An inside look at Arthur himself... Credit Daily Tele

BRAD Arthur was sitting up watching videos until 4.30am on Sunday morning.Five long and lonely hours while the rest of us were fast asleep. The remote gets a hammering.Play, Pause. Rewind. Fast-forward. Stop. Play. Pause. Rewind. Fast-forward. Stop.Over and over again. Welcome to the life of an NRL coach who is winless after three rounds.He eventually gets three hours sleep.Then gets up and phones his assistant coach Steve Murphy at 7.30am.They’re desperately searching for answers to Parramatta’s shaky start to the season.He has breakfast and watches another replay of the 14-4 loss to the Cronulla Sharks at ANZ Stadium.Then off to Wentworthville to watch reserve grade.Eels head coach Brad Arthur is searching for a way to lift his team to a win.As coach of a side many predicted would not only make the finals but probably the top four, you’d expect him to sound more alarmed and more stressed. He’s actually quite calm and still confident.“Don’t forget last year,” he says, “We were two wins from the first six.“It wasn’t until the seventh round when we got a bit of luck and won with a couple of minutes to go against the Wests Tigers.“We’ve just gotta stay strong and keep turning up with our effort and we’ll get a bounce of the ball eventually. We’ve handled adversity before.”Arthur reveals the late night videos are not that unusual.The Parramatta Eels are three losses on the trot after going down to the Sharks. Picture: Phil Hillyard“It’s part of the job,” he says, “Even the Manly game. I watched it every night last week when I got home after work. My wife said to me ‘why are you putting yourself through it’“That’s what you sign up for. You get Xmas Day off but that’s about it.”To change the subject I bring up the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa: “It could be worse, Brad, you could be coaching the Australian cricket team.”“What’s happened … I didn’t even know the cricket was on.”Here is a man totally absorbed and focused with the job of fixing Parramatta’s season.Outside of his family, nothing else matters. Just two competition points next week.Parramatta coach Brad Arthur during a recent training session. Picture: Brett CostelloHe points out the Eels had no ball in the first half against the Sharks and no penalty until the 50th minute.“Cronulla had 22 sets to our 12 so when we got the ball we were a bit out on our feet,” he says, “We were running one out and a bit disjointed and flustered at times.“But our defence was a massive improvement on the week before.”The obvious problem is that their halves are struggling.Fox Sports statistics show Mitchell Moses had zero runs, zero metres … plus six missed tackles.Nathan Brown wasn’t the only Eels player looking for answers after their loss to the Sharks.Here’s a guy we thought might play for the Blues in Origin this year.Corey Norman is playing without confidence. They are not creating opportunities.But Arthur remains convinced the Eels will get it right.“We’re in a bit of a rut,” he says, “but I know we’ll fight our way back.”The interview finishes. There’s more homework to be done for the Wests Tigers game.Half an hour later he then sends a text: “Can you stress the point that I’m no different to any coach. We all do the same. It’s the job mate and I love it.”All credit to Daily Telegraph , just a different read on Brad Arthur himself.

"Kurupt…there’s a great article in the magazine below about the Eels and Rabbits getting down and dirty. Final score 31-20, however, I won’t spoil who dominated who."

Replies

Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown March 26, 2018 at 7:47pm

He bleeds blue n gold, nobody could doubt his dedication
Gray Fox March 26, 2018 at 7:55pm

Part of me feels sorry for Brad because he puts so much effort into the team. But the cruel reality is that he has gotten us into this mess through poor team selections and a gross overestimation of our players' ability to win, particularly our forward pack which would have to be one of worst in the comp in terms of strength and power. BA's loyalty and faith in his players will prove his downfall.
- Longfin Eel > Gray Fox March 26, 2018 at 8:09pm
  
  Well that forward pack that is the worst in the comp got us to 4th place last year. The team is in a rut as BA says and they need some luck to go their way to get them started.
michael picklum March 26, 2018 at 8:00pm

Well lets see what he comes up with for the Tiges match. Just maybe a little light at the end of the tunnel. A win in Rnd4 could spark a wining run & with luck, our injury toll may force BA to risk some changes.
Monto Eel March 26, 2018 at 8:07pm

Put me down for a 0-4 start to the season and possibly more! It’s already known as the ‘White Shorts Scandal’ until that changes it will get worse.
hindy March 26, 2018 at 8:09pm

Clap clap he loves parra but they ain’t getting him anywhere atm, results driven like it or not.. and it doesn’t sound like he’s about to make changes either as he keeps saying it’s around the corner! Way they are playing it looks like a massive corner
HH - Love You Iongi Time! March 26, 2018 at 8:12pm

It should not take that amount of time to put a line through Corey Norman for this week.
Braeden Kelly March 26, 2018 at 8:13pm

The first thing he needs to do to turn our season around is buy some fucking props! The ones that play for Parra last week was absolutely disgraceful! They've been fucking rolled for the last 3 weeks through the middle! Apart from Tepai and Brown no one else has even come close to having a go.
- CP > Braeden Kelly March 26, 2018 at 8:20pm
  
  I reckon 90% of us can all see our issues with our forward pack. But year after year we never see any improvements.
  
  It'd be interesting to know in the last 4 years how many top props have moved teams.
  
  Merrin, Tamou, Packer, Taupau, Packer....Anyone else want to chim in?
- Mr Steal Ya Bitch > Braeden Kelly March 26, 2018 at 8:39pm
  
  Yeah tepai 7 runs for 49 meters is having a go.