Anything that could go wrong did for the Parramatta Eels in Round 4. Up against the formidable Penrith Panthers, the Eels stalled out early on with weak defence and simple errors compounding their situation. Penrith were too good in every phase and despite something of a fightback in which the Eels showed the ability to trouble the Panthers’ vaunted defence…a litany of injuries have officially placed the Blue & Gold in crisis mode. Matt Doorey has a suspected ACL rupture while Isaiah Iongi, victim of a hip-drop tackle, could be facing a hefty stint on the sidelines if syndesmosis is in play. On top of that, Ryley Smith departed the game in the 33rd minute and failed to feature in his usual second stint.
Sixties and Forty20 attempt to sift through the carnage and try to separate the home truths for the team from some genuinely miserable bad luck as the Eels try to recoup their losses for the upcoming Easter Monday clash with the Tigers.
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\Hopefully Teacum has a cracking game in Reserves and stakes a claim for a promotion, cause our starting middles are getting pumped every week. Four weeks in a row we are down by at least 20 points in the forst 30 minutes.
I have so much respect for Junior but I think it’s time to bench him.
Can’t argue
We are just a weak willed club, we have zero resilience, no appetite for the uncomfortable, we are clearly nowhere near as fit as the top teams, we have no starch in defence. We simply cannot claim to be improving and well coached while conceding nearly 40 points a game, even taking into account our tough early draw. The Tigers are starting to look a much improved team, so next week is very lose able. Jason Ryles has to be under pressure now. I hate saying it, but our defence is just awful. That’s coaching.
I can’t understand how banged up we are.
It seems that every second tackle the forwards roll out carrying a limp or rubbing a shoulder whereas the opposition seem like supermen.
I don’t know about fitness because we are usually winning the second half of the game so we must have some decent fitness.
Also you don’t beat the Broncos and the Saints of you don’t have some talent.
I’ve never seen a football team that starts so badly in every single game.
I actually thought that we would have had 80 put on us yesterday.
It’s just got to be psychological.
They have an early try put on them and they fall in a heap.
I feel for Jason Ryles. He was just seething in that press conference.
The reporters were talking up the attack but he knows the defence is completely missing.
They answer just has to be stop picking other teams rejects and stop blowing smoke up the backside of our kids.
Iongi is lauded by many as the next Qld fullback but personally I just don’t see it.
He’s never in position, a kick behind our lines is almost guaranteed as an easy try and he catches about 30% of the high balls that go up.
I know he’s the darling of everyone on this page and I like the kid but he’s got a mile to go before he’s ever in frame for a Qld jumper.
Kelma is a reserve grader full stop. There’s a reason he couldnt make it at other clubs.
Doorey is the same.
There’s a reason the Saints didn’t give JDB another year.
The tigers should be the blueprint for us moving forward. They go out and grab the best young kids and they play them.
They don’t rot in the lower grades.
They are fast and hungry.
They are just going to be too fast and too slick for us next week and will win in a canter.
Ryles can’t keep running out this backrow combination. Kelma and Katonga are such defensive liabilities that it’s honestly depressing to watch how soft we are in defence. Add to that junior has no line speed and Walker can’t handle the defensive physicality to start the match and show as much defensive grit as a wet paper towel. Jack Williams will his usual big misses in defence as well.
I thought Brian Kelly was one of the few who had line speed and aggression in defence. Russell was good. Both fullbacks can’t catch reliably. Rylely was bullied and looked almost as bad as round 1 in defence.
We asked a lot of qs in attack via Walker playing link man but we need to address the defence. It is a shambles and Ryles is kidding himself with his current lineup selections
Parra showed us we knew them to be – a team who likes to attack and throw the ball around but who are soft and will wilt under any sustained pressure by good teams
Oh and certain of our young forwards aren’t worth persisting with/re-signing – doorey is fragile/poor defender and moretti is a reserve grader/hands like feet. We need to Stop kidding ourselves with them and Kelma.
Play jdb to start, walker to bench, best defender for Kelma and look to buy some actual forward depth who can tackle and bend their back/wrestle on the ground. Continue to blood tuivati, teancum in due course and other juniors in due course. Got to be ruthless in not wasting time on Kelma, moretti, doorey etc – all of whom wouldn’t make any top 10 side
Eg, dolphins sign Morgan Knowles from England – a tough, effort player. Raiders signed Nicholson – a great line running backrower (who has got unlucky with injury). We sign jdb and parade that doorey won a few pre-season shirts.
