Rumours and Stuff

[King-Gutho94]

Wow, shows how shit my memory is.
I most certainly would have gone to that game as well. I went to every game back in those days.

2012 we won the spoon i dare say the motivation to go wasn't there considering how shit we were then under Kearney.

 

[Stagger eel]

It's hard to fathom how Spud gets a gig. Maybe he does it for free.

dresses like a million bucks and sounds like a Shalvey houso...

 

[T.S Quint]

2012 we won the spoon i dare say the motivation to go wasn't there considering how shit we were then under Kearney.

I went to every home game back then.
Plenty of away games as well. I definitely would have gone to a Parra game that was 10 minutes up the road from where I lived, even just for the fact it was something different because we never play there.

I suffered through some terrible years, sitting in the freezing cold watching our team get flogged every week. I still turned up. It's why a season like we had this year hurts, but I can get through it a lot easier. Battle-hardened.

 

[JokerEel]

FFS can someone tell Superman you can't train/coach speed

 

[King-Gutho94]

I went to every home game back then.
Plenty of away games as well. I definitely would have gone to a Parra game that was 10 minutes up the road from where I lived, even just for the fact it was something different because we never play there.

I suffered through some terrible years, sitting in the freezing cold watching our team get flogged every week. I still turned up. It's why a season like we had this year hurts, but I can get through it a lot easier. Battle-hardened.

The only year i have stopped going as a season ticket holder was halfway through in 2018.

We were at homebush and it was a miserable season - we had a few Thursday night games in back end of the year on top of some other shit timeslots. The weather was shit as well for some home games.

Homebush is a hole to get too and the team clearly didn't give a toss. I reckon i didn't attend a game after round 12 that season.

 

[Eelementary]

This year sucked, but it’s far from the worse we’ve been through, even in the last 10 years.
1 less boneheaded decision and we’re in the 8. It has just been exaggerated as it was on the back of a GF.

i am worried my son is going to be lost to us. My wife is tragic broncos supporter and despite him siding with her in his toddler years, the last 5 or so years I’d managed to get him firmly on the eels bus thru persuasion. But he felt the GF loss last year hard and now seeing his mum so happy, if the broncos get up I reckon he may swing. Wouldn’t blame him as it would be 7 wins for them all since we last won.

I’m also fighting the fact if he turns bronco he can readily see his team as we’re on the GC instead of only seeing the Eels 1-2 times a year

I don't intend any disrespect - but this train of thought happens literally every season for this club.

"Oh, we just had the misfortune of coming up against the greatest ever club side." (2022 Grand Final)

"Oh, we had the misfortune of coming up against a stacked team, cheating the cap." (2009 Grand Final)

"Oh, we had the misfortune of playing an Andrew Johns-led Newcastle who played a perfect opening 40 minutes." (2001 Grand Final)


This club (and to some extent, its fanbase) have been rationalising our shortcomings for years, and I am yet to be convinced that we have the people in place to turn our fortunes around.

A club like Parramatta should have won a Premiership in the last 30 years.

Sure, we have had some bad luck - I, for one, strongly maintain that we were robbed in 2009; we were coming home so strongly, and that penalty for Slater's dropped ball on halfway stole the Grand Final away from us -, but I'm not sure we have been diligent enough to make the shrewd moves needed to (as they say in cricket) convert half-chances.

We seem content to keep plodding along, working on our long-term plans, without ever actually achieving anything of note.

More offensive than that is the at times inept play style the team employs.

I agree that we don't have the resources that clubs like Penrith, Ingham, etc. do - but i would like someone to take ownership of this, and find a way for us to be genuinely competitive, and grow.

Only at Parramatta will a coach make a Grand Final one season, miss the 8 the next season, and have people downplay that as not that big of a deal.

 

[the phantom menace]

Who do you reckon they would want to take over.

Its a bit like our issue with BA atm what's the actually solution to replacing him.

We really are devoid in the sport of any decent coaches coming up through the ranks in this day and age.

I'm not sure who they have in mind... but what's clear is they aren't all in on Fittler, given he ditched his assistants and his Friday pitch session hasn't got him the rubber stamp for the expected one year extension.

