WHEN Brad Arthur took the Parramatta job in 2014 one of the feel-good stories that emerged was how Arthur wanted to stay coaching his son’s junior footy team.
It was a ripper at the time, how he even had the agreement written into his NRL coaching contract.
Call me a cynic, but I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last. So I remembered to ask about it this week.
It turns out the Rouse Hill under 12s are now under 15s.
Guess who’s still coaching them?
By all reports, like the Eels in the NRL, the Rhinos are going gangbusters.
A couple of weeks back, after Parramatta ran rings around Brisbane on the Friday night, Arthur backed up on Saturday when Rouse Hill was playing arch rivals Cabramatta.
Brad Arthur had it written in to his Eels contract he could still coach Rouse Hill.
It was a top of the table showdown. Word has it, Arthur took as much joy out of the result as he did the Eels’ win over the Broncos.
They reckon Arthur turns up to work every day no later than 5.30am. Still, somehow, he finds time to coach the kids.
I don’t know about you, but I love it because you just know it’s genuine.
And it speaks as much about Arthur’s passion for his young players as it did last year when he held Parramatta together by a thread.
When all the other officials were running for the hills amid the salary cap crisis, Arthur stood his ground.
I remember a Friday morning in March when the media arrived at Parramatta Stadium. You couldn’t find a club official prepared to put their neck on the line, so it was left to the coach to try to take pressure off the players.
The players always laugh about how Arthur is a cranky bastard, but never do you hear them complain about how hard he works them.
Cranky? Maybe, but definitely respected.
Arthur has a reputation for working himself and his players as hard as any coach. They say their contact sessions are absolutely full on.
It’s probably one of the reasons Mitchell Moses has suddenly learnt to defend the way he has since joining the club. That, and the way Arthur has structured Parramatta’s defence around him.
It all comes back to coaching.
It might surprise that during this run of six straight wins leading into tomorrow night’s game against Newcastle, Fox Sports Stats show the Eels actually have the competition’s best defence.
They have only conceded 10 tries in those games, for an average of 10 points. Melbourne is next best, having conceded 18 tries in that period.
People point out that Parra has a wonderful roster and plenty of players who can score points.
But their defence has been the real key to their recent success.
There is another side to Arthur the players also talk about. It’s about how his belief gives them confidence, in each other.
Should the Eels make the top four, Arther should be a shoo-in for Coach of the Year. Pic: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Even when the Eels had lost four straight games earlier in the season, Tim Mannah said after they broke their drought against the Wests Tigers, how it was Arthur that held the team together.
If Parramatta is to go on and do something special this year, that game against the Tigers will be the one they look back on as the turning point.
The Eels were trailing 22-10 with just over 20 minutes to go before they raced in three tries to win the game.
If the Eels had lost Arthur might have been going to Centrelink the following morning to find himself a new job, aside from coaching the Rouse Hill under 15s.
But from the following 14 games they’ve put together 11 wins to suddenly be in contention for a top four finish.
There is a spirit in the team now that defies the roster.
Parramatta doesn’t have a current Origin player in their squad, or a current international from one of the top tier nations.
Their pack is too small, apparently. But they just continue to win.
People are starting to talk about them as genuine premiership threats. How much of the credit goes back to the coach?
We always look to blame the coach when a team isn’t going so well. If Arthur can keep Parramatta on track then he probably deserves to be named Dally M coach of the year.
I know there is still a way to go and you could make a case for plenty of other coaches who have done a great job this year.
But what can’t be disputed is that none have had to contend with as much as Arthur in the last year and a half to bring an entire club back from the dead.
And he still finds time to coach the kids.
Good on him.
