EVERY Melbourne player is braced for verbal fireworks at Parramatta Stadium tonight, but we can almost guarantee Brett Finch's ears will be ringing loudest with taunts from furious Eels fans.
Finch, however, will again have the last laugh - and he won't stop chortling for at least another 12 months.
Footy Confidential can reveal that Finch is still on Parramatta's payroll, thanks to an agreement struck with the club when he left in shock circumstances last April.
Eels CEO Paul Osborne yesterday confirmed he's still obliged to pay Finch $50,000 a season until the end of 2011 as a result of the settlement reached by the previous administration.
"He's still on our books until the end of next season - he's part of our second tier salary cap," Osborne said.
The greatest irony of this whole tale is that Finch's wage was also being subsidised by Parramatta on October 4 last year - the day he returned to haunt his old club in the grand final.
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