Going off Gus's comment, maybe Fittler needs to add a current NRL coach to the game day posse (if possible), maybe the board were impressed by Ivan's coaching box cameo in what was I guess a successful Game 3?

 

[King-Gutho94]

I'm not sure who they have in mind... but what's clear is they aren't all in on Fittler, given he ditched his assistants and his Friday pitch session hasn't got him the rubber stamp for the expected one year extension.

Going off Gus's comment, maybe Fittler needs to add a current NRL coach to the game day posse (if possible), maybe the board were impressed by Ivan's coaching box cameo in what was I guess a successful Game 3?

Onto something

 

[Stormy36]

I don't intend any disrespect - but this train of thought happens literally every season for this club.

"Oh, we just had the misfortune of coming up against the greatest ever club side." (2022 Grand Final)

"Oh, we had the misfortune of coming up against a stacked team, cheating the cap." (2009 Grand Final)

"Oh, we had the misfortune of playing an Andrew Johns-led Newcastle who played a perfect opening 40 minutes." (2001 Grand Final)


This club (and to some extent, its fanbase) have been rationalising our shortcomings for years, and I am yet to be convinced that we have the people in place to turn our fortunes around.

A club like Parramatta should have won a Premiership in the last 30 years.

Sure, we have had some bad luck - I, for one, strongly maintain that we were robbed in 2009; we were coming home so strongly, and that penalty for Slater's dropped ball on halfway stole the Grand Final away from us -, but I'm not sure we have been diligent enough to make the shrewd moves needed to (as they say in cricket) convert half-chances.

We seem content to keep plodding along, working on our long-term plans, without ever actually achieving anything of note.

More offensive than that is the at times inept play style the team employs.

I agree that we don't have the resources that clubs like Penrith, Ingham, etc. do - but i would like someone to take ownership of this, and find a way for us to be genuinely competitive, and grow.

Only at Parramatta will a coach make a Grand Final one season, miss the 8 the next season, and have people downplay that as not that big of a deal.

I for one and definitely not cutting my wrists after missing the 8 this year. It's not the coaches fault. We are highly committed to paying our middles big money and in my opinion rcg is the 3rd best middle in the game, when he misses a stretch of games we miss out big time. Just like Brisbane do when Carrigan is out and Souths do when Murray is out.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Only at Parramatta will a coach make a Grand Final one season, miss the 8 the next season, and have people downplay that as not that big of a deal.

It’s not if you consider we were lucky to make the grand final and unlucky to miss the eight this year. It’s all within the expected range of results.

 

[Eelementary]

I for one and definitely not cutting my wrists after missing the 8 this year. It's not the coaches fault. We are highly committed to paying our middles big money and in my opinion rcg is the 3rd best middle in the game, when he misses a stretch of games we miss out big time. Just like Brisbane do when Carrigan is out and Souths do when Murray is out.

It's not about slitting wrists - it's about setting expectations.

I don't believe that the top tier clubs would be pleased with missing the 8 after making a Grand Final - and yet our fanbase is happy to discuss mitigating factors, and look to next year.

Our club, itself, has addressed this season in a rather meek manner - blaming suspensions, and injuries, for our poor season, and claiming that a last-round win against Penrith is a glimpse into the future for this club.

Injuries, and suspensions, were not a factor in our abysmal 1-and-5 start.

Our inability to find consistency was mentioned in the email, but what is being done to address it?

For as long as I can remember, this team has had a soft underbelly - so much so, that even other people have commented on it (I'm looking at Phillip Gould).

Arthur has tried to address this by bringing in Beau Scott, Anthony Watmough, Kieran Foran, etc. to mixed results.

I'd wager we would be better finding an internal solution to these shortcomings, but do we have the next Clint Gutherson in our junior ranks? If we do, will be able to retain him? Time will tell.

I don't believe that this club has a killer instinct.

I believe we are run by people with some business savvy, but they are happy to simply tick certain KPI's (attendances, membership numbers, etc.), and do not have a genuine desire to see this club be the powerhouse it should be.

