After this weekend’s bye, the Eels face Brisbane at home, Melbourne at Suncorp for Magic Round, South Sydney away and then table-topping Cronulla at home. Moses could still be out for up to a month, meaning the season could slip away before the gun duo return.
The issue for Arthur is there is no ready-made replacement for either. Blaize Talagi has been earmarked as Gutherson’s long-term successor at fullback. However, he is only 19 and his roles in his four NRL games to date have been in the centres, at five-eighth or off the bench.
Further, he wasn’t even named in the No.1 jersey for last weekend’s reserve grade win over Blacktown, with Zac Cini preferred. The former Tiger hasn’t been able to add to his four first-grade appearances since joining the club.
Bailey Simonsson is another option, but the former Raider is more accustomed to playing in the centres or on the wing.
The Eels have signed Zac Lomax, the ideal person to fill in for Gutherson, on a four-year deal but it doesn’t start until next year. They have the desire and salary cap space to accommodate him immediately, but the Dragons have no intention of parting with their form player ahead of schedule.
Internally, there has been talk at the Eels about a succession plan for Gutherson at fullback. Talagi is an option, although there are no guarantees he will be at the club beyond this season. The talented teen has an option in his contract that he can trigger should he choose to do so, although he will undoubtedly allow it to lapse, knowing it represents a payday below his market value.
His manager has been in discussions with the Eels about a more palatable deal, but they haven’t been able to find a landing point yet. Rival clubs are watching the situation with interest.
It is a tricky situation for Parramatta. Talagi is keen to prove himself at fullback, while the club is mindful of not throwing him in before he is ready. It’s a similar balance they’ve tried to strike with Ethan Sanders.
The reluctance to pick Sanders as soon as Moses was unavailable – the junior representative half made his NRL debut only last week – is a decision that ultimately drove him out of the club. Feeling there was a better pathway to the top in the nation’s capital, Sanders will join Canberra from next year.
Gutherson’s absence leaves a vacuum. As co-captain, Junior Paulo is an option to fill in as sole skipper, but has been predominantly coming off the bench and isn’t on the field for the duration. Moses would ordinarily be an option but is unavailable, while the responsibility of filling in for the halfback already appears enough of a burden for Dylan Brown.
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So who will be the fullback? Captain? Goalkicker?
When colleague Christian Nicolussi put those questions to Arthur, his response was: “I’ll leave that in the too-hard basket for a few days.”
Arthur’s eventual answers will determine Parramatta’s immediate future. And his own.
