The Mole: Eels coach Brad Arthur denied by board on Issac Luke signing
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Parramatta’s board has all but thrown embattled coach Brad Arthur under the bus a couple of weeks before the season kick-off.
With the Eels having the youngest spine in the NRL, Arthur and his coaching staff were desperate for some experience around the rucks for the new season and wanted to bring Warriors hooker Issac Luke on board.
The Kiwi club was prepared to release Luke and it was all set to happen - but the Eels board said an emphatic no.
One of the game’s most dangerous dummy-halves on his day, Luke would have been great for the Eels.
But now it’s not to be and Arthur’s future lies in the hands of rookie hooker Reed Mahoney and playmaker Dylan Brown.
SEA EAGLES BOLTER LOOMS
A little-known rookie is pushing hard to be a shock selection in Des Hasler’s Manly team for round one of the comp in a fortnight.
Tevita Funa, a hard-running centre/winger and Parramatta junior, has been ticking all the right boxes and looked good in the Sea Eagles’ trial win over the Roosters at Gosford last Saturday night.
Replies
While I am not a great fan of Luke's, if there is any truth in this report, & I read it on the respective webb site of the mole, I hope there is more to this than just the aspect of reporting that the board rejected the idea of signing Luke. If the coach wanted him at the club and made a case for it to the board, and they are the ones that make the final decisions in that arena then its not a good look.
I would like to know the reasoning behind the decision though.
Doc, my main concern is the headline and what it infers, not a good look with the season about to start & it could well be the start of more associated rumours and the like meaning instability amongst the whole coaching staff and the team itself. We've had enough of that crap over the last year to last a lifetime, and mines getting shorter.
Headlines about issues at Parramatta eels are always headlines and certainly brings in groundhog day too much.
I usually read them, especially when to do with the eels, and this is no different, most are worthless but when this type of article comes into being then there needs to be something done by the club and NRL for that matter to clamp down on the parasites.
I'm so glad this deal fell over. I would imagine Luke wanted a lengthy contract, (at least 2 years) on top dollar.
I think the new board were clever enough to look at our embarrassing history of signing players, (already in their 30's) to contracts longer than a year in length.
There's still time for someone else to come along while all the cap drama's are being sorted out. Who know's we might even get them at reduced price!
Who would you suggest. Do you have any thoughts or names because we sure as hell need someone?
It’s irrelevant, the board should have no say on player negotiations unless said player has off field problems, which is clearly not the case with Isaac Luke. If true this is not on. We have a GM for a reason.
Hopefully it comes out that there was a good reason, otherwise could be a bad look for the board.. If BA wants a player in a key postion and we were in the position to get him, but board says no when we could have done with them.. Well then it's not really BA's fault anymore is it.
One of the online NRL had a listing of all clubs 30 man squads yesterday, when it came to the eels, rather than having 30 in the squad there were only 29, if I understand the rules correctly there has to be 30 in the squad, and I also understand that had to happen before March 1, a date already past.
If the two bits are weighted together, its possible that a player is being targetted for that spot by both coach and the board is working on it.
As I think on this regarding Luke, it was also reported that the Warriors had upped their offer to him when the eels showed interest, and he is now staying in NZ, if that's true, this bit from the mole is as I suggested above that its another eels destablising headliner.
Yeah, my understanding is the 30 man squad needs to be filled by June 30
The Warriors just upgraded Luke's contract - why would they do that if they are "prepared to let him go to Parramatta"?
I would say either;
a) we offered a contract that was very good value for us, the Warriors upped the offer, and we either dropped off or Bully decided the Warriors upgrade was enuf or
b) We droppped off after deciding Mahoney was capable and ready or we changed our focus to someone else (such as the St. George bloke).
The Mole is a fool. His version of events has it all being played out in public for weeks before the board even discuss anything - what a load of bullshit.
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