Eels Blogs

First time blogger, long time reader.

Like ALL of you I am feeling the Hayne Pain. Love him, hate him and everything in between. I feel much like Uma Thurman's character in those Kill Bill flashback scenes. All black and white. A jilted lover, not only left at the alter, but actually belted and bruised from a flagrant beating that seemed so undeserved and so sudden.

Its barely good enough to say, suck it up Parra fans, that's the modern game. Journos and hacks, opposing fans and talkback callers on the street, need a full 30 years of context to understand the depth of our pain. But I can't possibly do justice to that tale here. You all know and feel that torment as well as I do. My short summary though is that after years in the wilderness, false dawns, and brave battlers, in Jarryd Hayne we had our first genuine, home grown superstar. He won an Origin series for NSW and two Dally M medals to provide genuine validation that a Parra boy was the best player in the game. He bewildered us with his departure from the game to take a shot at the NFL but went with our blessing and fascination.

In the meantime we have had 2 years of rebuilding in his absence. We backed up a promising but ultimately non-winning season in 2015 with probably the most extraordinary season by a football club in the history of sport. Amid crazy off-field drama, salary cap penalties, Board politics, a non existent front office, star players having deep personal crises, and a constant circus surrounding the potential return of Hayne, our players and coach have stood remarkably tall.

I have never been prouder watching this team, win or lose. Some of the wins have drawn a tear or two, given the stoic showing of our players against such adversity. Never have I felt so much hope from a series of losses.

And Hayne was meant to be the prize for all of this vigilance. The cream on this solid, rising cake.

But the penalties continue.

I want to hate Hayne as I did Lyon. But I see some sincerity in this mercenary. I listen to club legends like Hindmarsh and Sterling and respect their gritted teeth view that the kid has made a sensible decision for his future.

I want to blame the club for not having a competent front office to make the necessary deal. But I respect the club for not trying to match an irresponsible, stupid offer by the Titans. To be honest, I was a little scared that we would mortgage the farm to get Hayne and have to shed players to do so. I hope that fate now befalls the Titans over the next season or so.

I really want to blame the NRL. They have scapegoated this club. Everyone knows that TPAs are being exploited by the smartest clubs and Parra have not been a smart club. So we have been smashed for our bumbling management of these loopholes. And the NRL have stripped us of our management, which hampered our ability to do this business. Even if you distance yourself from a full conspiracy involving Hayne's management and the NRL, the fact is that the NRL allowed the club that they own to make an enormous offer filled with significant TPAs, whilst putting time and financial obstacles in the way of him returning to Parra. So maybe this was about payback. And I go back to wanting to blame Eels' management and board for being arrogant and not co-operating more with the game's administrators.

So when the dust settles, I conclude that life is complex and blame is everywhere. Its a combination of three distinct elements all acting in their own self interested way. Like Brad Arthur (who deserves a Knighthood) I wanted Hayne at the Eels, only if Hayne was prepared to be at the Eels, ideally for less money than he would take elsewhere. That would have been the mark of a man who really believed and wanted to be here.

I will be a curious observer of his career from now. Saddened every time he takes the field in a foreign jersey but also emboldened whenever I see a great performance by a young Eels player or a deserving journeyman, knowing that we probably would have needed to let a couple of them go had we made the Hayne (Re) Gain. I also feel immense confidence in the culture that Arthur is building and know that we'll give the competition a real shake over the coming seasons.