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The Eels said they needed speed in the backline and they have followed through with that mandate by signing Josh Addo-Carr. The Tip Sheet discusses all of the angles in Parramatta’s acquisition of the fallen Canterbury speedster as the club makes it first major move in the post-Gutherson era.
Re-signings are also on the menu with Parramatta securing the futures of three Australian Schoolboys in Lincoln Fletcher, Ryda Talagi and Lachlan Coinakis. Sixties brings the latest from training as the NRL boys return while the club has announced a Members Appreciation event.
The NRL slate looks at the official charges pressed against Ezra Mam, where Ben Hunt will likely end up and a pair of shoulder injuries to Penrith players. The boys do a final wrap on the Pacific Championships as the Jillaroos continued their rampage while Tonga put up an immense fight against the Kangaroos.
Do the Broncos reside in a different dimension?
Dyl Brown was immediately suspended for (wrongly) touching a woman and cost Parra dearly.
Mam, charged for driving unlicensed and under the influence of an illicit substance, losing control of his motor vehicle that resulted in a very serious car accident and those in charge are talking about leniency because he being young and a made a mistake. Is the NRL serious or is it because of the Broncos are seemingly always gets preferential treatment.
Taking a line from Dyl Brown – suspension should be immediately implemented.
The thing is he booked himself into Rehab – why? Is there an illicit problem the NRL should investigate and if so how serious was this concern that it requires rehab.
This confirms my thought young footballers command too much money that cannot commensurate with their common sense. The NRL need to address this in way that doesn’t deprive them of their value but, supports their thinking faculties to better manage not only their new found wealth but their every day life.
This problem will not go away and needs fresh thinking to protect what really are airheads.
Mam should be suspended for twelve months – that is if he doesn’t find himself in prison.
It’s difficult to argue with that logic Zero. The NRL and the clubs have welfare and education staff. They run “Rookie Camps” for the purpose of educating emerging players on issues like Drugs and Social Media and relationships. I can’t answer about how ongoing that is but you’d have to assume that players don’t hear the message once and then it’s job done. As you suggest, maybe a harsh line will get the message through. But in Mam’s case, let’s see what the courts decide.
Any criticism BA used to cop about recruitment and the idea there was some sort of “committee” can be put to bed with the JAC signing.
Going back to the well of signing washed up players?! Really. The guy – apart from his off field behaviour – has missed 20 games in the last 2 seasons through injury. How many times do we have to do this?!
MoN has no idea what he is doing. None. The likelihood of this signing being a success is low. And All the speed in the world is useless if we don’t create space and our forward pack and lack of a hooker are not going to help create space.
We get him on 350 /400 compared to Sivo on 500.
How many games did Sivo miss through injury?
Would you rather Russel on the wing over the Fox?
Wingers do more than score try’s they save them as well and Fox is switched on with his defence.
Mon has signed Lomax, Jack Williams and Fox and hopefully a hooker to come, doing well if you ask me.
100% agree with you mate
The players signed for 2025 bring speed and agility.
He’s never suffering a significant injury, just a bunch of random injuries that could strike any player.
He’s been unlucky, hopefully he left that luck at the Bulldogs, where it belongs.
Moses played 7 games for us last season….do we off load him as well.
I initially wasn’t in favour of signing JAC but if he has signed then welcome to Parradise! May the tries be plentiful and his time here injury and incident free. The 2025 back line is now something that is potentially quite exciting. Mitch and Dylan could really enjoy what they have to work with from 1 to 5.
Hopefully 2025 will be more Fox On The Run (to the line) rather than an after game Ballroom Blitz.
And just 8-12 weeks for Ezra Mam? I’ll leave my rant about the NRL and consistency on player behaviour for another time.
Also there are no guilty musical pleasures. Such pleasures are guilt free.
So true Shaun. Let me then list Wig Wam Bam as another Sweet classic!
He will play most the contract years aged 29 and 30. A 2yr deal is perfect. We managed to build the slowest backline in the NRL. And in 6 weeks we have turned it into one of the quickest. This is a slightly risky but yet a good signing. I would say Medium risk with high reward potential. Also means we don’t see Russel in our best 17 who is a solid back up.
