Sacked Eels coach Brad Arthur has admitted that he “knew probably what was coming” when he got the phone call from club powerbrokers on Monday afternoon asking him to head in for a meeting.
Initially, he was “disappointed” with the decision made to terminate his contract effective immediately, but assured NRL 360 on Tuesday night that he doesn’t “hold any resentment” and he is “not bitter.”
Just a little over 24 hours since the bombshell story dropped, Arthur, on his 50th birthday, joined NRL 360 via a live cross to discuss the lead-up and fallout of the decision.
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“When I got the phone call to come in, I rang my manager straight away. I knew probably what was coming and I was disappointed because it’s all I know,” he said.
“I love the club, I love the players, I love my job.
“I was up at 4am this morning doing laps of the house getting ready to go to work. It’s just part of my life but now a new chapter will start for me.”
When asked if he saw the decision coming (prior to the phone call) or if he truly thought he had the backing of the board, Arthur conceded: “I thought maybe I might get to the end of the year…”
“But I get it, I signed up for it,” he added.
“Results are important, that’s what the business is driven by and the results weren’t good enough at present.
“I’m sure the boys can turn it around and I’ll be watching keenly, hoping that they do turn it around.”
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Arthur has “no regrets” about his 10-and-a-half seasons at the helm, declaring: “I wouldn’t change one bit of it.”
A highlight was guiding the Eels to a grand final in 2022 — which they lost to the Panthers.
Former Bulldogs captain James Graham drew on his own experiences of losing the 2012 and 2014 grand finals as a player and asked Arthur if the Eels spent too much time and energy on celebrating just making the decider.
“I think we really focused on enjoying the week and I’m sure that was probably our downfall,” Arthur conceded.
“We were very happy to be there. I’ve learnt from that and hopefully I get another opportunity to rectify it.
“Maybe we lost the intensity and dropped the focus around what had got us there and what we needed to do. We probably lapped it up and enjoyed it too much.”
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The Eels went from being grand finalists in 2022 to missing finals in 2023, which ultimately was the beginning of Arthur’s downfall.
Graham, again drawing on his own experiences, asked Arthur if he and the squad were guilty of thinking they had achieved something just by reaching the grand final.
“I think you’re right and I felt it,” he shared in response.
“I had some good advice around me too with people warning me of that. Craig (Bellamy) rang me to talk to me about it, Mick Ennis talked to me about it.
“You can’t change any of it now and I’m still proud of the team for getting us to a grand final — especially defying the odds. We were up at North Queensland in the heat, we were out on our feet and we defended our way to a victory… we probably played our grand final a week before.”
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As for what’s next?
“I’m going to try have a sleep-in because I haven’t done that for a while,” Arthur laughed.
But he also declared: “I just want to coach.”
“At some stage, it’s just the nature of our game that this will happen to someone else,” he added.
“It’s unfortunate — and I’m not going to prey on someone else’s job — but at some stage hopefully if there’s an opportunity that comes along I think I’ll be able to make some adjustments to the things I’ve done in the past.
“I’m really excited for what’s next for me. I feel fresh and I’m ready to go — I know it’s only 24 hours later — but I feel like I’m ready for the next adventure in my life.”
Arthur shared a close bond with many of his players and revealed the touching actions by a few after he was sacked on Monday.
“Every one of them either reached out to me over the last 24 hours via text or a ring,” he said.
“A couple of boys turned up today with a carton of beer and some flowers for (wife) Michelle.
“Junior (Paulo) was doing laps around the streets last night wanting to come over and ‘Gutho’ (Clint Gutherson) was the first to ring me.
“Hopefully I’ve made positive changes on their life, but they’ve made a real positive change on my life and provided me and my family with things I never thought was possible.”
Source Agencies
