A few hours ago, looking a little worse for wear, Trent Barrett gave his first interview as Eels' caretaker coach since Brad Arthur's dramatic sacking, five days ago, on late Monday afternoon May 20th.
He wasn't willing to divulge details of what he said to the playing group after the sacking but gave clues as to their headspace and why significant changes to the team weren't made after last week's 48-16 hiding to the Storm.
Not the Week to Make Big Changes
"We may do some things differently over the course of the next few months."
“But this wasn’t the week to do it. It’s been a tough week but I’m sure we will see a committed side tomorrow night.”
“The first, you know, what we say is private between the players."
“It wasn’t just the players, everyone was disappointed."
“We’ve all worked really hard and Brad is a terrific coach and I’m sure we will see him again soon in another role."
"But whilst we all didn’t feel great about the front end of the week we still have a job to do."
“But as I said, with the greatest of respect we need to move forward and win tomorrow. That’s the only thing we can really control.”
“The first few days it took a bit of getting used to and we’ve had a pretty busy week, but our main focus is tomorrow against Souths."'
“I guess that’s the message from us to the players, we are all professionals and as unfortunate as it is, we owe it to the club and the fans to go out and perform well tomorrow night.”
Barrett’s has had a tumultous heach coaching history with a poor record at Manly ( 39.73% win rate) and the Dogs (14.71% win rate), leaving both positions mid-contract.
But he feels he's learned a lot from those dark experiences.
“Certainly (I've learned) a hell of a lot from the previous jobs and I’ve certainly learnt a lot since I’ve been here for the past 18 months (too)."
“There’s bits and pieces you pick up and things I would certainly do different. I’m excited about the challenge for the rest of the year, but just small steps.”
Barrett was asked how the playing group was feeling after their head coach was sacked, however the former Sea Eagles boss explained it wasn’t just the players feeling down.
“We will wait and see, having Mitchell (Moses) and Gutho (Gutherson) out at the moment has tested our depth a little bit."
“We will cross that bridge when it comes, but Blaize has done a terrific job and he’s a good young player and we’d certainly like to see him here long-term."
“That’s something I know the club are working really hard to do, he’s a local junior and a great kid but Gutherson’s our captain."
“Moving forward you’d like to see us fit both in our team and we will be a better side with both of them there, but that’s not for me to worry about today.”
The Eels have only had 3 wins from 10 games (against Dogs, Manly, Cowboys) and are languishing in 14th with the second worst defence in the competition.
But Barrett has not given up.
“We are two wins out of the eight, I think this week’s going to be a real challenge and we’ve got a few players out", he pointed out.
“There’s a few players coming back next week against the Sharks. There’s some upside to the season and a hell of a lot of footy to be played."
“Coming into an Origin period where some of the results get tipped on their head and we have a bye as well. So this next five weeks is a really important block for us.
“The semi finals are still a goal for us.”
Replies
"The semi finals are still a goal for us "
Honourable sentiment....good luck with that.
He is 100% correct, he would have lost the playing group if making changes. Needs to give them chance to play for him and honestly some playing for contracts.
This is what I have been saying. If he made the changes everyone wanted this week he would have backed himself into a corner. Firstly he would have lost the experienced player for not giving them a chance to redeem themselves under new leadership, secondly if they still lost after making changes it would have left him with a choice of sticking with the promoted players that couldn't get the job done or going back to the experienced players he just dropped and hoping they will put in for him
The best option is too give the players the chance, deserved or not, to prove they are the best option, if they fail to turn up again then you can drop them without argument and give others the opportunity. It will sort out who is worth keeping and who the club should be looking to move on.
Sort of feel like the players have had chances for the last 2 seasons. The same players still dont put in for the entire game and still make exactly the same mistakes.
All Barrett has shown in my opinion is that he is also not going to hold people accountable for poor performance.
Id suggest , what a great time to reset. Really would of liked to see Sanders to 7 / Dylan to 5/8. Hands to Hooker. Paulo to Start. Hoogood to Captain. Penisni put on notice. Someone else in for Sivo.
Next week is the time to reset if they don't produce this week , play the long game not the short one.
This
I wouldn't be against what you have suggested, minimal player changes with a couple of adjustments. Taking a broom to the team with multiple droppings is what I am against for this week only.
HKF I know you're right. I've just been frustrated. We've had basically the same line up for years and I'm anxious for change. The minimum I want to see is the breath of fresh air type of form. Players playing without the shackles, young guys who were being held back being given a genuine shot and succeeding.
One of the benefits of punting BA early in the season is the opportunity to sort out the roster. Who's in, who's out? This way we can go into 2025 pre-season with momentum and clear heads. However if we just stick with the usual squad getting our asses handed to us for the rest of the season, you can write off 2025 as well.
This
Barrett always has a look on his face like he has something irritating his anus. You never know Barrett could surprise a everyone , it's not like he is taking over from a smart coach so the bar is pretty low .
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