Parramatta’s Stephen Kearney looked every bit a coach under pressure as he ran from the media pack after the NRL club’s annual general meeting where players and the coach fronted around 300 members.
Both Kearney and captain Nathan Hindmarsh addressed and fielded questions from members as part of Tuesday night’s meeting.
The Eels’ loss to Canterbury on Friday ensured Parramatta have made the worst start to a season in 52 years and some supporters are fed up and let their first grade mentor know about it.
Longtime member Michael Pritchard doesn’t believe Kearney is the right man to steer the Eels and said there were plenty of others like him in the meeting.
“Some people got up and asked some stupid questions … a lot of personal stuff and they said they wouldn’t let that go ahead,” he said.
“A couple of supporters got up and told him (Kearney) they didn’t think he was the right man to coach and wouldn’t let him (Kearney) talk anymore.”
Pritchard and a number of other members expressed extreme disappointment at Kearney’s decision to drop Eels fan favourite and club stalwart Luke Burt earlier in the season.
Hindmarsh fronted the media outside the Parramatta Leagues Club.
“I got up there and said a few words about how we’re trying hard and we’re trying to work our way out of it and that we’ve got great coaching staff who give us all the right tools but at the end of the day it’s up to the players to do the job and we’re not doing it,” Hindmarsh said.
“It’s a group effort, coaching staff and team and players together, so we’re all copping it on the chin.”
The club released a statement of what Kearney told members.
“It has been the worst start for this football club in 50 or so years, and frankly some of our performances have been totally unacceptable,” Kearney said.
“I make no excuses on our part, the facts are we have simply not been good enough.
“I take responsibility for where we are as a team; I also take the responsibility for leading us out of this difficult situation we find ourselves in.”
Hindmarsh said there was more passion than anger in the fans and he thought it was a worthwhile exercise.
“They want a team that’s winning and we understand the frustration as players we want to be winning games as well and we took their questions on board,” he said.
“They (fans) got some questions out there they wanted answered and I think it was worthwhile.”
81paling
Roar Rookie
On Friday night when the Dogs played the Eels, the Eels headed into the sheds at half time with their heads down. Yes they were a bit behind on the scoreboard and the tide of play had turned against them. However there are two kinds of top coaches in these situations, the coach who gives the motivating speech that inspires something in his players to make them stand tall, run harder, tackle harder and make that second effort and the other kind who has prepared his team for this and chosen the right team for this. That coach does not need to say anything all of his preparation was done in training, all that he had to say was said at training. It is clear from the final score on Friday that Kearney is neither but he is protected by the board at Parra. This board can only protect SK for so long. He must adapt and become that coach that can inspire things at halftime or he and probably the board that protects him will be gone before the season has finished.