Pressure mounts on SuperCoach

The NRL Tackle: Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur under fire after South Sydney defeat

After yet another mystifyingly poor performance from his Eels, it’s coming to a point where Brad Arthur needs to justify he’s the man to end Parramatta’s epic premiership drought.

Lost in the celebration of Latrell Mitchell’s stunning return for South Sydney was the fact this was another serious setback for Parramatta’s premiership campaign.
And Brad Arthur just can’t continue to escape scrutiny for these ridiculously inconsistent performances that are tearing apart the Eels’ best chance to win a title in more than a decade.

We’ve seen over the weekend how Justin Holbrook is the latest NRL coach fighting to save his job with Gold Coast on the bottom of the ladder and going backwards fast.

But for different reasons Arthur’s position is also coming to that point where he needs to justify that he can be the man who can lead this club to that long awaited premiership.

And it’s no good having a team capable of beating heavyweights Penrith and Melbourne when they can’t back it up against the Bulldogs and Wests Tigers, or a Souths team that was admittedly pumped by Latrell’s return but nevertheless humiliated in their most recent game against St George Illawarra.

You also can’t ignore this is Arthur’s ninth season and Parra are yet to make it past week two of the finals on his watch.

Arthur said after the game that effort wasn’t the issue against Souths.

But how does he say that when in the next breath he pretty much blamed the performance on a lack of effort from certain individuals, saying “on different weeks we’ve got different blokes owning their jobs”.

-Paul Crawley

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  • First decision need to be made are we in a win now window.

    2nd do we have the right players and balance at key spots to win the comp.

     

    • We've been in a win now window since 2019. Coryn - the reason some of the fans are so furious is because they have seen the team fall short in 2019, 2020, 2021 when they know we are capable of more.

      Waiting for BA to figure it out is like waiting for Godot. It never bloody happens!

  • What frustrates me the most is that BA and his coaching team always come up short tactically in games where teams like Souths always play the same way each and every time.  They have literally run the same shape for 5 years and we have done the same thing defensively for 5 years. They are not the same quality side of 2021 yet we made them look like a top 4 side. They have been very ordinary and their signature plays have failed mostly for the best part of the year.  Yet we play Souths like they want us to play and they destroy us. Smart coaches work out what the opposition is going to do and combat that.  Our common line is " we are are only worrying about what we are doing ". 

    Bellamy always focusses on the opposition and builds a plan to beat the team in playing. He has such an expectation of his team that he knows what performance level they generally bring to the table so most of his work is done.  Target the weak links, work them over and play to your strengths.  As soon as team doesnt play physical and come straight at us, we are lost.  WE dont have the football IQ to adapt to teams that throw depth, shape and angles at us.  WE much prefer the collision contests becuase that plays to our strength. 

    WE certainly need to think long and hard about what type of team we are going to be moving forward becuase the current model is a very fragile , inconsistent one that is known for little resistence when things dont go their way early on.   All my opinion only. 

  • Brad Arthur escaping scrutiny? Ahh...what has Crawley been reading?

    Every single season since BA has been here he's been under scrutiny. And I'm not saying it's unjust - scrutiny comes with the coaching territory and we should be questioning BA's ability and ceiling. But acting like he's avoided it thus far? Gimme a break.

    • 100% correct Captain.  This a performance based business where a lot of money is parted through sponsors, stakeholders, fans and all the businesses that rely on the succcess of the football team, ( Caterers, mechandise, pubs, etc ) . The CEO or Coach is the head of the snake. If is not performing action must be taken. It is called accountability and process driven management.  WE just cant keep doing this year in year out.  

    • I think what he is saying is in the media in general. Look at Madge and Barrett, in the paper nearly everyday about their job, BA hardly ever, it is now slowly starting to gather steam.

      That is what he means i believe.

      • BA has a lot more to hang his hat on than Madge at the Tigers or Barrett at the Dogs, both of whom were absolute disasters. BA definitely shouldn't be facing the same level of scrutiny as those two.

        The scrutiny BA needs to face is "can he win a premiership with the Eels?'. He's been a successful coach for us and has improved us to a steady Top 6 Tier team. The question that he hasn't avoided (it's asked every damn season over and over) is "Has he reached his limit?'.

        It's a genuinely hard question. The Panthers and Storm both have better teams on paper than we do, yet we beat both of them this year. We are the only team to beat Penrith. Brad has managed to take us to a level where we're routinely talked about as being 'in a premiership window'. 

        Many of the teams down the bottom of the ladder would fall over themselves to be in our position.

        Anyways, I digress. BA has always had scrutiny about whether he can bring home a premiership. Crawley is just trying to stoke the flames of drama (typical NRL "journo").

        • The Captain I was thinking about the teams on paper, Eels, Storm, Panthers. 

          Eels V Storm, Spine: FB Storm, 5/8 Storm, 7: Eels 9: Storm. Overall forwards Eels. 3/4 line =. 

          Storm V Panthers, Spine, FB =, 5/8 Storm, 7 Panthers, 9 =. Overall forwards Panthers 3/4 line Panthers. 

          The Panthers are on paper the best team. Eels V Storm is very close, however our superior props (just) and better backrow, Cheese = Matto ( when he turns up) gives us a slightly better side I think. However Bellamy = Supercoach & BA = Good coach. 

  • I wonder what the " consultant s" are thinking or doing? .Are they being heard? Have they made a difference? How are the players responding to input s? What do the player's want to see happen?

    • Saw a sad looking McGregor in back of the coaches box the other night.  Wasted resource if he wasnt seated next to Arthurs offering suggestions.  

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