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It turns out there was another twist in the Jonah Pezet situation and it has resulted in a truly bizarre outcome with the Parramatta Eels set to house the Melbourne halfback for a sole season before he joins the Brisbane Broncos on a long term deal. It is…a singularly odd scenario and The Tip Sheet tries to rationalise it for the Blue & Gold as Sixties and Forty20 both give their honest thoughts on the topic.
Week 1 of the Pacific Championships dominates the NRL news cycle with a host of exciting games kicking off the tournament in style. New Zealand and Samoa played a classic while there upsets and hard fought games elsewhere. The boys break down how all the representative Eels fared and what their thoughts are of the upcoming match-ups in Week 2.
Catch all of the action from 7:30PM!dw
Ah Craig hows the batting average ?
3 years eh ?
Mate you need to get better sources!
And before your well known thin skin gets pierced, I’m only joking!
Personally I just don’t rate Pezet and i understand the thinking that the boys we have are a little young but I’d rather have Dean Hawkins than have Pezet for the year. We come out of it looking so bloody desperate.
Once Pezet rejected us, we should have just walked away.
I just don’t see the upside no matter how you spin it.
We tutor him for a year and the Broncos get the benefits.
What happened to Ryles saying that we need to get first grade games into our youngsters?
And that it’s all about culture and the badge ??
The league world is laughing at the Eels at the moment and I reckon they deserve it 100%. And it’s not just us lunatic emotional fans, there are plenty of respected league identities laughing and scratching their heads.
Whats the message to the youngsters already here? Look Pezet is no 6. Don’t worry about 2026, get yourselves ready to battle it out in 2027 ?
I’m sure Joash, Hawkins and twidle fancied themselves to get a big pre season in and then battle for the jersey once Dylan left but now what’s the use ?
It’s a dog of a deal and the sort of thing that the Tigers would have done.
I have a different spin on it and I think it’ll benefit the Eels in the long run. One year Pezet and then in year 2 we bring into NRL Lorenzo Talataina, a player already hyped up and potentially a much better player. Give him another year in Cup to hone his skills and hopefully polish him into an accomplished NRL player. Win win for both Eels and Talataina in my assessment.
So basically, Moses spends the next two years playing with rookie halves trying to find some sort of combination and hope that the 2027 5/8 actually performs and isnt just a flash in the pan.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast yet but looking forward to it. Hope this is all just click bait.
Moses hasn’t got in a full year for a while.
We need to be prepared that it could happen again this year.
Just when I was warming to Sarantinos, O’neil and Ryles. FMD, this is closest I’ve come in years to putting my hands up and saying I’m done with this shit show for a while.
Talk about being played, I thought the Grant situation was embarrassing for the Tigers, it was just cringe watching him develop his game only for Melbourne to reap the rewards.
The better Pezet goes the dumber we look, and Brisbane sit back with an established 7 this year while we develop their next replacement for next season.
Can it get any more embarrassing? We will the laughing stock of the NRL.
Will I be supporting Pezet? Crap no, I’ll be struggling to support the club to be honest.
The club better think long and hard while they have the chance, F Pezet and F Anasta, while I’m at it, stuff all involved with the dumbest decision this club could make since, well since the Dylan Brown contract. This club does not learn.
It’s clear Sarantinos and O’Neil cannot compete with players on the open market, they’ve fallen arse backwards with the signings we’ve made and nothing more.
We aren’t winning a comp with Pezet next season and if we do play semis then who cares. This club is well beyond just making the semis, we need a comp. And what do we do in 2027? Back to square one.
What a waste of Effing time.
Damn I’m pissed off right now.
Hahaha this one is very funny!
Pezet will play well next year and will be a better back if Mitch gets injured then Hawkins as he is a better player.
It gives Lorenzo a season in nsw cup and he sees a pathway to nrl so he will not leave like Blaze and Sanders.
If we locked up Pezet on $600k for 5 years and he did another acl or Lorenzo left I wonder what your reaction would be Joseph?
Good on you for not supporting the club because they signed Pezet for one season. How dare they sign a potentialy good player that can help the side next season and give time for some elite juniors to develop.
You are funny Joe
Tony you can look at it anyway you want. If the club was so hell bent on developing Lorenzo then they wouldn’t have gone so hard after Galvin. Further, they wanted Petez as a long term option.
Instead we end up being a surrogate mother for Brisbanes new halfback.
And by the way, how many elite halves have developed in the last 40 years? How’s Sanders going? Blaize is a loss but you can put that one down to same crew you put a clause in a players contract who was yet to debut while having clauses with a playing blocking his pathway. The club was left holding their D’s in the end.
