Parramatta Eels' head coach Brad Arthur has delivered a full blown spray at his team after a dreadful loss to the Dolphins in Darwin on Friday evening.
Parramatta, who were in the fight during a tight first half in stiffling conditions in Darwin, found themselves letting in eight straight tries during the second half to eventually fall to an embarrassing loss at the hands of a side playing with their coach stuck at home with the flu.
The loss to the Dolphins, which wound up 44-16, has left Parramatta stuck in 13th spot (provisionally) on the NRL ladder with just three wins from their first seven games.
The coach gave his side an emphatic spray after the contest.
“What's wrong with our season is that we are a part time footy team at the moment,” Arthur said, blasting his side in the post-match press conference.
“We pick and choose when we want to play and we pick and choose in the 80 minutes when we want to make a tough choice or a soft choice, because that second half wasn't good enough.
“It just all got too fast for us and too hard and we gave up, simple as that.
“There's only a handful of players at this club at the moment that choose to come every week to play with the right mentality and toughness and want to be an 80-minute footballer and the want to be an NRL player every week.”
Arthur himself has been under pressure in recent weeks with talk the club will chase Wayne Bennett. It's not the first time Arthur's role has come under question in recent seasons, with Parramatta missing the finals last year despite having played the grand final in 2022 where they fell short against the Penrith Panthers.
The Parramatta coach has slammed any talk he will be let go by the club, or need to work under a coaching director, but Parramatta, with a side holding plenty of talent, are unlikely to continue putting up with failure.
Captain Clint Gutherson agreed with his coach, not defending the playing group for the dreadful second half effort.
“Well, we are,” the disappointed captain said.
“As he said there's a handful that are doing the job every week. It's not always the same player but you can't not do your job in the NRL.
“Tonight, they scored four tries back-to-back and the game was blown out. You have to be on every single tackle in every single set.
“In the NRL games are hard to win and they showed us how to play footy up here.
“It's disappointing, especially hearing that from the coach, but it's the truth.
“You have to have tough conversations... and look at each other in the eyes."
