PARRAMATTA has said it has no regrets about recruiting troubled halfback Chris Sandow despite claims from former champion Eels No 7 Peter Sterling that the club's marquee signing is struggling at the moment because he is overweight and unfit. Sandow was lured away from South Sydney on a deal worth $550,000 a season but has failed to make an impression at his new club to date with the Eels languishing at the bottom of the table.
Speaking on Triple M's Monday Night Football show, Sterling suggested a weight battle was the reason behind Sandow's inability to recapture the type of form he displayed at the Rabbitohs.
"I think Chris Sandow is overweight," Sterling said.
"I think he's playing four or five kilos above what he should be and it affects your sharpness.
"There's no way known you can carry weight in this game, or very few players can.
"Looking at him physically -- and I may be wrong, he may be the same weight that he was when he starred last year -- I don't think he's fit.
"If he did (lose four or five kilograms), he'd be sharper than he is."
The Eels have been on the hunt for a superstar halfback ever since Sterling, who guided the club to four premierships in the 1980s, retired in 1992.
They believed they found the answer in Sandow even though it was suggested at the time they had paid ridiculous money to sign him.
Although Sandow's recruitment was handled before his time, Parramatta chief executive Bob Bentley said the club had no regrets about the decision.
"He's a quality player and you have only to look at what the did last year at the end of the season -- he pretty much carried Souths right through," Bentley said.
"He's obviously still jelling with the team and getting himself sorted out. I haven't heard that or seen that (his weight) as an issue but I'm sure the coaching staff would be monitoring that."
The Eels have only managed one win this season, against reigning premier Manly, but Sterling even put a question mark next to that performance.
"They weren't that good against Manly," Sterling said.
"They were better than what they'd been but Manly got back into the game so easily on a couple of occasions. Some of the defence that allowed Manly back into that game was disgraceful.
"To me they look like a nervous team. When they go out there it almost appears to me that they're waiting for the mistake to happen or they're waiting for the bad stroke of luck to hit them instead of just going for it.
"I've no problem with players making mistakes as long as they make mistakes doing something positive."
Eels coach Stephen Kearney turned down a request from The Australian to respond to Sterling's comment that his halfback was overweight. Kearney named his team yesterday to face the in-form Cronulla at Toyota Stadium on Sunday with Esi Tonga expected to make his return from injury.
