Rumours and Stuff

[T.S Quint]

You don't want us winning games? That's just as bad as those that said they didn't want us to make the grand final.

I hate all of this teams taking games away from their home (bush weekend, magic weekend, Darwin). If an area wants NRL games get good and make your own team.

We should be good enough to win games anywhere, even in Darwin. We were good enough to win up there 7 of our first 8 times we played there. Sure, we’ve lost our last 3 but should we throw away a significant amount of sponsorship money when we could instead try to do better on the field?

Where else can we recoup that money if we don’t take it anymore? If they can get that money elsewhere by keeping the game in Parramatta then fine.

 

[King-Gutho94]

The Darwin game has been a significant part of the football club becoming financially independent and whilst we basically drop a game for $1m, I hope that the relationship continues.

Wait - don’t come at me with flaming torches.

Why do we play in April when the lowest 8pm temps in Darwin are in August ?

I didn't have a problem with the deal to start with and the fact we won 6 from our first 7 games up there meant the club was getting a double bonus more money and banking 2 points.

I went up in 2021 when we flogged Brisbane 48-6 and it was a great night. We ran into JT at Monsoons aftwrwards at the bar.

Despite the fact it was 27 degrees and 95% humidity I had more sweat pouring off my body then when I sit in the sun for the SCG test in January. Flogging the Broncos made it an awesome trip.

But the past 3 years have been disastrous if the NRL are going to give us QLD teams and play it in April what's the point.

The Dolphins performance was nothing short of disgraceful and made us look like a joke.

Just like BA the Darwin deal has done what 11 years.

Past its use by date

It's best now to shake hands and bon voyage to the NT.

 

[King-Gutho94]

I’m fine with the NT deal when we win.
Not so much when we lose.

If it is to continue then the club needs to work with the NRL so we can dictate what time of year we play there and who we play.

Whilst we are financially benefiting through this arrangement, we are also doing the NRL a favour in bringing league to a regional area and raising awareness of the game. I think that should allow the Eels to have at least some say in who we choose to play there and when to play.

The NRL won't listen.

One of the corporate managers i asked a few years ago about this.

He said we specifically asked for either of these 2 teams back in 2022 to play against in darwin

Canberra or Melbourne I believe and they gave us the cowboys that season. The club weren't happy about it

The fact they have given us Broncos and Dolphins the following 2 years either the club has given up or the NRL won't listen.

 

[Gronk]

You don't want us winning games? That's just as bad as those that said they didn't want us to make the grand final.

I hate all of this teams taking games away from their home (bush weekend, magic weekend, Darwin). If an area wants NRL games get good and make your own team.

No, I want us winning games. My angle is August vs April, which has a significant temp difference.

I am looking for a $1m compromise, rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

We should be good enough to win games anywhere, even in Darwin. We were good enough to win up there 7 of our first 8 times we played there. Sure, we’ve lost our last 3 but should we throw away a significant amount of sponsorship money when we could instead try to do better on the field?

Where else can we recoup that money if we don’t take it anymore? If they can get that money elsewhere by keeping the game in Parramatta then fine.

The NRL gives clubs 130%, or something close to not sure of the actual number, funding of the salary cap. We do not need the money from the NT government anymore, when it was first signed there was probably a financial need to do so.

My issue however is not with money, my issue is not with our win-loss record up there, my issue is we are the Parramatta Eels, not the Parramatta sometimes Darwin Eels. All NRL teams should be playing at their home ground for 12 games a year

 

[King-Gutho94]

No, I want us winning games. My angle is August vs April, which has a significant temp difference.

I am looking for a $1m compromise, rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Well that's on the club to sell itself to alternative suitors.

Shouldn't be hard when we claim to have the biggest membership in Sydney.

How about Country NSW how much are Penrith getting to take a game to Bathurst.

Cronulla to Coffs harbour

Wests Tigers to Tamworth.

WA how much do they pay for teams to take games over there.

Just like there the excuse when there was no one out there better then BA.

There is some place better then Darwin. That we can get 1million bucks off.

 

[Glenneel]

The Darwin game has been a significant part of the football club becoming financially independent and whilst we basically drop a game for $1m, I hope that the relationship continues.

Wait - don’t come at me with flaming torches.

Why do we play in April when the lowest 8pm temps in Darwin are in August ?

They appeared to change the month we play with the deliberate selection of Qld based teams. A NRL stitch up imo.

