A supurb article about the Eels by Paul Gallon. He hits the nail on the head and talks about what a lot of us have been saying for a long time.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Ridiculous' player contracts that have to end under new Eels coach, writes Paul Gallen
Jason Ryles has a big job ahead of him at Parramatta.
And I'll give Eels fans the hot tip now - any turnaround in their form is not going to happen overnight.
They were not up to the standard of the Roosters on Friday, even on a super-wet ground that should have brought the two teams closer together in terms of a contest.
It is going to take Ryles at least a year to knock the team and the roster into shape and get the squad he actually wants.
Some players are already leaving or have been tapped on the shoulder, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more changes to come.
My concern for Ryles is he's about to walk into an environment he's never experienced before in his coaching career.
Ryles has been an assistant at the Roosters and the Storm - the two most powerful and professional clubs in the game.
Those two clubs have a reputation of being the two best cultures in the whole NRL.
Players tend to want to play for them and as a result they end up going to Melbourne or to Bondi for less money, and staying longer.
The culture is so good that players often don't want to leave and play for a different club.
At the moment Parramatta seems almost the opposite of that.
The power is completely with the players at the Eels - everything about the club is geared towards them.
At the Storm and Roosters players want to play for the club.
At the Eels it's more like the players run the show and play for themselves.
Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown - two of the modern-day great players - have been allowed to put ridiculous clauses in their contracts.
Brown is signed to 2031 but the last six years of that deal are options to extend in his favour.
I had never seen a contract like that before and I don't know why a club would agree to something like that.
And Moses' contract is almost as strange - he has options in his favour for 2027 and 2028.
So you've got you two best and highest paid stars basically able to walk away from the club whenever they like.
Do you think the Storm or the Roosters would ever sign a deal like that?
No chance.
And if you think Ryles is going to let the Eels do a deal like that again under his watch, think again.
There are always rumours linking players like Moses and Brown to other clubs - whether they are true or not I have no idea.
But as long as the players have clauses in their contract that say they can up and leave at any time, the rumours are never going to go away.
It's a distraction Ryles will have no interest in entertaining as head coach.
Replies
So if we are to be a powerhouse and have this winning culture that we are trying to replicate from Melbourne and the Rorters, when do we start to put the next level into place to achieve it. Surely these contracts need to be rectified and those responsible for putting them in place need to be questioned, and or removed. How else can we move forward to be like the teams that our board indicate we want to be like. If they are going to talk the talk then surely there must be more happening within the Recruitment and Retention Committee - A new coaching structure is obviously being put in place , when do we see improvements in the ones that sign our players and sit above the coaching regime.
A new culture beckons, I hope that culture is one where the club and the fans come first, not the players managers, players idiosyncrasies and their private wallets.
Tyran Wishart is contract to Melbourne next year but guess what he has in his contract after that? A player option. It's not only Parra who do this stuff.
There was a list they came out a couple of months ago, we had the most by far with 7, the raiders were next with 3. Most teams had 1 or 2 with 1 or 2 clubs with none.
If I was in charge we'd have zero. With as many options in the club's favour as possible
yep I've got to agree.
Are you ok with player options Mutts. What about the number of them, that we have, is that a problem that you see or not.
I don't mind the 1 year player option for key players so as to win their signature at the time, but the 2 years and especially in Dyl's case, rolling 2 years is fckn ridiculous. The Eels management are getting hammered for these clauses BUT no one is bagging BA for it. He's just as much to blame. Good luck to the Perth Bears if they decide on BA as head coach. Don't know why journos rate him so highly.
Apples and oranges, clubs like Melbourne are a desired club, they don't hold their club to ransom.....Parramatta on the other hand , as gallon said are the complete opposite, I'm surprised that u think they are the same circumstances, Wishart won't be going anywhere our Marquee players hold us hostage every contract renewal!!!!
Players playing for unders you could understand having options as it's a bargaining chip to get them to play for unders , but players on overs is a joke. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't agree to paying massive amounts of coin and giving the player options . We literally get nothing from the deal, not even security. Quite the opposite and the NRL need to start knocking back such clauses or regulating them in some way. They have the potential to sink a club.
Wishart is a bit different to your two starting halves. Browns contract is all about insurance. If he gets injured and can't continue on it's paid out to a certain time. Brown didn't want the clause but parra put it in place for this reason. If not they would have to pay him out so many more years
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