Exclusive: Inside Parramatta’s hit and run visit to Brisbane, which could become the NRL’s new normal
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur believes the Eels’ hit and run charter flight mission to Brisbane could become the NRL’s norm, even post the coronavirus crisis.
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Parramatta coach Brad Arthur believes the Eels’ hit and run charter flight mission to Brisbane could become the NRL’s norm, even post the coronavirus crisis.
Arthur has given rugby league’s strict travel restrictions the thumbs up after the Eels successfully navigated their quickfire trip north of the border to beat the Broncos.
After leaving Sydney at 2pm on Thursday afternoon and playing 80 minutes that night, the Eels arrived home at 2am while the players weren’t in bed until 3am.
It made it a long and intense day for the Parramatta players and staff, but Arthur enjoyed the process and says a charter flight for away games has merit moving forward.
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“The players have all given it a massive tick,” Arthur told The Saturday Telegraph.
“I saw the boys in recovery on Friday morning and I’ve spoken to the leadership group and they said they loved it.
“It is a very thorough process, but I think all teams that do the travel will enjoy it and will probably prefer it as being the normal.
“The NRL have done a great job. Obviously, I don’t know the cost of it and how it suits the NRL, but it works for us.
“We’ve done the charter flight in our last two games, Titans and Broncos, and it couldn’t have worked any better for us.
“It becomes a business trip. You are there for work to get the job done and come home again.”
Under the NRL’s return to play rules, the 20th man in every team’s squad is handed the unenviable task of being the ball boy.
For Parramatta, this job was given to rising playmaker Jaeman Salmon.
He has never been a ball boy in his 15 years in rugby league dating back to his junior days, but he was happy to accept the challenge.
“I didn’t know what I was doing at first, but I enjoyed having the best seat in the house,” Salmon said.
“You had to wash the ball every time it went out, but I could also watch the game closely and hear the contact.
“I was also yelling out and running on and high-fiving the players when they scored.
“This (having a ball boy) will be the norm now I guess until the restrictions get lifted.”
Arthur praised the NRL for their detailed approach to game day under coronavirus regulations.
After boarding their flight from Bankstown Airport at 2pm on Friday afternoon, the Eels arrived in Brisbane an hour later with a bus waiting to pick them up.
The players and staff had to undergo temperature checks and cleaning of their shoes before they could enter Suncorp Stadium.
Once inside the venue, the Broncos provided Parramatta players and staff with a clean room where they could relax before walking across the field to prepare for the match.
The players were deemed safe in the dressing room, but Arthur had his shoes repeatedly cleaned on his way to and from the coach’s box.
“My shoes have never been cleaner,” he joked.
“People were waiting for us at the lift and every time you went in and out of the box.”
After beating Brisbane, the Parramatta players relaxed in the sheds with hot meals and a beer before boarding a bus for the airport at 11pm.
Arthur was buggered when he got home to Sydney in the wee hours of Friday morning, but he joked that it was nothing that a little bit of sleep wouldn’t fix.
“I’ll have an hour nap before looking at all my video review work,” he said, quickly shifting his attention to Parramatta’s next round.