NRL 2022: Parramatta fans abuse Jakob Arthur after loss to Brisbane Broncos
Parramatta Eels fans target Jakob Arthur for abuse on ugly night as the Brisbane Broncos announce themselves as premiership contenders.
NRL
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Parramatta were disappointing on Thursday night but the effort of the side was nowhere near as poor as the performance of a smattering of so-called Eels supporters at Commbank Stadium.
Those responsible for booing Eels half Jakob Arthur should hang their heads in shame. What a disgrace given Arthur’s only crime appears to be sharing the same last name as the coach, his father Brad.
He clearly has some talent but the sooner he gets out of Parramatta, the better it will be for all concerned. Ask anyone at the Eels and they will tell you that Arthur is a cracking fella. Respectful, well-mannered and a credit to his family.
The sort of kid you want to see succeed and have a long career in the game. His treatment from sections of the Eels faithful this year, albeit a minority, has been shameful.
He was jeered on his return to the team last week but it largely slipped under the radar. The reaction on Thursday night during the club’s loss to Brisbane was impossible to avoid.
Arthur was booed when his name was shown on the big screen before the game. He was booed again when he came onto the field in the second half.
At that point, the game was out of Parramatta’s reach. He was one of the few players in the side who bore no responsibility.
Yet he was targeted by a section of the crowd – we won’t call them fans because they don’t deserve to wear that moniker.
The Eels and Arthur have been down this path before. Earlier this year, Arthur was vilified on social media, leaving the club and his father with little choice but to take him out of the firing line.
Podcast: â¦@AdamMobbsâ©, â¦@BuzzRothfieldâ© and I break down how Jakob Arthur's rise to the NRL, axed Bulldog Kyle Flanagan's emotion-charged press conference and whether the Wests Tigers have any wizardry in them for Magic Round. https://t.co/JdmU4ar7zJ
— Michael Carayannis (@MCarayannis) May 12, 2021
At that point, his name was circulated to rival clubs with a view to a potential move at the end of the season. Arthur has been off social media since, driven away by faceless trolls. Fortunately, social media can be easy to avoid if you put your mind to it.
It is harder to ignore the abuse when it comes at a stadium moments before you are about to take a seat on the sideline, let alone when you run out to play.
Arthur certainly doesn’t deserve the sort of crap he is copping at the moment. Eels fans are among the most passionate in rugby league but those responsible for singling out Arthur aren’t fans.
They’re clowns. If they can be identified, Parramatta officials should ban them for life. They do their club and their fellow supporters an injustice.
In the meantime, the club’s overriding concern is rightly with Arthur. He is a strong-minded teenager – he has fought his way back before and no doubt he will do it again.
Rugby league has plenty of passionate and respectful fans. So do Parramatta. Sadly, a few rotten apples are ruining it for everyone else.
SHOULD THE PANTHERS FEAR BRISBANE?
There have been points this season when it seemed like the only thing that could stop Penrith was Covid or an injury crisis. A disaster of sorts at the foot of the mountains.
After Thursday night, it might be time to re-evaluate.
The Brisbane Broncos are playing the sort of football that could give the Panthers an almighty fright, having charged into the top four after putting Parramatta to the sword at CommBank Stadium.
They played some brilliant football, embarrassed a mooted contender, and exorcised some demons. Quite a night.
The Broncos had never won at the venue. One of those losses was arguably the darkest day in their history – an embarrassing 58-0 shellacking in the finals three years ago that left a stain on the club.
Few who were there will ever forget the carnage that day. It was the beginning of the end for Anthony Seibold, although it was almost another year before he was finally shown the door by the Broncos.
Kevin Walters stepped in and what a job he has done. He has won plenty of plaudits but as good as the Broncos have been this season, perhaps no result illustrates how far they have come in a short time under Walters than the win over the Eels, a team that on its best days is considered a title contender.
Brisbane just keep on winning. They have made believers out of many, among them immortal Andrew Johns who declared after Thursday night’s game that they could challenge the Panthers provided they were fully fit come the finals.
They are sprinkled with class and playing with rampant confidence. They emerged from State of Origin remarkably unscathed and in good shape for the run to the finals.
They have done it with one of the least established spines in the game. Adam Reynolds has been the buy of the year thus far but in a season where the top eight has been dominated by the sides with the best spine, the Broncos have flipped the script.
Fullback Tesi Niu has been in and out of the side. Ezra Mam is only just starting his journey and the Broncos have had a revolving door at hooker.
Reynolds has been the glue that has held the side together. Walters deserves immense credit too, the win on Thursday night silencing any lingering doubters over his ability and raising fresh question marks over his counterpart at the Eels.
Whoever reached out to Canterbury on behalf of Brad Arthur this week may want to hit the phones again – the Eels are clearly making up the numbers should they be there in September.
