I am not a disgruntled Eels fan and have no particular bone to pick with you Chris Sandwo. Fact is, I am a pretty big fan.
Sure, I don’t have a poster of you on my wall and no, I don’t have any signed Rabbitohs or Eels number seven jerseys framed in my billiard room. But I respect your many talents on a rugby league field – you have more rugby league talent in your right shoulder than I possess in my entire body.
Chris this article/open letter is in fact a somewhat delayed response to a number of articles and posts on The Roar referring to your positive frame of mind and attitude adjustment during preseason training.
Sorry to be a sceptic, but mate, I just don’t believe a word of it.
Furthermore, a significant portion of NRL fans also believe this line of thinking is no more than boring dribble, conjured up by hack writers devoid of decent material for a story worth reading.
Chris, I don’t know you and I acknowledge this makes my comments somewhat unfair, especially as we all know you have had some off field issues. That said, I am not trying to bash you, but as a fan I can’t hide from the fact that – according to the press (and Russell Crowe) – you earn over 500k a year.
Chris Sandow to Parramatta at $550k a year.
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) May 3, 2011
As hard as this may be to hear Chris, you have failed to deliver and have not represented value for money to Parramatta.
This isn’t personal; it’s purely economics, and footy economics at that!
The good news is I have a solution – and yes, you’re right, I should really send this letter to coach Brad Arthur – but I want it to be your idea so you can claim all of the glory for initiating such a wonderful master class in coaching (I am a fan of yours after all).
Chris, I want you to imagine a conversation with Coach Arthur that goes something like this:
Chris: Coach?
Coach: Yes Chris?
Chris: Mate, I am sick of losing, I am sick of the bad press, I am pretty sure Parramatta fans on the whole think I’m a dud and I want to single-handedly put all this negative BS behind me and turn things around.
Coach: That’s great Chris, keep training hard and remain focused and things are going to work out.
Mate you have to trust our coaching team, you have to trust your teammates but more importantly you have believe in yourself and focus on the one percent plays and that extra ‘effort on effort’ stuff we talked about as a team yesterday, right?
Chris: Well coach… that’s what I am trying to say, effort on effort. I think I have been too caught up on trying to be the best halfback I can be when truly I should be focusing on being the best footy player I can be.
Coach: I’m not sure I follow you.
Chris: I need to shake up my game coach, you know – get extreme. I wanna play hooker.
Coach: Don’t be silly Chris, you can’t tackle!
Chris: Naw that’s nonsense, I just don’t like getting my hair messed up and if I play hooker I will get a blade one all over so it won’t matter.
I want us to be top eight this year, let me carve ‘em up out of dummy half and then Haynsey and Hoppa will do the rest.
I dreamt about it last night it’s perfect coach. Jarryd can play in the backrow like Sonny Bill Williams and Will Hopoate can play at the back.
It’s going to be awesome!
Coach: Gee Chris, I don’t know…..
(24 hours later, the conversation continues.)
Coach: Chris, if you are serious I want you to make a permanent transition to the hooking position, starting immediately.
Your training program will be adjusted to bring your KPIs in line with a representative level number 9.
You will be required to play for a minimum of 40 minutes per game, making a minimum of 30 tackles during the second 20 minutes of each half for the first 10 rounds of the NRL competition.
From Round 10 onwards, we expect you will increase your game time to 60 minutes where, injuries permitting, we will keep it for the remainder of the NRL season.
What I am saying is you are going to be doing a bucket-load of tackling and if you don’t step up your fitness, intensity and hunger it could be a very embarrassing experience for you.
I suggest you take the rest of the day off to think about it before rising at 5am tomorrow for your first of many specialised individual training sessions that we have planned for you.
Chris: I won’t let you down coach. Thank you.
Coach: Oh Chris, can you tell Jarryd to come and see me in my office…
(End fictional conversation.)
Chris, I have no doubt that playing hooker would be a tough and physically demanding transition for you but my point is this, If you took it upon yourself to re-invent as a tough, crafty and defensive powerhouse at 9, then Parra would no longer be wooden spoon favourites.
Outside of this, aside the anticipation of the almost inevitable stellar individual performances of Jarryd Hayne and Will Hopoate, things are looking glum for Eels fans in 2014.
500k per year is a lotta dough Chris, maybe it’s time to start earning it?
Simon85
Guest
All I can say is Sandow has the greatest agent ever to get him that sort of deal. And Brett I don't think you can just blame coaches, at what point do players have to take responsibility for themselves, they are all big boys.
Scrubbit
Guest
You drive a hard bargain my friend
casper
Guest
and the answer is? less missed tackles, no individual 'rabbit out of the hat' plays & putting the team first. Sandow has untapped ability & that's the problem, he's been spoilt by all the coaches who saw the potential & he never had to actually aim up. Who initially failed to coach that tackle out of him where he'd launch at the big guys with a shoulder/chest charge & bounce off regularly? that defensive coach should get the sack. Also, he runs across field too much & longer kicks are ineffective (short kicking is not too bad). Either he plays 80 minutes and contributes or you look elsewhere, can't carry a replacement bench halfback. In my opinion, he deserves this season to see if he can turn things around, and I don't think that will hurt the Eels.