As I said earlier, I do believe we don't have the same advantages as El Pollo Loco, Penrith, etc., and that's fine - but the questions being asked should be:

(1) why not?; and

(2) what are we going to do, within our means, to be as competitive as possible?

We do seem to be slowly, slowly moving in the right direction, so credit to the club, and BA.

But dismissing season 2023 as, "Oh, well! Onto 2024!" to me just doesn't show any passion towards their results.

I don't want cartoonish levels of insanity, a la Textas Poster Boy - but I want someone to show some hunger to be the best.

I recall a story from 2003, where a Panthers player was asked what turned their season around.

They responded by telling a story of how in one game, they were down big at half time, and Joel Clinton delivered a speech to his peers, saying he was sick of losing all the time.

They knuckled down, and won the whole damn thing.

I want that. I want more people to follow in Gutho's footsteps.

I don't want a million-dollar halfback who runs the ball once every 5 games, and misses easy conversions - but has the odd 9 out of 10 game, and we happily accept it.

I don't want a prop forward, co-captaining the club, who thinks his job is to pass the ball every time he touches it.

I don't want a coach who thinks that the only gameplan there is is to bash it up the guts, and control possession (especially when we have shown we struggle big time controlling the ruck defensively).

/rant

I'm sorry for my ramblings.

 

[Eelementary]

It’s not if you consider we were lucky to make the grand final and unlucky to miss the eight this year. It’s all within the expected range of results.

We certainly had plenty of luck last year, and had plenty of bad luck this year.

But I think we need to show some emotion.

Tom Brady got royally angry in a game in 2007 because his team were down - their season record at that point was 14-and-0, and they were making the play-offs.

But the simple fact that they were losing rubbed him the wrong way, because he's a born winner.

Within reason, that is the sort of mentality we should be looking to emulate - all of history's great athletes have that passion to win, and hatred of defeat.

We are too pragmatic in our approach, imo.

 

[Gronk]

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[Poupou Escobar]

Injuries, and suspensions, were not a factor in our abysmal 1-and-5 start.

For those six games we were missing:

Ofahengaue (6 games)
Lane (5 games)
Russell (5 games)
Matterson (3 games)
Paulo (2 games)
Simonsson (2 games)

 

[T.S Quint]

I don't believe that the top tier clubs would be pleased with missing the 8 after making a Grand Final - and yet our fanbase is happy to discuss mitigating factors, and look to next year.

We do this as fans because it becomes depressing if we don't. Better off focusing on the positives and say, "Hey, you know, if we had fewer injuries and suspensions, we would have been better this year" and hope that we have better luck next year than moping about the other stuff.

We have no control over what happens with the team, so it's just easier (and better for mental health) if we can put much of the blame down to luck.

 

[T.S Quint]

The only year i have stopped going as a season ticket holder was halfway through in 2018.

We were at homebush and it was a miserable season - we had a few Thursday night games in back end of the year on top of some other shit timeslots. The weather was shit as well for some home games.

Homebush is a hole to get too and the team clearly didn't give a toss. I reckon i didn't attend a game after round 12 that season.

2018 was the last year I went to just about every game.
My first daughter was born a couple of days before our last game that season (against the Roosters).
I sat in the hospital watching that game on my phone with her in my arms. We got flogged, but it didn't really worry me all that much.

 

[the phantom menace]

View attachment 80060

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Thank f**k!

 

[the phantom menace]

Onto something

Sounds like Fittler thought he deserved an extension longer than 12 months... but he's no Billy Slater.

 

[Eelementary]

For those six games we were missing:

Ofahengaue (6 games)
Lane (5 games)
Russell (5 games)
Matterson (3 games)
Paulo (2 games)
Simonsson (2 games)

True.

But we still managed to keep them close, and found a way to lose.

 

[Eelementary]

We do this as fans because it becomes depressing if we don't. Better off focusing on the positives and say, "Hey, you know, if we had fewer injuries and suspensions, we would have been better this year" and hope that we have better luck next year than moping about the other stuff.

We have no control over what happens with the team, so it's just easier (and better for mental health) if we can put much of the blame down to luck.

Very true.

I'd like to see us win a Premiership - just one - before I die.