In RYLES WE TRUST
It’s probably perfect for Addo-Carr also. If he can resurrect his status he’ll still have something to offer in what might be a final contract after that.
He is suspended for the first three games. That the third successive year Parra will be missing a key player for the first three games through suspension. Talk about giving teams a head start.
But, I think when he returns he will be a very determined footballer. I am not in favor of signing trouble but we wait and see what happens. That’s a potent back line if we can keep them on the park.
I’m sure there’d be a raft of conditions in the contract.
Addo-Carr could be very good for the Eels. Yes he has injury issues and there’s the off field stuff but when he’s on the field JAC is still one of the best wingers in the game. It was only 2023 when he was playing for NSW and Australia, making metres, breaking tackles and bringing an air of bravado that we have been lacking in the backline since Blake Ferguson first arrived to the club. Hopefully he has owned up to what he did with the DUI and is working hard to be better. Because if he’s at or even near his best for the Eels we have upgraded our left wing massively and done so with saving money.
Many people questioned the roosters when they signed a 33 year old Brett Morris and 34 year old Josh Morris but they ended being very good players for them over those years. With a young fullback and a new look edge pairing having someone with the experience of JAC will help massively.
Indeed, his experience will be good for iongi and penisini. People should watch fox in a game – Always talking and encouraging. Hopefully we can get Brailey aswell – would be near perfect offseason transfer business
That experience factor is an important point Ham.
Great response and reply Ham. your analogy with Morris is exceptionally perceptive.
https://youtu.be/RAy6h9Fsn2k?si=RqYhVpQjrBNiRTbK
Good talk
With Gutho gone and a rookie fullback we need a strong voice at the back.
Great link Tony!
INCREDIBLE to hear the Sweet on the podcast. One of my all-time favourite bands. I saw them live decades and decades ago when I was a mere kid. They blew me away when I saw them live. The Eels and The Sweet, two big loves of mine on one podcast. Mind blown
Just part of the service!
Great replacement for Sivo and exactly what we should be doing when key players move on, replace and upgrade. There is a rumour going round that we are interested in Terrell May, for me someone like this would be the perfect replacement for TCG. Similar impact but at the start of his journey. In terms of his motivation or lack there of, my understanding is that it comes from an interview where he states that at times he struggled with the fame aspect or footy and that’s when he feels demotivated. Sounds like he loves footy but struggled with the attention, which ju set sounds like he needs a club that will help
Him manage the pressure and support him with the extracurricular duties.
Yes, I think people have greatly misunderstood what Terrell was saying. What I read in the interview was someone being honest about the game who does have goals to play Origin and win a comp. I’m sure there are plenty of NRL players who’ve had similar thoughts at times.
Kenny, I’m not sure that we are chasing May. But I agree about the interview with him. I thought aspects of it were taken way out of context.
Gould must be so nicked off JAC has signed with Parra. He blocked our attempt to sign him not so long ago. He hates Parra.
The Bulldogs say no player is bigger than the club, the truth is, nobody is bigger than Gould’s ego.
I can’t wait to see JAC run in three tries against the Dogs.
I’m so excited by his signing, our starting backline is complete.
I never expected our roster to look this good for 2025 and Ryles is not finished yet. Let the good times roll baby, we’re back!!
That’s funny. Guild sees us as rivals and probably knows our main weakness is winger depth & speed. It’s funny how many fans haven’t been able to understand this. We have possibly had the worst backs depth in the comp and the slowest back 5 in the NRL. The Fox may get injured, he comes with some risk. But if we actually want to start winning games and be competitive, you cannot expect to do so with no speed and low quality centres & wingers. People always say “our edge defence stinks” yes, and quality players on your wings with fast legs drastically fixes this!
The eels main reason for losing is easy tries across against us out wide, I’d argue even if we sign JAC, we need one more NRL experienced back who can play winger and fullback. Because if JAC or iongi gets injured we are still too paper thin for NRL ready backs.
It was a joke when people thought this wasn’t a good idea, we lose most games because our wingers couldn’t defend and lacked leg speed to reduce line breaks on our edges. This is 1 good step in the right direction.
