First of all lets get this out there. Clint Gutherson has been absolutely huge for our club.
The man with a Duracell Battery that just kept going, who displayed all heart injured or not he did not stop. He was a true gladiator in Blue and Gold, that reminded me of a work horse and that great effort player Ray Price.
The only problem, he was on huge coin in a salary cap era with a club that frowns on TPA's.
His speed in a modern game at fullback just wasn't in line with winning 1st grade grames come September. And thats where Ryles wants us, its where we as fans want us.
But lets not forget what a true ambassador for our club "King Gutho" was, especially in his prime. It was time to take a back seat and wind down. With the mutal decision to move on, I as one very proud Eels fan say - THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Now that Clint Gutherson has moved to the Dragons, whats next at the club. Where to from here. One thing is for sure Jason Ryles is leaving nothing to chance, he has moved heaven and earth with contracted players, 3 of our so called best Gutherson, Gillard, Sivo all gone and in their place a massive war chest of $$, and room in our top 30 to sign players.
The team one would expect will now be Mitch Moses's. Halfback, NSW rep, Australian Player and I'd suggest our new Captain in waiting, are there other contenders, arguments could be made for Lomax, Paulo and Hopgood, but that would be folly, with Ryles making all the right plays so far I cant see him stuffing this one up. It is now Mitchs's team. Send him off to Captains school with the referees and teach him to stay calm when addressing them and we will be better off.
It is interesting to note that Ryles was going to use Gutherson as a Hooker / Lock this year, so by the very nature of that comment, must mean we are looking at buying an established Hooker. Who is available, at 34 years of age and playing for Australia and Queensland Ben Hunt is now available right now. At 28 years old Jayden Brailey from Newcastle is ripe for the picking with the Knights under salary cap pressure. These two would be at the top of a lot of peoples lists, also on the market after Novemeber 1 are players like Cam McInnes, Brandon Smith and Reece Robson, are they available a year early - who knows the way Ryles and the club have been operating lately , They have lifted the clubs game in this dept, stalking by stealth, creating $$ from contracted players moving on with no freight being paid to other clubs. Times have changed and the era of player options are gone.
Moving onto Fullback. An absolute x factor player is available right now to be signed. Perhaps starting in 2026 but none the less he has the potential to turn our club into a champion team. Ryan Papenhauzen is available, he takes all of Gutho's cap money to get him here, a Kellyville, Castle Hill boy - born and bred in Parramatta. Could he find his way to a Blue and Gold jersey. What a sight Moses, Brown, Lomax, Hopgood and Papenhauzen. Speed, skill, youth, experience, all rep players with a can do attitude. Now that really fits the backline bill we have been missing the only thing way to improve that is with a finisher a Winger.
Their is a man available right now that skill wise fits the Bill. Josh Ado Carr. For the record, ive been against his signing for pure mystical reasons with his behaviour, with his attitude, with his disregard for people in general. Does he fit the Mantra Culture over Skill. To me he does not, but lets consider what he does bring to the club. Speed Speed Speed with a deft finishing touch, he is getting older and his best is behind him , however with open eyes he fits the bill. He will be cheap, being on the outer however he may be hungry, hungry to prove himself, hungry to make amends, hungry to win a premiership. An interesting one to consider, that no doubt if he is primed and switched on to Ryles's way, would improve our team. What glory it would be to see a backline movement where all players had speed speed speed. I salivate at the thought, the highlight reels of Blue and Gold trys on the tele. Just take a breath for a moment and imagine, let that inner child scream at the tele, the goosebumps of winning try. The glory days - are they about to return.
I for one are getting more and more excited. It appears Lane and Mattersons days in the second row are getting scarce, by looking at the team makeup it would appear these two may be pushed into the front row rotation, lets hope Ryles can fire them up and get them eating metres for us. Both have a tendancy to go missing from game to game, but we will need them hitting hard all year. Do a job and get us some space. The edges will be fought out by the Cooma stallion "Williams", Cartwright and Tailagi. With a host of youngsters from NSW cup to make appearences. Hopgood will lock the old scrum in.
Not a bad team, the club and Ryles must be working overtime, with Novemeber 1 and the ability to talk to some real top notch players from tomorrow and having the $$ available, I get the real feeling that we have turned a corner and a return to finals footy is within our grasp. Long Live the King. Long live the Eels.
Replies
JAC is fronting the board this afternoon. The signing of Montoya says he is likely gone. He's hired a lawyer but I don't think this will change the result, it'll just mean they may have to pay some freight to get him elsewhere. South's have baulked at getting him due to price but if there is freight from the Dogs, anything is possible.
Ryles was brought in with a mandate to shake things up, and he is well and truly doing that. He's freed up a lot of the cap by moving on players who were on big coin but on the decline. Gutho has been awesome for the club, absolutely. But if you look at the Storm for example, they had no qualms moving on stalwarts like the Bromwich boys, Kafusi, Finucane, and now maybe Paps! Ryles is just bringing that hard professionalism to the Eels, and this is why he was hired.
I am excited as well. We all bemoaned the same old shit dished up by BA for all those years. He's gone, and Ryles is just cleaning house. It will take time, but his focus on agility and speed will mean we will at least competitive in the next year or two.
Very agianst signing jac not with the likes of Munro available if we went for some young speedsters and couldn't sign them I'd gladly praise the jac signing but he shouldn't be first priority . Parra needs to build a young and fast team that they can have around for the next 4 to 5 years.
I'm not a big fan of JAC coming to Parra with all his baggage and the fact he is way beyond his best, but if Ryles does sign him, I'll back him to get the best out of JAC.
The thing that we have seen over the past couple of weeks is that even though players may be contracted for next year, clubs are willing to let them go earlier to free up cash to get other players in a year earlier than they had planned. In Pap's case, I'm sure Melbourne would be interested to let him walk if it means they can move on from 2025 rather than 2026. We have seen this year that he is no longer integral to their team, but he would be a great fit for Parra on a 3 year deal. We'll see what transpires.
Ryles next decision/ move in terms of a signing could be the most important he will make.
Yep that is true!
esp if his talk of wanting to rebuild our culture is his number one priority.
that would have to certainly rule Hunt and JAC definitely out.
Hunt as captain wanting to bail publicly on his 1M contract and shit stirring his coach via media and ado who couldn't even follow club dr advice and porky telling to club boss. Those are not the examples for culture rebuild that's for sure.
Fans bagging guthos culture and wanting either of them sounds a bit muddled to me tbh
Gutho played with his heart and soul for the club and that's something he'll certainly be remembered for during his time at the eels.
Don't forget the shit situation him and his manager caused during his last contract negotation period.
His legs are gone and his time is up.
Time to look forward to the future!
Great blog BE, i agree with most of the sentiment. I'm not sold on JAC but the temptation is there. We would need some very direct behaviour clauses thrown in. Papenhausen would be a great signing in my opinion, Longi could slot into a wing position.