Secrets and spies: Inside Parramatta’s extraordinary bid to swap Brad Arthur for Wayne Bennett
Parramatta bosses made the decision to part ways with Brad Arthur on May 1 before launching a secret mission - which included a clandestine trip to Wayne Bennett’s farm - to lure the supercoach to the Eels. The extraordinary inside story.
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Parramatta made the decision that Brad Arthur was no longer their long-term coach on May 1. On May 2, the Eels reached out to Wayne Bennett, launching a pursuit of the seven-time premiership winner that has fallen short, albeit not through lack of effort or energy.
The Eels did everything in their power to lure Bennett to Parramatta, including a clandestine trip to his farm in Warwick which involved avoiding an unwitting journalist at the airport and on their plane.
Remarkably, this masthead walked past chair Sean McElduff and chief executive Jim Sarantinos at Sydney Airport and then boarded the same Qantas flight bound for Brisbane.
McElduff and Sarantinos snuck on the plane and kept their heads down for fear of being caught out given whispers were already doing the rounds that the club was in talks with Bennett.
Eels officials had denied it but the jig was almost up.
THE SECRET BENNETT MISSION
The pair managed to avoid being spotted and that day made the two-hour trip from Brisbane airport to Bennett’s farm in Warwick.
During their time together, Bennett was already locked in talks with South Sydney and made no secret of his passion for the Rabbitohs.
He told the Eels he had a special connection with the Souths playing group and the club. He felt like he had unfinished business at Souths.
McElduff and Sarantinos did their best to sell Parramatta to the Supercoach but they have seemingly fallen short.
“I did reach out to Wayne and I asked Wayne to keep it confidential,” McElduff said.
“He did and I am grateful for him doing that. When I first reached out to him, he was pretty clear that he had a strong affinity with the Rabbitohs.
“He felt like he had unfinished business there. He knows the club, he knows the players. So for the last 18 days I have been trying to turn him around but it was clear today that wasn’t going to happen.
“That wouldn’t have changed the opinion today. But it was clear today that he wants to be at the Rabbitohs, that is where his allegiance is.”
THE TAIL SPIN
The talks with Bennett were going on while the Eels were in the midst of a losing streak that led to Arthur’s departure on Monday afternoon.
Arthur had entered the season under pressure after more than a decade at the club, a period in which he led the club to a grand final but failed to make the finals last year.
It meant he started the season under immense pressure but there were promising signs early as the Eels won two of their opening three games and eased the pressure on their coach
The heat started to increase on the club as Parramatta went on a losing streak, coinciding with an injury to their star halfback Mitchell Moses.
The Eels lost four of their next five games including successive thrashings at the hands of the Dolphins and Manly.
The Sea Eagles loss was the final straw. Parramatta were belted at 4 Pines Park and, five days later, the board made the decision to part ways with Arthur.
They kept it to themselves while they pursued Bennett but following two further defeats at the hands of Brisbane and Melbourne, the time had come.
The Storm defeat at the weekend was particularly galling, leading to Arthur receiving a grilling at the post-match press conference that was eventually cut off by the Eels’ media manager.
BRAD IS BLINDSIDED
Arthur was asked whether he felt the club had his back and he insisted they did. The truth was he was already gone, it was just a matter of timing.
He had been a dead man walking for more than a fortnight and club officials will no doubt face criticism over the way matter was handled given Arthur was under the impression that he was coaching for his future.
Ultimately though, he has paid the price for the team’s performance over the past 18 months. They missed the finals last year and were losing touch with the top eight this year, albeit with a side that was short of stars.
Yet so were the sides they were being beaten by – the Storm were without Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes at the weekend and lost Cameron Munster in the first half.
Melbourne still put the cleaners through Parramatta.
“He has done a good job for a period of time but the last 18 months haven’t been where they needed to be,” McElduff said.
“I am always going to defend my people while they are employed in the club – that is me. BA knew the performance was terrible.
“I didn’t need to tell him that or load him up. He was under enough pressure anyway. He knew. Me going into his office and going Brad, you need to win, that doesn’t help anybody.
“I wanted him to succeed. I think we have given him a hell of a lot of support over the years. He nearly got there, but he didn’t get there.”
BREAKING THE NEWS
Eels officials personally called the senior players on Monday afternoon to inform them of their decision. They then sent a message to the remainder of the squad.
The focus will now turn to the new coach, whose first order of business will be to retain the likes of youngster Blaize Talagi and manage a playing group who have a reputation for wielding enormous influence at the club.
The club’s culture has been questioned and no doubt that also contributed to Arthur’s demise. In the meantime, assistant Trent Barrett will be charged with saving the Eels’ season, the club having resisted the urge to allow Arthur to finish the season.
“We thought about it and then we went, we need to move on,” McElduff said.
“My experience is you move people on quickly otherwise they are looking for other jobs and things like that. He is better off looking for another job on his own time.
“Brad is stoic. He was typical Brad Arthur. He took it the way I would expect Brad to take it. He doesn’t show a lot of emotion, he didn’t rant, he was professional, he took it the way I thought he would.”
As for his replacement, there is one overriding quality the new coach will need.
“We obviously want to win a comp,” McElduff said.
“We want someone that we think can take us to a premiership.”
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