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
Is this you're idea of a fun night? Lol each to thier own as the saying goes..
Lolllll
Albo , is that you ?
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.
Yes 💯
Yes, that seemed to be the case. Actually, I was happy to see the back of both of them. Their leadership helped the club immensely in the early days. But it had definitely reached it's expiry date...I would suggest even as early as about 2021.
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!
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