Low risk high potential deal.