The Eels are under fire for supposedly lowballing their off-contract stars but their problem is not offering too little, it’s the fact they’re targeting the wrong players to re-sign.
Parramatta are paying the price for having too many above-average players who have caught the eye of rival CEOs, which can happen to any successful team.
But questions have to be asked not about whether the Eels are splashing enough cash but who they’re making their retention priorities.
They re-signed Mitchell Moses in May until the end of 2024 – that’s a no-brainer.
He’s their playmaker, a fringe Origin representative who has now made his debut for NSW and his growth since leaving the Tigers four years ago has finally ended the constant stream of halfbacks occupying the famous No.7 jersey which is still seen as the possession of Peter Sterling even though it’s roughly three decades since it was last draped over his shoulderpads.
And as much as the Parramatta fan-base has a love-hate-love affair with captain Clinton Gutherson, his recent extension until the end of 2025 will be worth its weight in blue and gold.
He’s the team’s leader on and off the field – if some of his teammates put in as much as he does to the point of exhaustion every week, they would have gone a lot closer to breaking their 35-year premiership drought in recent seasons.
Of the rest of their squad, Maika Sivo is one of the few other elite players in his position – the Fijian, who is in the top echelon of NRL wingers, is contracted next season with an option for 2023. He will miss the start of 2022 due to a torn ACL suffered late last season so the recent addition of Raiders speedster Bailey Simonsson is even more timely for the Eels.
Maika Sivo (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Parra adopted an egalitarian approach to their squad construction over the past few years – it’s rare a team wins the title unless they have at least two or three standout representative stars and the Eels are starting to feel the pinch.
They have come up short in the finals and the agents of their fringe representative players are looking to get full market value.
With a new shark in the waters in the form of the Dolphins, it’s a bad time to be trying to re-sign a large portion of your payroll.
There are probably five other players that Parra should have made a ‘no matter what, we’ve got to keep this guy’ guy – Reed Mahoney, Marate Niukore, Isaiah Papali’i, Ryan Matterson and Dylan Brown.
The first three have already signed elsewhere for 2023 while Matterson and Brown can leave at the end of next year.
The Eels refused to pay what they view is overs for Mahoney, Niukore and Papali’i but the fact of the matter is whatever number they ascribe to each player will become irrelevant if teams like the Bulldogs, Warriors and Tigers respectively weigh in with more lucrative figures.
These three players were consistently among Parra’s best last season – they were all in need of major upgrades and the Eels should have found the money for them even if it meant saying farewell to higher-profile stars like props Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Nathan Brown and Junior Paulo.
RCG has agreed to a new deal which will keep him at the club for four more seasons, Brown did likewise for an extra two years while Paulo is able to negotiate anywhere for 2023 and is looking for a lengthy new contract from Parra.
They’re all still very good players but they’re 28, entering a veteran period in which some middle forwards can maintain their output as they enter their 30s or their form can quickly drop off a cliff and become an albatross contract.
Brad Arthur is putting on a brave face in light of the recent losses of Mahoney, Niukore and Papali’i, saying the Eels have elite young talent ready to shine in Will Penisini, Jock Brazel, Larry Muagututia, Sean Russell and Blaize Talagi.
Every club says they have a promising crop of juniors coming through and it’s about time the Eels delivered on that front with a home-grown star or three, given their massive nursery in Sydney’s west.
This all adds up to a crucial campaign on the horizon for Arthur, who has re-signed until the end of 2024, and his team.
How far can Arthur take the Eels in 2022? (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
With so many players sorting out their contracts or in the final year of their deals before heading elsewhere, it could be Parra’s best chance in a while to finally get footy fans to stop bringing up the 1986 end of their golden era.
What’s new
Not a lot, as in no NRL standard recruits but they will give some of their young guns more game time, particularly centre Will Penisini. Veteran winger Blake Ferguson is trying his hand at rugby, utility Will Smith has joined the Titans and Keegan Hipgrave has been forced into retirement due to concussions, which will weaken the experience level among their depth.
Star on the rise
Will Penisini is only 19 and has just five NRL appearances under his belt but he’s seen as the Eels’ best long-term centre prospect in many years, filling the vacancy from Michael Jennings’s abrupt end to his career late last year due to a drugs suspension.