And now this, I can tell the only ones going Hahaha if this eventuates is Brisbane.
You honestly think this a shrewd, calculated move to buy us time to develop Lorenzo? 🤣🤣 to you.
Pezet best option for 2026 simple we matched it with best teams and he makes us better Joash and Dean aint gonna cut it. They needed see Lorenzo compete against grown man in cup and didn’t get that luxury when Galvin in market
Who says the club went hard after Galvin? The media? And you believe every word they say? Maybe we only offered him 2 years and that’s why he rejected it. How has he gone for Canterbury this year?
Tony I think Joseph has nailed it.
People have to stop this ..we are just treading water until Lorenzo plan. It’s rubbish.
We offered Galvin a 5 year deal and he laughed at us.
Went to the Bulldogs
We offered a LONG TERM deal to Pezet. I’m told we offered 4 years. Sixties says it was 3.
And he laughed at us but had nowhere to go next year and asked if we could help him out before he goes to the Broncos in 2027.
This just doesn’t line up with the assertion that we are looking at a stop gap until Lorenzo develops..
The club shpuld be saying ” We tried to get Galvin and Pezet but they told us no so we have no other choice but to look to our juniors and try and convince the RL World that it was our intention all along”
When did the club deny they offered Galvin a long term deal??
Everyone knows Galvin will end up a lock sooner than later.
Pezet will be good for a year hopefully and who knows who we might sign in the meantime.
Enjoy the ride, personally I’m glad we did not spend a crap load of cash on long year deals for Galvin or Pez.
Mate we can’t go in 2026 with Joash or Hawkins we were top 4 team form wise end of the year ,this gives us chance to develop Lorenzo who impressed in nsw cup or sign someone’s else but 2026
Loreno impressed nobody in NSW Cup….where do you get your ideas from.?
The club is a disgrace and loyalty is dead (but we knew that). Worst decision in clubs history and a blight on the game.
Too strong too early Josh; the comment from Mitch in London is that the club only wanted one year. I:d need to know how much we’re paying him.
It seems a very strange decision to me but I think we need to see the year play out to understand what was in Ryles’ head.
I’m sorry we did it but I’ve been wrong before.
Missing out on Jack Hetherington is the greater regret for me.
Well this is an interesting turn of events. No not the signing. That around a bunch of negative comments, I, usually the pesimistic one (though i prefer realist), am positive about this signing!
Ok, i am negative in the sense that typically O’Neil didn’t get him signed up long term. Another ‘Fail’ for him. But we have him for a year and now it is up to Ryles and the players to make Pezet not want to leave. I’d have more faityh in them getting that job done than O’Neil. And lets face it would he be the first player to renig on a contract?
At the end of the day I dont believe Joash showed anywhere near enough to say, he will definetly be the long term solution. He might, but he still needs development and improvement. Anyone further down the depth chart (please don’t compare Hawkins to Pezet) is also obviously untested and hence was never really likely to be ready for 2026 (if ever). If the Eels have aspirations of Finals footy in 2026, this was the only option. If we can’t keep him beyond 2026, then at least this gets us through to next year when we have a chance (all be it in a more competitive market) to potentially pick up another quality half on the open market next year..
“Just be patient” the club says. Could have given Joash another year of first grade – doesn’t get much better experience than that! But no, we will FIFO an up and coming player and ship him off to a bigger club.
” If we can’t keep him beyond 2026″
There is no question the contract is 12 months with us and then the Broncs……do you not understand that…. no get out clauses!
Awesome move we get great bridge for 2026 as he is best option then after season in NSW Cup Lorenzo is our 6. Perfect outcome as Pezet long term not a 6 but best we can do for now.
Yeah it’s not ideal but I won’t be calling for heads over it. End of the day talataina is one of the biggest half prospects in the game but he’s only 19, give him a year in cup to develop and he can come in for 2027.
Overall I think it just makes it less awkward going into 2027 with players we already have signed for that year and going to them to say “we’re dropping you for this other guy we wanted to develop”.
I know other fans will want heads but Ryles has given us a good first year of coaching so worst case scenario he has his first ‘miss’ in the signings department.
And I understand the club statement is probably a cop out answer but it would be nice to keep a local junior with big potential on less money long term because I doubt he would’ve wanted to wait for 4 years until moses maybe retires unless he wants another year or 2 after that.
Personally if you wanted the 1 year option I would’ve like to give it to volkman so he could up his price again and go to a club like the bears in 27
Just watched the podcast. John, absolutely agree with you.
