EXCLUSIVE
PARRAMATTA captain Nathan Cayless says the leaks that appear to be coming straight from the club's boardroom to the media have become a serious threat to their hopes of making the finals.
The Eels, who kept their season alive with a rousing win over Brisbane on Friday night, were frustrated to learn - via the media - that CEO Paul Osborne had met with Melbourne's assistant coach Stephen Kearney to talk about his replacing Daniel Anderson if the Eels failed to make the finals.
It is believed Osborne was looking to the future because Kearney, who coached New Zealand to its World Cup triumph, is thought to be in demand from a number of other NRL clubs.
''It's quite concerning, the amount of stuff getting leaked out of the club,'' said Cayless. ''It's quite disappointing. I've had it affect me personally and obviously it'll now be affecting the coach. We haven't been told what is going on, but all the speculation is not healthy for the club - or the players. We're trying to win games but this takes your focus away from it.''
The Eels board, which swept to power last year, has dealt with a number of crisis situations this season but this latest drama is the most serious of all.
Cayless, who created history on Friday night by becoming the most capped first-grade captain with 217 appearances, was angered earlier in the year when media reported he was in danger of losing the role.
But what added to his frustration was knowing he and the players had addressed the issue with the board earlier in the season to say they were irate to see what they thought should be classified information continually end up in the headlines.
''Our chairman is aware of how we feel; the CEO is aware how we feel about the way things constantly get out from the club,'' he said. ''It's disappointing. You try to prepare as a professional first-grade rugby league player and you continually have these distractions. It's tough.''
Fellow Eels veteran Nathan Hindmarsh said there was little he and the players could do about the leaks except to describe them as ''disappointing'' and to get on with the job they're paid to do.
''It's disappointing that information that doesn't have to be put out gets out,'' Hindmarsh said. ''At the end of the day our job as players is to play rugby league. We play professional sport and know what we have to concentrate on and what not to.
''We are disappointed with what gets out, but what do you do?''
Hindmarsh said the news that Wallaby Quade Cooper was talking to the Eels was an example of a story that should have remained in house.
''Again there was no reason for that to be out there,'' said Hindmarsh. ''I don't know how Quade feels about it, but [in my case] you like to think it is kept under wraps until everything is signed, sealed and delivered. It's something you keep quiet, particularly when you have two halves at the club already.''
Hindmarsh stood up for Anderson, saying Parramatta supporters would be entitled to ask what he had done wrong.
''He took St Helens to grand final wins, he took the Warriors to a grand final, he's taken us to a grand final - he's got to be doing something right,'' he said. ''I speak for myself - Ando has the players' 100 per cent backing. He's done great for the club. We might not have had the best year this year but he's only two years into a contract and you can't expect a team to travel too well when you chop and change the coach every two years.''
Cayless added Anderson had worked just as hard as he did last season. As the team's onfield leader he would encourage the players to do all they could to focus on next weekend's must-win match against the Wests Tigers.
''All we can do is control how we prepare and play; we can't control what will happen next year,'' he said.
''Even the coach - all he can control is what is in front of us over the next couple of weeks. We have a few big weeks coming up but all the boys should realise is they control how they play -not their teammates or the opposition.''
Replies
How many blogs have we had on this site based on "inside" information?
Some of it true and some of it designed to wind people up.
One more outburst from Price in particular and Hindy/Caylo need to be less subtle and tell them to shut the f^&*% up.