Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown. Two of the stars of the Eels over the Brad Arthur era.
Gutherson, a talented Manly junior who was recruited by Arthur and Brown, an Eels project developed from a teenager.
Plenty has been written about both players' contract decisions.
Gutherson departed of his own accord when told he won't play fullback and a longer term deal wouldn't immediately be on the table.
Brown took a lifetime deal at Newcastle that was virtually impossible to turn down.
Yet for all the talk about Parramatta losing their heartbeat in Gutherson when he departed for the Dragons, it became somewhat clear that his talk about "I've always said I'll move if the coach thinks it's right" appeared to be something of a tall tale.
The above quote was said by Gutherson when asked about Parramatta's attempts to retain Blaize Talagi.
Gutherson was the full time Eels fullback from 2019 onwards, but had previously spent time at the back in 2017 and 2018.
When new head coach Jason Ryles sat Gutherson down and explained that Isaiah Iongi would be getting the number 1 in 2025 and that an extended deal wasn't on the table immediately, Gutherson looked for a way out.
Where was the player that had bled blue and gold for nearly a decade?
A suggestion of him moving out of his preferred position, once actually made rather than asked as a hypothetical, saw the club captain decide he wanted to play fullback for another side.
Contrast that with Dylan Brown.
The talk about his contract value and length is no longer an issue. He's going.
But when Brown was asked to play hooker, he slotted into the 9.
When asked to play in the centres, there was no complaint.
And now, in his final match in the blue and gold, Jason Ryles has seen fit to let he and Moses have one last ride together in the halves.
It seems that when it came down to it, only Brown was truly prepared to shift positions for the betterment of the team rather than his own ego.
Replies
Im always going to have a level of respect for Gutho cause he helped drag the club out of the cellars. He was a good leader for the club in his time here but Ryles made the call to go young instead of stick with the older players. I'm sure if Ryles wanted to extend gutho deal he'd play any spot on the park but it was just best for both parties to split.
Gutherson is naturally a person who won't quit no matter what the situation . But as a clubman, especially off feild, I've said for ages that he didn't give two stuffs about the club, and did everything to make sure he sucked every cent available, no matter because when it came to money, he absolutely treated Parramatta like we meant nothing to him
I was very glad to see the back off Gutherson, and judging by his family's theatrics in burning all his Parramatta gear, selfishness obviously passed down a generation
If it wasn't for Gutherson the leader's theatrics in putting himself before the club, i don't think the Matterson situation would have happened. Like Ryles said the culture needed to change, and it started with the head of Gutherson
he has every right to get as much coin possible
Yes, but not by going to the media and demanding what he should be paid. And also his management calling our club an embarrassment in order to create more media pressure and a better money outcome for his client.
Fuck that. For mine, as a captain, he single handedly destroyed the club's culture.
This is why he was one of the first to be fckd off by Ryles
Super I think you are judging Gutherson too harshly and giving too big a benefit of the doubt to Dyllan.
Dyllan has been one of my favourite all time players, I think I saw things in him that made him look like a player that we love for ever at Parra. So with this in mind I will point out why I disagree with Super's analysis and also explain some mitigation of my criticism of him.
The willingness of Dyllan to play any position this season as a result of all these circumstances is a myth!.
I believe he didn't put in from the beginning and I would have dropped him outright after 3/4 games. I was amazed with Ryles perserverance during that period.
He subsequently changed somewhat and put in but he was not 50% of the player he was.....
When moved to the hooking role, it was one of the most disappointing lack of effort I had seen from him, he didn't want to be there! Have a look at his stats in that capacity.
Subsequently he was dropped and came back to play in the centres and his attituded and play improved.
The comparison between Guth and Dyllan is not in Dyllan's favour because he played where he was told.Guth would have put in whereever he was picked, the fact that he chose to leave with a contract that suited his last years in the game was logical and as unarguable as Dyllan accepting the Newcastle contract.
Finally my mitigation for Dyllan was that he was burn't out literally busting his guts through 2024 when asked to carry a backline on his own.
I have said most of this before and I will not go into a long winded explanation of the events. I think we treated him harshly in so many judgements, the"titty" affair was rubbish and probably taught him a life lesson, but many of the would be's that never been anything other than critic's could not leave him alone.
All this said and I don't have strong feelings about him being selected in this last game as I am assuming it was done with a view to qualifying Joash for cup. In which case I hope Dyllan kills it.
I wish him well at Newcastle but I have a feeling that unless he has a very good rest and get's the ACL that he "tore" right he will never again reached the heights he showed he could get to with Parramatta. I think his signing for the Knights is hugely beneficial for us and him and that Newcastle will see his signing one of the worst they could have ever imagined.
He is not the same player! and Parra burn't him out!
Gutho fought hard everytime he put the jersey on for blue n gold so I've not a bad word to say.
Much like Mahoney when they represented the club it's was all in I'll never fault a player for that especially when they delivered more than they didn't.Never cared for all the other stuff it's what they did between the lines that I counted for more so than anything.
DB I hate seeing our best and brightest leave i hate it.The fact we left the door open for someone else to offer the biggest deal in nrl history to get him I guess is some solace but it didn't have to be that way and imo DB would have stayed if circumstances were different.
We won't know what really was said between Ryles and Gutho, but it seems Ryles was cold on Gutho, as he didn't provide that long term solution he was looking for. Look at the players Ryles has brought into the team this season - all players with potential, led by a captain who is one of the best halves in the game, and who still has a number of good years in him.
So he moved on to a club that could use his experience. I have no problem with that, and it's pretty clear he would have struggled to keep a first grade spot at Parra. Kudos to Brown though, he could have spat the dummy, but stayed the course.