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.
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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
And for taking so long and bragging it out for as long as he could
He does have every right Adnan, just as we have every right to hate on him for it....Randette has every right to leave me and seek a better gig elsewhere, but if she did i would be v.annoyed and the spite would flow.
Everyone has rights. It's about how you exercise them
I support Randette here, does she prefer older men?
there's a right way, and a wrong way, to handle things when you are the captain of a club. And I don't think anyone could make a case to say that Gutherson, or his agent, handled contract negotiations the right way, given the position he held.
Exactly mate, well said
Gutherson was loyal to Arthur, not Parramatta.
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