You need to be a member of 1Eyed Eel to add comments!
Replies
-
-
Archie, thanks for your kind words mate.
I agree. We need both.
Admitedly, Mason's passion is admirable: the whole "die for the club" ethos. Players who will run through walls. Gibson's core of 6 or so tough nuts. That's harder to find than it looks.
The thing is if we don't recruit, then we probably will struggle to claw our way up. We can't just wait 2-3 years for juniors to come good as they'll also need another 50 NRL games or so before they find their feet in first grade. That's five years before you start getting the results.
So, it's a delicate balance.
The one thing about Ryles and the team is despite the results, errors, blunders, blown chances, inexperience there has been fight. There is a DNA brewing there. So some key and well thought out recruits for 2027-28 is important.
-
I agree Hoe, watching the fight and the scramble is definitely a highlight that we have to grasp. I'm a little worried we may be wasting Ryles. The talent we currently have needs to lift to be competitive week in week out, and if we don't get an influx of skill across the park, i'd hate to think the knives will come out for Ryles. He is safe this year and next, but that means to me that he is going to need players to lift or recruit talented players from afar this year to play next year. Seriously hope they don't waste Ryles as he has been tremendous for our club. Same as I hope we are not wasting a top 2 or 3 halfback. We have so much going for us and our salary cap war chest must be bursting for that right player or players to come on board. Its only up from here.
-
-
-
That's all well and good so in the mean time we burn Mitchell Moses lose Dylan Brown and Lomax the merc moves on now what.
The answer lies being patient then is it.Why is it we've had probably some of the worst back 5s in the last 5 years hmmm.
Why aren't we looking for people that actually have front office experience building a winner.
I mean Horo and Mason aren't wrong in what there saying but in the same breath in the last 5 10 15 years have we been good enough off the park to win a premiership I think the answers obvious.
Said this before about development which I'm all for but being good school grade kid means bugger all and I mean bugger all if there's zero transference and that's the bigger issue.Is getting to FG a success or is exhaling and being happy to be there like some do is enough seen as successful development.We aren't copying the Penrith model no one is copying that.What they've made there is few and far between develop and win 4 premierships in 5 years coming from last in 25 and going for 5 this year in 26.What there doing is generational it's not the norm so we may aswell forget that.You can take aspects at what they do and adapt it to fit but copying or trying to replicate is a bridge to far for this club.
I mean if you have a look at what's come through and been debuted the last 4-5 seasons would you say we've got enough of this transference past present and cross the fingers future I don't no but as I'm looking currently we aren't anywhere good enough what's come through.
So I'm not sold yet I mean we are still getting footy 101 wrong in games.This years development has stalled amd yes the obvious factor is there with injuries but what I have noticed is how weak physically we are and the errors they have been constant from day 1 with this new regime.There's a long long way to go for this club and team a long way.All I know is if hey don't get more physical and add more athletic talent it's going to be more of the same next year.
-
Hmm, I'm detecting a distinct strain of negativity in these comments.
Do as blue eel has above and convince yourself those negatives are really positives and all will be good, eventually, maybe, hopefully.
-
-
Coryn, thanks for sharing your insights.
I'm all aboard the "urgent athlete" if they are the right fit and "fight for the badge" even if they might be overs.
-
-
"You need that half a dozen that have a genuine love for the club."
Great statement, and it holds extremely true across nearly all longer term successful teams in the NRL era.
Now think to yourself who the last player was who unequivocally loved the Eels. I mean to the point of turning down offers elsewhere, of continually speaking about their love for the Blue and Gold, who speaks like a fan first and an employee second.
The last folks I can think of who has this mentality were, ironically enough, Brad Arthur and his boys. We bullied and booed one off the field, we fired another, and then the third walked to another club.
Hindmarsh has his son Buster knocking down the door at the Panthers.
As true Eels supporters we have a DNA - we are long suffering fans who never say die and always find a reason to hope.
But what's the DNA of the Eels players? What makes an Eel? How does a junior know that they're not just a footy player, they're an Eel and they always will be? That even if they go to another club to grow their game that Parra will always be "home" and if we ever called on them they'd come back in a shot.
Until we build a culture, tap into a proud history and create a DNA that runs deep through the club we will never have a core player base. Otherwise we will continue to develop talent that sees the Eels as a springboard to a successful club, juniors who aspire to be NRL heros, not Eels heros.
The Broncos have continually relied on a roster of players who see that it's a privilege to play for the club, who knows that life will be better as a Broncos. They have a proud history and a strong DNA and they use that brand to lure recruitment targets or bring folks home (ala Walsh).
We had our juniors, they were "generation next". Dylan Brown, Ethan Sanders, Blaize Talagi, Matt Arthur.
All gone.
And what did we change as a club? Why won't the exact same exodus happen to the next crop?
I agree with a lot of what Mason said...the challenge is we've historically shown that we're equally poor at retention (holding onto the talent we do grow) as we are at recruitment. History says that success comes from a mix of core juniors, grown and purchased superstars and a handy complement of journeymen who get the job done, all held together by a strong culture and defined DNA.