Given the way they are playing, there is no guarantee they will be. They have lost three of their past six games and they face a taxing draw leading into the finals.
Arthur has had to live with renewed speculation over his future at the club and it won’t go away after their performance against the Broncos.
He has another two years on his deal but anyone and everyone will tell you he needs to go deep into the finals to ensure he has a contract next season.
It’s starting to feel like it might be time to move on for both parties. The Eels look stale and uninspired. They seemed bereft of ideas against the Broncos.
Arthur has done a sterling job for the past decade but sometimes the magic wears off. The message stops finding its target.
Clearly, Walters’ message still resonates. After the Broncos were battered at CommBank Stadium three years ago, Seibold was asked whether he would apologise to the fans.
“I am not going to apologise mate,” Seibold bristled.
“I have worked damn hard this year. If I am not good enough then I would rather be in the arena failing than standing outside throwing stones.
“We’re in a sport where you want to win, I want to win. We work hard and make a lot of sacrifices. We want to win. We’re not here to make up the numbers and come eighth every year.”
No need to apologise this time round. This Broncos side is certainly not making up the numbers. They’re in with a chance. A red hot one at that.
ENIGMATIC EELS RUN OUT OF EXCUSES
– Martin Gabor
Trying to get a read on the Parramatta Eels is like deciphering hieroglyphics while blindfolded when you have no idea about ancient Egyptian culture.
This is the team that beat the Storm and Panthers away from home.
It’s also the same side that lost to the Wests Tigers who were winless at the time and then got belted by the Bulldogs when they were seemingly allergic to scoring points.
Now their top four hopes have taken an almighty hit after they were beaten 36-14 at home by a Broncos side that looked a lot like premiership contenders for much of the contest.
Thursday night’s game at home was the ultimate test against a team that they’d dominated with five-straight wins, including a 58-0 drubbing at the same ground in the 2019 finals series.
But instead of leapfrogging the Broncos and temporarily moving ahead of the Storm into fourth, the blue and golds are now at risk of falling into the logjam of teams at the bottom of the top eight. Suddenly, finals are far from guaranteed.
The problem for Parramatta is that their draw is brutal. It’s why Thursday’s game was a classic four-point swing.
They have to play the Panthers next week. Sure, they are the only team to beat the defending premiers. But as electric as the Eels are, lightning rarely strikes twice.
Match Highlights - #NRLEelsBroncos 🎥
— NRL (@NRL) July 21, 2022
Payne's gain is Parra's pain pic.twitter.com/ik628ibkOo
They then travel to fortress Brookvale, there’s a date with the Rabbitohs who smashed them a few weeks ago and they finish the regular season against Brisbane and the Storm.
There’s every chance they win three of those because we all know they have the potential to beat anyone on their day. But they could easily lose all of them because much like a service station pie, they are either scorching hot or freezing cold.
“We’ve just got to worry about next week. We can’t be worried about where we’re finishing. We’ve got to worry about playing football that’s up to our standard,” Arthur said
.
CALAMITY OF ERRORS
The Eels looked on in the opening five minutes. Dylan Brown’s first carry was dynamite and then Maika Sivo continued his hot streak at CommBank Stadium with yet another try against the Broncos.
But then it went downhill really quickly.
There was a 10-minute stretch where they didn’t touch the ball.
Then Will Penisini was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul.
And just when they’d given themselves a sneaky chance with a try before the break, they started the second half by dropping the kick-off when Waqa Blake and Shaun Lane collided.
It’s not what the Eels or Brad Arthur needed after the week they’ve had off the field.
“We prepared the same as we do every other week,” the coach said.
“There are no excuses when we get out there. It doesn’t matter what’s happened during the week.”
UP AND ADAM
The good people of Bris-Vegas must feel like they hit the jackpot when Adam Reynolds announced he was heading north.
Sure, there are question marks over his longevity. But for now, he’s in the top three buys of the season and you could argue he’s at the top of the list.
His leadership has turned the Broncos into genuine premiership contenders in just a few months. In fact, since he arrived, they’ve won more games in 2022 than they did in the previous two seasons combined.
There were some outstanding contributors on Thursday, led by middles Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan, but it was Reynolds who delivered all the big plays.
He came up with a one-on-one steal which led to a Haas try a minute later after he ran onto a Carrigan offload, and the little halfback then set up tries either side of halftime with pinpoint kicks that caught out Parramatta’s back three.
It was fitting that Reynolds put the finishing touches on another big win on the road when he punished a Clint Gutherson error to snuff out any chance of an Eels comeback.
Club great Allan Langer said Reynolds was Brisbane’s best ever buy, and coach Kevin Walters couldn’t argue with that sentiment.
“The transformation he’s had on all of us – coaches included – has been quite amazing,” he said.
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