Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur seems to be a good guy who means well, and many current and ex-players regard him as a first-class coach.
But is that really the case?
Many ‘nice guys’ have coached at NRL level. Think Steve Price, Michael Potter, Matthew Elliott and David Furner as four recent examples. But when it came to coaching, as a whole, these nice guys failed (though Furner did take the Raiders to a finals series in 2012).
Those four coaches have a winning percentage ranging from 35 per cent to 43 per cent.
Brad Arthur currently has a 44 per cent winning rate.
Last year he had the best player in the game, Jarryd Hayne, as well as several other representative players, including Will Hopoate. Yet with a strong squad the Eels finished 10th on the ladder.
They recruited well in the off season, most notably with premiership, Origin and international player Anthony Watmough brought in to glue together a powerful yet sometimes fragile forward pack.
Yet six rounds into the 2015 season, I am worried about the Eels.
Apart from wins against an out-of-form Manly side and springing a surprise over Souths, they have been pathetic, in particular their last two weeks against the Tigers and then the Titans, who have the obvious off-field dramas to deal with.
Their efforts have been meek, with no spirit, no heart and no desire. When the going gets tough, the tough get going: that just doesn’t seem to resonate with the Eels. It’s this inconsistency that has plagued this club since 2005.
Their next two months of football are against quality opposition, and it wouldn’t be a total shock if they lost the remainder of their games before the bye round, which would leave them at 2-12. If that eventuates, then the blow torch will well and truly be on Arthur, who really hasn’t done a great deal as a first-grade coach, albeit in a relatively short career.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Eels board does with Arthur. Do they give him this year and judge him after next year with the prized recruit of Kieran Foran, or do they act on the 2015 results?
The way they are playing at the moment, the latter option could well be taken.
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