Good morning everyone!
My apologies for so many Parramatta related posts, but as you all know I am a passionate Eels supporter and can't help paying attention to any story that mentions my team.
A few weeks ago, I posted about 'what's the matter with Parramatta'. Since I made that post it doesn't seem like too much has improved. Since I made that post Parramatta has not won another game and sits at the bottom of the ladder with only 10 competition points at this stage.
There have been a couple of news articles focused on the Eels over the last few days and I thought it timely to comment on a few of them.
1. An article appeared in the SMH yesterday titled 'Reni knocks back chance to jump ship mid year.' As you will all recall, Parramatta co-captain Reni Maitua was one of about 12 players to be told by coach Ricky Stuart that he was not wanted by the Club beyond the end of the year.
In the article, Reni expresses 'relief' at being shown the door and says that he was considering leaving Parramatta even before Stuart told him he was no longer required, but did not out of loyalty to the team that gave him a second chance.
I was a little bit disappointed when I read those comments by Reni, however, after having some time to think about it, I am pleased that he has stayed with the team. Reni's decision to continue to play does suggest that he has a strong connection with the Club and felt that it would be inappropriate to abandon his mates half way through the season. There is no doubt that the current situation at Parramatta is trying for players, coaching staff and the fans. The easy approach would have been to move Clubs, but I am pleased that at least Reni will be with us till the end of the year.
I have said a couple of times now that the only group at Parramatta that has remained consistent at Parramatta over the last few years has been the playing group. We have had multiple coaching and board changes. Our results have stayed the same. This suggests that the mass clean out was needed.
2. When the Eels are struggling (which has been for the last couple of years), every so often a story is run by the papers talking about how many Juniors the Eels have lost. Such an article has appeared in today's DT called 'Unwanted former Parramatta Eels players haunting old club'.
The article correctly identifies that this weekend there were be 6 former Eels halves playing for opposition teams. These include Daniel 'Morts' Mortimer (Roosters), Jeff 'Robbo' Robson (Sharks), Brett 'Finchy' Finch (Storm), Albert Kelly (Titans), John 'Johnny' Morris (Sharks) and Feleti 'Hot Potato' Mateo.
As an Eels fan it is incredibly frustrating to see so many former Eels playing in opposition jerseys. However, these sorts of stories are run frequently and it is simply a product of the Eels having one of the biggest Junior nurseries in the League. Unfortunately, recruitment decisions need to be made and the Eels are unable to keep them all. At the moment there are a number of locally produced Juniors playing for our team and that often goes unnotices.
Perhaps the bigger question is why Parramatta let go the players that we let go.
3. Now to end with some good news. As per 'Man of Steel knocks back Eels' it should be announced very soon that there will be a multimillion-dollar federal funding package for an upgrade to Parramatta Stadium. The Eels are hoping of an amount up to $30 million in order to upgrade both corporate facilities and add an addition 5,000 seats to the Stadium. This is fantastic news for the Eels and for Parramatta Stadium. As I blogged here suburban grounds are important. Rugby League as a sport is tribal in nature - suburban grounds hold tradition and history. While the value of this cannot be measured in monetary terms, its value to fans cannot be understated.
Another question this raises however is how influential the Western Sydney Wanderers were in pushing the government to spend this money.
That's all for now, I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday.
Love,
@LadiesWhoLeague
P.S. If you are an Eels fan and still feeling depressed, maybe we'll do better once we are relegated to the NSW Cup. Full details here: http://rugbyleaguescoops.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/parramatta-eels-relegated-to-nsw-cup.html#!/2013/06/parramatta-eels-relegated-to-nsw-cup.html
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