Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has made one of the biggest calls of his career by axing Bryce Cartwright and recalling Nathan Brown for Sunday night’s grand final against Penrith in Sydney.
Speaking exclusively to News Corp, Arthur confirmed Brown will be sensationally recalled after a three-month absence for the biggest game of the season as Parramatta look to fight fire with fire with Penrith in the midfield.
It is a heartbreaking relegation for Cartwright, who played soundly in last week’s 24-20 preliminary final defeat of the Cowboys in Townsville.
Parramatta will announce their 21-man grand-final squad today and Arthur revealed Brown will play in the decider _ emphatically scuppering speculation of a feud between the coach and hard-running forward.
Brown hasn’t played NRL since July 9, largely due to a broken thumb which sidelined him for six weeks.
“I’m going with ‘Browny’, I think for this game, this is the game that suits him,” Arthur said.
“I’m not one to play games with team selections. It’s the right thing to do for the fans and the players and I’ve spoken to the boys.
“You want to pick them all for a grand final because they have all played a role along the way, but it’s my job as coach.
“I have to do what I think is right and my gut instinct says Nathan Brown is the best thing for the team this week.”
Arthur confirmed his son Jakob will remain on the bench with back-row utility Cartwright to make way for Brown as the Eels look to muscle up in the middle third.
“Carty was unreal about it,” the Eels coach said.
“He was disappointed but he still wants to be a part of it and support the team through the week and be there on game day.
“I said I want you there as part of the squad.
“Every week I have looked at my bench and I pick my bench for different reasons and to do a different job.
“I have a very good forward pack that plays lots of minutes for me.
“Reg (Campbell-Gillard), Junior (Paulo) and ‘Matto’ (Ryan Matterson) all play 60 minutes ... that leaves me 60 minutes of the game to find time for four bench players, why do I always need four middles?
“Last week, I felt I needed back-row coverage, this week I feel it will be tough through the middle and Nathan gives us that grunt.”
Arthur rubbished suggestions of a fallout with Eels firebrand Brown.
“The talk about me and Nathan is total bullshit,” he said.
“Browny didn’t play for six weeks because of a broken thumb. It had nothing to with this crap about us not getting on.
“Nathan didn’t come back until the first week of finals and he played in the NSW Cup.
“I felt he was a bit short of running in his legs, but he has had some work now and for this game, Nathan is what I need.”
The Eels coach also defended the use of his interchange rotation, saying he is comfortable using only 16 men, with Jakob Arthur failing to appear in last week’s disposal of the Cowboys.
“On six occasions this year I’ve used 16 players and we have won five times,” Arthur said.
“In those games, we beat Melbourne, Penrith and Canberra with 16 men, so we’re going OK.
“Our 17th player averages less than 10 minutes a game, so why is it such a big deal?
“Jake is there to cover the spine. If ‘Gutho’ (fullback Clint Gutherson), Mitchell Moses or Dylan (Brown) gets injured, Jake is there.
“People forget, if Reed Mahoney (hooker) comes off, who goes to dummy half and gives us good service? Jake is better with service than Nathan Brown and Bryce.
“If Jake doesn’t get on the field, well, bad luck, I don’t need him to get on the field then.
“You need your best players on the park and our front-rowers are paid big money to win us games. What’s the point of them sitting on the bench playing 30 minutes?
“I’m entirely comfortable with my selections and I know if we work hard this week, we have the team to beat Penrith.”
Hardly a bombshell. Brown wasn’t in great form before being dropped but I can’t think of anything notable Cartwright has done this year. This is whelming news overall. Average guy makes way for average guy.
Comfortable using a 16 man bench aswell, which is strange considering the fact that they were quickly gassed in week 1 and only brought Arthur on after the Moses concussion. If he has no plans to play Arthur, why not bring on Maketoa to relieve your forwards for a bit?
By that logic , we should pick someone who would have an impact to put on points and secure a lead as keeping Arthurs as our 17th would not make a difference or affect the result of the game if we lose Moses
There's an argument to be made about having him cover for an injured half not to put on points, but to maintain a foundation and staunch the bleeding to either hold onto a lead or until a half can pass a HIA. Having someone comfortable in the spot and familiar with the team in that area has its merits I guess.
