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
Four on the Floor
Is this you're idea of a fun night? Lol each to thier own as the saying goes..
Lolllll
Albo , is that you ?
Lol cats out of the bag now
She's got more hair than me, on her head anyway!
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
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