The inevitable has happened and Ricky Stuart has walked out on the Eels, to return to his spiritual home in the nation’s capital and coach the Canberra Raiders.
It’s hardly surprising that the man they call ‘Sticky’ walked, given the multitude of board-level issues the Eels have been experiencing since the movement against Denis Fitzgerald in 2009.
That, coupled with an atrocious season by the Eels which saw them ‘win’ their second consecutive wooden spoon, this time even more convincingly than in 2012.
In his single season with the Eels, Stuart at least managed to do some much overdue spring-cleaning, having told many players their services would not be required for the 2014 season.
A clearing-out of the dead wood was seen by many Parramatta supporters as an aggressive yet necessary move; however with a relative lack of signings to the club for next season, will we be witnessing a group of park-footy players pulling on the iconic blue and gold strip next year, with the likes of Jarryd Hayne needing to shoulder an even greater burden as part of the senior player group?
So, Ricky has gone; where now for the (very) long-suffering Parramatta faithful?
If the club’s recent coaching portfolio is anything to go by, it must be realised that a coach does not make a team (well, this team specifically).
Stuart was not the one missing tackles, dropping the ball or giving away penalties.
Granted, this is not a hard and fast rule (as we saw with Des Hasler’s move to Canterbury, which produced immediate results) – but surely after a long succession of very capable coaches failing to make any real impact on the Eels, it must be time for a change in rationale?
Maybe the answer is closer to home than we think.
We need to stop shelling out fortunes for established coaches, and instead turn to a person with blue and gold blood running through their veins?
Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Nathan Hindmash, Luke Burt… The list goes on.
True, they may not have coaching experience beyond their nephews’ under-12s teams, but you can certainly count on them all having the passion to see their team bounce back from the depths in which they’re currently wallowing.
That passion may just be what is required to lure some big-name signings to the club, alongside the prospect of playing for a team with as much pride as any other in the National Rugby League.
Surely a club great will help boost morale among the players?
Surely their passion for Parra will ignite a fire within?
Surely it is worth the punt?
Above all, surely things at this once-proud rugby league club cannot get any worse?
Bearfax
Guest
How much more charity should be given the the Brisbane Bonkos. They've been given a free ride since they started by New Ltd.. They were getting big crowds because they were meeting the hopes of approaching two million people. Gee there are a lot of clubs that would love that sort of support base. And its the main football code in Brisbane yet can only average 30000. What needs to happen is to get away from this one city team monopoly they have demanded, and get at least one or two other sides in there to increase the interest. I'd much prefer 15000-20000 average from three clubs in Brisbane totalling 45000-60000 , than 30,000-35000 with one team that has been so pampered, its now struggling because News Ltd is withdrawing the teet.
Bearfax
Guest
Aaron is obviously not a true believer.
aaron
Guest
if Parramatta want another wooden spoon taylor's the man for the job
Vince
Guest
Ricky was not my first pick as the new coach at Parramatta as I can remember Stickies loss of control when he lost the World Cup. Apparently it was a conspiracy against him. Fast forward last year and he gets appointed Parra coach. Well I thought the experts rate him, so I got behind him as I love my Parramatta Eels since the day I was born a Parramatta hospital. I lived in other cities like Newcastle and Canberra and friends encouraged me to switch and I can't. Two wooden spoons and I still have blue and gold in my veins. The last month was so disappointing, except for the win against St George. I thought we had turned a corner. Ricky has disappointed me but regardless of all the rubbish that has been peddled, there is one reason I know that makes his move legitimate is that he has moved for personal reasons. No one can understand what you would do for children when they have a disability like Autism. My two children have Autism and we moved suburbs to get them into a school that has understands children with Autism integrated with main stream children. Good luck Ricky and I do admire for one thing and that is children and family always come first. To my Parramatta fans and club officials lets look forward. Lets get a coach in the calibre of TIm SHeens who not only took West Tigers out of the mire and straightened out a dysfunctional board. To the Eels board, your effort should be 24/7 in getting a coach this month so those players thinking of not coming do come and play for Parra. Go you Eels, I'm still there barracking for you till I die.