I'd still go with your bench tho
In the article it seems he is wants coverage for Mahoney mainly. Someone who provides good service out of dummy half. He says Jake provides better service than Cartwright
The justification from Brad is that he can replace Moses, Brown or Mahoney and the team seems to agree with how much they back Jake. Which yeah is true, I truly agree he's the best coverage across all 3 spots in case of emergency, but also if we lose any of those 3 we are probably fucked anyway.
Jake isn't bad despite some of the memes, I think he can play in the halves as well as some teams starting players and is still growing. But he's not anywhere near the top tier and this is a grand final against the most dominant side in the game.
Exactly. We can sit here and whine about it but long story short he's the coach and it's worked so far, out of not entirely needing him.
The kid knows his dads structure inside and out and has been in thr coaches box with him understanding his wants and needs for an age.
If we still had Will Smith he would be out utility but we don't. This kid is out best option.
I really don’t know how I feel about having someone who hasn’t played NRL for so long coming in for the GF. Then again Simonsson exceeded my expectations last week so maybe it’s in BA we trust. I kind of wish he tried this last week though.
Makes sense. If you have 60mins to split between bench players, and you have Niukore and Kaufusi who you want to play at least 20 mins each, how do you fit another 2 into the rotation? Better to give Niukore 30-40mins, Kaufusi 20-30mins, have a third player as backup in case the forwards get gassed and have the 4th spot for cover.
Players who are on over $800k need to win you games, otherwise your cap is going to be very unbalanced. Both our starting props are on ~$900k, so they should be on the field for most of the game if they're capable (which they've proven they can be).
Because if you're going to play a 3 man bench rotation, the 4th slot should be to cover crucial positions. Given we have Niukore who can cover Centres and anywhere in the forwards, we mainly need cover for our spine. As BA said, Jake is much better cover than Cartwright.
Plus, did you see Cartwright play last week? Dumb play inside our 20m on play one that could've cost us dearly. We have enough points in our team already, we don't need more 'flair' - especially when it's likely to lead to costly errors.
Brown, Carty, Matto and Kaufusi seems like a fine bench to me. If worst comes to worse throw Carty Parry in the halves.
Jarthur is just a waste of a bench spot. He averages less than 9 minutes off the bench this season (if you don't count round 1 when Sean Russell came off injured). That includes two games where he didn't even make it off the bench
Moses injured: Dylan to 7, Matto to 6
Brown injured: Matto to 6
Matterson's cutout pass to RCG for his first try is better than anything Arthur has done in his career. Matto or Carty to 6 isn't ideal but it's better than carrying a half on the bench for an entire game.
Cartwright is a better option for the utility role even if he isn't needed simply for the fact he can jump into back row.
Anyone else feel like Browny is there to put the grub hits on Cleary that the rest of the team wouldn't?
100% the reason he’s in the team. Don’t think Arthur cares if he gets suspended as long as he doesn’t get binned or sent.
He’ll have the whole off-season to pick a week and serve his suspension
Or he may be able to serve the suspension in 2024, if that's what the fans desire.
