I find myself sitting around watching the cricket after the Christmas Festivities, and I'm stewing on the perception that we are missing out on real talent that our coach wants, and missing out with way too much regularity and consistency. The answers from the club are non existant, 1EE particpants debate who's responsible, and what is it that's going wrong. So I decided in the context of futility and tounge in cheek and the desperate want for answers to ask the great Artificial Intelligence in the sky at the other end of my ipad A basic question.
Basically: Why do the Eels miss out on elite players with so much regularity, who's fault is it.
So here it is, now please it is AI generated so take it as you wish.
This is not emotional or speculative — it’s based on how elite NRL recruitment actually works.
Why Parramatta Struggles to Close Elite NRL Signings
(And what they do wrong compared to top clubs)
The volume of missed elite targets is not bad luck. It points to systemic problems in how Parramatta approaches recruitment, negotiation, and deal-closing.
1. Parramatta Enters the Market Too Late
Elite clubs
Identify elite targets 18–24 months early
Build relationships before players formally hit the market
Shape expectations early
Parramatta
Often waits for:
Breakout seasons
Contract options
Market clarity
By then:
Agents are already leveraging multiple clubs
Emotional buy-in by the player exists elsewhere
Problem:Parramatta negotiates after the race is already underway, not striking early.
2. Treating Elite Talent Like a “Value Buy”
Parramatta tries to pay what a player is “worth”.
Elite clubs understand:
Elite players are scarce
Scarcity creates overs
Overs are part of winning
Parramatta:
Walks away at price ceilings
Avoids aggressive structures (front-loading, security)
Tries to win the deal on logic
Problem:They try to win negotiations instead of winning players — then spend similar money on lesser talent.
3. Weak Urgency in Closing Deals
Elite clubs:
Push early
Escalate quickly
Force decisions
Parramatta:
Seeks internal alignment
Moves methodically
Makes “best and final” offers too late
Problem:Speed is leverage. Parramatta consistently gives leverage away, by being too slow in negotiations.
4. A Poor Selling Proposition vs Top Clubs
Elite players want:
Proven systems
Stability
Premiership credibility
Parramatta sells:
Potential
“The plan”
The future
That’s not enough when competing with:
Penrith (certainty, success)
Melbourne (culture, success)
Roosters (reputation, success)
Problem:Parramatta asks players to believe instead of letting them join something proven.
5. Over-Collaborative, Slow Decision Making
Parramatta decisions involve:
GM Football Mark O'Neill
Recruitment Ben Rogers
Coach Jason Ryles
CEO Jim Sarantinos
That protects against mistakes — but:
Elite clubs:
Empower one authority
Strike fast
Close early
Problem:By the time Parramatta aligns internally, the player has aligned emotionally elsewhere. Parramatta miss their target by taking too much time to negotiate and make an offer.
6. Coaching Instability Has Hurt Credibility
Elite players want certainty.
Recent years at Parramatta have included:
Coaching change
Roster reset
Direction shift
Even with Jason Ryles now in place:
The club is still in a prove-it phase
Problem:Elite players don’t want to help build — In the main, they want to join the finished product.
7. Poor Pivot Strategy After Missing Top Targets
Common Parramatta pattern:
Miss elite target
Sign a fallback for similar money
Get significantly less impact
Elite clubs:
Pivot to youth
Wait
Reallocate cap strategically
Problem:Parramatta often loses twice — once on the elite player, then again on the fallback.
8. Risk Aversion in a League That Rewards Risk
Premiership clubs take calculated discomfort:
On money
On timing
On contracts
Parramatta prioritises:
Cap cleanliness
Safety
Avoiding bad deals
Problem:You cannot build a premiership roster without some risk.
The Core Issue (The Real Diagnosis)
Parramatta recruits like:
A club trying not to fail
Elite clubs recruit like:
Clubs trying to dominate
That philosophical difference explains the repeated misses.
Accountability: Who Is to Blame (By Name)
This is shared responsibility, but it is not equal responsibility.
Primary Responsibility
Mark O’Neill – General Manager of Football
Owns recruitment strategy
Owns timing and negotiation posture
Owns deal-closing outcomes
If elite targets are consistently missed, this role carries the greatest accountability.
Shared Responsibility
Jim Sarantinos – CEO
Sets risk appetite
Approves or limits financial aggression
Ultimately responsible for football outcomes at an organisational level
If the club is too conservative, that is a leadership choice.
