How Clint Gutherson became the ‘King’ of Parramatta
Even today, four years after the nickname was first coined, Clint Gutherson is uneasy about being called the “King”. Here’s how the nickname came to being.
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Clint Gutherson pulled his mobile phone out of his kitbag and turned it on.
“That’s when I first saw it,” Gutherson said. “All these messages with people calling me the king.”
He logged on to Instagram. Same thing. Everyone calling him the king.
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“I was like what’s going on,” Gutherson said. “I’m no king.”
Gutherson officially became the king of Parramatta when he scored a try in the 22-18 loss to Penrith in 2016.
Still wearing No.2 but playing in the halves for the first time, Gutherson set up Parramatta’s first two tries before slicing through to become Eels royalty.
“Turns out Joey (Andrew Johns) and Freddy (Brad Fittler) had been calling me King Gutho on the commentary,” Gutherson said.
“It was a game out at Penrith and I was playing six. Everyone jumped on the back off it. They were just taking the piss. It was a bit of laugh really.”
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Fast forward four years and Gutherson is a king without a crown.
As he prepares to lead the Eels into his first final as a $750,000 a year game breaker, Gutherson has admitted he will need to deliver his club the NRL crown to join the likes of Peter Sterling and Brett Kenny as a true Parramatta king.
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“That name was kind of forced on me and everyone got on the back off it,” Gutherson said.
“It was just a joke. A couple of people mucking around and doing their commentary. But everyone got on board and now whatever it is, four or five years later, its still around. I am stuck with it.
“It doesn’t bother me. It’s just a nickname. But yeah the real kings of this club are Sterlo, Kenny and Luke Burt.”
Signed on a second-chance deal by the Eels, the former Sea Eagles winger has not played for his state or his country. Nor has he delivered long-suffering Parramatta fans a premiership — the one they have been screaming for since 1986.
“There are heaps of (former Eels) that have done way more than me,” Gutherson said.
“This is not my club, it belongs to the fans. It is the community’s club. They are so passionate and love the game.”
Should he break the Eels’ premiership drought by leading them to their first title since 1986, he will become more than a king — he will be the messiah.
“A premiership would be good for us as a club and a community,” Gutherson said.
“There is a long way to go but hopefully we can get it. We have the right squad and right coaching staff. Our spine is locked in and we have a great opportunity to push for a premiership over the next couple of years.
“We have put ourselves in an opportunity to fight for it this year and it is now up to us to make it happen. We have no excuses this year or over the next couple of years.”
And it all starts with a top-four final’s clash against real rugby league royals the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night.
“It’s a big test,” Gutherson said. “But we are up for it.”
Originally published as How Clint Gutherson became the ‘King’ of Parramatta