Incoming Eels coach Jason Ryles is expected to shake up the club by not only taking the captaincy off fullback Clint Gutherson but also moving him to a new position.
Ryles is set to hand rising star Blaize Talagi the No. 1 jersey in a bid to keep the 19-year-old at the struggling club.
Talagi put contract talks on hold due to the uncertainty surrounding a new coach after Brad Arthur’s sacking in May and the young gun has also voiced his desire to play fullback.
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The teen star is being pursued by the Knights, Dolphins and Dragons and has established himself as a centre, but Ryles’ desire to keep him is not the only reason to play Talagi at fullback.
A shift to the centres for Gutherson, who turns 30 in September, would lighten the veteran’s workload and help with his ailing knees that need fluid drained just to play.
“You have to (move Gutherson) in my opinion,” former Origin and Kangaroos enforcer Aaron Woods told The Bye Round podcast.
“I’d be putting Talagi there. You have to put Talagi there – he’s a game breaker out and out. We’ve heard in the past that Gutho (Gutherson) is willing to go to centre to bring that x-factor out the back.
“I know Gutho has a lot of energy and lifts the boys up, but you need a game-breaker to be a top four, top eight sort of side. He (Talagi) has got speed, he’s got power, quick play the balls, he’s got finesse.”
Super League and NRL legend James Graham strongly disagreed and believes Gutherson must remain at fullback despite the emergence of Talagi who debuted for the Eels in Round 3, 2024.
“For all the criticism of Clint Gutherson and his lack of ability at fullback, this is a guy who is playing in one of the bottom ranked teams,” Graham said.
“Mitch Moses has been missing for most of the year, a lot of the workload has fell on his shoulders and look where he ranks (seventh of 17 NRL fullbacks). Do you actually need that x-factor?”
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“But wouldn’t he be getting the ball a lot more trying to impact himself as much as possible,” Woods replied.
Graham argued Gutherson would be similarly ranked to Penrith star No.1 Dylan Edwards if he was playing in a team that were almost constantly on the front foot.
“It’s because he’s doing so much defence to be getting the same opportunities,” Graham said.
“Dylan Edwards gets more opportunities because his team front load their defence and he fires back. And Gutho’s been bringing it back off his own line the whole time under pressure.
“So for me I think when Jason Ryles comes in what he wants is consistency and with Gutho that’s what you get.
“Blaze Talagi comes in and we know he’s got x-factor but they’ve got enough of that with Dylan Brown, Mitch Moses, in their forwards and their edge forwards in particular that like to offload the football. With Blaize Talagi the new young fullbacks are in vogue and they’re great and they’re exciting to watch and they do the flash stuff.”
Graham advised Ryles to refrain from rushing Talagi in at the back despite the raft of current young No.1’s who are lighting up the NRL.
“I look at the make-up of the balance of the Parramatta team and I think Blaize Talagi ending up at fullback but for next year – I think they just need to take a chill pill with him and not expect too much because there’s going to be so much expectations on this young man’s shoulders,” Graham said.
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“I don’t think it’s going to suit Parramatta with where they’re at and where and where they’re aiming to be.
“As Ryles puts the building blocks in place to get Parramatta off the bottom of the table, I don’t think having inconsistent performances from a young fullback who likes to create or has that x-factor that we keep hearing about – whereas Gutherson being there and being consistent and hardworking.
“The team changes their tactics a little bit and their positions in games and Gutherson starts to play a little better and his numbers go even higher.”
Woods said he has watched Gutherson closely this year and believes Parramatta would be scoring more points with someone else at the back.
“It will depend on what sort of style Ryles wants when he comes in as well. We don’t know. We’ve never seen him head coach,” Woods said.
“Gutho, he’s busted and he needs a rest, but there’s also opportunities when they’re out the back, and I’ve watched them a couple of times, that if you’ve got someone who is a bit quicker.
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“At the moment for me Gutho is a step behind and just misses that finetuning of getting Parramatta probably a couple of tries a game which could bring them back in.
And then defensively they’ve got pressure from the scoreboard to work off. Gutherson is the energy man, and he is their heartbeat but why can’t he be their heartbeat at centre.”
Woods said putting Gutherson in the centres would allow him to continue to mentor Talagi and further help his development.
“I think definitely he would do a good job (at centre). Look at him at the moment. He’s playing busted, he’s not going to be doing 20 carries a game and it’s going to really help his longevity,” Woods said.
“They’ve still got him for another year at Parramatta and I reckon that will really help and he can help Blaize Talagi. There can be times when they switch in games and go back to fullback but he could be a great mentor to Blaize and that’s what he’s been doing.
“As I said, in the last 18 months he’s really spoke about ‘we need x-factor out the back’. It’s come from his mouth, Jimmy. They need that person that can break a game open.”
Source Agencies
