https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/ru...-parramatta-s-form-slump-20180407-p4z8cs.html
Rumour mill in overdrive to explain Parramatta's form slump
The so-called ‘‘football whisperer’’,
Joe Wehbe, has been spotted hovering around Parramatta players. But it was a heart-to-heart among the playing group, where there was certainly no whispering, which has the potential to refocus the team.
This grainy image of Wehbe meeting with
Jarryd Hayne landed on my desk. There are plenty of theories about what’s wrong with Parramatta – and this is one of them.
Remember Wehbe was part of the problem at Wests Tigers last year as the club tried to retain the so-called “big four”,
Aaron Woods,
Mitchell Moses,
Luke Brooks and
James Tedesco. There was a push from the man who managed all four,
Isaac Moses, to have Wehbe put on the books at the Tigers in some kind of mind guru role. Wehbe insisted his massage therapist be part of the package, and that went down like a lead balloon with the club.
Tigers insiders have told me about the masseur being on the field at training and taking players off the training paddock because he felt they needed treatment. Not surprisingly, the coaching staff were less than impressed.
The Tigers now have as little as possible to do with Isaac Moses and Wehbe.
The Eels were not aware of Wehbe and Hayne having a professional relationship, but they won’t try to stop it. If it works to clear a player’s mind, it’s not a bad thing.
The Eels say criticism of Hayne, who has failed to set the world on fire in his return to the club as the blue and golds have slumped to the bottom of the NRL ladder, is well and truly off the mark. Coach
Brad Arthur has told people that Hayne has been great and his attitude excellent. Hayne is expected toreturn from a hip injury in round eight or nine.
Hayne is not the problem at the Eels. By the same token, he is not the player the club is missing most. That player is
Clint Gutherson. He is the man who held Paramatta together during their salary-cap crisis in 2016. Gutherson led from the front when the club needed it – with actions and words. He has a big voice in the team and they miss his influence.
There has been plenty of talk this week among Eels players. The players have taken to each other and delivered some home truths. It may be the conversation that turns their season around.
But the absence of Hayne, Gutherson and injured back
Bevan French is still an issue. It’s more of an issue than a player having a glass of wine in the city on a Monday before a game. And it is more of an issue than the dressing room on game day. A couple of coaches have mentioned the dressing room culture at the club. They say it is best explained by the blaring music coming out the sheds as they prepare for a game.
“You couldn’t talk to a player because they couldn’t hear a word you were saying,” observed one coach. “I get it, players listen to music, but it’s a dressing room that’s more like a disco from what I’ve been told.”
The argument countering that is that the same music was blaring when the Eels made the top four last year.
The other hot topic at the Eels is
Corey Norman, who was described by Andrew Johns as “legless”. Arthur has had issues with Norman, but due to his form, not his attitude. Norman’s ego has taken a beating because the side is losing.
And as for a feud between Norman and Mitchell Moses? Their breakfast catch-ups every second day would suggest otherwise.