Who’s under the pump
Ryan Matterson’s elevation into the NSW ranks has been stymied by head knocks the past couple of seasons but there is also angst surrounding his commitment to the club long term following the surprising decision to omit him on form in the first week of the 2021 finals.
He needs a big year and to sign on the dotted line to convince the blue and gold faithful that he’s not going to think the grass is greener elsewhere along the lines of his controversial Wests Tigers exit.
Best-case scenario
Even if all the cards fall their way, it’s hard to see this team lifting the premiership trophy in 2022. Parra don’t seem to have the player with wow factor like they did the last time they made a grand final a dozen years ago. A top-four berth is a possibility but may be the ceiling on their capabilities.
Worst-case scenario
The Eels could slip and slide out of the finals equation relatively quickly if their recruitment issues continue to be a distraction and any of their impending departees try to get a mid-season switch to their next club.
Round 1 predicted team
1. Clint Gutherson
2. Bailey Simonsson
3. Will Penisini
4. Waqa Blake
5. Haze Dunster
6. Dylan Brown
7. Mitchell Moses
8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Junior Paulo
11. Shaun Lane
12. Ryan Matterson
13. Nathan Brown
14. Isaiah Papali’i
15. Ray Stone
16. Oregon Kaufusi
17. Bryce Cartwright
Others: Marata Niukore (suspended until Round 2), Jakob Arthur, Wiremu Greig, David Hollis, Makahesi Makatoa, Solomone Naiduki, Tom Opacic, Hayze Perham, Sean Russell, Maika Sivo.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Oh that’s right you lead a full life what with that all that old reading to catch up on not to mention the disappointing season to prepare for
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
No, just have a life
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Slow reader??
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
I only just saw your post fool, your ignorance had nothing to do with accepting mediocrity.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
And it’s taken you over two months for this response?? I hope you think it was worth taking all that time to compose your ridiculous note characterising your acceptance of mediocrity as my ignorance.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Your ignorance is astounding. The first 4 years of his tenure he had to deal with the constant churn and instability in the front office. He had 3 different CEO's in his first 4 seasons, and no GM to manage the football department. Then in 2018 he had to deal with Max Donnelly & Bernie Gurr stripping back the football departments budget to almost nothing, BA had to wear a lot of hats that season, hell, I'm sure at some point he was manning reception !!! Is it any wonder the club won the spoon, he barely had a chance to do any actual coaching despite going over 500 days without a day off, not a single day. Shocked his wife didn't leave him. Oh and lest we forget that under every successive coach since Jason Taylor, the clubs junior development program, once the gold standard, was allowed to wither on the vine. It takes the best part of a decade to actually start to sea the fruit of getting that up and running again. So to the present, BA is one member of a 5 man R&R committee that decides all roster issues. He is but one voice and all decisions have to be unanimous.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
It couldn't further from the truth. The reality is that in the past our R&R policy was basically non existent, and as a result we paid massive overs for far too many players, and were far too reactionary. Under the current regime, we are far more deliberate & intentional in our process. We have a five man R&R committee chaired by GM Mark O'Neill that also includes Brad Arthur, head of recruitment Ben Rogers, Chairman Shane McElduff & CEO Jim Sarantinos. The committee meets once a month and reviews every player on the books, the clubs current cap position, future needs & possible issues and any current player negotiations. That is world's best practice. Player managers, I'm looking at you Sam Ayoub, and their mouth pieces in the media, I'm looking at you James Hooper, are pissed off now because we aren't the good old reactive Eels who could be relied upon to panic in negotiations and make stupid offers. We look at the market, make aggressive offers and are prepared to stare down players and their representation to get the best deal possible for the club. Does it mean they don't get it wrong on occasion, of course not as evidenced by the botched job trying to resign Reed Mahoney, but in the main we are far better off. The club is doing many things right.