Not to be too negative...but I struggle to see which parts of the elements above we excel at.
-
Your DNA comment resonates with me who are we as a club what's our identity on the park that's what's missing at present.The last coach much maligned but the team had an identity I really struggle to understand what this teams is.There needs to connection from top to bottom not buffers the lower end of the chain should have zero issues talking with the top.
Identity needs to be driven from the top regardless there needs to be a standard of practice across the board wheather your Mitchell Moses or the person in the office selling tickets janitors coaches whomever.Whichever person takes a pay cheque from the Eels all have to adhere to that standard and if you don't your out.This imo is how we build a strong club.
Everyone does there jobs to the best of there abilities and if they don't there out it's that simple.
-
We have a good start with Koina and Talagi in lower grades. Koina left QLD to play for Parra as him and his family are Eels fans. Talagi turned down Penrith to stay at Parra despite Blaize leaving. Tuivaiti from all conversations loves the club.
-
This reply was deleted.
More stuff to read
"Fully understand LB, what I am saying is by signing another preferred left sided player in my mind it doesn't make sense. It would make more sense to go for a right sided player and let JAC continue to perform at his ceiling rather than dropping.…"
"It would be actually interesting to see what a change of scenery would do for him, he's definetly a rocks and diamond player. If we targeted anyone you'd have to look at Luciano Leluia, change would do him good also"
"I'm trying to stay strong. It's a good cause."
"I agree Hoe, watching the fight and the scramble is definitely a highlight that we have to grasp. I'm a little worried we may be wasting Ryles. The talent we currently have needs to lift to be competitive week in week out, and if we don't get an…"
What Wins Premierships? Talent, culture, systems, pathways, or belonging and connectedness?
For some, the answer is simpler. Who cares about the why? Sack as many as possible. Sign sexy names. Job done.
One thing is for sure: premierships rarely happen overnight. Clubs need patience: the exact opposite of what many fans need.
The theme of recruitment, usually strong criticism of Parramatta's recruitment and retention, has been a constant topic among Eels fans as we've struggled this season. After forty years without a premiership, and struggling this season unfolding, it's understandable why many are frustrated and crave a few sugar hits. Now.
In this week's Levels podcast, Willie Mason and Justin Horo discuss the Eels "tricky predicament" when it comes to recruitment and competing in that space. And what really matters in the end.
Many look enviously at the Dragons' buying spree. Yet so far it has produced not much beyond a last-placed finish and one win.
"You can't just go buy, buy, buy because have a look what St. George did in the last couple of years," Mason argues.
"They don't love St. George."
"I'm not saying that they're not putting in, but you have to have a pathway... and Penrith hit the jackpot," Mason says.
"You need that half a dozen that have a genuine love for the club."
"Everything else is manufactured," Mason concludes.
"Here's now where it [Dragons' huge recruitment spree] can become problematic in two years' time," Scope adds.
"Is it going to improve their play next year? Yeah."
"But could they potentially lose some good homegrown talent because of it? Yeah."
So, that's the balance. The Faustian Deal. The short-term sugar hit versus the long term. Building a team of champions and marquees versus building a champion team.
"Most clubs are manufactured trying to buy, buy, buy and thinking that you're going to win a comp because you don't have these kids who would genuinely die for that club."
Scope and Mason point to Penrith. They point to Brisbane's homegrown core. Mason points to what the Dogs are building. Even Melbourne, despite being different, have long recruited players into their pathways and culture from a young age.
Mason and Scope's common thread isn't just home-grown talent.
It's growing up together. Playing together. Connection.
Even the Panthers recruit despite losing a galaxy of stars that could fill a stadium. The difference is that they tend to do it selectively rather than chasing the biggest or sexiest names. They can afford not to.
Jason Ryles has overseen one of the biggest roster turnovers in the competition over the past season and a half. The club knows there are gaps to fill and I expect Parramatta will continue targeting quality signings for 2027 and 2028, with Jaydn Su'A likely only the beginning.
But if Mason and Horo are right, we're still only at the earliest stages, even if we recruit well.
If Parramatta had paid enormous overs to secure Keaon Koloamatangi, many fans may have celebrated the recruitment victory. But would it necessarily have been the right long-term decision? Apparently not according to Souths or Wayne Bennett. Like us, they weren't prepared to pay through the roof for him.
Interestingly, despite some of the fan pessimism surrounding Parramatta, Mason sees hope.
"I've seen their reserve grade. I've seen their 21s. I've seen their Flegg and SG Ball."
"They've got about six, seven of the best Australian school boys in the country. They're coming through. They're like 18. So, give them two years."
"They're the ones that you think can make the difference to the club."
Their argument is that the Eels' future may depend less on winning recruitment battles, cautioning against the Dragons approach, and more on developing the next generation already inside the system over the next few years.
The Broncos are evidence of a mystery beyond that.
Elite talent. Enormous resources. Strong pathways. A two-time premiership-winning coach. A roster packed with Origin and representative players. Recruitment comes easy. The result? Only one more win than us at this point of the season.
What do you think ultimately turns a club into a contender and then a premiership winner? And do you agree or disagree with Mason and Scope, and why or why not?