 

[Noise]

The NRL gives clubs 130%, or something close to not sure of the actual number, funding of the salary cap. We do not need the money from the NT government anymore, when it was first signed there was probably a financial need to do so.

My issue however is not with money, my issue is not with our win-loss record up there, my issue is we are the Parramatta Eels, not the Parramatta sometimes Darwin Eels. All NRL teams should be playing at their home ground for 12 games a year

Yep. f**k taking games away from home especially to shitty little stadiums.

 

[eels_fan]

My understanding is the opposing club to play in Darwin has to agree to the trip and associated costs with transport/hotels/logistics for the team and associated trainers/coaching etc

none of the southern teams are willing to do it any longer post-covid which is why he keep getting stuck with Qld teams for whom it is much more affordable to travel (and beneficial financially due to the fact they are highly supported in Darwin and cop an influx of merch sales alongside the game)

 

[Avenger]

The Darwin game has been a significant part of the football club becoming financially independent and whilst we basically drop a game for $1m, I hope that the relationship continues.

Wait - don’t come at me with flaming torches.

Why do we play in April when the lowest 8pm temps in Darwin are in August ?

You need to go there at least once and discover the madness of playing there. I went there in 2022 and would never go again. Not to watch league.

 

[Johnny88]

Corey Parker: What a perfect off-season looks like at your NRL club, as every team reboots for 2025

Eels
Making the big call to move Clint Gutherson out of fullback, to introduce more speed via Isaiah Iongi, was the right decision for mine, even though I’ve always loved Gutho’s competitiveness. If it’s now best that he switches clubs rather than stick around in a lesser role, then so be it. When you finish close to last, change is inevitable unless you want a repeat, and new leadership is coming from both the playing group and the coach.
Players can get comfortable and complacent with the same coach for too long, so it was probably the right time for Parramatta to split with Brad Arthur. Jason Ryles can coach, there’s no two ways about that. Yet to put pressure on him to turn around this club within 10 rounds, in his first head coaching appointment, is too much. The saviour narrative gets a fair workout at the Eels, after nearly 40 years without a premiership, and they’ll want to keep that quiet.
This pre-season needs to bring a change to their style of play. That’s already begun via the Gutho decision and the call to release Reagan Campbell-Gillard, with an eye to more mobility and leg speed through the middle. With international halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown running the show, the Eels still have some big players to build around. Yet defensive attitude is a big one too: having played in a grand final just two years ago, they were this season’s second-worst defensive team, with their 716 points against trailing only the Tigers.
I expect Parramatta to climb the ladder next season, though by how much is up to them. They’ve certainly got too many talented players to be stuck near the bottom. Having identified what needed changing then making the tough decisions, now it’s time to make the best of a fresh start.

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[Johnny88]

Weekend Read: Dragons’ hunt for Clunt Gutherson carries real risks for the club
St George Illawarra’s open pursuit of Clint Gutherson risks giving the Dragons’ wantaway star Ben Hunt all the ammunition he needs in his own battle against the club, writes BRENT READ.

The Dragons have made no secret of their desire to speak to Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson about his plans in coming days and weeks.
If they get their way, Gutherson will be with them next year. He wants a contract extension and the Eels aren’t prepared to give him one just yet.
The Dragons will, but it is understood their preference is to get their hands on Gutherson for 2025 when there is still plenty of juice left in his legs.
The quiet whisper is that will be Gutherson’s preference as well if he decides he wants a move, which seems likely.
He wants to play fullback, and the Dragons will give him that opportunity.
He wants an extension, and the Dragons will come to the party.
Here’s the bind though for the Dragons.

If they make it clear that their preference is to get Gutherson straight away, they leave themselves open to accusations of hypocrisy if they stand in Ben Hunt’s way should he get the chance to play elsewhere in 2025 as part of an offer from a rival club.
They can’t happily take Gutherson, who has another year remaining on his deal, off Parramatta’s hands and then tell Hunt he has to honour the final year of his contract.
Coach Shane Flanagan and chair Andrew Lancaster will need to handle their next move delicately, but the more the club’s dirty linen gets aired, the more untenable Hunt’s future becomes at the Dragons.
His interview on the pages of this newspaper last weekend exposed the simmering tension between the Dragons and their captain. In an interview with colleague Michael Carayannis, Hunt made it clear he felt let down by the club.
He thought he would get an extension after talks earlier in the season but the Dragons now want to take their time. He was disappointed with aspects of his end of season review finding their way into the media.