Brett the Manly fan
Guest
Honestly I don't see Sandow as the problem, nor do i see the players as the problem. I see the coaches as the problem. Chris Sandow constantly puts his body on the line and runs hard, Parramatta has alot of big boys coming up through the u20, the outside backs have plenty of size in (Lasalo, Loko, Tonga, Hayne, Semi Randrandra and Bureta Faramio), the forward have the size covered, plus they have creativity around the park in Sandow, Kelly, (now Norman) Hayne and Peats. What i don't get is how they don't gel better, I have no other explanation except the coaching staff
Brett the Manly fan
Guest
Hence why he playes fullback so he can roves where ever he pleases
Brett the Manly fan
Guest
He played fullback in one of the u16 state of origin games QLD (or mayber u19) I (like you) like when halfbacks and 5/8 turn to fullbacks and vice versa. examples: Albert Kelly played fullback for the eels u20, now a halfback Preston Campbell 5/8 turned fullback and HB and played all of them game to game Ben Barba used to be a HB now a FB Garreth Widdop FB now a 5/8 and occasionally a HB Shuan Johnson...never played fullback BUT I bet he would be AMAZING there. Sam Tomkins....5/8, HB and now a fullback who switches from time to time
Dave
Guest
$500k a year to come off the bench? If he is the top 7, or in fact in the top 13 at the club,, it is going to be along way beck from the wooden spoon.
Simon
Guest
I agree also that Hayne was awesome at Centre for the Kangaroos- but cant see him getting enough clean ball at club level to have the same effect. That is why I would like to see parra experiment with him play a roving/wide running backrow position in the mould of SBW this way he can still hit holes out wide but doesn't have to worry as much about defending at centre and can move in close to the middle if he wants more action. I don't know if most people have noticed by Jarryd finished 2013 as big, strong and aggressive as we have ever seen him and I think apposing coaches would be worried about him with a roving commission on the edges and through the middle...
Simon
Guest
BA Sports
Guest
While Parramatta have a lack of depth at hooker, Sandow won't be next in line. Peats is unlikely to set the world on fire and will end up in the backrow before finding his way back to NSW Cup over the next couple of years. If Docker-Clay can get his defence right, he could be a new PJ Marsh which Eels fans would settle for.
Adrien
Guest
I tend to agree with you on Hayne but during the world cup he was playing in the best team of the tournament and had Thurston, Cronk and Slater to give him good balls. I don't think he'll be that great playing alongside Sandow Norman and Kelly in a struggling team...
TGGOA
Guest
Ive been saying for a while Sandow should play fullback, he was called the next Matt Bowen when he was younger, you could throw Hayne in the centres with Hoppa leaving Norman and young Kelly to do the organising. Apparently Chrissy played very well from fullback in the trial in Alice Springs, good luck to him, too many people wanting him to fail.
Mike C
Guest
We all know that if Sandow stays off the punt, the pies, and the grog, he IS a match winner. Good luck with that Parra Coach ! Now, I wonder if the coach watched any of the Kangaroo games ? If he did, he would probably realise that they finally found a position where Hayne can finally be of use. No more bludging at fullback and drifting in and out of games - no more trying to lead a team around at 5/8 - he just doesn't have the smarts for that - but, he is a blockbuster game breaker being fed balls in the centres as was clearly seen time and again in the World Cup ! It's hard to go to sleep in that position, it's close to the action, and his size speed and skill could elevate him to a Meninger type of centre for future Eels teams !
Leaguegirl
Guest
LOL! Sadly, there's probably a lot more reality than fiction in that convo. 550k a year for a guy that has been dominated by nearly every half back he's faced is ludicrous imo. His read of the opposition plays in 2013 have been abysmal! From the little I've heard and watched of one of the new U20s recruit in John Brady, he'll probably do a better job at 9 than Sandow. We'll probably see him playing first grade sooner than planned if Sandow keeps playing the way he did last year. I believe in second chances at redemption but for 550k a year??? Not worth it. It's hard not to agree with Simon on this one.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
would you believe a microwaved sausage roll and no drink.....
Scrubbit
Guest
I would be more inclined to offer a sausage sandwich and a plastic cup of tap water
Moz
Guest
Souths improved from 10th to 3rd after Sandow left with a rookie HFB. Sandow should save every cent he earns for the rest of his current contract because his next contract will be worth 2 meat pies and a can of coke.
Simon
Guest
LOL! Thanks manlyman101..........Glad to see you picked up on the whole purpose of the article. Which was to set a platform for the fictional conversation where Coach Arthur exclaims 'Don’t be silly Chris, you can’t tackle!' Imagine that a halfback whom as ScottW rightly points out can't even count to 5 -or even tackle?? Which leads to my next point- What does a club do when they have a $500,000 Halfback who can neither tackle nor count to 5 ??? My answer is two fold. 1. Collect the wooden spoon 2. Sack the person in charge of THAT recruitment decision. And no I am not a Eels supporter, I sadly follow the Dragons who are equally served by an equally poor recruitment decision in Gareth Wiidop. My guess is it is the Dragons whom will come 2nd Last! Oh Boy! Why did I have to be a Dragons supporter WHY!
akinivel
Guest
Good article -hooker or halfback definitely agree he has to pull the finger out this year
NQ Cowboy
Guest
If he loses a few kilos, he could play prop.