NRL 2024: Inside Matt Arthur’s journey from small ball boy to the a first grade debut for Parramatta Eels

Matt Arthur was once told he was too small to be a ball boy for Parramatta. Now the NSW under-19s co-captain will achieve his dream when he takes to the field for the Eels on Saturday.

As a six-year-old, Matthew Arthur was told by the NRL that he was too small to be a ball boy for the Eels.

Unperturbed, young Arthur came back the following year.

“He’s always been the smallest, so he’s always had to be tough and resilient,” Arthur’s mother, Michelle, told this masthead.

When he was 13, the son of former Eels coach Brad Arthur lined up for a gruelling 5km pre-season training run on the Central Coast.

The shock of Jarryd Hayne finishing last made headline news.

The tenacity of little Arthur finishing inside the top-10 and ahead of superstars like Hayne has never made more sense than now.

“From a very young age, he said he was going to be a footballer and that was it,” Michelle said.

Matthew Arthur with his brother Jake, sister Charlotte, mother Michelle and girlfriend Georgia at the jersey presentation ahead of his Parramatta Eels debut. Picture: Eels

“He is the hardest worker. He’s very much like Brad. When he sets his mind to something, there’s no changing his mind.

“The sacrifices he has made, especially in the last couple of years when his mates have been going out, he has never gone as he has had his eyes on the prize.”

Fighting back tears as he received his NRL debut jersey, Arthur peered down at the Eels playing kit that he has been looking up to since he was five.

The NSW under-19s co-captain will achieve his dream first grade debut against the Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night.

Interim Eels coach Trent Barrett said Arthur’s tenacity, work rate and dummy-half skill made the decision an easy one to deliver.

Matthew Arthur playing under-19s Origin. Picture: NRL Photos

Mother Michelle, sister Charlotte, brother Jake and girlfriend Georgia struggled to contain their emotion during his jersey presentation with the entire Parramatta squad on Friday.

The 19-year-old’s father Brad chose not to attend, respectfully declining an invitation to be part of the moment, for fear of this story being about him, and not the hard work of his son.

“It was a shame Brad wasn’t there, but I think everyone understands,” Michelle said.

“I held it together all right, my daughter and his girlfriend, both ended up in tears.”

Asked how Brad would feel when Matt runs onto the field on Saturday, Michelle replied: “I think he will be very emotional.

“He’s so proud and he’s so happy for him, but it is a little bit hard too.

“In saying that though, it probably is best for Matt and the family that it is a different coach giving him his debut.’’

Brad told this masthead simply: “Everyone thinks he’s had a rails run because of my position, but the reality is that he’s had to work harder than anyone else because the microscope is always on them.

“I’m so proud of how hard he’s worked to get here.”

Matthew Arthur as a 13-year-old beating Jarryd Hayne in a Eels training run in 2018.

As Michelle spoke in front of the Parramatta playing group, it dawned on her how Matt had spent almost as long inside the Eels inner-sanctum than what he has at home.

“So many of those boys helped us raise him. He’s been at Parramatta forever,” Michelle said.

“He’s been running around at the club since he was five, when we came with Mooks (former Eels coach Stephen Kearney in 2011).

“I just said how proud we were and thanked the coaching staff for believing in him.

“And really thanked the boys for looking after him.

“They’ve helped him grow into the man and player he is.

“He’s always looked up to them.

“Junior’s (Paulo) the one that has been there right from the very beginning.”

(L-R) Lachlan Kanakis, Matthew Arthur & Brad Arthur at a Parramatta Eels when Brad was an assistant coach.

The achievement caps an extraordinary 10 days in his life, with his debut coming in the wake of scoring a try in the under-19 Blues win over Queensland.

Arthur grew up a passionate Queensland fan, having been born in Cairns and with fellow hookers Cameron Smith and Harry Grant his heroes.

Arthur began idolising Smith in particular when Brad was an assistant at the Storm in 2009.

“The first five years of his life were around Cameron down in Melbourne. Cameron was so good to him,” Michelle said.

“However, the NSW 19s experience has completely converted him away from Queensland.

“He sat in all his Blues training kit last Wednesday night.”