Contributing Responsibility
Jason Ryles – Head Coach
Responsible for selling the football vision
Player fit, roles, and belief in direction
Ryles is not responsible for negotiations, but his credibility and results will directly affect future recruitment success.
Supporting Responsibility
Recruitment Leadership (including Ben Rogers)
Market reads
Talent identification
Valuation advice
Errors here contribute, but they do not set final strategy.
Final, Uncomfortable Truth
Parramatta does not miss elite players because:
They lack money
They lack fans
They lack facilities
They miss because:
They are late
They are cautious
They try to be smarter than the market
Until the club:
Moves earlier
Accepts discomfort
Prioritises dominance over efficiency
The same story will keep repeating — regardless of who the coach is.
The Core Diagnosis (This Is the Real Issue)
Parramatta recruits like:
A club trying not to fail
Elite clubs recruit like:
Clubs trying to dominate
That philosophical difference explains:
Missed elite signings
Fan frustration
“Almost” moments
Roster imbalance
Who Ultimately Owns This?
Primary responsibility
General Manager of Football : Mark O'Neill(strategy, timing, negotiation posture)
Shared responsibility
CEO (risk appetite) Jim Sarantinos
Coach (Jason Ryles)– ability to sell a compelling football future
Recruitment leadership (market reads and pivots)
This is not about one bad negotiator.
It’s about club DNA in recruitment.
Final Truth
Parramatta doesn’t fail because they don’t want elite players.
They fail because:
They’re late
They’re cautious
They’re trying to be “smart” in a ruthless market
Until that mindset changes, the misses will continue — even with good people in the roles.
So there you have it, I apologise for the length of the blog, but hey there's not much footy happening at the moment. And Ai comes up with some very good points perhaps even some that our club may want to consider, if we want to play some finals footy.
Over to all 1EE'ers, is there some truth here, is there a lot of crap here, have a say and get involved. Even for a bit of fun, and all those lurkers out there that exist, don't be scared or worried about someone having a go at you. Put your tongue firmly in your cheek and have a small say. There are some regular posters here that will support you.
To me, i'm concerned we do have a recruitment closing problem, and there is a lot more the club can do to get it right and to give Jason Ryles and Mitch Moses their first choice players they need to play some finals footy, and perhaps even win a premiership. Surely we cannot keep doing what we have been doing once we identify a target. Missing out on them should be an anomaly not a constant.
Replies
Your onto something there Joey. We must all keep our head so to speak and wade through it, just like considering one persons opinion.
We shouldn't have to believe that AI is correct, just as you say it collates ideas already out there , a useful tool perhaps to get the ideas together in one place at one time with ease. Some of the ideas it has presented has intrigued me though.
Some truths, some bullshit. Especially the one where we try and sign an elite talent, miss out and sign a lessor player on elite money, who would they be? On field success is our best chance of landing elite players.
A stretch Michael on face value, I agree. But after some careful thought we spend a salary cap of around $11million, that salary cap must be spent.
We are not spending it on missed talent so we must be spending it on certain lesser players. To whom get what, i have no idea in lots of cases.
Does that seem right ? I know we talk about front loading some player payments everytime we miss out on an elite talent, and then buy a lesser player to fill the gap.
Bluey, you can't fit $17m of Broncos talent into a $12m cap without benefactors splashing millions, rorting. That's primary school maths.
Big names, in-demand, require big bucks. They've got options. Sexy salesmen wooing them ain't going to help much. Or the Beach for lifestyle choice. Unless you're looking for a paid holiday. And they're not the types we want. Go to the Titans or Dragons if you want if it's the beach you're after. If the Roosters were willing to pay up for the like of Kaeon, they'd go there.
The Panthers became the most successful club of the modern era without signing big money names, and losing a plethora of elite talent they developed. You have to pay up or lose the big names in demand. It's just realism. They have Matt Cameron and Ivan Cleary, but without benefactors they cannot splurge millions away like the Broncos, Roosters, Dogs, Cowboys, Titans, and Storm (less rorting these days). Yes, like us, they also tried small time cap rorting with bogus invoices lol. Like us, it barely helped. For us, it ended in tears.
They are forced to be salary cap diligent. You cannot blow the budget on big buck players in a weak-link sport. An unbalanced roster eventually drags you down the table.
