264 games. Parramatta's longest serving coach.
The curtain comes down on Brad Arthur's tenure as Parramatta's head coach.
Having taken over in 2014 following a calamitous three seasons under Stephen Kearney and Ricky Stuart, Arthur was tasked with righting a ship that hadn't just hit an iceberg but required a James Cameron level expedition to recover it.
His first season offered promise, finishing within one win of a finals berth and perhaps being the only coach to have got Jarryd Hayne to perform consistently across an entire season with the fullback collecting his second Dally M.
But with that custodian heading to America to chase his dreams, the Eels were caught short in 2015 and, combined with Chris Sandow being dumped mid-season, languished below mid-table.
Arthur though was about to undergo his greatest test. Having netted Kieran Foran in one of the biggest signings in club history alongside Michael Jennings, Parramatta looked set to break their finals drought and have a side that would be a premiership force for years to come.
However boardroom incompetence put paid to that with the Eels being docked 12 competition points, Kieran Foran barely getting on the field, followed by the forced shedding of Nathan Peats and Junior Paulo so the club hit its nadir.
A NSW Government intervention shackled the club with an administrator appointed.
Arthur though would lead a completely unexpected revival the following year, with the club managing its first top 4 finish since the minor premiership of 2005.
2017 though was a false dawn as the Eels once again bottomed out in 2018.
A club-wide review in late-2018 followed by the completion of the administration period led the Eels to revamp their recruitment and retention as the club returned to relevance and the finals.
A signing spree that included the returning Junior Paulo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Shaun Lane, Ryan Matterson and Blake Ferguson gave the Eels much needed firepower.
This all culminated in the 2022 grand final, with the club falling at the final hurdle to the Penrith Panthers.
Since then the wheels have fallen off.
But what can be made of the Arthur era?
He took over a basket case of a club. A squad that at various times had played Ben Roberts, Reni Maitua, Chris Sandow and Luke Kelly in the halves. It was a club bereft of belief or even relevance.
Arthur made his name as a development coach.
Clint Gutherson, Semi Radradra, Marata Niukore, Reed Mahoney, Manu Ma'u, Mitchell Moses, Junior Paulo, Maika Sivo, Isaiah Papali'i, Shaun Lane, Bryce Cartwright, Nathan Brown and Dylan Brown all owe their careers to Arthur to varying degrees.
For some it was being plucked from either obscurity or juniors and being turned into bonafide NRL and even rep players, for others it was having their talent unlocked and being able to rediscover what made them NRL players in the first place.
There is a lot to be thankful for given where the club was at the end of 2013.
It seemed nothing would ever go right for the club and it was in its darkest days.
Arthur galvanised the 2016 and 2017 squads and gave Eels fans something to be proud of.
He did something few coaches are rarely able to do and bounce back from a wooden spoon to repeated finals series and a grand final.
At the end of the day, the ultimate prize eluded Brad and the Eels, but unlike some of his predecessors, you can never say he shirked the fight.
That he didn't give it everything he had and then some.
He leaves the club in a better position than he found it, and at the end of the day that's what ultimately matters. After all, very few coaches get to bow out on their own terms.
Whichever coach ends up coming in, they have the bones of a decent squad, and with a refresh they can be challenging once again.
Thank you, Brad.
Replies
Did a gret job. Time to go but I respect what he did
Bottom 4 when he got here. Bottom four when he left. Grand final and wooden spoon in between. Made sure Jake got plenty of first grade. The end.
That made me laugh... blunt, to the point, simple... but very accurate!
Irrelevant just the same, anymore than at a person's funeral you talk about achievements and strengths, not the weaknesses and failures.
Super has focused on the positives and that is the right thing to do. Looking anywhere else achieves nothing.
Some people need to remember a saying, he who is without sin, throw the first stone. No need to throw stones once the party is over.
Well said. Thank you Brad, and good luck on your next role. Hoping it will provide a different perspective and enable you to grow further as a coach.
BA is a Parra man through and through. He's one of us. Under BA we became relevant again. I remember during the salary cap mess BA stayed strong, that took incredible mental toughness. Like many coaches before him he eventually went past his used by date. Happens to all of them. Thanks BA for your leadership and stoicism over the years.
You could never doubt his commitment.
Genuine Parra man and also a players coach. Limited tactically but certainly not limited in his ability to extract effort and commitment. Overall he did a good job and should be proud. His leadership through the salary cap debacle a standout as was the run to the 2022 GF.
I remember when he took over the club was in a really dark hole with back to back Wooden Spoons. That first season in 2014, he turned it around and we should have played finals but bottled the last two games and missed out. In 2016, we were third when that points deduction was handed down, otherwise we would have played finals easily.
For me, only 2015 and 2018 were really bad years under him. There was many times over the ten years where I thought "This could be it, he could be sacked" e.g. The 2018 Wooden Spoon, the 64-10 loss to Melbourne at Magic Round, being knocked out in straight sets back in 2020, but each time he was still there. I'm still in shock he isn't the head coach now. For the last ten year it is all I known.
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