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Yes but that doesn't take into account has been the historical front office instability at the Eels. It's only been in the last 3 years since the constitutional overhaul by Max Donnelly that the club's recruitment & retention systems have been in place. In the past the club basically didn't have a system in place, boards came and went every two years, and with each board came in a new CEO & a new coach, every new coach rebuilt the roster in his own image and crucially junior development, once the hallmark of the club, was completely ignored. It's only now, 8 years into BA's tenure that we are starting to see those green shoots of juniors starting to come back again with the likes of Jake Arthur, Sean Russell, Will Penisini, Oregon Kaufusi and Dave Hollis, and there's another wave coming after them as well. So while there are never any guarantees, the clubs future is in far better shape than now than it was even 3 years ago. The club may take a bit of a step back in 2023 with the loss of so many players, then again it may not, but long term expect premierships to be coming to Cumberland once again. The Eels are the biggest club in Sydney by some distance, and for the first time since at least the Brian Smith era, the entire club is pulling in the same, and more importantly, the right direction. We have the best Rugby League stadium in the world, we're in the process of developing the best high performance & administrative complex in Australian sport at Kellyville, we have comfortably the highest membership in the league, and a team that is in and around the top echelon year in and year out now. Watch out NRL, the Eels are coming.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Reed Mahoney was the killer, but it appears he was always wanting to go back to the Dogs. Niukore wanted to go home, no amount of money can beat that. Papa, that was a tough one, but you can’t overpay for edge forwards, centres or wingers. They are too heavily dependent on the teams middles and spine to show their best. Good luck playing for that dumpster of a club Papa. Junior, absolutely had to be kept, he’s the cornerstone of our pack. RCG, see Junior, plus the Panthers are still paying a big chunk of his freight till 2024. The Eels get him cheap for another 3 seasons plus handicap one of their chief rivals in the same hit.
Greg
Roar Pro
It doesn't bother me so much but maybe a closing line or better yet an attached comment from an editor on such articles stating due to ... comments thread will be closed for this article.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Go away… I’m not re-writing anything Cody Walker and Damien Cook have NOTHING to do with what I wrote THREE DAYS AGO !!! Your desperation is getting sad…
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
I said both Cody Walker and Damien cook had an uncanny ability to read and understand each other and play, what we call today, heads up football. I said that BOTH would play Origin and that Cook was close to playing Origin at the time and Walker still needed some work. You disagreed and thought I was drawing a long bow. Now you are trying to re-write history.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Great comment… for once you talked about footy and it stimulated some really interesting disc… oh wait… hang on a sec… everyone ignored it… sorry…
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
:thumbup:
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
I think with decision to admit the dolphins as the 17 th franchise is playing on a few players and player/ manager minds. A few of these guys may think we'll never win a premiership at Parramatta and go for the Wayne option particularly if the $ are good . And it also suggests that players don't want go there while Arthur is there. The board rushed in and signed Arthur hoping that would attract new players and it really hasn't worked.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yep. Two years ago I thought great pass, good defender, limited attacking skills, average kicker Now his pass is brilliant, still a good defender, in the top couple of ball playing hookers, low volume but decent selection running game and one of the best kicking 9s Has he reached his ceiling or does he improve again… ?
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
TB, it's the loss of Mahoney's development trajectory that is the weird bit. His shortcomings have been lessened and his improvement is tracking great. Your reply to Eeler above says it all. Cheers
Paul
Roar Guru
I was reading overnight that Parra's looking to make a big play for Sam Verrills, assuming Smith moves from the Storm to the Roosters in 2023. If that happens, you've got a better player than Mahoney as a replacement. Matterson's a funny one. He was desperate to join your boys and made all sorts of positive noises about the move but seemingly wants to move on? I also think it would be a very silly move to go looking for the fabled NRL unicorn - a superstar player. Far better to get your spine working to the equivalent of SOO level and IF a player comes along and has a superstar season like Tommy T did this year, you guys could be in the money next year.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
"I large Niukore" sounds like either a potent drink order in a foreign country... or the tattoo you wake up with the next morning.
Eelsalmighty
Roar Rookie
"well, maybe not Papali'i", and I'd add "probably not any". If Matterson wants out, go, and he will free up some cap. The Dogs are putting together a good side, and even assuming Barrett is only their 2022 "caretaker" couch (as I suspect is the case) their best case scenario is they open a short term premiership window, due to picking up so many "undervalued" players over a 2 year period, who will all want big pay rises (a current Parra situation) around the same time, or far more likely (my take on it) they'll need another Dean Pay to throw under the bus whilst they navigate their way beyond the back ended deals.