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50-0 against the Roosters, now 42-10 against what was essentially an under-20s Penrith side.
While Parramatta aren’t the worst team I’ve ever seen (yet), what exactly has gone wrong to lead them to the state they are in now?
There’s three primary reasons that the Eels are on Struggle Street.
The first is recruitment.
Sandow is a talent, I don’t think anyone can deny that. There’s been flashes of brilliance from him as well as a few questionable decisions. He came back in 2012 overweight but, to his credit, has addressed that this year.
The problem with Sandow was the price.
He is getting $550,000 a year until the end of 2015. Half a million dollars to a bloke in his early twenties who is still learning the craft at number 7.
In 2014 they have Will Hopoate joining at $800,000 a season and they currently have Darcy Lussick on a cool $450,000 a year.
In Lussick’s case, it’s a bit rich for a player who hasn’t cracked 100m+ gained more than once this year.
As a result of the exorbitant spending of prior administrations, there isn’t a great deal left to go around. This is evident from looking at their roster, there are gaps across the park in key positions.
While I believe Hayne is overpaid, you can still argue that he is effective and somewhat justifies the price tag. He also provides a segue to the second reason – captaincy.
Much has been said about the Hayne Plane taking the captaincy duties this year.
I’m not sure I can add too much that hasn’t already been repeated over many media outlets but I will say this – the man isn’t captain material yet.
He may mature beyond his years, lead from the front and show the young side how it’s done. All he’s showing the world at the moment is that he can whinge like a child and can’t hack it when the going gets tough.
The third reason is a simple one – the lack of a consistent administration. Since 2009, they’ve had four CEOs.
After coach Brian Smith was shown the door in 2006, Jason Taylor, Michael Hagan, Daniel Anderson, Stephen Kearney, Brad Arthur and now Ricky Stuart have had the reins of this side.
The good news Parramatta is that they seem to have a decent CEO and a plan moving forwards in terms of a new stadium.
While the playing group and coach are copping a lot of flack currently, it’s obvious that they are at least attempting to remediate the current situation with solid decisions moving forward.
Sadly for the fans, there isn’t much to look forward to but remember, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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