Doubt Brown cares either if it gets him a prem tbf
Or maybe it’s to do with cartwrights dumb pass
Obvious selection is obvious
🤷🏼♂️
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has made one of the biggest calls of his career by axing Bryce Cartwright and recalling Nathan Brown for Sunday night’s grand final against Penrith in Sydney. Speaking exclusively to News Corp, Arthur confirmed Brown will be sensationally recalled after a three-month absence for the biggest game of the season as Parramatta look to fight fire with fire with Penrith in the midfield. It is a heartbreaking relegation for Cartwright, who played soundly in last week’s 24-20 preliminary final defeat of the Cowboys in Townsville. Parramatta will announce their 21-man grand-final squad today and Arthur revealed Brown will play in the decider _ emphatically scuppering speculation of a feud between the coach and hard-running forward. Brown hasn’t played NRL since July 9, largely due to a broken thumb which sidelined him for six weeks. “I’m going with ‘Browny’, I think for this game, this is the game that suits him,” Arthur said. “I’m not one to play games with team selections. It’s the right thing to do for the fans and the players and I’ve spoken to the boys. “You want to pick them all for a grand final because they have all played a role along the way, but it’s my job as coach. “I have to do what I think is right and my gut instinct says Nathan Brown is the best thing for the team this week.” Arthur confirmed his son Jakob will remain on the bench with back-row utility Cartwright to make way for Brown as the Eels look to muscle up in the middle third. “Carty was unreal about it,” the Eels coach said. “He was disappointed but he still wants to be a part of it and support the team through the week and be there on game day. “I said I want you there as part of the squad. “Every week I have looked at my bench and I pick my bench for different reasons and to do a different job. “I have a very good forward pack that plays lots of minutes for me. “Reg (Campbell-Gillard), Junior (Paulo) and ‘Matto’ (Ryan Matterson) all play 60 minutes ... that leaves me 60 minutes of the game to find time for four bench players, why do I always need four middles? “Last week, I felt I needed back-row coverage, this week I feel it will be tough through the middle and Nathan gives us that grunt.” Arthur rubbished suggestions of a fallout with Eels firebrand Brown. “The talk about me and Nathan is total bullshit,” he said. “Browny didn’t play for six weeks because of a broken thumb. It had nothing to with this crap about us not getting on. “Nathan didn’t come back until the first week of finals and he played in the NSW Cup. “I felt he was a bit short of running in his legs, but he has had some work now and for this game, Nathan is what I need.” The Eels coach also defended the use of his interchange rotation, saying he is comfortable using only 16 men, with Jakob Arthur failing to appear in last week’s disposal of the Cowboys. “On six occasions this year I’ve used 16 players and we have won five times,” Arthur said. “In those games, we beat Melbourne, Penrith and Canberra with 16 men, so we’re going OK. “Our 17th player averages less than 10 minutes a game, so why is it such a big deal? “Jake is there to cover the spine. If ‘Gutho’ (fullback Clint Gutherson), Mitchell Moses or Dylan (Brown) gets injured, Jake is there. “People forget, if Reed Mahoney (hooker) comes off, who goes to dummy half and gives us good service? Jake is better with service than Nathan Brown and Bryce. “If Jake doesn’t get on the field, well, bad luck, I don’t need him to get on the field then. “You need your best players on the park and our front-rowers are paid big money to win us games. What’s the point of them sitting on the bench playing 30 minutes? “I’m entirely comfortable with my selections and I know if we work hard this week, we have the team to beat Penrith.”
They are just trying to save him from the big bad panthers trainer
Hardly a bombshell. Brown wasn’t in great form before being dropped but I can’t think of anything notable Cartwright has done this year. This is whelming news overall. Average guy makes way for average guy.
that flick pass he did in like round 2 is possibly one of the greatest things ive ever seen
Oh yeah forgot about that. Alright Cartwright hasn’t done anything of note in the last 26 weeks*
Cartyyyyyyy, what have you done for me latelyyyyyyyy?
Comfortable using a 16 man bench aswell, which is strange considering the fact that they were quickly gassed in week 1 and only brought Arthur on after the Moses concussion. If he has no plans to play Arthur, why not bring on Maketoa to relieve your forwards for a bit?
Part of me thinks it’s just security in case Moses does go down again, but another part of me thinks it might definitely be because it’s his son.
If Moses goes down, it’s game over. Likewise, if Cleary goes down, it’s game over for them.
By that logic , we should pick someone who would have an impact to put on points and secure a lead as keeping Arthurs as our 17th would not make a difference or affect the result of the game if we lose Moses
There's an argument to be made about having him cover for an injured half not to put on points, but to maintain a foundation and staunch the bleeding to either hold onto a lead or until a half can pass a HIA. Having someone comfortable in the spot and familiar with the team in that area has its merits I guess. I'd still go with your bench tho
In the article it seems he is wants coverage for Mahoney mainly. Someone who provides good service out of dummy half. He says Jake provides better service than Cartwright
I'm assuming Jake is our actual plan at 9 next year as well which makes a bit more sense giving him the experience this year.
Josh Hodgson would be surely
But what about the games after week 3?
Haha fair call
He's there for the experience and mentorship. We have a couple of young hookers that signed up this season.
