https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...8/news-story/f588cd6c383c7bac5a389a65fe250bfd
Eels boss Bernie Gurr answers tough questions on Parramatta’s horror start to 2018
DAVID RICCIO, The Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
NO team since South Sydney in 2008 has started an NRL season worse than Parramatta.
Sitting winless after six matches, under-fire Parramatta Eels CEO
Bernie Gurr spoke with chief sports writer
David Riccio about the future of Brad Arthur, irate fans and why Jarryd Hayne must show the club he’s worth keeping.
DR: Even non-Eels fans view the loss of Semi Radradra as alarming. Could you have gone harder to keep him?
BG: No, I don’t think we could’ve. I know the offer he had over there (French rugby) and we were a long way short of it. We would’ve made him the highest-paid player in rugby league. Are we missing him? Of course. But with the development of the squad from last year and the buys we bought in, we thought we’d have an even better squad this year.
DR: We won’t ever see Semi back in blue and gold, will we?
BG: You never say never. But we’re not even contemplating that at the moment.
Parramatta Eels CEO Bernie Gurr. Picture: Phil Hillyard
DR: Aside from working hard, how do Parramatta overcome its worst start to a season since 1991?
BG: Brad is a very analytical coach. He’s looked at our team and there’s a discipline problem. We’re giving away a lot of penalties and as such have a much higher tackle count than the opposition and so we’re without energy when we do have the football.
We can’t sugar-coat a bitter pill, our attack seems to have lacked not only energy but cohesion. We’ve had discipline problems and that’s where we need to fix things.’’
DR: Devastated Eels fans are threatening to tear up their memberships. What do you say to them?
BG: I feel for them. They’re upset and justifiably so. How we’re playing is not to the standards we’d expected. I have a huge empathy for Parramatta fans. I’m one of them.
The Parramatta Eels have endured a horror start to the 2018 NRL season. Picture: Brett Costello
DR: Has the poor start impacted the club’s bottom line?
BG: No — it hasn’t as yet. The club is on track financially to have a dramatic improvement over the performance of the last couple of years.
DR: You face Manly today at ANZ Stadium. Anything less than 10,358 would be the smallest Parramatta home crowd since 2003, that’s got to be a major concern?
BG: You’re right, especially when typically Parramatta has the best crowds of the nine Sydney clubs. But fans don’t follow losers, particularly in the Sydney market. We boast the most passionate and loyal supporters in the game so I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t get a crowd over 10,000.
DR: Bernie, the club’s football structure is deservedly under fire. You are both the head of football and football club CEO. Will you be stepping down from one of the two roles?
BG: I know the issue of head of football has come up now — and that’s a valid issue when you’re not going well. This was the structure that was implemented 15 months ago and worked very well for last year.
Eels coach Brad Arthur hasn’t had much to smile about this season. Picture: Phil Hillyard
DR: So you would consider standing down from the head of football role and focus solely on the role of CEO?
BG: If it was the most cost-effective way to run our football club, yes I would.
DR: Two great servants of the game, Tim Mannah and Beau Scott, will they be at the club in 2019?
BG: Beau’s contract is up at the end of 2018, so his performances will determine that. Timmy has a contract for next year, so he’ll be here.
DR: All reports suggest you’ve signed Canberra’s Junior Paulo for next season.
BG: We haven’t signed Junior Paulo yet — but it’s fair to say we’re interested.
DR: So if Junior signs, who won’t come cheaply, how do you explain the club’s promotion — or lack there of — of local juniors to first grade?
BG: Since I came in 15 months ago, we’ve had a couple of real priorities outside just the NRL team and one of them has been to re-engage with our junior teams. With the investment we’re putting in, over the next two or three years, you’re going to see it (junior pathways) get back to where it should be for Parramatta. It’s going to be a bit of a journey but we’re going to do it — they’re our future.
Corey Norman can’t hid his disappointment during a loss to Penrith. Picture: Brett Costello
DR: Corey Norman, even he admits he drives Brad crazy. Is that a healthy situation for coach and playmaker?
BA: It’s happened a lot over the years. I don’t think Turvey (Steve Mortimer) and Warren Ryan got on that well, but they managed to win two or three comps. You don’t have to be best mates — you just need a working relationship. Corey and Brad get on fine.
DR: The TV vision of the dressing rooms after the loss to Canberra was highly emotional. Is it now beyond breaking point at Parramatta?
BG: I was in there and I was devastated, too. It showed they cared. I don’t like players out on the field high-fiving and chatting away after getting lapped on the field. I hate that.
DR: From a football department point of view, will you be reviewing your injury prevention and injury management because you’ve already used 24 players — the most in the NRL?
BG: You’d have to analyse the type of injury that is occurring. We have a very sophisticated physical performance group so I’m sure they’re analysing it.
Jarryd Hayne’s Eels future remains uncertain.
DR: It’s fair to say the jury is still out on the Jarryd Hayne experiment.
BG: Jarryd has had two games and being honest, he wasn’t stellar in either of those games. I don’t think we’ve got a representative sample of Jarryd’s performances yet to evaluate where he’s going to end up in 2018.
DR: Will Jarryd be at the club next year?
BG: We don’t know, he’s on a one-year contract. These players in many ways determine their own futures. A great old coach told me, coaches don’t pick teams, players do by their performances. Players also determine their future contracts, whether they’re with this club or another club. It’s up to the player. Any players that are off contract at the end of 2018, their future in the game and with the Eels will be determined by their ability to prepare professionally and how they play.
DR: So how long does Jarryd have to prove himself?
BG: He’s only played two games and he’s got 18 games to go. He’ll get an adequate time to prove himself.
DR: Lastly, what would a win mean to the club on Sunday afternoon?
BG: It would be huge. We need to get a win. It would pick up the morale. We’re lucky that we’ve got a very unified club at the moment. There’s certainly no cracks amongst coaches, players and management we’re all in this together, but we need to get a win.