Other teams are far better at talent id than we are
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Kelma wouldn’t start at any other club.
I feel sorry for Doorey but everytime he runs he gets injured.
We have some good young forwards in the juniors that are too young and inexperienced and some reserve graders in the top team.
Theres a big gap between the two.
Perhaps we just have to play the kids ???
As for our coaching .I love Jason Ryles as a head coach but some questions have to asked about Sam Moa.
We have the worst defence by far in the competition.
Well beaten but not ashamed. Kept trying to the end. Penrith scored some freakish tries. We scored four of our own and had more line breaks than the Riff. Credit where credit is due. The Riff were outstanding.
The issue here is just like before Jason came to Parra to coach:
We still have great attack when in good territory but DO NOT have the quality of forwards to match up against a top side
The defensive issues is also largely down to our middle getting flogged very easily, this is NOT so simple as “better defensive systems” etc
It’s not only our middles but our back rowers are also only good attacking players for the most part, not defensively strong, the only decent defensive back rower is Jack Williams
We don’t have the class in forwards to be strong both in attack and defence, so some players can defend decent (Guymer, Williams) but then don’t have the class to run lines and tear a team to shreds in attack
If I’m the coach of parramatta right now I’m admitting his roster and side to side playing style is largely only an attack strength team currently
And do not have the cattle to uphold the middle and edges well enough to match it with panthers and other teams, we DO NOT have enough talent on the roster in the forward pack compared to other sides
Now for people reading into some bad reads out wider, you must consider the whole defensive line collapses inwards at times (composes) when your middles constantly get beaten up in the middle in defence
It’s also extremely easy for a team to attack you with confidence if they don’t fear the contact which is coming to them when they run at your line, our contact and physicality in first halves is among worse in the game
The eels need to desperately either throw Teancum brown & Tuivuiti, Morreti, and guymer into this side as permanent players now and blood / push more experience into them for 2027 onwards
Or risk Moses best final years playing behind old or slow forwards who lose the middle every game, and then the following years we are still rebuilding
I also think that Kelly played well at centre, his CONTACT gave us chances, his physicality really showed dividends, THIS is where parra has often lacked this season
I’m also a believer we have to buy one tier 1 prop to replace Paulo, turn Paulo into another lock forward to assist Walker
Positives? We are the only side who could score tries against panthers this season to that extent, just poor defence (which largely stems from middles being dominated)
The weird thing with this team is this is nothing like the style Ryles wants to play, not sure I can see any improvement year on year, in a way we have gone backwards, such a shame, could be a long year
Why is that mate ?
Talent ?
Execution?
First up defensive contact has been soft for the first month.
There’s no aggression we fail to dominate the tackle, each tackle has to be a competition we’re trying to win.
We fail to win a single tackle defensively which puts us on our heels .
There’s only one way we fix our defensive issues with the squad we have and thats increase line speed particularly the first three tackles ensuring we defend from the front foot.
Our linespeed hasn’t been good enough and we’re by far the softest defenders in the competition.
Tigers next week , they run harder , hit harder and have more mongrel.
It’s been along time since we’ve had a forward come through our junior systems with mongrel, what’s going on.
Agreed – our line speed is woeful and our contact so bad. We start every game behind the ball (and our own posts)
Other teams work to drive players back or turn the facing the sideline to slow down play the ball. We have Kelma and Katonga we make soft decisions a prefer to lay some in ruck instead of work to get back to marker. We have junior who is so slow off the line. We have Williams who tries hard but tires himself out covering for others and thus misses key tackles. Ryley has been a spot in defence against good teams.
Another thing, our players don’t support each other when other team celebrates on them (Joe chan vs Jonah and Martin vs iongi). Is a small attitude thing but it’s a worry they don’t get around each other like other teams in those moments
The gap is seriously concerning and Penrith simply could flick a switch and we were clutching at air.
Melbourne and Penrith have humiliated us.
We look constantly shell shocked once teams start piling points on but everywhere you look there is players laying on the ground jogging back not looking at what’s happening on the play.