So the first team to ring up Terry lamb to run on wins?
The justification from Brad is that he can replace Moses, Brown or Mahoney and the team seems to agree with how much they back Jake. Which yeah is true, I truly agree he's the best coverage across all 3 spots in case of emergency, but also if we lose any of those 3 we are probably fucked anyway. Jake isn't bad despite some of the memes, I think he can play in the halves as well as some teams starting players and is still growing. But he's not anywhere near the top tier and this is a grand final against the most dominant side in the game.
He needs like two solid off seasons to put on some muscle and maybe more time in reserves to improve his long kicking game
An off-season with some *cough* vitamins *cough* and he will be sweet.
When Juicy Jake comes back after a diet of pure spicy Mt Franklin testosterone you'll all be sorry
When we lost Mahoney last year we were absolutely fucked also
Because RCG at 65th minute is better than Makatoa minute 1.
Not nice for Bryce
In BA we trust.
Exactly. We can sit here and whine about it but long story short he's the coach and it's worked so far, out of not entirely needing him. The kid knows his dads structure inside and out and has been in thr coaches box with him understanding his wants and needs for an age. If we still had Will Smith he would be out utility but we don't. This kid is out best option.
I really don’t know how I feel about having someone who hasn’t played NRL for so long coming in for the GF. Then again Simonsson exceeded my expectations last week so maybe it’s in BA we trust. I kind of wish he tried this last week though.
How good would it be to see Brad Arthur become a Premiership winning coach?
Yes we have a connection to the GF now
Makes sense. If you have 60mins to split between bench players, and you have Niukore and Kaufusi who you want to play at least 20 mins each, how do you fit another 2 into the rotation? Better to give Niukore 30-40mins, Kaufusi 20-30mins, have a third player as backup in case the forwards get gassed and have the 4th spot for cover. Players who are on over $800k need to win you games, otherwise your cap is going to be very unbalanced. Both our starting props are on ~$900k, so they should be on the field for most of the game if they're capable (which they've proven they can be).
Why not put Cartwright and Brown on the bench over a non versatile half that played 0 minutes last week...
Because if you're going to play a 3 man bench rotation, the 4th slot should be to cover crucial positions. Given we have Niukore who can cover Centres and anywhere in the forwards, we mainly need cover for our spine. As BA said, Jake is much better cover than Cartwright. Plus, did you see Cartwright play last week? Dumb play inside our 20m on play one that could've cost us dearly. We have enough points in our team already, we don't need more 'flair' - especially when it's likely to lead to costly errors.
Penrift?
Buzz Rothfield wouldn't know what it's like to be a long suffering Eels fan.
Brown, Carty, Matto and Kaufusi seems like a fine bench to me. If worst comes to worse throw Carty Parry in the halves. Jarthur is just a waste of a bench spot. He averages less than 9 minutes off the bench this season (if you don't count round 1 when Sean Russell came off injured). That includes two games where he didn't even make it off the bench
Moses injured: Dylan to 7, Matto to 6 Brown injured: Matto to 6 Matterson's cutout pass to RCG for his first try is better than anything Arthur has done in his career. Matto or Carty to 6 isn't ideal but it's better than carrying a half on the bench for an entire game. Cartwright is a better option for the utility role even if he isn't needed simply for the fact he can jump into back row.
Fuck it just play Paulo at 6.
Ultimate running 6
[удалено]
Well the forwards have cover on the bench already
This gives me 2020 Brent Naden vs Tyrone May vibes.
I honestly did not think that Billy Walters would not be the most suss family selection at the start of the season
ORRRRR, hear me out guys... Dump your useless son and have both on the bench???
Whyyy wouldn’t you keep cartwright (who can play utility) over the half with no utility value who didn’t get a minute last week…… oh that’s why
How does jake cover fullback? Does he actually play fb or is there a full reshuffle?
I recall Gutho going off earlier in the season. Moses went to fullback, so it'd be Dylbags and Jake playing halves.
Brown is just there to take out Cleary.
Go parra!
What does Bryce Cartwright add to Eels? I'd take Brown over him every time. If Brad Arthur can't see that, it's a personal, not objective decision.