I can see you were totally unimpressed.
Your best observation – you want a bridge , go get DCE and it’s exactly what the Tigers would do.
DCE?!
He is done. He faded badly this year and any last season at any club other than Manly is just a cash grab for him. He isn’t looking to improve his game – like Peter will be.
And if the Tigers would do it, that should be the red flag not to do it!
Yer I can’t get my head around this one at all. The biggest thing is what message does it send to some of the younger guys like joash, twiddle who are also rookies just like pezet. Joash absolutely loves the club and is serious talent himself but his been told his not required at 6 anymore cause we have another hotshot half who wants some experience before he heads off to his real desired location.
The club might be all in on Lorenzo and want him to develop a bit more but I agree with sixties if that’s the case go and get DCE for a year the bloke is a miles better player then pezet right now and doesn’t create any type of negative culture issue in the playing group.
Pezet doesn’t move our needle right now to winning a comp right now DCE very well could
If you sign a player as a stop gap for a year, sypirely the powers that be would look at someone like a DCE to nurture the younger ones coming through. Those in charge of recruitment signs a player with so few games in NRL and most off the bench.
The front office has been aware that Dylbro was leaving before the 2025 season really started , yes he had until round 10 , another bone headed option which didn’t help, but here we are with no solution to a positional problem that stared at them.
Do the Roosters , Dogs or any of our competitors sit back when these needs arise, forget all the innuendo about outside deals, we just don’t have the gravitas to get on the front foot and ensure signings are done, Third biggest club and we announce signing like Momoseia and Harper with excitement.
Jack Gibson stated that success starts in the front office, and of course he was 100% correct.
This aigning benefits one club, and it’s not Parra, it’s the Bronces, if we win with Pezet he’s gone at seasons end, if we are not successful then it was a dumb decision. Puzzling. The most polarising signing since Watmough .
The funny things is sixties and forty you have not talked to Ryles so we don’t know that he has not gone to Joash and said if you smash the off season you will be picked at five eight in a trial and you will be given the chance to start the season as num 6.
We have clearly got Pez on the cheap so if he stays a back up for Mitch and Joash stays five eight who cares it just means we have a better back up than footy Dean.
Speculation is great boys but facts are a lot better.
Did we really think we would go into a full season with Joash as our only num 6 option and Dean as the back up? After all the talk and criticism over the years of our lack of depth in the backline. Honestly who cares that it is a 12 month deal, we know we will have way more room in the cap for 2027 so let’s kick back and see what moves the club makes.
Tony are you truly suggesting that if Joash smashed the pre season he will be the 6 in front of Pezet ? I suppose it’s possible but there is more possibility of my dream waking up in a Victoria Secret orgy than this coming true but yeah ..it’s possible.
I see the club is now trying to spin it that grabbing Pezet for a year was the plan all along.
This is definitely 100% not the case. We went hard for him for 4 years and now we are trying to make lemonade with the skins.
That’s fine., no problems with that but any suggestions that we haven’t been rejected is just nonsense.
As to a future number 6 I’ll be watching the Sunday test with great interest; the young bloke playing 6 for Tonga interests me a lot.
Also, I note that Melbourne looks like signing Jack Hetherington. I believe that he’ll be a great success for them; is it too late for us to make an offer?
Might be tough with the front office in the UK on a fact finding boondoggle. Probably visit Arsenal and Man Utd, , makes sense to see what a club with no salary cap does 🤔
Thanks for the thoughts fellas. I really don’t know what to make of the Pezet situation if true.
Enjoyed the musical interlude. It was either that or The Benny Hill Show theme. Guess we will know what was more appropriate in 12-24 months.
Glad you mentioned Kit Kat. I was one of those critical of him earlier in the year, but geez he came along as the season went by. A disappointing end to his season that saw no action on the field at the time – typical. But he was playing well enough then to show Muggo knows far more than me!
I think I’m with most fans on this to be a bit surprised by the 1 year deal. I’ve tried to think of why it was done and can only assume that Ryles is trying to free up Moses and get him running more and Pezet be more of a controlling half. Not sure about the 2 young halves coming thru but would think one would have to be a controlling half as well for this to work.
I do feel for Joash as really he was thrown in at 6 with no pre season and usually plays 1 so was trying to hard I think. After a pre season I think he would have become a really good 6 because you could see the improvement in his defence as the year progressed and his attack would also have improved. Hopefully he’s not lost to the club because he has great potential.