Held back on pezet abit to start the year but my god he has not impressed me one bit talatina,twiddle and Volkman could not do any worse. Yes we are scoring points but there’s no control in anything we do I’m not convinced
Parra Admin in 2024: Talagi has tonnes of potential, but a defensive liability, let’s let him go.
Parra Admin 2026: Our 5/8 has some talent but can’t tackle.. Well at least Penrith have the same problem… Actually no, we give up more tries per game than they have conceded all season.
How is that possible? Well their edge back rowers are both top 10 defensive backrowers, ours are both in the bottom 10.
5th tackle options. The only time we kick with any effect is early. We constantly run on the last because we can’t contest a ball in the air. Why? Because arguably the best attacking aerial player in the game was granted a release when there was no need to.
Our defence is an absolute disgrace. Line speed, contest on the ground, front on contact, decision making.
Papali’i IS NOT A FIRST GRADER. Maybe one day but not this day. Still can’t pass effectively and the non effort on the Alamotti try should see him dumped until he can put his body on the line.
Moretti has never been a first grader. I know he is a bit of a favourite of the folks who watch all the grades, but haven’t we seen enough?
When you have half a dozen guys playing 1st grade who wouldn’t make any other club, which means you have no depth, the back office has to get torn down.
There is no silver lining to that performance.
The injuries are sad for the players who got them. If there are players we think are the future of the club in Flegg and Cup, start rotating them through the top grade now and get them some exposure to the big time. We’re not winning a comp in 2026, so just do it already.
We failed to recruit, we have an aging squad of middles and lost two of our best players.
Not sure what everyone was expecting tbh.
I was hoping we would finish around 8-12 originally but this looks unlikely given we now have a couple of injuries. Hopefully we acoid the spoon at least.
If I was Moses I would be looking inv to,play elsewhere and given how far we are behind other teams our recruitment team (Larry, Curly and Moe) will struggle to attract anyone again. I mean who would want to play as a part of or behind this pack?
It is so hard to believe we are spending the same amount of money on our roster as other teams when we look like we would struggle to beat a reserve grade team from Group 11 in the middle.
Ryley Smith has also been a huge disappointment so far this year I can see why he didn’t come back he used to lead the line speed but now looks like he wants to hang back and have a chat to Junior about who has the worst first contact.
I think it’s pretty obvious that Ryley Smith has been carrying a sternum injury for the past few weeks.
I would say if every Eels player has the commitment, desire and fitness that Smith has then we would be flying.
It’s just frustrating to watch them make those basic mistakes against a team like Penrith. Honestly, the lack of urgency really showed.
For 5 minutes we looked like we were focussed and organised, but then as soon as it happened I got that feeling…a penalty to the Riff on their 30 for..wait for it…our line speed saw us inside 10…I think it was 4 middle/edge blokes almost in a perfect line doing a Panthers style shut down swarm…you see it constantly unpenalised, this one didn’t look any different. Cleary makes 30 mtrs with the kick, they work to our 10, then Papalii strolls past Kelma. And I just knew we were toast. Resilience and defence, exposed by the first dose of adversity.
If Mark O’Neill is still hanging around in 2027, it just proves this club is completely incapable of learning from its own failures. His track record in recruitment is a shambles and his retention is even worse. The roster is bog average at best, and he should be front and centre taking the blame for it.
He shouldn’t be getting another chance—he should be shown the door, full stop. And when TCT roll out their usual soft, ring-around-the-rosy interview at season’s end, how about someone actually grows a spine and asks him some proper, uncomfortable questions… assuming this clueless club is dumb enough to keep him.
Couldn’t agree more. This roster is so ooor I cant believe we have actually spent our salary cap on assembling this team when half of them wouldn’t make the starting 17 in90% of the other teams.
100% avenger. The tough question should have been asked about the botched retention and recruitment, letting players with ability go and paying overs for people like Matterson.
The roster has so many deficiencies, I don’t know how o’neill is still at the club
Zero tough questions
The club isn’t ruthless enough. I don’t like
Gus that much but I respect how ruthless he is and how much desire he shows towards trying to improve a squad/cut the fat from a squad. He goes too far (see eg the dogs saga last year and this year) but we are so so slow at filling gaps and augmenting the roster. The club seems to think it’s good enough to call itself a development club and do fuck all else
He’s already had too many chances.
Josh Hodgson should have been his last chance.
