NICK WALSHAW
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
JANUARY 16, 2014 11:00PM
PARRAMATTA coach Brad Arthur is looking for kids who give up their seat.
Watches for it, he says, before video sessions. Again at team meetings. Arthur is forever on the lookout to see which of his young Eels, after noticing there aren't enough seats to go around, will return to their feet so an older player can sit.
"And Kelepi Tanginoa, he's always in that category," the new coach says of his promising back-rower. "Yes, he has ability. But the reason we really want him here, want to ensure he's one of the local juniors who remain here for a very a long time, is because of all those other qualities he brings with that talent."
Only eight weeks into his new gig and Arthur is looking to stop one of the NRL's greatest leaks.
No, not his Eels board, but the wealth of junior talent which, in recent years, has been cast aside only to achieve superstar status elsewhere.
Despite boasting one of the world's great league nurseries, the Eels have been increasingly mocked as a host of juniors - think James Maloney, Jorge Taufua, Tony Williams, even Paul Gallen - have been let go only to achieve State of Origin and international honours.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Arthur is so determined to stop the rot, he's employed club greats Nathan Hindmarsh and Luke Burt to head a specialist mentoring scheme.
Under the new program, the pair will work specifically with local juniors identified as future stars. And at the top of that list are Tanginoa, centre Jacob Loko and 2011 Australian Schoolboys prop Junior Paulo.
"Everyone knows the potential of those three guys," Arthur says. "But, importantly for us, they don't walk around at training like they've already played 50 or 60 NRL games.
"And that's one of the reasons we've employed Nath and Burty to come in once a week and work with them. I want people at this club who love the Parramatta Eels."
Asked how he felt about the Eels' player drain, Arthur said: "Let me say that it's impossible to keep everyone.
"And when you do have as many young players coming through as Parramatta, there will always be a couple who return to bite you on the backside.
"You look at Paul Gallen and Jorge Tafau. What I'm more concerned about now is developing and keeping the quality young guys we do have."