Joseph, we have to add two more by round one.
I know I sound like a negative Nancy but this “we’re back notion is a bit unearned.
We gain Lomax which is great if he is willing to play on the wing.
We take on JAc and his injuries and suspensions. It will be an upgrade on Sivo if he can play. – Big if.
We don’t have an NRL fullback. We have a kid with potential who has played one game. We lost, arguably our best player who played that key role.
Penisini is still 2 years removed from playing good footy
Simmonson tried hard with Gutho reving him up, but he is still a fringe first grader.
That backline will be better, but it has holes. Big holes.
And to get the ball we still need Brown to show up. They guy who said he would make it up to everyone after his 7 game ban and didn’t show up last year including going out on the town the day/night before the away game to the Eagles on ANZAc weekend.
I have hope in Ryles, but everyone needs a reality pill. We are conveniently forgetting how bad last year was.
BA Sports – I think what you are seeing is natural optimism going into a season after changes have been made. Will there be some with unrealistic expectations? Yes. Will there be some who are overly pessimistic? Yes. A bad season will do that to you. If the roster isn’t yet complete (there are only 26 in the top 30) then depth is not yet sorted, let alone the possibility of adding genuine NRL selection options.
What I do see are some high quality players, some ifs, and some young emerging players. I believe that Parra will improve in 2025. Top 30 Player absences due to injury ended up in the vicinity of around 140 games in 2024. It’s the equivalent of six players missing an entire season and we’re talking our big contract players like Moses, Hopgood and Junior who were out for extended periods. That doesn’t include depth players outside the group like Arthur Miller-Stephen or Richie Penisini who missed entire seasons.
The bottom line is, if we get an injury riddled season like the last two years, (don’t forget 2023 was also a horror for injury and suspension of key players) well any team would do it tough and we probably would again. But if Parra gets a typical season of wear and tear, or as successful teams often have, a good slice of fortune, an improved season will happen. You can’t rely on such things, but I believe last year was extreme on the injury front.
A bad season?! Look I get it, good luck to people who are optimistic, I am not going to stop people enjoying footy how they want to enjoy it. People will say I am a pessimist, I get it. I think it is more realist, when the club you supported for decades turn the same mistakes over and over and are not making the changes I think they need to make.. it is what it is.
To me. Losing Mahoney for next to nothing and not having a plan to cover it, then replacing him with a broken down hooker who was always likely to fail – that was a fireable.
It suck’s losing Gutho. But a year too early can be better than a year too late, I get it. But you can’t toss out literally your two best players from last year – both in terms of skill and effort and think things will magically improve- especially when you replace them with a guy who has played one game and a guy who has always been a bench player at best. Sorry. To me you can have hope, but you can’t expect change.
If Moses gets 20 games in it should mean better things, but that barely balances out the loss in talent mentioned above.
And while there are still roster spots to fill, we saw how that went last year with the same management running the club. So again, people can be optimistic, I will be realistic. I hope they can sign a Brailey but I can’t believe it will happen until it does.
As for someone saying it would upset Gould that JAC was coming to Parra. That’s laughable. He has eaten us alive for decades and has managed to rid himself of a JAC contract and could sign Pap soon. He wouldn’t be giving us a second thought.
I hope I am pleasantly surprised. I genuinely am. I hope Bendy proves to be a gun coach, I happy to give him a crack. I think he is hamstrung with how we are run on the back of house.
BA, it sure is mighty nice of you to give Ryles a crack, I’m sure Sixties will pass on your approval at the next training session.
People are right, you are a pessimist, we played a spoon bowl this season and missed the finals the last. The club has signed two rep quality backs, a quality forward and some of the best young ernerging talent with cap space left to sign a further two quality players.
Mate it’s ok to be optimistic, it’s free, try it. I promise you, being optimist does not make you dilusional.
After the past two seasons, what did you expect to happen?
Give yourself an upper cut you party pooper. Parra fans thrive on hope before the season starts. We always wait for reality to hit.
Joseph is quite correct – we’re back baby, back!! Talk about a hope killer.
That’s the way Zero