The Parramatta Eels are about to land in hot water as $4.2m of the club's current roster will be off contract at the end of the season.
Additionally, players will be free to negotiate their future with contending clubs after November 1.
NRL 360 panelist Brent Read believes that the next few weeks are of extreme importance in order to retain seven of their key-players that come off-contract at the end of the season.
"It doesn’t get any easier against the South Sydney side next up and it is a really critical three months for them,” Read said.
"They are clinging to a place in the top four. On November 1 they have about $4.2 million worth of talent that is up for grabs led by Clint Gutherson.
“Dylan Brown has an option on his deal, Reed Mahoney, Ryan Matterson Isaiah Papali’i and Marate Niukore.
“Beyond the finals up until November 1 it is a really crucial period for this club because they are going to come under siege when these players become available."
🔵 Parramatta Eels' chances of finishing top-4
▪️ After Round 18: 81.9%
▪️ After Round 19: 61.4%
▪️ After Round 20: 30.7%#NRL | #PARRAdise pic.twitter.com/6CnujeF8Np— Stats Insider (@StatsInsider) August 4, 2021
The list of players coming off-contract at the end of the season include.
- Clint Gutherson $750,000
- Dylan Brown $500,000
- Ryan Matterson $550,000
- Reed Mahoney $550,000
- Isaiah Papali'i $600,000
- Junior Paulo $700,000
- Marata Nikuore $550,000
Moreover, there are growing concerns into whether the Eels will be able to retain all of the above names.
"Do you think they will be able to keep all those guys?" Paul Kent asked Read on Wednesday night.
"I can’t see how they can," Read retorted.
"I don’t see how they can either," Kent replied.
"If you look at someone like Papali’i, I think he was on $140,000," Read said.
"They are going to have to quadruple his pay packet because that’s what he will get on the open market."
The scribe from The Australian explained that even those that stood to earn less at Bankwest were being considered by rivals.
"I rang around and asked and these are the figures. Niukore has clubs sniffing around him already at that ($550,000) price figure," Read said.
"I think it is impossible to keep them all. That Gutherson figure of $750,000. If you remember when Gutherson did his last deal it got pretty ugly and messy and it was played out publicly.
"In the end he took a little less to stay. I don’t think his management are in the mood to take less again. I think they will squeeze them for every cent they can get. I think $750,000 is conservative in their view about what they think he is worth."
Kent noted that the Eels don't have a lot of departing players, whether that's players retiring or heading to rival clubs.
"There is not a lot of players elsewhere at Parramatta who you say well he is retiring, he’s leaving or he is going elsewhere, so it is not like there will be a lot of room to cater for the bump ups in these contracts," Kent said.
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Former NRL great Cooper Cronk believes due to the Eels' dilemma the administration need to prioritise which players are top priority.
"Gutherson and Mahoney are the top targets for me," Cronk said.
"We have all spoken about how tough their run home is. I think this is the one game (Souths) that the Eels need to get their season on track because Parramatta’s forward pack can run through South Sydney and that’s what they need to do.
"If they can do that they might get their season back on track."
On Friday, the Parramatta Eels will take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a bid to end their two game losing streak after last weekend enduring a rough 28-0 defeat at the hands of the Roosters.
The next two-games are must win games for the Eels who are currently hanging on to 4th place.
