Parramatta Eels warrior Fuifui Moimoi can't forgive Brad Arthur's 'betrayal'
Parramatta cult hero Fuifui Moimoi claims he was "betrayed" by Eels coach Brad Arthur in his final year at the club, alleging a personal vendetta denied him the opportunity to play his farewell match at Pirtek Stadium.
Moimoi, now with the Leigh Centurions in England's second-tier competition, is about to release his biography Fui Speaks and reveals the story of one of league's men of mystery, a player who wriggled out of interviews by telling journalists "English no good".
At a time when NRL player workloads are an issue, his language couldn't be more cutting in describing the anger he feels towards Arthur, saying they fell out when he refused to return early to pre-season training after representing Tonga in the 2013 World Cup.
"I think Brad was angry at me from the beginning of the [2014] season because I wanted to go home to Tonga after the World Cup," wrote Moimoi. "Test players were supposed to get time off after the World Cup before returning to training, but he wanted me to come in early. Every player in the NRL gets a certain amount of time off at the end of each year. Apparently he did not care about this for me. I asked him why and he said, 'I don't want you to train, I just want you to come in and be around the boys'.
"I said it was a waste of time for me to come back early and tried to explain that my family lived overseas, I had a baby living in the States and I needed to see my mum and brother in Tonga. I said, 'I don't have enough time' and he told me that if I didn't return to the Eels early then don't be upset if I ended up missing the first five games. I couldn't believe he tried to pressure me like that, but as I've mentioned earlier, I'm not the type of person to get angry or blow up. So I just told Brad, 'well, if that's what you want, I'm happy with that'.
He said he'd give me a bye week off to go to see my family later in the year. I said I didn't need that week off and that I'd rather spend time with my family straight after the World Cup, which was at the end of a long year. But Brad just wouldn't budge and I started to get frustrated with him."
Arthur did not want to comment on the claims but a club spokesperson said Moimoi was considered a Parramatta "legend" and is respected for having played more than 200 first grade games there.
However, he said instead of being strongarmed by Arthur to return to Australia straight after the World Cup Moimoi was granted an extended break.
"Fui was provided an extra three weeks of leave," said the spokesperson. "He was contacted by the club once he had failed to return to the country by the agreed time."
While MoiMoi said he was better than the some of the 17 players selected for the final game at Pirtek Stadium the club spokesperson said he was promoted to first grade towards the end of the 2014 season because Junior Paulo was suspended.
"Paulo returned to the side [against] Manly after serving a two week suspension," he said.
Moimoi wanted to know why Parramatta's Australian and New Zealand representatives appeared to receive more favourable treatment but he was enraged by Arthur's suggestion he promised Ricky Stuart he would return early after representing Tonga.
"Brad then really made my blood boil by claiming I'd already agreed with the Eels' previous coach, Ricky Stuart, to come back the following week after the World Cup," he wrote. "I replied, 'F--- off, I never agreed to that with Sticky or the club'. I think from that day Brad just tried to find a way to get me back. I just felt he did not give me the respect I had given him."
Moimoi worked hard to ensure he couldn't be dropped but was demoted to the NSW Cup. He rebuffed an opportunity to make a mid-season switch to Manly because he wanted to play his 200th game for Parramatta.
When Penrith approached him with an offer Moimoi was swayed to stay by Arthur who insisted he would return to first grade. However, he was denied the chance to farewell his supporters in the final home game of the year when he was axed again.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever been through in my career," he wrote. "It made me feel so angry. Brad said he had to pick the best 17, but I know I'm still better than some of those players he selected
Moimoi's hurt was compounded because while many of his teammates were said to be unhappy about his treatment he only heard from Peni Terepo, Nathan Cayless and Jarryd Hayne: "Some of the boys who I thought were my good mates didn't even call me to see how I was going."
He was convinced to go to the game to farewell the Parramatta faithful and Moimoi said he was grateful to have taken the advice when he walked around the ground to say farewell to the fans after fulltime.
"It was so emotional, I was almost crying seeing their happy faces and how much they appreciated me. I signed autographs until they closed the ground and turned the lights off. I would love to have played a big game in front of them one last time but it wasn't meant to be. The way the coach dropped me made me feel I wasn't good enough to play my last game in front of them. That's why I wanted to stay back and sign as many autographs as I could. It made me feel better and appreciate what is really important: the fans and the people who have supported me over the years."
Moimoi said he was angry at his treatment because of the way he had viewed Arthur before the pair fell out.
"I actually helped him get the job at the Eels," he wrote. "Back in 2013 when the club was deciding between Jason Taylor and Brad for the coaching job, there was some campaigning behind the scenes from his end and some people within the club, I was asked to put in a good word for him along with a few other players. Even though I really liked Jason from his days as head coach at the Eels, I was more than happy to recommend Brad. I had fond memories of when Brad was an assistant and caretaker coach at the club and felt like he had been good to me. So I felt like he had betrayed me when he treated me so poorly throughout the 2014 season."
Parramatta cult hero Fuifui MoiMoi claims he was "betrayed" by Eels coach Brad Arthur in his final year at the club, alleging a personal vendetta denied him the opportunity to play his farewell match at Pirtek Stadium.
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