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Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur was happy with his teams 38-10 win over the Brisbane Broncos at Bankwest Stadium and says winning comes down to individual motivation.
Here’s what he had to say in his post-match press conference.
On the Eels’ turnaround
“It was great tonight. I think we showed we can play when we actually want to but it’s making sure we have the same desire and intent and attitude week in week out,” Arthur said.
“I made some harsh comments last week about the type of team we are but we still haven’t proven we’re a fulltime team yet. Next game we have to come with the same mentality and if we do that and we’re not good enough, I can live with that. We’ll get better as a footy team with our execution and bits and pieces of how we play if we give ourselves an opportunity, but we can’t be doing that every second week,” Arthur said.
“The response was great but I didn’t plan to go in looking for a response (by saying the Eels are a part time team), I was just asked a questions and honestly that’s where we are at, at the moment. One week we are there, the next week we are not. It’s not good enough.
On what changed for the team
“It has got nothing to do with what I said last week. They were good tonight I thought the boys; they played really well with plenty of intent and energy. Early, it went set for set for set and then we got some decent field position, we set them up and hung in there, got some decent field position and on the back of that we scored the first time we got down there so I was pretty pleased with that,” Arthur said.
On the team being more consistent in the future
“I think it has got to be an individual thing. Individually we have to challenge ourselves. It’s not my job to motivate them every week. They’re professional sportsmen. I know it’s tough and they put their bodies on the line every week but we have to individually motivate ourselves,” Arthur said.
On standout players from the game
“It’s hard to pick out anyone in particular but I thought the middles worked really hard, they have a strong middle and we had a big emphasis on shutting them down and I thought our middles did well. Our back five, even though they sort of went out after us early and probably got on top of us in the first ten minutes, but I thought our back five just persisted and persisted and opened the game up for us,” Arthur said.
On Josh Hoffman’s injury
“He’s gone off to hospital but I think he will be okay. I spoke to Hoffy and he seemed to be all right. He was in good spirits and ripping into me so he seemed to be alright,” Arthur said.
Eels football manager Craig Sultana said it was a neck injury and he has gone to hospital as a precaution but the signs are positive as he had feeling everywhere.
On Nathan Brown’s performance
“He definitely takes pressure off our halves because he takes control of that middle third and particularly out of the red zone with kick returns; he’s got a fair bit of responsibility there and helps a young dummy half in Reedy (Mahoney) and Salmon back in there today did a good job. Browny just sort of steadies the ship there through the middle and allows the others to focus on getting to the end of their sets with the kicks or their push,” Arthur said.
On Blake Ferguson possibly being picked for State of Origin
“I thought he was great tonight, Fergo. He got back on the inside shoulder to defend the front, he played the ball strong, and yeah he was great. He obviously sets the standard with the start of the set and he’s got a bit of experience so I would like to see him picked. I’m impressed with how he plays for Parramatta, that’s what impresses me. And if he gets an opportunity great and I’m sure Fergo will give it his all,” Arthur said.
On Dylan Brown returning
“He’s training really well and he’s tracking really well but we don’t want to rush him, but all indications are that’s the plan (for him to return next game),” Arthur said.
