I'm going to spin this out from Frankie's blog, because personally, I find that blog really disturbing.
For me, I just find it quite extraordinary how many of you all think that the NRL have it in for Parra and are actively working against us.
For starters, it's just not logical. When Parramatta are going well, Rugby League thrives. Ratings go up, newspaper sales go up, and the whole code gets a massive uplift. We are the second biggest junior district, we have the biggest active supporter base and we have a major impact on whether the NRL hit most of their KPIs.
Why would the NRL work against achieving their own targets?
I'm guessing that it will be suggested that as we are not NRL owned, those clubs get preference but the reality is everyone at the NRL have code-wide KPIs and nobody is earning "dividends" from the NRL making more money. The NRL doesn't want to own clubs and all the clubs it has a stake in, it wants to sell off.
So what's with the victim mentality?
None of us were fond of Ricky Stuart, constantly making excuses for why the team was underperforming. We quite rightly identified it as Stuart not accepting accountability for his side's underperformance. A number of blogs were written about Trent Barrett bleating about all sorts of factors that supposedly contributed to Manly's loss on the weekend.
Why then as a supporter base, are we so ready to jump onto any conspiracy theory as to how we get a rough deal compared to everyone else in the NRL?
No question, we've had a rough time of it for a good couple of decades now. Pretty much anything that could go wrong, has afflicted the Eels at some point or another. However, I would argue that we've been in that quagmire for that time, because of a tendency to pass the buck. I always say club culture starts at the top, and we had board that had to get elected, and because of that, nobody could ever man up and say "Yep, I got that wrong" because they saw that it jeopardised their future election chances. The board merry-go-round meant that we constantly changed over CEOs, coaches, and everyone in between. That always provided a convenient out for underperformance, because you could always "blame the last mob".
Across all this time, and all this suffering, I cannot help but feel this victim mentality has become part of our culture and clearly it dribbles down all the way to the fanbase.
So I'm suggesting to everyone connected to the Eels, to let Brad Arthur serve as our example.
How often do you see Brad Arthur go into a press conference and blame the referee, or the conditions or whatever. He very quickly in his early days established a bit of a catchphrase: "We just have to be better". He accepted accountability that what happened wasn't good enough and committed to getting it right.
We no longer have a board that will have to face elections. Our management should feel fairly comfortable that their jobs are secure. We have a constitution in place, finally, that will provide the stability we so desperately needed.
We don't have any more excuses.
So let's stop using them. When things don't go our way, let's all of us say, that's not good enough, we have to be better.
Culture starts at the top, but that doesn't mean all of us down at the bottom can't make our own contribution to the club's mentality. And for me, when I think of what I want that mentality to be, I want it to go back to our roots of being a Western Suburbs club that is committed to triumphing over adversity, not making excuses and just getting the job done.
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I honestly believe that what is said here affects the club some way. There are 4500 members of 1EE and countless others who read the goings on. We need to remember that everything we say is public commentary and we need to live by the club values just as the club itself does. Let's leave the vitriol for other club's supporters.
Passing the buck sums it up really.
Enough of poor excuses and grab the baton and run with it.
You make mistakes, you get penalised for them. It's pretty simple.
As you mentioned Phil, BA makes no excuses, the players don't hit the presser and blame injuries etc after a loss, so why do our fans and members on this site blame anyone associated with the NRL and persist in believing conspiracy theories?
I can see u are lover not a fighter.
Welcome aboard Salmon.
Well said Phil!
No matter what anyone thinks or believes, In all of life you can only control what you have control over.
Let's forget about any so called "interference" and make this the best club we can be through our own efforts and support.
NO EXCUSES NO REGRETS
Gees Phil you're sounding more like Brad Arthur every day! I think the message that you're getting at here is exactly what Arthur has done/is doing to the current Parra team. A number of times last year the team could have said we've lost our best players, the NRL is against us, the refs are against us, the weather is against us-in fact I'm sure they did-I did but somehow they came through that and found a way to win a lot more games than they should have despite adversity.
Its this logic/mindset that is the key to the QLD origin team.
That said, the victim culture is not unique to us. I live in Brisbane and its amazing how many people up here said the NRL hates the Broncos thats why they gave us all Thursday and Friday games. As an avid non-fan of the Broncos I laughed at their poor me attitude-because I am an outsider looking in and not invested in the Broncos in any way. Its a whole lot easier to see things for what they are when you're thinking clearly and can step back from the issue. Its hard to be clear-headed and unbiased after the year that was and the 30 years without a premiership
The NRL isn't out of the woods though. It's blatant favouritism of the Broncos in a Queensland Rugby League mad heartland smacks of underhand dirty dealings as well as its refusal to go anywhere near it's salary cap. The NRL has publicly promised the Broncos free and unobstructed monopoly of the Brisbane market.
The NRLs blatant obstruction of the match review committee where certain teams are allowed latitude whereas other less connected teams face the harsher sentences.
The NRLs inability to find referees that are truly independent and their ineptitude in punishing those who clearly require remedial treatment. (yes Luke Patten that's you!!!!)
OK.... We were talking about the Eels weren't we????
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