That he hasn’t been made accountable for his performance over several years is now a dereliction of duty by the CEO.
I’m not so tough on Mark as some; he’s had his successes.
1. Sean Russell has become a very effective NRL centre.
2. Brian Kelly is a better centre than Sean Russell.
Dylan Walker was an inspired pick up and needs to be tied up at least for next year.
3. Taylan da Silva looks like developing into an elite.
Some failures;
Losing Stefano Utoikamanu and retaining Ryan Matterson; losing Marata Niukore and retaining Sean Lane
Losing Blaize Talagai and Ethan Sanders and recruiting Pezet for one season.
I think our next major tests will relate to our ability to retain our good, big young forwards and Apa Twiddle
Are we really sure that Pezet is a better player than Twiddle? Interesting if the end of the year comes
Perth is up and running, PNG is recruiting and we lose them both
i think we should hunker down and win next 4.
i think its a shame about doorey , built like a mack truck and has been supplying pentrating runs
not knocking mitch but i fail to see why his close to the line flat passing has to be like its shot out of a canon, if the receiver does catch it hes lost his momentum and direction by virtue of bracing , redirecting his run.
can fox play fb.
i dont see why we cant have more interplay between wingers and fb on returns, winger to fb then winger stays on the ball and receives it again
kelma , should be on the bench, dont write moretti off yet, can we start with tds
We are not winning the next 4, we look like spoon contenders with our pathetic defense
I agree apropos Moses, his passing needs work(and his goal kicking) actually he looks off all-round, I’m picking he’s carrying an injury
So, to recap last year we took a broom to the place and then with big salary cap space we didn’t get any notable signings and now our team looks worse than when we had Gutho Sivo Carty party etc
And anyone saying we are 2-2 is kidding themselves, we got lucky twice, due to the other teams playing worse than us
We look awful in defense, Moses looks like he has a Bali brochure in his pocket, big Kitty has schoolboy handling errors, no one puts a shot on, Junior looks like he could go to reserve grade and the Fox is catching a cold out on the wing
Our opponent should have the threat of being folded at anytime hanging over them
Brian Kelly looked alright, he might come good out of this mess
We’ve got the 70m Eels Centre of Excellence for what purpose?
Big shout out to Brian Kelly. He had a great game.
At least the left centre problem has been solved.
I think Moses is just bloody frustrated.
He knows at 31 he’s not going to win a premiership and I think he’s just trying to do too much.
I would actually swap Moses and Pezet around.
Give Moses a bit of a break and play wider.
Chin is off contract soon, maybe we go all in on him
Yeah fair play to Kelly, he was much better than rd1.
But if Brian Kelly is winning your best on ground, don’t be surprised when you are getting cricket scores run up on you.
No, tough. Kelly was excellent. Apart from anything else he absolutely beat up Liam Martin. I guess Liam had instructions to run at Brian; he will have very much regretted that. By the eighty minutes Brian looked like he was still enjoying himself very much and Liam looked relieved to get off. Brian and The Fox – that’s a lock; leave them there for the next two years.
By the time we started to play the game was over. I think we expected to lose and surprised ourselves with success in the second half. The forwards need the experience and mongrel of De Belin. Kelly did well. The Pezet experiment seems more pointless than ever
The forwards have the experience of Paulo and Walker (both over 250 NRL games), Jack Williams 150 NRL games. Even Hopgood and Kelma have over 70 games each. I’m not sure how much more experience and mongrel they need. Remembering Ryles chose to punt Matterson, RCG and Cartwright. Right or wrong to replace that experience with … the oldest forward in the game (JDB) who does nothing, the problems are self inflicted .
Panthers smashed the Roosters who have a very handy coach and playing roster, they smashed the reigning Premiers and Cronulla who have a much more touted team than the Eels, they are unbelievable right now. The Eels are in a better place than at the end of 2024 but right now, they are not really near their potential. It’s heartbreaking watching the match against the Panthers but I reckon better days are ahead for us
Bollocks.
Yes you are right, it’s bollocks. I’m trying to stay positive, because otherwise I’ll start yelling at my kids. I should have said “but I HOPE better days are ahead for us”….of course I don’t know how far into the future that may be. I might be gone by then. I ain’t no spring chicken
I said it in the podcast and I’ll say it again. The Eels are in a roster crisis. We started the season with a top 30 of 27 due to Matto still being included. I am all for the logic of keeping two spots should players become available, but the injuries have changed the scenario as these are not short term problems. It’s time to change the strategy and shake whatever trees we can find or whatever ones we had identified for later on. The time must be now.
