NRL 2022: Eels hope Barrett can bring Cleary magic to the club

Brad Arthur is more than happy with his side’s attack, but the Eels coach hopes Trent Barrett’s arrival next year can unleash his halves.

Trent Barrett will be hoping for a better stint at Parramatta after a tough exit from the Bulldogs. Picture: NRL Photos

Parramatta coach Brad Arthur says new assistant Trent Barrett will work closely with star halves Mitch Moses and Dylan Brown when he joins the club in 2023 on a two-year deal.

Barrett has been out of the game for a few months since he parted way with the Bulldogs earlier this season, but Arthur reached out almost immediately in a bid to lure him out west.

The former representative five-eighth hasn’t enjoyed much success as a head coach with the Sea Eagles and Bulldogs, but he has shown his value as an assistant after a terrific stint with the Panthers when he looked after their attacking structures.

Trent Barrett worked his magic as an assistant at the Panthers. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“I reached out to Trent virtually a week after he was sacked to see what his plans might be moving forward,” Arthur said.

“We had a brief discussion (and I told him) when he was considering what his next option might be in the coaching ranks that he should give me a call.

“I spoke to him not long ago and he’s going to come on-board for us next year and work closely with our halves and he’ll take full reins with our attack.

“I knew he probably wanted to take a bit of gardening leave there for a while. I just wanted to make sure that I expressed my interest and I wanted to see what his options might be moving forward.

“That’s why I rang him again a few weeks ago to see where he was at with it, and he seemed keen. We met for a couple of hours and it was sorted within a couple of days, so he was obviously pretty keen to work with our playing group.”

Barrett’s experience in the halves is why Arthur wanted him at the club so he could help Moses and Brown take their games to new heights.

“I think our attack is fine. It’s just a bit of fine tuning and working closely with our halves,” Arthur said.

“He’ll be able to talk with them about his experiences in the game and some leadership stuff and how to get them around the field.

“Obviously, you’ve seen the stuff he’s done with Nathan at the Panthers, so he can only help with our investment in our two halves and our whole spine.”

In more good news for the Eels, Arthur said Moses just had to get through Thursday’s captain’s run as he looks to make an early return from the broken finger he suffered in the win over Penrith back in round 20.

Mitchell Moses had to watch on as the Eels failed to score last week. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Parramatta played the perfect half of footy that night, and while they won the following week, they were a shell of themselves last week when they were held scoreless by South Sydney.

Moses will provide a spark to their attack, but Arthur said the onus was on the big men up front to bring the physicality that has made them one of the toughest teams to beat on their day.

“We’ve had two training sessions and he’s completed both of them. We’ve got one today, so as long as he gets through that then he’ll be right to play,” Arthur said of his half ahead of Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs when the Eels look to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this year.

“I don’t think (him being out) was our issue last week. We got bashed through the middle of the field and our defence was horrible through the middle of the field. We had no physicality, and Mitchell’s not going to fix that.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Eels hope Barrett can bring Cleary magic to the club