The Parramatta Eels have suffered a difficult start to the NRL season. Just three wins from their opening eight games has led to head coach, Brad Arthur, facing questions about his future. Now a Super League coach has been tipped to replace him.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph in Australia, Arthur has dismissed claims he is about to resign from his position. He stated, “I won’t be walking away from anything. Never.
“I’m not going to walk out on the team. We’ll fight our way out of it. The club can make whatever decision they feel is right, but I’m not walking away.”
However, now one of Super League’s biggest coaches has been linked with a move to the NRL to save the Eels’ season.
Super League man to rescue Eels?
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Current Catalans Dragons head coach, Steve McNamara, is a man in demand. In recent weeks he has been linked with both the Hull FC job, in Super League, and the South Sydney Rabbitohs job.
With Wayne Bennett likely to take the South Sydney job, that move appears unlikely to happen. However, reports have begun to emerge which link McNamara as a potential successor to Arthur at Parramatta.
McNamara has spent time in the NRL. He worked for the Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors, before returning to Super League with Les Dracs.
The editor of the Roar, an Australian sporting website, has written a piece urging Parramatta to swoop for McNamara. In the piece, Mike Meehall Wood writes: “It has to be Steve McNamara.
“The 52-year-old, who has been with Catalans Dragons in Super League since 2018, is the pre-eminent coach not to have already worked in the NRL, and should be top of mind to anyone looking for a new coach”, he said.
“On CV alone, he should be the top of anyone’s list for the next NRL head coaching job that becomes available and if McNamara had been born in Hurstville rather than Hull it wouldn’t even be a debate.”
Before concluding, “Parra should swoop and swoop fast.”
Eels not fit enough for NRL
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If McNamara does take the job, the first thing he will have to do is improve the Eels’ fitness. A string of defeats have led to the being dubbed a 40-minute side. In his interview with the Telegraph, Arthur addressed these claims. He vehemently denied they lacked fitness.
“It’s got nothing to do with our fitness or that we’re getting tired,” he asserted.
“We’re not managing the game properly. We’re beating ourselves with second-half fade outs and we’ve got to fix it. The bottom line is we’ve got to play for 80 minutes.”
