Sad text message emerges in NRL coach Brad Arthur’s sacking

Brutal details have emerged about the sacking of former Eels coach Brad Arthur with one damning text message emerging.

Eels coach Brad Arthur. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

Brutal details have emerged about the sacking of former Eels coach Brad Arthur after his axing on Monday.

It has been revealed Parramatta made a secret play to steal Wayne Bennett from the Rabbitohs in recent weeks after quietly making a decision to let Arthur go.

The decision to sack Arthur was made by the club weeks ago while he was being told by club officials that he still had time to save his bacon.

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According to reports, the board made a decision on Arthur’s fate after their 32-18 loss to Manly in Round 8.

The Eels are on a four-match losing streak and were humbled 48-16 by the Storm during Magic Round over the weekend in Brisbane.

Despite this, Arthur never saw the axe coming.

A sad text message sent by Arthur emerged on Monday night, showing the former Manly assistant coach was given no heads up the rug was about to be pulled from underneath him.

Leading journalist Danny Weidler said on Monday night Arthur had sent him a SMS just hours before the coach was told by Parramatta chairman Sean McElduff at 4pm (AEST) that he’d been terminated.

Brad Arthur desperately needed Mitchell Moses back on the field. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

“Can I just say how blindsided Brad Arthur was,” Weidler said on Channel 9’s 100% Footy.

“I texted him at 9.09am this morning just to check how he was going because obviously he’d had a tough loss and a tough weekend and he said, ‘I’m all good mate. I’ve been here before. We will dig our way out like we have done in the past’.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Buzz Rothfield reported on Fox League’s NRL 360 exactly how the call between Arthur and McElduff went down - including the surprising detail of the decision being made back on May 1.

“At 4pm this afternoon at their HQ, Brad Arthur was called in for a meeting with Jim Sarantinos and Sean McElduff the chairman, and he was informed straight off the bat that his contract has been terminated,” Rothfield said.

“They then rang the senior playing group - the Guthersons, the Moses, etc - explained their decision and then the rest of the top 30. They then sent a text message out.

“The interesting part of this story was they’ve told me they made the decision they were gonna finish up with Brad on May 1, so after the Darwin debacle where they were flogged by the Dolphins (on April 19).

“They were then touched up by Manly at Brookvale Oval (on April 26). After that game the board made a decision that Brad Arthur would finish up this year.”

Arthur’s comments after the Storm thumping also showed no signs the coach was about to be shown the door.

Wayne Bennett. Picture: NRL Photos

Arthur’s time came to an end on Monday.

Arthur labelled the loss “embarrassing” in a frosty press conference, but also said he believed he was still the best coach to get the club out of its tailspin.

“It’s going to be the same but I’ll never walk away from a fight and we’re going to keep fighting hard,” he said.

“I still believe in this team but they need to believe in themselves and believe they can get themselves out of it with one set of six in defence.

“I do (know there will be external pressure). The facts will be at the end of the year but we need to get better at managing the game while we have Mitch out to allow us to not have those periods of 10-15 minutes where we are under the pump.

“It’s five minutes after the game but there hasn’t been any indication from the club (that he’s under pressure). All they want to do is get around us and support the players, coaches and the rest of the team but at the end of the day, what matters is what we do for the 80 minutes on the field.”

Bennett, meanwhile, was known to be holding meetings with South Sydney during Magic Round but News Corp reported on Monday Bennett had rejected an offer from the Eels, also made across the weekend in Brisbane.

The Dolphins boss told McElduff and CEO Jim Sarantinos he was committed to returning to South Sydney even if Arthur was about to be sacked, according to The Courier-Mail’s Pete Badel.

The Eels’ biggest problem is that there appear to be no obvious front runners to head hunt as options to replace Arthur.

Eels Coach Brad Arthur hugs Clint Gutherson. Photo: Mark Evans.

Bulldogs head of football Phil Gould on Monday questioned the timing of the Eels’ decision.

“I found it strange because they’re on the verge of having Mitchell Moses back,” he said on Channel 9.

“I’ve been saying for a couple of months, things will turn around when they get their halfback. It’s a funny thing with this competition, there are some teams, when their main-man is down, they can’t score a try, let-alone win a game and that’s been the case since Mitchell Moses has been out.

“I thought they might have given him time once Mitchell Moses had come back to see if there was any improvement, but that was a poor result on the weekend. I’ve seen promise in a few of their performances of late, but on the weekend I can imagine that left a sour taste in officials’ mouths and that’s why they’ve made the decision.”

He went on to say: “It won’t fix them in the short term. That’s for sure. They do get Mitchell Moses back, but Parramatta’s got some thinking ahead of their next decision for a head coach and the direction of the club.”

Gould also said the Arthur seems certain to get a job at another NRL club because he is one of the few experienced coaches on the market without a contract beyond the 2024 season.

“The pool’s not very big, particularly looking for experienced, successful coaches,” he said.

“They’ve all got jobs. That’s why they’ve got jobs because they’re experienced and they’re successful. So you’ve either got to take a gamble on a rookie or you’ve got to have someone who’s done it before and failed and looking for a second or third opportunity.

“The pool’s not great. That’s why I look at Brad Arthur. Brad Arthur will get a job somewhere else. He’ll get a job somewhere else for sure.”

Arthur has led Parramatta since 2012, taking them to the 2022 Grand Final, but they are currently 14th on the ladder with a 3-7 record.

Interim head coach Trent Barrett will lead the club for the remainder of the 2024 season.