Every member of the Eels' 2018 wooden spooners trudged into the club’s North Parramatta training facility a few days after Mad Monday last year for their individual reviews.
Everyone but Michael Jennings. No one at the club could track him down.
“I turned my phone off, I was just over it,” Jennings recalls.
One of the highest-paid players in the club, facing the prospect of starting the following year in the Canterbury Cup, then boarded a plane for Lebanon. Still, no one from the club had heard from him.
“That’s where my head was at. I was really selfish,” Jennings told NRL.com.
“I wasn’t in a good place. I just wanted to get away from my environment. I just wasn’t in a good place. I was just over the year. I was over it. Just selfish. I put myself before the team. I had too many excuses.”
When Jennings touched back down in Australia almost a month later, NRL.com can reveal he was greeted by a $15,000 fine and a breach notice - his second in as many months.
The first was after another no-show at a club appearance. His contract, understood to be more than $800,000 a season, just one more strike away from being torn up.
When Jennings returned from his Middle Eastern adventure with Tim Mannah, Jarryd Hayne, Mitchell Moses and Nathan Brown, coach Brad Arthur sat him down and spoke about attitude.
Not football, attitude. The coach knew his centre hadn't forgotten how to play, but his application and commitment had wavered almost to the point of no return.
“It’s pretty embarrassing, actually,” Jennings said.
“When I got back I met with Brad, and he was pretty honest about things. At the time I was in talks with Newcastle and I was about to go to there. I was making the decision whether I wanted to go to Newcastle. I sat down with Brad before making the decision, and I told him I wanted to stay here and I believed I could offer me more.
"He was just disappointed in me. I could see that disappointment. He just knew that I could offer more and what I was doing just wasn’t me. I was letting him and the team down. Seeing him genuinely disappointed in me, that was hard. I was selfish.”
Jennings’s underwhelming performances in 2018 raised the ire of Eels fans, questioning his commitment.
While the 31-year-old speedster, who was dumped to reserve grade by Arthur last year, may have been looking for the exit doors, he’s arguably enjoyed his best football at the Eels in 2019.
The former NSW and Australian centre admits he reached a point where he was happy to just cash in his cheque and, upon reflection, understands why he felt the wrath of the club’s fans.
“That’s part of being on big money and being a marquee player signing from another team,” Jennings said.
“You’re going to cop all the media and all the fans. To be honest, they were right. Last year I wasn’t living up to my contract.
"At the time I didn’t read into it … you see what Darius Boyd is going through at the moment. I feel for him. He’s trying so hard. But I found last year the harder I tried the more things got worse and worse.
“I wasn’t living up to the money I was getting paid. The fans had every right to be angry and frustrated with that. I needed to pick it up this year and earn my money. I know I can get comfortable and I did get comfortable. It was hard, because last year ... I just had too many excuses as to why I wasn’t performing.”
While the fine and the breach notices were a reality check on the fragility of his career, it was the birth of his first child, a son Carter, that triggered a dramatic change in Jennings’s all-round attitude.
“My son changed my life,” Jennings said.
“I owe it to my son. I never took responsibility for my actions or what I did. I had an excuse for everything. He changed me. I wanted to stay and I’m glad I did. I just wanted to prove it to myself that I belong here. Hopefully I’ve done that.”
Replies
Ive always felt that Michael Jennings was a quaility centre we needed, so when he came to the club I was stoked. Yes he had a crap year last year (who didnt!) but this year he has been good and Im glad he is still wearing the blue and gold. It takes character to admit when you stuff up and even more to fix it. Thank you for manning up and taking ownership of yourself....On another note, Im daring to dream that we Can lift the shield!
The trip actually was last year... And if it was at the end of the 2017 season, why the hell would Hayne of been there he only came to Parra in the off season after 2017
Think he may have gone to Middle East twice Poppa ‘17 and 18
Pathetic loser stop going around google all day long looking for parra info you don’t know the real story here is a tip get a job I told a few people a while ago what really happened you sir a one pathetic loser
Great Post Lurker.
Mick Jennings, you need to be commended for being humble enough to admit to your mistakes as does Mitch Moses.
I was at training last night in the rain and the attitude of the team/club was a continuation of that wonderful and refreshing muture attitude seems to permeate the whole club. BA has done a marvelous job of turning himself and most of the players around from our dissappointing season 2018.
This is the integrity our club has lacked for over a decade and then only fleetingly were we a club with a strong culture of honesty, commitment, discipline and the confidence that is a consequence of the first three.
I have even noticed that the haters and death riders on this site have gone quiet with the emergence of our new found success and they will get further embarrassment to add to their obvious foolishness when Brad Arthur wins "Coach of the Year"
I think he’s a high quality player. To be honest there isn’t too many centres I rate higher in terms of overall game. The Roosters pair spring to mind but not many more. He’s got a lot of big match experience too. Very underrated by some fans in my view. He was being written off only a month ago by some on this site as I recall it but a few of us pointed out he was coming back from injury and his best footy was ahead. He’s been probably the form centre in the comp since. That left edge has been scintillating and Jennings has been at the heart of most of it.