Gareth
Roar Pro
Has there ever been a time where the Parramatta club wasn't marred by constant infighting? Plenty of coaches made a much better fist of it than Ricky Stuart. From mine, it's just the usual from a guy who loves to blame everyone but himself.
barfly
Guest
oikee well said champ....................................
Bearfax
Guest
Personally I think Parramatta blundered some time ago when they had Taylor coaching them and doing quite well and then gave the role to someone else. Taylor always was the best option amongst those considered. He's not a show pony, a big mouth and a favoured identity amongst the big heads and media babblers. But he quietly gets the job done. He's the best chance Parramatta have got of getting back into the game.
marayong tiger
Guest
Have 16 sides finish equal 1st? Keep dreamin.
Arthur Elliott
Guest
One excuse for Stuart turning his back on the Eels is trouble at Board level. That's just an excuse being used to hide his inability to improve the standard of play at Parramatta one iota since he's been there (although he CAN show a host of players - like Rene Maitua - the door, as scapegoats for his coaching failures). Geoff Toovey has done OK at Manly despite the toxic nature of the Board there. I see Canberra as being Ricky's last chance. If he fails again, everyone will finally wake up to him.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Ricky is simply a bad coach. He took a bad team and made them even worse. He did absolutely nothing useful when coach of NSW. He always just points the blame at everything but himself. The "clean-out" of players was completely stupid. You need to have someone better to replace the existing players with. Just getting rid of players you see as not good enough isn't going to make the team better unless you are able to replace them with better players. Chances are they will fail to secure the better players they need to replace them and will be even worse off next year. He was the coach. He had a good long pre-season with these players. If he didn't think they were good enough in certain areas he should have been working them hard to improve their weaknesses. As it is, the only thing he's managed at Parramatta was to take a team that was really poor last season and somehow make it even worse this season, then sack so many players they won't likely be able to replace them and no matter how good the coach is for next year the team will probably be even worse.
planko
Guest
I have no problem with Parramatta losing Ricky. I think he is a first grade coach but at his level of pay he was at the top end which I am sorry he is not. Now I know coaching dollars do not affect the salary cap but it stops clubs spending money in other way like promotions at games other specialised staff that can also affect on field performance. Canberra was slowly taking money out the clubs they own and buying commerical real estate so they were less reliant on poker machines to fill their coffers. Now they are paying what I would say twice as much for Ricky than Furner so this is bound to slow this down. I surpose what I am saying is that a coach is important but at the end of the day the greatest capital a club has is players. Players need talent and then confidence both of these are lacking at Parramatta.
Avatar
Roar Guru
I think Jason Taylor is the perfect man to turn the Eels around. He did it during his brief stint at the club in 2006 and I can't see why he can't do it again in 2014. That, and the arrival of Will Hopoate and Corey Norman to the club, could, in the little term, turn the club's ongoing woes around, but I can't see them being a force on the field just yet. Undoubtedly, whoever coaches Parra next year will have a hell of a job trying to turn them into a good team week in, week out.
oikee
Guest
The NRL has to step in and get this club back on track, back to the place where they were getting 75 thousand to semi finals in 09' , At the Moment rugby league in Sydney is having it's head kicked in by AFL crowds, the game are looking at 90 thousand for 4 games over this weekend in Sydney, the AFL got 95 thousand to one game a Calton blockbuster. Look, if the NRL cant fix our powerhouse clubs, cant sell the code to fans, cant attrack new fans to the game that Sydney loves, maybe they should get out of the business of sport and try they hand at banking or selling burgers on Oxford. They have Brisbane Auckland and Parramatta, all floundering and wallowing on the bottom on the table while these other clubs are getting their heads kicked in by AFL uNion and Soccer. Marketing and the whole shabang in Sydney is a pile of you know what, i mean come-on, kicking balls into the harbour, wow, a two year old could come up with a bigger bang for your buck, or has the code run out of bucks already. ? Fix up the powerhouse clubs, expand into heartlnad areas, give teams in those heartlands derbies so the game can really start growing, and stop sucking up to sonny, your only embarrassing and making fools of the game once he shoots through. Or is that the plan, is Smithy trying to kill the code off, after all, he is oldschool union boy. amen. Sterlo giving back might help as well, leave souths alone sterlo and do something positive for the Eels.