Coach Brad Arthur left stranded by Eels officials to cop questions about salary cap issues

FOR two and a half years now, Brad Arthur has been the rock at Parramatta, surrounded by a rubble, writes Paul Crawley.

Brad Arthur coach of the Parramatta Eels rugby league team arrives at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta ahead of a closed training session. Pic Brett Costello

FOR 2½ years, Eels coach Brad Arthur has been the rock at Parramatta, surrounded by a rubble.

You saw again on Friday why players like Kieran Foran think so highly of him.

You can only wonder what the Parramatta players must think of the rest of the people in charge of this strife-torn club right now.

The fact that no Parramatta official or chairman Steve Sharp turned up with Arthur on Friday to front the media and answer questions over this week’s latest salary cap allegations only pointed out why this club is in desperate need of a major overhaul at administration and board level.

Why should a coach be left to face the music on his own when these alleged dodgy deals are not of his or the players’ making?

While Arthur was never going to run away from his obligations to try to get the fans to Saturday’s home game against the Cowboys, someone else should have been strong enough to join him and at least give those same fans some understanding of where the club is at with this latest investigation. Just as importantly, they need to explain why the fans should continue to stay loyal to a club that crashes from one disaster to the next in record time.

Brad Arthur talks to the media about the club’s salary cap problems. Pic Brett Costello

But instead of lending the coach any support on Friday, Arthur was forced to stand there and cop the questions like he was the sole person responsible for the latest scandal.

In actual fact, it is a coach’s job to try to convince players to come and play for a club, which Arthur has done.

The financial workings and legalities of those deals are signed off on at another level.

That is why Arthur should not have been left stranded on Friday.

Maybe, like Arthur, there might not have been a great deal they could have said with the investigation ongoing.

But just turning up would have been a statement in itself.

Originally published as Coach Brad Arthur left stranded by Eels officials to cop questions about salary cap issues