Exactly right. They have had enough time to sort out the roster and the Matto drama, how hard did we chase Haas or Koloamatangi or any marquee players? Seems like we sit there with an expectation for elite players will form an orderly queue at the doors!
Big Jared can come into the coaching group too
I watched the Newcastle and the Tigers games and I was just blown away by the power and agility of their forward packs.
Newcastle have gone from dross to looking like world beaters.
I shudder to think what their forward pack would do to ours in a confrontation.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
How did this happen ???
We look light and lethargic.
Is it just because we have played the best teams ?
The Bulldogs are a pretty decent outfit and Newcastle smashed them .
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the tackle on Josh Curran near the line that destroyed his ribs by an unknown young forward. Worth the price of admission!
My point is that a turn around CAN happen in a short amount of time with the right personnel.
Unfortunately, this recruitment issue has been 5 years in the making. List who the club lost in that time against who the R&R team signed as replacements . To say it’s lacklustre and much weaker, then spending the same amount is crazy.
The change needs to start in that area, they have basically failed and we need a new approach. The administration side is good, that’s about it.
60s we have said that for last 4 years and we keep saying it. What gives you any faith the club can 1) identify players worth investing in and 2) get them over the line (especially mid season. It is wishful thinking with this club as they are so slow and reactive. Dolphins, Canberra and now sharks have signed tough super league players but we are happy with Kelma and other plodders who constantly go looking for shortcuts under any hint of fatigue.
Ryles is responsible for this team and its inept defensive performances. He is responsible for the arrogance the players have thinking end of last year form was translatable to this year – it isn’t and wasn’t cause we played with no pressure knowing finals out of reach and this year is new year in any event. Ryles even referred to last year in press conference last night…I get he is desperate to keep confidence of group high but it’s irrelevant in my opinion.
This club talks a lot of about development and continuous learning and other buzz words but they don’t action it. They haven’t bloody learnt their outside back depth is horrific and their middles aren’t great either.
Ryles doesnt escape criticism here either.
Walker is a bench player. Completely wasted starting.
Junior is actually the best lock we have at the club.
Williams is the best edge forward we have.. please just leave him there !!!!
Fill the gaps but dont weaken the positions to do it.
Agreed – it’s so obvious that Walker needs to be on bench, jdb to start and tackle for first 15. Junior is terrible at the moment but we have no choice to start. Williams to right backrow. Katonga can keep left just because we have no other choice (despite his horrific defence, errors and effort areas). Guymer part of 17. Moretti as well (even though I don’t rate him we have no choice)
Thanks for the podcast fellas following a bitterly disappointing effort. The best thing for me about the game was seeing how peeved Ryles was at the presser. How that translates into the next few weeks I’m not sure – same cattle and you can’t make wholesale structural changes in a week.
A hope the young SG Ball chap is ok.
All and sundry have discussed our defensive frailties so I won’t say too much more. But letting teams consistently make 60-65 metres a set in the opening 20 minutes is always going to tell. How that compares to average metres gained across the NRL I’m not sure. Secondly, we’ve just got to hit harder or, as Big Bob is fond of saying, fold ‘em. It leads to hesitation and confusion. Just look at how Newcastle went hard at the doggies. There will be a lot Canterbury players feeling very sore and sorry today and they will remember next time they are up against the Knights. Curran especially!
While we had moments in attack they were too few and far between. I lost count of how many times the ball was passed in front of or behind the receiving player. While most were caught it affects momentum making it easier for the Panthers, already good defensively, to nullify. The poor passes weren’t just from dummy half either.
I’ve been holding off on talking too much about Pezet during the opening weeks to see how he settled into the team. He has done a few good things, a couple of nice passes and kicks. Outside of those though I’m starting to wonder what all the fuss is about and if agent Anasta has sold us a pup. Enough has been said about his defence and he just doesn’t seem to be gelling enough in attack with the rest. It’s been four weeks plus trials and training there should be a greater resemblance of connectivity between him and the rest.
