Ben Smith Commits Long Term To The Eels

[parramatta_eels_123]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Pirtek Parramatta Eels centre Ben Smith says he hopes to be a one club man after agreeing to a new four year deal with the club.

23 year-old Smith, who has scored 25 tries in 58 matches for the Eels since making his debut aged 19 in 2004, will now remain at Parramatta until at least the end of 2012.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“The future looks pretty exciting for the Eels and I’m very happy to know I’ll be a part of it,” Smith said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“We’ve got a great squad and a top quality coaching staff and that’s always a good mix to have.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“I’ve spent a great four years here and life at Parramatta is all I’ve known since coming to Sydney, the club’s been good to me and I’m glad to be able to repay that faith.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“I think of myself as a one-club man and now the deal’s done I can just focus on getting myself back to full fitness and playing some footy.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Werris Creek product is currently on the comeback trail from shoulder and knee reconstructions and is set for a return to action early in the new season.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Eels head coach Michael Hagan says Smith’s signing was an important one for the future of the club.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“We made no secret of the fact keeping Ben was our next goal after securing Jarryd Hayne and Krisnan Inu,” Hagan said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“So it’s a great outcome for the club to get the deal done because Ben adds plenty to the footy team both on and off the field.

“It’s also very pleasing to have gotten the deal done quickly and it’s a credit to Ben and his manager Darryl Mather that we managed to do so.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Known for his maturity despite his youth, Smith is a member of the Eels leadership group and is a tireless worker for charity.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“This is very good news for the Parramatta Eels club,” Parramatta Eels Chief Executive Denis Fitzgerald said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“Ben is an outstanding young player and an outstanding young man, he’s a member of our leadership group and he’s very keen to get back on the field after an unlucky run with injury.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“I’m sure once he does he’ll waste no time showing coach Michael Hagan that he’s again ready to play a significant role in Parramatta’s quest to go one game further than last season.”
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.parraeels.com.au/news/news1692.shtml[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

 

[Stagger eel]

4 Years hey??..i wouldn't imagine we'd be offering 4 years if he's annual sallary made a dent of the cap.

he'd def would of come cheap...good on him.

 

[Gronk]

Yep, he's good value and a great club man.

 

[COACH STERLING]

The BEST defensive centre in the game. I hope he isn't pushed into the backrow/lock prematurely. I'm sure he was signed for much less than Inu and Hayne.

 

[hindmarsh4pm]

great great news, very happy with this. the premiership is ours, these boys are all sticking together, they know something special is soon going to happen...benny smith great club man, good to see him pledge his future to the blue and gold. Again great work by hagan

 

[GotheTITANS]

good to see that he is staying. im suprised about the 4 years, wonder how much he signed for.

 

[GotheTITANS]

so who does that leave off contract at the end of 2008?

 

[hineyrulz]

4 years hey, that's a long deal for someone coming back from a fairly serious leg injury.

 

[Stagger eel]

great great news, very happy with this. the premiership is ours, these boys are all sticking together, they know something special is soon going to happen...benny smith great club man, good to see him pledge his future to the blue and gold. Again great work by hagan

suplamax!

 

[Stagger eel]

so who does that leave off contract at the end of 2008?

Finchy, Robo, Wags and Weller.

 

[Parra Guru]

This is great news, I'm very happy!!!!

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Anthony Mitchell, Joel Reddy and Brendan Oake are all off contract to.

Kris Keating is on till 09 but might have and option to leave at the end of 08.

If Riddell leaves, that should be plenty of cash to lock in a fair few players seeing as Riddell is on a very very high pay.

 

[Stagger eel]

Anthony Mitchell, Joel Reddy and Brendan Oake are all off contract to.

Kris Keating is on till 09 but might have and option to leave at the end of 08.

If Riddell leaves, that should be plenty of cash to lock in a fair few players seeing as Riddell is on a very very high pay.

I'm pretty sure Mitchell and reddy are tied up until the end of 09.

 

[Jake the snake]

What a waste of Money. To compound that 4 FREAKN YEARS!!!:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: FOUR YEARS ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

It's funny how the article says that Bens a nice bloke but nothing about his playing ability. AND HE IS A NICE BLOKE don't get me wrong but he's slower than David Vaeleiki and my Grandma beat Vaeleiki in a running race.

I love ya Hagan but your killing me softly. Tell me he's not more than 50k a year surely.....

 

[Stagger eel]

What a waste of Money. To compound that 4 FREAKN YEARS!!!:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: FOUR YEARS ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

It's funny how the article says that Bens a nice bloke but nothing about his playing ability. AND HE IS A NICE BLOKE don't get me wrong but he's slower than David Vaeleiki and my Grandma beat Vaeleiki in a running race.

I love ya Hagan but your killing me softly. Tell me he's not more than 50k a year surely.....

Jakey boy, if you share the same concerns about Ben as did with Burty I'm sure he'll turn out just fine. ;-)

 

[parra pete]

:lol:

 

[fish eel]

He has done nothing since the second half of the 2005 season.

Very lucky to get such a long exstension IMO. I could understand maybe one year....but such a long deal??

 

[strider]

Jakey boy, if you share the same concerns about Ben as did with Burty I'm sure he'll turn out just fine. ;-)

:lol: :lol:

 

[parra pete]

Well done to the Club on securing the players it has for the future...
The Club has its experienced players, plus the promising juniors on long term contracts.

Be happy they have re-signed...

 

[Jake the snake]

Stagger (I prefer eela)

I'm still anti Burty, I'll admit he has had a few (ok more than a few) good games lately. But I need some fresh blood to blame all my troubles on ... and I pick BEN SMITH aka Mr Turtle. Now let me be ;-)

Seriously..... What about Huaraki, I mean surely he would be more of a priority then Ben Smith.