You only have to look at the Eels roster on the Official site to see the glaring hole in Parramatta's roster for 2019.
Browse over there and look for the word centre. You'll find it once. Under Michael Jennings.
Given you start a match with two centres, that's a problem.
Now a lot has been made of late, regarding the importance of centres. There is a school of thought going around that wingers are more important. I don't buy into that. I think wingers are MORE important than they were, but I think having great centres is still critical to being able to score points. I'd argue that the Rooster's centre pairing of Mitchell and Manu was what separated from them the pack last year.
A lot of teams are very structured in terms of their backline play, and in those types of set-ups, centres are probably less important because all your working for is two-on-one on the edge and ten-year-olds can draw and pass. However, the beauty of a player like Mitchell, or as Hayne showed for us last year, is you can give them early ball and let them create something. That adds a lot to your attacking arsenal because if you're just going to run sweep plays all days, that can get really easy to defend against by just getting your outside backs to jam in hard and early.
The Eels do have Brad Taikarangi who has played the majority of his Parramatta football at centre but I think most acknowledge his future is as back-rower, and Clint Gutherson has played there, but he seems to be favoured for the fullback role.
At this stage, the Eels appear to be looking at Jaeman Salmon, better known as a playmaker for the role. It's a big ask to thrust an NRL rookie into a position, that won't be entirely natural for him.
Personally, I expect Blake Ferguson to play the majority of his football at centre this year. While he's an elite winger, it really is something of a luxury to be able to play an outside back of his class on the flank.
The Parramatta backline roster is somewhat out of kilter in terms of balance. In French, G Jennings, Hoffman, Leleisiuao, Ferguson and Sivo we have six genuine wingers in the Top 30. In French, Jennings and Hoffman we have three NRL-proven wingers while I have high hopes for Sivo and Leleisiuao. Quite simply, our abundance of winges means we don't have the luxury to play Ferguson on the wing because unlike the Rooster we're not blessed with a Mitchell/Manu centre pairing.
We're definitely in the market for a centre and we have money to splash. As such, I will be surprised if we don't end up signing Robert Jennings. However, while the younger Jennings brother was initially a centre, he has played the majority of his NRL footy - and his best NRL footy - as a winger, so I don't know if that's really the answer, either.
Then there are our juniors - or more specifically Ethan Parry. He's young but he's long been ear-marked by the Eels as a first-grader and he's grown nicely. It may be a season too soon for him, but with our lack of depth in the position, he could get a chance.
Ironically, none of this would be an issue if Jarryd Hayne hadn't gone and gotten himself in trouble again. Having late last year established himself as the best player at the club again, our 2019 backline would be shaping up nicely with Two ex-International centres, a former international-winger, and a host of options for the last remaining position in the backline.
What a difference one player can make.
Comments
BA will 100% play Ferguson in the centres.
I know he's shown his best form on the wing and it's where I would put him but BA has shown he's more than happy to strengthen one area at the expense of another. I think it more highlights a lack of forsight in roster management. Hope it works out.
Poppa, I think you could be right, I get the feeling the club are holding their cards close to their chest regarding Hayne.
After all the drama centred on Hayne you want to bring that to the club? That is nuts. You are not going to have a cooperative press. That is deadset not going to happen. They will have a field day with it. Legal process aside it will further affect the club's ability to attract sponsors.
His next hearing is February 13, just a month from the start of the season. Sure, it could take two years to settle.
He's on strict bail, can't go overseas, can't go to Newcastle and must report to Ryde police station three days a week which would likely prevent him travelling interstate. Yet you want to put this guy on the roster, who is pretty much limited to playing games in Sydney and let's not understate the mental state he'd be in? I think you're taking the piss here.
Recruiting Hayne would likely result in us losing sponsors and negative media coverage which is something we cannot afford.
I don't know what world you're living in to assume a good PR consultant can fix that. I've worked in PR and I've worked in the media and the absolute last thing you do is court controversy. You do not get involved in something that is already negative. A court case is an absolute opposite of what you want to get involved. Because a court case tends to buck the news cycle. It doesn't just appear for a 24 hour period. It drags on and on, appearing multiple times a year and puts the focus back on the club in a negative light.
