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Well we probably paid way overs for Su'a, otherwise he'd have hung around with his bestie Kolomatangi. He didn't jump ship for a few bucks.
Totally agree that we need a balance of both good recruitment/retention in key identified positions and successful development of these so called gun juniors. For the last decade or so, that development has been shyte.
Relying on one or the other may get you a hit here and there but will not work long term.
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I'm Bluey and it's my third day of no negativity. We must be on a winning formulae. Kudos to R&R. In the spirit of no negativity and unity, I have to say what an outstanding job the R&R dept are doing in attempting to sign the right players. They are identifying and targeting some very very skilled operators that must meet their initial requirements.
If we trust Ryles, which I do. Then the players he has wanted shows they are leaving no stone unturned. Our pathways is booming, Just in the last 12 months or so, they targeted Blaize Talangi, Ethan Sanders, Apa Twiddle. Youngsters that have shown exceptional ability and represented Australian Junior teams or State of Origin teams. These types of youngsters would surely die for the club, and meet Masons and Horo's Eels Pathway graduates.
Then you have those representative players that just put in no matter how bad the game is going , real leaders, The R&R identified Koloamatangi, Mitch Barnett, Dylan Brown, Big Nelson Asofa Solomona even Isaiah Papalii. We need these types to lead the way in a balanced team, And i'm over the moon that R&R could see their value to our club and chased them. They even tried everything to keep Sean Russell our own homegrown chip and regather try scoring machine. I was pissed when Old Mal pinched him from right under our nose for next year. But we tried and there should always be in my assessment a participation medal in trying. Its all about the fight and fight we have in bucketloads.
Our pathways identification has improved a lot as well, since the days of letting say Galvin walk after playing for the Eels Harold Matt's, they were even so much on the ball that they put a $5000 transfer fee on him which the Wests Tigers paid. I mean to have that sort of gumption to put a transfer fee onto the kid was 1st rate stuff. I'm not sure what the $5000 went to, but that sort of cash could feed a family of 7 for 12 months in Africa. Kudos and massive strategic thinking there. R&R even identified him a second time and chased him so pats on the back all round, I think.
The R&R are getting a raw deal, they are doing a fantastic job at identifying the right players they need to build a team of experience , youth, and leaders across the park. They are identifying pathways players with regularity these days and they know the type of player they need to play semi finals. The players they have identified and attempted to sign would have made us a better team no doubt.
There are 6 or 7 youngsters that Mason and Horo have identified that are currently rep players. The club dosnt get enough applause and support in my opinion, these players that are growing up together and back each other, are our absolute future that we are depending upon if we are to follow the Penrith Way, the Penrith Mantra. With these 6 or 7 our future is assured I have no doubt. I'm so excited by this and a couple are even tied up with a development contract but they run out this year and any team can negotiate with them right now. They have excelled in other areas as welll , our best young 5/8 to come through the system for a while Lorenzo Talatania has been signed on a development contract to 2027. I hope he is happy with that come November when teams may come sniffing around him offering top 30 money like Twiddle, but as i trust R&R, I don't see that as much of a problem. There are no top 30 contracts as yet for these 6 or 7 but that must be in the plan at some point, for our future champions.
All in all let's all get on board, let's get united and for the love of the Eels let's stay positive. This is the way to a grandfinal, and is going to help us this weekend against a depleted Dogs outfit. Go the Eels.
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I admire your commitment to the bit Bluey. 😂 This is satire mastery and I'm completely onboard the positivity train.
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Terrific post HOE. For mine its definitely a combination.
Look at our golden era with a great crop of local talent with passion and connection mixed with established stars from other clubs and country recruitment, Namley, Beetson, Bugden, Phelan, Muggleton, Edge to name a few...
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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More stuff to read
"Maybe we do get Xerri or tago with Pensini maybe going. But i'm liking how we are building things nicely, reminds me before 2019. We just need to get our defensive schemes right because our attack is alright but i think ryles is pushing more towards…"
"Edge players are either left or right side. Some can play both but don't play both we'll. Just because he can do a job on the right doesn't mean it's a good signing. You want your wingers to hold the ball away from the defender and plant the ball…"
"Going by your history, by saying he isn't coming I am now more optimistic he is coming."
"This is the way JC."
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?