I have to say this signing troubled me when I first read about it and thought it can’t be true. Is it official? I am not sure but there maybe a positive somewhere in this deal. Every time MM plays Rep football he gets hurt. Over the past two years we haven’t seen much of our million dollar man and I am thinking by 2027 MM might retire from Rep football. If he gets hurt while in England – Pezet is the ideal replacement. We clearly have some talented juniors coming through who need some extra time to mature. As for DCE that’s a good thought but didn’t everyone jump up and down because of JDB’s age. Well DCE is the same age. I would rather have him as a support coach. We just don’t know what goes on behind closed doors and let’s not forget Ryles would have background knowledge on Pezet. Personally, I thought his asking price was too ambitious for the number of games he has played. I am not sure who is greedier – the footballer or the manager. Let’s face it we struggle without Moses and if he gets hurt again we will still struggle but maybe not so much with Pezet if we are to believe the wraps. He does come from Melbourne and that is supposed to be a great recommendation. Let’s wait for the training reports from Mr Sixties and see what unfolds.
I was initially against the signings for the year but after time to digest I am coming more and more around to it. Like every signing there’s pros and cons to this.
Pros:
– not hanging around waiting for another year of rebuilding/resetting. We’re gunning for more than just the top 8 next year
– bringing in an actual half not hoping that one will turn out
– with Moses history bringing in someone that can assume that role within the team
– Moses being able to open up his options on the 4th tackle not having to worry about kicking on the 5th
– if he doesn’t turn out to be a first grade player we’re only hit for 1 year rather than 4 or potentially more
Cons:
– does feel as if we’re developing a player for another club
– if he turns out good it’ll be seen as a “what if”
– taking away from developing in-game combinations for another year
– if the junior options aren’t ready by 2027 what do we do then?
– I don’t like the way we dropped Dylan, rightfully on form imo, on the premise that he won’t be here for next year and now we’re signing a player who we know won’t be here for next year.
I think every signing for 2025 was a hit, I’m sure this will be debated. Once again we’re putting faith in the football staff, I’ve no doubt that Ryles and co will have a way for this to all work. While I’m still overall unsure how to feel for this signing it does make me excited for 2026. Going by this signing and the way Ryles spoke to the Johns’ podcast we’re going to see a difference in our attack.
Noooo footy dean is gone
I have waited another 24 hours to digest this. Pleased I didn’t post how I had initially felt. It would benefit most of us if we put aside our emotions, and for some, maybe their dislike of some people involved in Eels R&R. My football life revolves around the Eels, and Eels only. I now can understand, as best I can, the benefits this deal can bring to our club.
I am not one to quote on this site articles from the media, but Adrian Proszenko in the SMH succinctly sums up how the club is not going to let talented juniors in our system to move to other clubs, and, good heavens, the Tele’s Brent Read sees it that way too. That’s basically why it’s a one year contract. While it improves our chances of winning games in the short term (2026), the actual deal, as pointed out by Proszenko, is that we don’t get to repeat the Galvin fiasco. That is, trying to buy back the talented juniors who had moved on mainly due to lack of opportunities at our club. Now, we are prioritising our talented juniors. They are basically 12 months off full time NRL players. But they can be further prepared in 2026, and then get a taste of NRL in some games in season 2026. That’s the real aim of this deal, with the resulting benefits.
I was there in 1986 to see our last premiership. Now, finally…at last…we again have real, systematic planning. Surely, priortising our top players in our pathways system must give these juniors confidence in the coach and the club. Hard to see it any other way.
I think that’s how the club is looking at alot of potential 2026 signings, De belin is a 1 year deal with a club option to see how the likes of talagi, coina, tuivaiti and mataele continue to develop who are mostly locked up long term with the club.
Get a player who although doesn’t have the nrl level experience has done his apprenticeship at cup level in one of the best systems in the comp like iongi and then going into 2027 we can put in our star Junior. Abit of a gamble but one I think looks fun
Buckle up and enjoy the ride. Sure looks exciting to me. The Eels ended the year playing fabulous football. The Pezet deal looks a win/win. Plugs a hole we needed to fill and gives our talented juniors time to develop. There are some pretty cagey operators making decisions for the Eels. I’m looking forward to 2026.
Hands and Hawkins both gone to Super League – I regret that. Hawkins in particular struck me as a real footballer who would have benefitted the club in the long term. His departure does signal a major step up for Ron Volkmann, who can play. Maybe we’ll see him in NRL at some stage next year.
In all the flurry the future of Papaliii becomes a question. I think his major strength is running the ball. I’d like to see him trialled in the centres; he’s a smaller man than many who play that position but smaller centres have succeeded in the past – I think of our own Steve Ella as an example.
