Reed Mahoney has admitted the Eels turned him from a boy into a man as the departing hooker delivered an emotional farewell following their grand final loss.
Mahoney made his NRL debut at Parramatta in 2018 and has played 101 games for the club, but will now join the Bulldogs on a big-money deal.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-year deal worth $650,000 per season, but he praised Eels coach Brad Arthur for making him the footballer he is today.
“This club’s been instrumental for me, I came here as an 18-year-old, I think I’m leaving a 24-year-old I feel like I’m a man now,” Mahoney said to foxsports.com.au while sitting in the sheds after losing to the Panthers on Sunday night.
Watch every match of the Rugby League World Cup LIVE & Exclusive to Fox Sports, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
“I’ve learned a lot of things along the way and I can’t be more grateful for where they’ve put me in my life and it’s sad to end this way but I’m really proud to be Eel 794.
“He’s (Arthur) like a dad figure to me, gives me a fair few roughing ups when I need it and he’s helped me be the man I am today and the footy player I am today.
“Just really grateful, proud of the people I’ve got to know and some great players here, it’s been awesome.”
Panthers called out for ‘childish’ jabs | 01:13
MORE NRL NEWS
‘HASN’T ESCAPED OUR ATTENTION’: Star recruits leave Tigers fuming
‘OUTRAGE IS OUTRAGEOUS’: Geyer slams criticism of Panthers players on ‘no sleep’
REVIEW: How Penrith pulled off repeat… and what departing stars, cap squeeze means
DELETED POST: Panthers star ‘big chance of missing’ World Cup games
REVIEW: Eels’ dream season fell short — and now they must face a cold roster reality
The Panthers bested their cross-town rivals in the grand final, blowing the Eels out of the park in a dominant first half performance.
Mahoney had nothing but praise for Penrith, but was proud of his teammates for silencing the critics to reach the club’s first grand final since 2009.
“Yeah it hurts mate, to get this close, we just got beaten in all aspects tonight,” Mahoney said.
“We probably didn’t help ourselves a lot with field position and they took our opportunities, they’re a quality side and they deserve all the accolades that they get, we were close but not good enough.
“We had a few probably hiccups along the way but that’s footy, you can’t always be right and always be good, you probably can if you’re Penrith at the moment but footy’s a rollercoaster, it’s hard, it’s hard on your body, it’s hard on you mentally.
“We knew if we got ourselves to the finals in the top four we could go get ourselves in this position but tonight we just weren’t good enough tonight.”
Mahoney will join Viliame Kikau (Panthers) and Ryan Sutton (Raiders) in making the move to Belmore.
While he has been one of the Eels most consistent players during their charge to the grand final, Mahoney believes he only recently worked out his role within the team.
Where is the love for Dylan Edwards? | 00:45
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!
“I remember it was probably five years ago today we played in the 2017 grand final in under 20s and just probably the last couple of years I’ve really grown into my role within the team,” Mahoney said.
“It’s weird to say this but first grade it takes you 50, 60 games to understand what you do and what you need to do to get yourself ready for each game and what you need to do best for the team.”
Parramatta didn’t win anything at the Dally M Awards last week and five-eighth Dylan Brown said the snub proved they’re a champion team, not a team of champions.
Brown believes his former housemate Reed typifies what makes an Eels play and emphasised the gun hooker is a huge loss for the club.
“It’s sad to see a few boys leaving this year but onto the next, Reed’s been here four, five years now and he’s been massive for the club,” Brown said.
“His work ethic, his service is the best and honestly we’re going to miss him a lot.
‘ACT LIKE MEN’ – Kenty on Luai | 00:36
“Obviously a lot of my mates as well, I’ve lived with Reedy when I was younger and to see him go is pretty devastating but it’s league and league’s the business at the end of the day and he’s gone to chase the money.
“No, but good luck to him and I’m sure we’ll stay close.
“I think a massive thing is to realise is Dally M’s no one got an award and it showed that we’re definitely a team rather than individuals.
“The Dally M’s is obviously a massive night and it does show who the best is and congrats to all those boys but like I said we’re definitely a team.”