Young Ryley is starting to look like he may have one of those second years in first grade. Hopefully he was not injured yesterday. I have a lot of respect for his abilities and competitive nature and think he will be a good long term player for us. Just got to overcome this second year hump thing.
By the sounds of it there are not many in the reggies pushing hard for a spot and there is not much on the market that I’m aware of that we can get in to the team before mid season. So the current squad need to aim up.
After saying all of that Penrith are the benchmark team in the comp and they showed us why. The Eels players now know the gap they have to close to become competitive. Are they capable and do they have the mindset to do that?
Apa Twidle, four tried and three goals last night
Use him or lose him
Noel,
I’ve liked the little I have seen of Apa over the last two years. Notwithstanding Sixties and Forty20s noting Twidle being a bit rocks and diamonds during a game I agree with you. I think he is 21 which gives a little age and, hopefully, some composure.
He does also seem to have a knack of being around to score tries. Can’t recall much about his goalkicking but I saw a game last year where he kicked off on the full over the dead ball line and the next over the full on the sideline 😩.
Cometh the hour?
Can he catch a ball ????
Is he aware of where he should be position wise when the opposition is attacking our line ??
If he can he will be an instant improvement.
I hope Ryles is not a stubborn bloke and just keeps picking Pezet because he brought him to the club. Apa Twidle is a much more complete player and a consistent try scorer. Parra must have an anti aggression policy because we’ve had no mongrel in our forwards for years. Every other team knows it and just dominate us accordingly. We continually get bashed out of it early and the tone is set. Catch up footy only gets so far.
Stephanie Utoikamanu and Marata Niukore have plenty of mongrel.
Penrith beat us in 15 minutes yesterday with absolute power and aggression.
Ryles has a huge problem with his starting forwards and attitude around defence at the moment.
Ryley is being exposed because of his forwards lack of line speed and contact. Get some size and power thru the middle to start games. Sam,brown and morettti would have to be the biggest most power type forwards we have at the club give them a crack to start tell them give me 20 minutes of hell and move our best BACKROWER at the club Williams back to the edge for god sake.
Pezet has two more weeks in my opinion if we lose over the next 2 weeks experiment is nearing insanity and makes no sense
A lot of panic and sky has fallen stuff just like there was after Melbourne. I can kind of understand it our defence is not in a good place and you can throw injuries on top.
But let’s get realistic we were never beating Penrith. In the 35 years I’ve been watching footy I dont think I’ve seen a team play as well as this Penrith team has in the opening four rounds of a comp. Unless they have their own injury crisis they are winning the comp you can almost guarantee it.
Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary are probably the two best club footballers ever. And around them it’s just a cookie cutter of elite junior talent and then more experienced players just fitting into the system every year. It’s actually quite incredible what they have going on. We aren’t there and we are from it but we are developing good young players and we will be better for it in the long run.
Our attack looks miles better under Ryles so it’s apparent he can coach but a few of our players have individual defensive frailties.
Iongi is an excellent player – I hope the injury isn’t too long term.
I love it ‘we will be better for it in the long run’ . You do realize it’s forty years since we lifted the shield. You must never of seen Price , Raper, Sterling , Fulton ,Beetson etc to say the two Penrith boys are the best club players ever. Unbelievable.
How does that comment about the 40 years help in any way shape or form?
Cleary and Yeo are better players than any of those you mentioned. You better just come to grips with that
I think the problem is you’ve been feeling your eel to much.
lol thanks Seth
Lose the pessimism.
We were slammed with injuries and good refereeing would have had us with the ball for at least three Penrith tries. A player who has his foot on the line is in touch when he touches the ball, and should not give away the feed.
Moses was way below his best and threw some poor passes.
De Belin has to make his mark and Moretti has to come back.
We need some defensive steel in the backs.
I think we can still beat all but the real contenders.
2-2 start after including beating 3 best teams in the comp thought be 1-3 begin the year , yes we are not wining the comp this yes but are same boat of majority of teams , every team has had a bad loss so far besides Penrith go through it. This time last year we were 0-4 and won 1 from opening 6 . As shown last year we played higher level then now
Yes MON has failed plenty of times but Sanders and Talagi leaving very unlucky , both path blocked by international halves like how Katoa left Penrith. Who would of thought Knights give Dylbags biggest deal nrl history as that was what needed to make him go.