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No apologies necessary at all, Bluey. It's hard to keep track of where contracts are at these days. And quite often contracts are fluid and don't mean all that much anyway.
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Not gonna lie BE, the over positivity is freaking me out haha, I read that like you had a gun to your head haha. Well done my man, don't relasp haha.
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I'm trying to stay strong. It's a good cause.
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Galvin never played Harold Matts or any other junior reps for us. He only played for the Magpies.
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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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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 4-5 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.
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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.
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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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More stuff to read
"Thanks I forgot about some of them. I Must be getting old 🤣. "
"We have made an artform out of patience.....40 will soon be 50 years....waxing lyrical about the essence of what in recruitment is needed to bring a premiership is fine but ...the game has moved on and the Parramatta Eels Rugby League Football…"
"Yeah and Gucci your thought is not crazy. It's unfortunate that we are not in the position to get a star right sided Winger. However, most of the best Wingers in the comp are left sided. Not all but majority as teams favour the left in attack.
But I…"
But I…"
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?