These are the problems you don’t think about when considering the Eels’ salary cap debacle
36 MINUTES AGOMAY 11, 2016
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Matt Elliott: Eels are losing an Origin player
James Matthey
news.com.au
@jamesmatthey
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RUGBY league players change clubs all the time.
They move cities, states and sometimes even countries to continue their dream of playing the sport they love. So when talk of Parramatta having to ship players off to other teams to solve their salary cap mess is brought up, it’s easy to see it as just another chapter in the NRL merry-go-round.
But the fact is, anyone the Eels get rid of isn’t actively looking to go. They’re not trying to exploit get-out clauses in their contract and they’re not looking to move on to another challenge midway through the year.
That’s what can be easy to forget. Take the case of Nathan Peats.
The Parramatta hooker is being talked about as the player most likely to be culled by the club as they look to shed $570,000 from their top-25 roster to become salary cap compliant and eligible to play for points.
Touted as a future Origin player, he’s said he wants to stay at Parramatta, but he’s reportedly been offered to the Gold Coast Titans, who are still deciding whether they want to sign the City representative.
A move to the state of sun and surf would be the last thing Peats wants, and it’s not just because he thinks he’ll have a crack at winning a premiership with the Eels in the near future.
Peats is a victim of his own success.
Peats is a victim of his own success.Source:News Corp Australia
Peats’ dad Geordie pointed out the unseen costs of what a move to the Gold Coast would mean for his son — and unfortunately, it can be all too easy to overlook these things from the outside.
Speaking on Triple M’s The Grill Team on Wednesday morning, Geordie said one of the biggest consequences would be getting exiled from such a close group of people.
“He’s more shattered,” Geordie said. “When you play footy some years you’re not real good mates with everyone and then some years you’re all clicking and you’re all tight and you’re all close.
“These friends aren’t just footy friends, they’re friends outside. Their wives are all friends and it makes it really hard at the moment because they love each other so much.”
Everyone knows friends and family are ultimately more important than a game of football, and Geordie believes it’s Peats’ family that stands to suffer the most if he does move north.
“He’s got a young family, his son is 12 months old, his missus just went back to work. There’s a lot of stuff down here, all her family is down here. It’s really hard, it’s a big decision,” he said.
“He’s more disappointed than anything, he’s shattered. He wanted to be at Parramatta for the rest of his life.
“He doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s a huge decision to come halfway through the year. He wasn’t even thinking about anything like this.”
He’s been one of the Eels’ best in 2016.
He’s been one of the Eels’ best in 2016.Source:AAP
The Eels need to offload someone on decent money who would be wanted by other clubs, and who would ideally be coming off contract at the end of the year. Peats and five-eighth Corey Norman both fit that bill.
But with Parramatta wanting to keep Norman so he can continue to form part of a dynamic new halves pairing with Kieran Foran, it’s Peats in the firing line.
The 25-year-old’s dad had a message for those responsible for putting the club — and by extension, his son (among others) — in such an awful position
“You’ve all got families, you’re not just playing with people’s football careers, you’re playing with people’s lives,” said Geordie.
“To be able to control people’s lives and make my son pack up halfway through the year when he was looking at re-signing, and now he’s looking at going to the Gold Coast and taking his family and uprooting them halfway through a year ... now he’s going to miss out on being with his mates for the rest of the year.
“He doesn’t know what he’s going to do, he’s just shattered.”
If Parramatta want to be eligible to play for points, they must cut the necessary $570,000 from their salary cap before they take on the Rabbitohs on Friday.
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