Benefactors help. Big names help. But they are not enough. Big money names like Tino and Fifita or other stars, have not helped the Titans: 13th, 14th, 14th, 16th over the last four years.The Roosters have made nine straight finals but are seven years without a title or grand final, and still won a spoon in 2009 despite having the most powerful boss in the game. The Broncos just won their first title in 20 years. The Dogs last won in 2004. The Cowboys in 2015. We have played in a grand final more recently than all of them except the Broncos.
What realism shows, and what the Panthers show, is that creating the best environment, stability, and development matter more than cheque books. That starts in the front office and coaching. That is exactly what we are trying to build. It took them 10 years.
How do you know that Dennis Fitzgerald didn't want Jack Gibson at Parramatta ?
Frankie, a fair question. I'm surprised you don't know. However, as I'm relying on inside sources who were present at the meeting when Fitzy was outvoted of Gibson as head coach, rather than any publicly available evidence in support, I will delete that claim. The rest of my post stands.
Hoe great points , and all so true. I'm not sure we are even after a team full of elite talent but elite talent in certain positions or certain leadership positions identified by Ryles is definetley a must, id suggest ! Especially if we want to play some finals footy, the club needs the ability to sign the players Ryles has identified as needing.
What makes it look like we are after everyone on the market is that we havnt been able to sign one of these Marquee players they have tried for. It must be frustrating the club managers as well. Surely they are feeling the pinch as well as fans.
The best environment and stability certainly is a big draw card, I like that Ai also mentioned this with "players want to join the finished product not help a rebuild phase".
Bluey, no one enjoys missing out, but there’s a point where you can’t lose your head or your pants over it. Punters can afford melt-downs. Decision-makers can’t.
Matt Cameron said it himself: he's peeved off for a day when they lose another gun they developed. Then he gets on with it.
We can keep chanting “high standards” and “sexy negotiator” from the hilltops, but it doesn’t magically bend reality.
We’ve reset the club culture from the ground up. That’s necessary, but it also means signing the most in-demand players was always going to be even harder even if we had Benefactors. These blokes have options. They cost serious coin. And before they commit, they want proof this new era isn’t just another false dawn with better PowerPoints and better talkers.
Unless we torch the cap and future. But being in the race with strong, disciplined offers isn’t utter stupidity either. You make rivals pay more, and every now and then the cards may fall your way. That’s the market.
Where the real focus should stay is where it already is. Structural: keep improving the environment, coaching, internal development, and players. Then plug gaps with the right fits, smart gets, not the headlines. The Jack Williams types. The Foxes. The TDS and Walkers that pop up mid-season. The Iongis, the Smiths, the Kautogas. The unsexy boring stuff. When fans go mehhh at first.
Stay aligned at the top and there’s a path forward. Lose that alignment, and no amount of slogans, or sexiness, will save you. That’s the real ball game. Time will tell, but I hope they make it...
Can I ask if you have any concerns at all HOE about the club identifying targets but are unable to land them. On face value it appears we are offering at worst similar deals, sometimes better deals then what the player is going to. Am i imagining this, do you think.
Bluey, Not yet. I’m not tossing out the Ryles era in the foetal position, just because we missed out on some sexy big-bucked names. I’m going to watch how the team performs over time.
Be careful with the romanticised retellings of the Fitzy era. We missed the finals for 10-straight years under him. Ten. Before he got the right coach in Brian Smith. If social media existed back then, the poo bombing would have been biblical. Don't get me wrong I like Fitzy, and respect him, but let's be fair dinkum.
Interesting stats. Look at Parra's history. Big picture. The only sustained finals periods (3-straight or more) came with stability and the right coach.
I still stand by the decision to sack Arthur. Two things can be true. But the lesson remains. Stability and coaching matter more than winning a signing announcement.
Matt Cameron admits their football program revolves around Ivan Cleary's strategies. That’s about structure, systems and environment. Not sexy signings. It's losing sexy players more than any club in the last 5 years.
Ryles has shown enough promise for me to back the direction. For better or worse. Another reset just puts us back to square one again. A lot of pressure will start if we miss the finals. If we do, I'm concerned we might see some restructuring or loss of unity and alignment, which may or may not kill the era prematurely especially with the way fans react. We'll be right back to where we started in 2023. It could see the beginning of chain-reaction and another circa five-to-ten-year finals hiatus like the Tigers or Dogs and revolving door or worst still see Spagnolo types in the club when fans get desperate. That is my worst fear. So, yeah, I'm concerned but not in the same way many here are.
PS: And what I claimed, I strongly believe is true, based on testimony of some who were there at that meeting when Gibson was being voted on.
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