Parramatta Eels star Reagan Campbell-Gillard has been a crucial part of the club's recent success and when the prop signed an extension with the Wester Sydney team in 2021 not a single fan or pundit batted an eyelid.
Signed by the Eels in 2020 after a stellar first five years in the league as a Penrith Panther, Campbell-Gillard's future with Parramatta came under the spotlight when in 2021 the prop declined his player option for 2022 to test free agency.
While Campbell-Gillard admits it was nice to know how much he's worth in the open market, it was a conversation with Parramatta coach Brad Arthur that was the catalyst for his three-year extension.
“It was 100 per cent true I wasn’t going to take up that option, it was for 2023, and my manager said, ‘He’s about to play his third season here, but he won’t be taking up the fourth year’,” Campbell-Gillard told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It wasn’t ideal the news got out, but my manager was just doing his job. You have to test your worth and see if there’s still interest out there in the market. You know deep down what you’re worth.
“Brad was on holidays at the time, he didn’t have reception, but he still managed to track me down. I remember the chat. He wasn’t too happy. Brad wanted me to stay, I wanted to stay, we both wanted to get a deal done and a deal was done.
“I had to work out if I was chasing cash or wanting to win games. That was my thought process. I wanted to win games and enjoy football, and I was enjoying my football here. Had I won three or four premierships, it’s a different story when it comes to [contemplating] going to a brand-new franchise. And the lifestyle sounds appealing. But this is the team where I really want to win a premiership.”
Campbell-Gillards new deal, which will see him with the Eels until the end of 2025, has him expected to earn $800,000 every year starting in 2023.
Lined up alongside his dominant prop partner Junior Paulo for Sunday night's clash against the St George Illawarra Dragons, Campbell-Gillard expects to improve upon a stellar 55 minutes against the Storm last Saturday, where the Eels outlasted the powerhouse club in a golden point thriller.
