Parramatta Eels coach: ‘We owe it to the fans to make up for last year’
It is the last-chance saloon for Parramatta’s head coach and several off-contract players — but the embattled club’s key personnel are feeling no extra pressure to end the Eels’ 33-year premiership drought.
Brad Arthur is in the final year of his contract in charge of an NRL team which collected the dreaded wooden in 2018.
He has won just 45 per cent of games since taking over in 2014, but says it is business as usual ahead of the club’s season-opener away to the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.
“If I coach well and we play well, then everything will look after itself,” Arthur told the Advertiser.
“I’ve been under pressure every year I’ve been here. That’s the nature of the job — and it’s not something I’m even concerned about.”
Both Arthur and the players know how critical the opening five rounds are to their season, before they play their first home game at the new $360 million Bankwest Stadium on Easter Monday.
“We need to give our fans plenty of hope and get some confidence,” Arthur said.
The Eels are $2.50 outsiders with Sportsbet to beat the Panthers this weekend, when they’ll be without forward Peni Terepo, who has been stood down over allegations of being drunk and abusive on a flight from Tonga to Auckland on Saturday.
Utility Brad Takairangi said the players were “under no illusions that we need to be playing good footy” from Round 1, as new contracts were on the line.
“We all know that we have to play well to start the season off,” he said.
“If you actually have a look at the roster, I think we’ve got 15 to 20 players coming off contract so everyone’s sort of in the same boat.”
Prop Daniel Alvaro said the players had “become good at putting any outside noise out of our heads and just getting on with the job”.
“The boys all want to go out and make sure they do the right thing for the team and for ‘BA’ so I’m sure we’ll have a good year,” he said.
Playmaker Mitchell Moses also said, this week, he did not feel the weight of pressure to finally deliver on-field success at the Eels.
“We’ve got to go out there and do our job, and that stuff will sort itself out,” he said.
The Eels are rank outsiders with bookies to win the premiership in 2019, with both Sportsbet and the TAB posting Arthur’s men at $41 in early markets.
Arthur said he was confident of a strong showing this season — and thanked the long-suffering fans for staying “thick with us”.
Replies
All seems pretty laid back in eels land, id have thought feeling a bit of pressure as spooners was a normal and healthy thing, something you could build some intensity around.
Would be nice for brad to show a bit of intensity and passion sometimes like Bellamey,
We will get some answers regarding form on Sunday. Looking forward to a great season.
"The boys all want to go out there and do the right thing FOR THE TEAM AND FOR BA, so I'm sure we'll have a good year".
This really means = "We want to help each other to GET NEW CONTRACTS and help BA to GET AN EXTENSION".
The players & coach DON'T CARE ABOUT THEIR FANS. They only care about earning as much cash as possible during their playing career. The only ones they care about are the few kids they feel sorry for when they visit Westmead Childrens Hospital because they promise to score them a try and show the kids name written on their wrist bandage to the tv cameras after they score.
Well spotted and agree, the players come and go, the fans stick solid their whole lives.
The only thing he owes us is to WALK!
Blowing hot air up our knickers to give us that reassuring warm and fuzzy feeling no longer cuts it.
PUT IT ON THE PADDOCK and STFU !
Brads words are meaningless to me these days, he's proved last year he's not a man of his word and lied over and over again about holding players accountable after poor performances, Brads bred the very poor culture we have as a club through softness and lack of accountability.
Brad talks a lions game but is actually just a pussy cat imo, can clearly see that in his post match pressers.
A bit like Timmy, a yes man who hates rocking the boat.
Good bloke but way past his used by date here.
The poor culture goes back long before Arthur, however he will go down as a great custodian of that culture during his time with us.
Talk is cheap BA action speak loader then words
Same shit talk
Different year
Wake me up when BAs BS talk actually happens