Beau Scott could be Parramatta Eels’ accidental hero

BEAU Scott’s take no prisoners approach to training could end up saving the Eels from their salary cap disaster.

Beau Scott training with the Parramatta Eels.

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HE has earned a feared reputation for some brutal hits on opponents over the years that haven’t always made Beau Scott the NRL’s most popular player.

But after proving himself as one of the buys of the season, Scott’s take-no-prisoners approach to training could end up saving the Eels from their salary-cap disaster.

Scott was involved in some “friendly fire’’ during a pre-season training mishap in February that Parramatta are claiming was responsible for Anthony Watmough’s career-ending knee injury.

Anthony Watmough’s contract is key for Parramatta. Picture: Gregg Porteous

That crucial argument will be thrashed out on Monday when Parramatta’s hired gun Ian Schubert walks into a shootout at NRL headquarters with his former understudy Jamie L’Oste-Brown, who is now in charge of ruling over the NRL salary cap.

Schubert, the NRL’s former salary-cap boss, needs to wipe $570,000 off the Eels’ cap before they take on South Sydney on Friday night so they can play for competition points.

And a lot is going to hinge on how much money the NRL allows Watmough’s injury to chew up. If L’Oste-Brown and NRL doctor Paul Bloomfield sign-off on Watmough’s career-ending injury and backdate it to February, it could mean the Eels won’t be forced to shed any more players to become salary-cap compliant.

It is understood Schubert is also hoping to show that Parramatta are not as far over the cap as the NRL’s preliminary findings have estimated, hoping this could also mean a reduction to the 12-point penalty.

Sunday was Parramatta’s first training session since Tuesday’s explosive salary-cap findings were announced. Before the session, coach Brad Arthur gathered his players in a circle to speak about how they would handle their huge challenge.

If the points penalty remains at 12, it basically means the Eels will need to win 12 of their remaining 15 games to qualify for the finals.

Beau Scott at Parramatta Eels training.

Scott, who is acting Parramatta captain in Kieran Foran’s forced absence, was adamant that the latest dramas would only galvanise the group.

“If anything, it is going to bring us closer as a playing group,” Scott said.

Asked if he had been called on by the NRL to give his version of events into how the Watmough injury occurred, Scott said: “No, I think that has all run its course with the insurance and what not.

“Hopefully, we get the right outcome.”

But club captain Tim Mannah admitted the Eels’ players were banking on Watmough’s career-ending injury to help keep this squad together.

“It doesn’t always happen the way you want it to,” Mannah said.

Coach Brad Arthur chats to players during Eels training.

Parramatta have already released centre Ryan Morgan to Melbourne which will alleviate some pressure but the Watmough situation will be the key.

Other clubs are privately questioning why Watmough’s payout won’t go on the salary cap.

While NRL policy for career-ending injuries is designed to protect players who have years owing on contracts, the argument is that Parramatta were always facing a huge risk when they signed Watmough to a four-year contract given his injury history at Manly.

The fear is if the Eels win this argument on Monday, it will only encourage other clubs to gamble on offering senior players long-term deals in the future.