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
Why do we need a sales consultant? We have a CEO who meant to be the face of the club and the main man meant to sell the club to players . Then recruitment team along with the coach are meant to sell the the the clubs football vision.
If Jim and recurrent can't sell the club then they shouldn't be at the club because selling the club is part of their job .
Pops, if you don't like what the AI says just tell it it's wrong and watch it contradict itself to please you.
We might even be fwends this year pop-pop...a few folks seem to see you as an easy target and are lining you to put the boot in like it's a free shot..... I won't have them cutting my grass so i guess we are on the same side for once
What are you trying to say Randy, we have a wonderful symbiotic realtionship......now that's a worry LOL
What do they say keep your friend's close but your enemies closer? something like that.
Look at it positively as we are both making new friends every time we post .......
Cutting grass, its the orf seezun you are allowed to do that because its gets out of control, just make sure we are wearing wide brimmed hats, those red necks can cause damage.
What you say is possibly true, Pops ! I did mention in the blog that it was done with tounge in cheek, that i asked specific question out of frustration and that basically people could do with the information as they saw fit, good bad indifferent. What i have since learnt from the exercise is that AI has some very interesting points that perhaps if considered and found to be true , then the club could rectify it. This could be done either by education or some new guidelines and or some tinkering with the process involved in negotiating.
Do you see anything that AI suggests as interesting and peeks your interest Pops. I was surprised how Ai has found our structure cumbersome when negotiating going up and down a chain of committeee members takes its time and toll. The thought that other clubs were sneaking under our radar during this time and emotionally convincing the player to sign there first was interesting. So was the premises that elite clubs sell a certainty a proven and the Eels are selling a vision a belief.
Ryles has stated that he will not go above the amount he is willing to pay any player. He puts a value on whatever player he is looking at and he won't go above his valuation. In theory this sounds great, however, we will see many players that are negotiating with several clubs including the Eels the other clubs no exactly the Eels maximum offer. Rylees had better learn that the Eels are not in the same position as the clubs he recently worked with ( the Roosters and Storm). The Eels need a decade of top 8 / top 4 finishes to become one of the more attractive clubs. The only way they can achieve this is by signing some quality players, even if this means paying above what you were hoping.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next