Parramatta Eels forward Ryan Matterson had a deal in place with the Gold Coast Titans for a move there, however the deal has now reportedly fallen through. Details as to why the deal fell through are not available. It means the 189 NRL game veteran will remain at Parramatta for 2026 on a salary reportedly worth $700k.
The fact a team was interested shocked me but it is disappointing as we know Matterson will not feature in 2026, even if he did it would be in a very minimal role as Ryles moves towards the likes of Moretti, Tuivaiti, Guymer and Talagi as future middles.
https://www.zerotackle.com/out-of-favour-eels-forwards-move-to-queensland-club-falls-through-228476/
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Then again maybe he didn't want to be in England Bup? A player can definately want to keep playing and not want to live in England.
No they haven't they don't think like you do.
The club have been trying to move Matto for at least 18 months,multiple teams with zero success.The guy is looking like a cancer as no one has been wanting to take him on.
Probably didn't want to pay something
Newcastle potentially could be club interested in his services ;
* cash strapped, need to fill a roster spot
* need some experienced forwards.
Trade him for Marzhew
Greg Eastwood V2.0
As much as Matto annoys me for the decisions he's made throughout his career - it annoys me even more that we signed off on this contract.
If someone offered me a 600-700k contract that I wasn't worth...I'd take it too. That's the kind of money that if used well can set him and his family up for life.
He annoys me, but this is totally on our R&R.
Here was Mark O'Neil in 2022:
"Ryan is an integral part of our team moving forward, he’s a versatile player, has a great offload in his game and is the ultimate professional on and off the field."
We reap what we sow. Matto is now our $700k ultimate professional.
Exactly, people knock him for this deal, he played us with using the Dolphins as a ploy for us to up our deal and we did. That is not his fault, he was doing what is best for him and it worked. We were dumb enough to do the deal. Though he did have a good 2022 season as well.
He looked like he was going to kick on in a second wind for his career, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. There's probably a lot for the club to unpack there to find out why Matto's game plummetted. Ideally, our juniors would have been knocking on his door putting pressure on him to perform, but that system was still in its infancy, not yet producing NRL players. Would the same club officials resign him now in the same circumstance but with talented NRL-ready juniors? I doubt it, but they probably felt they had little choice at the time. I think most fans were are least neutral with his resigning too.
Longfin, kudos on the realism.
It's easy to be Monday Quarterbacks, and a dopamine-candy hit when it aligns with a narrative.
Yet in mid-2022, after a $2.5m offer by Bennett/Dolphins, most here were in favor of Matto staying. And he talked about how much he loved the club.
Matt Cameron nailed it: Some R&R deals are club losses, not win-win. Sadly, it appears Matto ended up being one such deal for most of it.
Foxpsort: I did consider leaving for Bennett's Dolphins
While Matterson was in awe of Bennett’s wisdom, he simply couldn’t refuse an offer that would keep him closer to family and friends.
The 27-year-old was shown around the club’s facilities prior to his Origin debut, with the NRL’s incoming franchise reportedly offering him a contract worth $2.5 million over four years.
While Matterson admits that he was impressed with the Bennett and the Dolphins it was a case of family first for the Eels forward.
“My family lives around the area and they come first.
“This club is home to me. I played my junior footy around here and I played under-20s here.
“It’s a good bunch of boys here and I love the joint.”
The Blues representative’s extension means he’ll be in Eels colours until the end of 2026 with fellow forward Junior Paulo re-signed for the same amount of time.
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