November 3 isn’t far away – should throw up some fascinating information.
So this is what happened –
1. The club tries for a long term deal and Pezet rejects them and chooses Brisbane but the Broncos can’t fit him in 2026.
2. The Eels settle for a 1 year deal.
3. The Eels put of the line that they only ever wanted a 1 year deal due to the fact that they didn’t want to hinder or lose their up and coming juniors.. this line is taken up by the journos, obviously as a quid pro quo.
4. Most fans take the club at their word but those who have at least some connections around the traps know that this line is crap.
5. Anasta interviewed and confirns that Eels wanted a long term deal but were rejected by Pezet for the Broncos.
Thats it. End of story.
I hope it all works out.
I too have not replied until now and initially did not believe Pez (dispenser Seinfeld) would sign with us…but now it appears all well and done. Still not sure if this will be good for the club, and also the relationship between Anasta and the coach?
What us interesting is the positive media around this……that also makes me cyncial. But Anasta has mates there too.
I am still in two minds and also do not wish to lose guys like Papalli and Lorenzo also needs a chance at some point to play regular reggies and also have some time in the top team if he deserves it.
Hands and Hawkins gone and a shame about Hawkins but he has the chance to lead a team and good on him.
Sixties and 40/20 both made valid points about the amount of games between Pez and Papalli being quite similar – but Pez has played under the Melb system for several yrs and he now will continue with an ex Melb assistant with Ryles and then Maguire ( if he is still there in a year or two).
I think or hope a bit is played out between now and a few weeks time and that we can move on another player…and of course look to bring in another forward with some nrl / bench experience…
Milo I am still trying to wrap my head around the Pezet signing. I am not sure where I sit. Definitely on the fence. Will need to go one way or the other. The splinters are hurting.
I haven’t seen Lorenzo play but like most I have watched the YouTube highlights. As a good friend of mine has said to me, they are called highlights because they never show the lowlights. I try to keep that in mind but gee he looks good in the highlights.
Time will tell whether Lorenzo lives up to the promise but assuming he does he will be a better option at 6 long term. To me Pezet is a deadset 7 with a good kicking game.
I see Mitch playing for another 5 seasons. Was that too long for Pezet to wait?
It’s the heart and the head..your heart has the loyalty, commitment and DNA factors which kick in when you digest that a player signs for one year plus signs to move on to an opposition club.
The head tries to process all the practical and problem-solving aspects of why this would be a good dea. As the season goes on, you might see the benefits. The coaching team and the players will observe the week in – week out attitude of Pezet. I think I’ll stay undecided and watch for the things that make it a brilliant idea.Over to you Jonah.
Well said BDon. The other thoughts that I have had is that JR has pretty much got most of the hard decisions correct so far so I believe at this time he is entitled to the benefit of the doubt.
Ryles knows what he is doing. His track record so far says there is little doubt about that. We are just fans sitting in the grandstand without a real clue about the club’s R&R under Ryles. Yes, we all can comment, debate etc.
But one thing is certain, and that is he is doing everything he possibly can to get the right players into the club to get the ultimate prize. How? He has made a refreshing cultural change at our club. It is clear that he has a strategic plan for the club to succeed. That’s also refreshing.
Don’t be afraid. Buy a ticket and enjoy the ride.
Personally Graz, I reckon he’s the best coach we have had since Gibson.
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him but I love what he is doing.
Yes – I’m pissed off about the club lying about Pezet but I fully understand why.
I hope he stays with us and builds a dynasty.
I did like Daniel Anderson as a coach and catch up with him as often as I can.
Absolute terrific bloke, one of a kind.
(I see he got a gig in recruitment at Saints- good on him)
How has the club been lying about Pez again?
I must of missed it did they release an offical statement about him signing and how long they wanted to sign him for??
Please Mr Sixties 🙏 ,please don’t jinx any potential signings if you can by scooping them before they are announced.
The club can’t afford any or the slightest misfortune or bad juju by the way of predicting the future.
Please Mr Sixties. No more scooping.
😂
The Sam Konstas of scoops 😂😂😂
Ha! Yeah I’m done. By the way, if you watched the podcast you saw that mail unfold live via text messages. I had to make a decision on the spot about whether to share it. The source was spot on about what was unfolding in terms of the long term deal. Anasta spoke about the Broncos swooping in late. I can rattle off plenty of cases of players flipping on deals at the last minute. The classic was Marty Taupa’u. He was expected at Eels training on a Monday after touring 5he facility on the Friday. Instead he fronted at Brisbane.