He put himself on a collision course with key powerbrokers and walked a fine line when he claimed the Dragons should sign Gutherson and play him at five-eighth - the No.6 jersey is worn by Shane Flanagan’s son Kyle.
Some have suggested the comment was Hunt’s way of suggesting they let him go, which would mean Flanagan moved to halfback and Gutherson played five-eighth.
Either way, it went down like a lead balloon at Dragons HQ given Hunt is their highest paid player and many would argue he didn’t play to his pay cheque this season.

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[senior]

Corey Parker: What a perfect off-season looks like at your NRL club, as every team reboots for 2025

Eels
Making the big call to move Clint Gutherson out of fullback, to introduce more speed via Isaiah Iongi, was the right decision for mine, even though I’ve always loved Gutho’s competitiveness. If it’s now best that he switches clubs rather than stick around in a lesser role, then so be it. When you finish close to last, change is inevitable unless you want a repeat, and new leadership is coming from both the playing group and the coach.
Players can get comfortable and complacent with the same coach for too long, so it was probably the right time for Parramatta to split with Brad Arthur. Jason Ryles can coach, there’s no two ways about that. Yet to put pressure on him to turn around this club within 10 rounds, in his first head coaching appointment, is too much. The saviour narrative gets a fair workout at the Eels, after nearly 40 years without a premiership, and they’ll want to keep that quiet.
This pre-season needs to bring a change to their style of play. That’s already begun via the Gutho decision and the call to release Reagan Campbell-Gillard, with an eye to more mobility and leg speed through the middle. With international halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown running the show, the Eels still have some big players to build around. Yet defensive attitude is a big one too: having played in a grand final just two years ago, they were this season’s second-worst defensive team, with their 716 points against trailing only the Tigers.
I expect Parramatta to climb the ladder next season, though by how much is up to them. They’ve certainly got too many talented players to be stuck near the bottom. Having identified what needed changing then making the tough decisions, now it’s time to make the best of a fresh start.

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Corey Parker making sense

 

[Gronk]

You need to go there at least once and discover the madness of playing there. I went there in 2022 and would never go again. Not to watch league.

Teams play in Townsville, so let’s get a little perspective here. All I was saying is that IF we choose to take a game to the NT why don’t we actually playing it in their dead winter ?

I think the link between the NT and the Eels is a great fit and frankly the cash is easy money, however playing in oppressive conditions seems counterintuitive. August weather in 2023/24 seems OK at night.

Just asking why guys.

 

[King-Gutho94]

You need to go there at least once and discover the madness of playing there. I went there in 2022 and would never go again. Not to watch league.

Was that the famous game Dylan Brown played in the centres

 

[TheRam]

Clearly its one of the functions it serves, but it isnt/wasnt the purpose that it was brought in for, which is also why it doesnt work well in serving that function. That function is a secondary "lucky coincidence" because its the only lever that the NRL has.

This is even more obvious when both 1 & 2 options both state that it is to stop clubs from going broke. There's a clue.

Without the draft the salary cap is a wonky 3 leg table that the ARLC/NRL have put in the to hard basket to ever fix properly.

Even PVL has ignored it totally it would seem.

 

[TheRam]

Well....taken at face value....when one states a question 'Why do we do X', and list 2 reasons, that implies that that each of the reasons represents part of the purpose of X. Now, they could be not telling 100% of the story, but they are certainly suggesting that talent-spreading is part of the purpose of the cap.

Many in the game have stated that the salary cap was not originally meant to be for spreading the talent, and that the draft was the main driver in doing this, but since the draft was ruled illegal then they tinkered as much as possible to create as much an affect as possible in doing it, but as we can all see it doesn't work all that well.

Even Phil Gould has spoken about this numerous times and on this subject I will go with his assessment over yours or any other ill informed fan.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

Corey Parker making sense

Told youse all yesterday we are in a vortex or something. Strange times.

 

[hineyrulz]

Even drawn NRL games could be resolved by the introduction of a
Golden Fart rule.

*Shart

 

[Avenger]

Teams play in Townsville, so let’s get a little perspective here. All I was saying is that IF we choose to take a game to the NT why don’t we actually playing it in their dead winter ?

I think the link between the NT and the Eels is a great fit and frankly the cash is easy money, however playing in oppressive conditions seems counterintuitive. August weather in 2023/24 seems OK at night.

Just asking why guys.

Cannot compare it to Townsville.