The Parramatta Eels have been a team of peaks and valleys this season, however, head coach Brad Arthur hopes a brutal honesty session is just what the team needs to straighten themselves out before finals.
The inconsistent Eels have been a frustrating team to watch this year. Able to best the likes of the Panthers and Storm one week, only to turn in a dismal effort the next.
On the eve of the finals, Arthur met with second-rower Shaun Lane in an attempt to diagnose the club's bizarre on and off-again form.
“He asked me into the office and felt like I’d been one of the more consistent players in the team over the second half of the year,” Lane told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s a difficult job we do, it’s obviously high stakes and lots of pressure. You’re always sore and there might be lots of reasons why you don’t want to play sometimes. Unfortunately, the nature of the game is you have to perform and we get paid accordingly.
“To be a good footballer you have to play at times when you might not want to or things may not be going right personally or you’re not feeling well.
"That’s what the good players are able to do. He agreed with me on all of that when I said that’s how I think things should be and he relayed that information to the team."
Lane and centre Will Penisini continued to describe the brutal honesty session Arthur and the team had before their 42-6 thrashing of the Bulldogs last Saturday.
“It was a very honest discussion, we are very accountable to each other. The last two games can dictate where we end up on the ladder. It’s all up to us at this stage,” said Penisini.
“(Arthur) just thought we were getting a bit ahead of ourselves and sometimes getting complacent, thinking we’re going better than we are," Lane continued.
“He put us in our place and let us know that nothing is guaranteed, that now is the time we need to perform more than ever. We’re not kidding anyone if we’re thinking we’ve done the job yet.”
Parramatta are still a chance of breaking into the top four ahead of tonight's do-or-die clash with the Brisbane Broncos, a side that swept them 36-14 at Commbank Stadium in their last encounter.
At the very least the club would be hoping to secure a home game in Week 1 of the finals.
With star halves pairing Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown set to test their worth on the open market, 2022 could be Arthur's last chance to guide his Eels through to a Grand Final.