How would this be a good investment if the club lost millions in sponsorship dollars? I think you're very naive to the way the media works. What's the PR guy going to do? Because PR is all about trying to offer an alternative viewpoint. It's hard to offer an alternative viewpoint when it's a court case that is based upon facts. You can't just go, "Hayne was seduced, blah, blah, blah" when there's bloody recorded evidence suggesting otherwise. This is not something where you go, "I think we'll just try this and if it goes belly up, whoops, my bad." I can tell you that from a journalistic point of view that Parramatta will be front and centre every time Hayne's case is brought up. Hell, the club was thrown into the crap the moment he was arrested and charged even though he wasn't contracted at the time.
You can't paint Hayne in a positive light when the DPP is pursuing a conviction for Sexual Assault because every time he goes to court it will be about Hayne defending himself against a sexual assault charge. It's not like he got drunk and was busted for DUI. That's easy to deal with.
I haven't "decided" Hayne is guilty, but I'm thinking about the position of the club more than the position of one player. I'm also aware of his bail conditions. Which states he needs to surrender his passport and report to Ryde police station three times a week (Tues, Thurs, Sat).
You seem very comfortable with laying much of the blame at the alleged victim's feet. It doesn't matter about her inviting him over, taking off her clothes etc. Let me remind you that according to NSW law, the absence of a "no" does not constitute consent. It also doesn't matter how long she takes to report it. That is up to her.
It's not just about Hayne, it's about the club and protecting it. So, I reiterate my question, would you be happy re-signing Hayne if it cost the club several million dollars in sponsorship?
I don't really have an opinion one way or the other on the outcome of the case. It's for the courts to decide. But given Hayne is not a Parramatta player, I don't think he should be signed given the reputational damage it will do to the club and the very real possibility the club would lose sponsors.
I'd also like to play devil's advocate. What if he is convicted? How will the club look if it paid a convicted rapist? Would you be comfortable with that? We'd forever be known as the club that supported a rapist.
Now, as far as I'm aware, the club is providing Hayne with support. I just don't know what world you live in where a club recruits a player who is out of contract and charged with sexual assault. You're honestly just asking to watch the club burn.
I don't think there is any allegation of rape is there? I'm talking about the case in Australia.
The accusation is she withdrew consent for sexual intercourse.
And you're saying there is an electronic recording of this withdrawal?
Nah, nah, there's an electronic recording of the interactions between Hayne and the alleged victim prior to their meeting up.
We'll find out regarding the alleged withdrawal of consent during the court case. But that's part of her allegation. That she withdrew consent. That, and the alleged biting is why he's been charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault.
You didn't answer my question. I'm well aware of the fact that several sponsors were very worried about their involvement with the club following Hayne being charged.
So if several sponsors were concerned when he was charged, what would it be like if we signed him whilst still charged and facing a court case?
The club is providing Hayne with support because who else is going to? He's played for our club for over a decade so I think the club feel a duty of care towards him.
I don't think we're having this discussion if he was contracted for 2019 like De Belin is to the Dragons. It's quite clear the way NRL clubs deal with players charged with a crime. If they are contracted, they are kept on and it's up to the player if they want to take time out. If they're not contracted then the game provides support but they're not signed.
It'd be crazy to think that a club like ours, which has been dragged through the mud for about a decade due to board room fighting, coaching changes, poor on field performance to then go out and voluntarily invite more intense scrutiny.
Now, I'm going to give you a little PR theory 101. There is a body of evidence that shows a clear correlation with previous negative coverage having an impact on a company's reputation when another crisis occurs. In other words, if you've had previous crises it's harder to recover your image. However, it's been shown that previous positive stories have very little impact on the reputation of a company when a crisis hits.
Basically, our club is in no position to court controversy and invite media scrutiny. It can only have a negative impact on our club and playing group.
Regarding the sponsors who got cold feet. They're two of our top sponsors. They're not some low-level sponsor that contribute $100,000 a year. If they left, we'd be out several million dollars. They're still with the club as far as I know and I don't want to out them.
Sure, you think a club can live on the integrity of a very self-righteous statement, but I don't think you really understand the financial repercussions for the club. We all know the club is struggling to attract and retain sponsors at the moment and this would only make our standing in the market worse.
Hayne was front and back page news for a whole week after being charged and the Eels were constantly dragged into it. The media has already shown how they'll approach this story. They don't really care about innocent until proven guilty. His case will be trial by media.
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