By last November, the Eels had cheated the salary cap to buy themselves a shiny new superstar roster.
Now, you’d barely recognise it. Of the biggest off-season spending spree in two decades at the club, only Michael Jennings, Beau Scott and likely first choice five-eighth Clint Gutherson remain.
Get the full list of each teams 2017 roster ins and outs below.
Kieran Foran, Michael Gordon and 2015 marquee man Anthony Watmough are gone. So too Nathan Peats, Junior Paulo, Will Hopoate and recent retiree Danny Wicks.
All up, over $3.5 million worth of talent out the door; a pretty average return on the $3 million worth of salary cap breaches since 2013.
So Arthur has gone back to market but by no means broken the bank. Parramatta’s recruits of late have been blue collar rather than blue chip.
His 2017 pack has been bolstered by hard-nosed Rabbitoh Nathan Brown, Siosia Vave — the man mountain from Manly, Panthers prop Suaia Matagi and veteran Frank Pritchard returning from Super League.
Out-wide Titans utility Josh Hoffman is a handy rather than headline signing. Penrith pair Will Smith and George Jennings are reinforcements, not backline regulars.
Yet Parramatta has already proved itself as a rough and tumble side with genuine finals credentials.
Watmough chasing $750k
0:30They did it this year as plenty of their biggest names watched from the stands, with only the 12-point cap punishment keeping them out of the top eight.
The hype and hoopla around the Eels has understandably died off but there’s no reason the grit and graft from the back end of 2016 doesn’t remain.
That’s reflected in Arthur’s latest recruitment drive, not dissimilar to the model made famous by his first mentor Craig Bellamy.
Missing is another top-notch playmaker to join Corey Norman and Bevan French in their long-term spine.
It just so happens an abundance of the game’s best halves officially hit the open market last week, with names like Milford, Hunt, Pearce, Reynolds, Johnson, Moses, Brooks, Widdop and Townsend all able to now field rival offers.
Watmough’s ongoing $1.2 million pay dispute with the club and his willingness to return to training to secure his career-ending payout does loom large.
Any remaining contract money owed to the retired back-rower would likely be added to the club’s 2017 and 2018 salary caps.
But having scrimped and saved with his 2017 signings, Arthur now has a war chest to do some serious damage. If he wants sees fit of course.
Replies
Wonder what we're going to do with Wicks' money that's been freed up? Maybe use it to help extend Gutherson's contract?
Maybe pay for 3 months of Watmough’s claim?
FIRST @7NewsSydney tonight: @TheParraEels in urgent contract talks with skipper @tim_mannah as third party deals cast uncertainty. #NRL
Didn't Bevan Paul come out and say a couple of weeks ago that all 3rd party sponsors have been advised that the contracts and deals they have with players have been terminated and as such need to be renegotiated? I would think it would be more than just Mannah that we'd have 3rd party sponsors for.
Please yes, please let this be true, maybe Timmy will head off to SL
Longfin please don't wreck the dream, just give me a bit more time
Is it his eyebrows that you hate? Come on, tell the truth.
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