It has to be discussed dosnt it. Now that Zac can't play NRL for the next 2 years, unless the Eels are compensated, I'd like to move on and discuss the elephant in the room.
By all accounts the Eels have tried just about everything in the last 2 years to move Ryan Matterson off our salary cap and away from the club. A deal was reportedly orchestrated yesterday for Zac to return to the NRL, that deal included an offer for Melbourne to take Ryan Matterson off our hands with this years salary coming off our salary cap. Probably not the entire $650k but a large portion of it. Thats real money off our cap that would allow us to really hit the player market for next year with a view to signing a marquee player. Last night all parties awaited for Ryan to agree. How must Zac feel this morning. So close but so far.
How must Ryles and the clubs power brokers be feeling, Ryan can't play for an undisclosed amount of time due to self reported symptoms from a head knock, He knows the club does not want him in the team. I have to say, I don't think my skin would be thick enough to cope with not being wanted by the people around me. I'm not so sure that the spirit of being in a team and what that means is imprinted on Ryans actions.
Just last season the Eels organised a stint in English Superleague for him, where he made some extra coin on top of a huge proportion of his NRL salary. Unfortunately, Sam Burgess , coach at Warrington and Ryan Matterson didn't work out and Ryan wanted to return to Australia. It makes one contemplate did Ryan's troubles start on that infamous day in 2023 that he elected to take a 3 game ban at the start of the 24 season instead of paying a $4000 fine. Perhaps it started with coming to loggerheads with Tigers officials over how his body needed different rehab. Maybe it started at the Roosters when it's reported Ryan Matterson organised an unsanctioned medical operation that prevented him from playing for a time. Or was it coming back full circle to where he started at the Eels as a young half and became disilusioned that coaching staff did not see a future for him in the halves so he left the club.
Which ever way fans digest the Ryan Matterson NRL career, one thing strikes like lightening and casts a giant shadow. What does it really mean to be a clubman. Ryles has attempted to define this exact thing through cultural change at the Eels. Those players that held the club to ransom during contract times, those players that didn't do too much to include fans and the fan base, those players that ,we'll , quite frankly looking from the outside of the club now come across as possibly self centred. The BA era was defined by this, it was the norm and it was rampant. Ryan Matterson is now the last cog in that wheel, that cog will continue to rust away. The only 2 certainties are that 1.Ryan's contract finishes this year and 2. My crystal ball is suggesting The Eels may need to keep Arthur Moses SC on retainer to represent them in case Ryan sues the club in years to come.
So what happens now, with Ryan Matterson, and his position within our top 30 anybody like to guess?
Replies
Didn't he recently get another concussion?
Surely medical retirement is on the cards now.
Bluey, good blog. This is an probably an unpopular opinion...
We tried to offload Matto. We couldn't. There are 7 months left chewing say $350-400K of cap space.
We just honour the contract (like we expected Lomax to) and look after him as best we can. If he helps us on-field, that’s a bonus. We won’t ever win every deal.
He has peeved off some with his off-field attitude, and I wish things were different as has or had a lot of talent.
But also, his health issues might be worse than we expect. Often, players live with health issues related to concussion and CTE in silence. I think we need to tread carefully here.
Being reported storms did not even want him, they agreed to effectively pay out the 400k for him to be released. He would've been a free agent and still have been paid his contract. Why would he say no to that other than wanting to be difficult?
It's interesting thinking about it.