Parramatta mentor Brad Arthur says his players have to take their individual match-ups personally after their Penrith rivals declared they are at the top of the food chain in a battle for western Sydney supremacy.
Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai taunted Parramatta with the lasting quote of grand final week, telling them “You can call us daddy” after declaring the Panthers were no longer the little brother in Sydney’s west.
Eels coach Arthur says Luai’s cheeky jab won’t necessarily be used as extra motivation in the final hours before kick-off, because Parramatta’s search for their first premiership since 1986 means they are hardly lacking in that department.
“If we need to find areas of motivation to go and play on Sunday, we don’t deserve to be there,” Arthur said before Parramatta’s captain’s run on Friday, which took place at their Kellyville base as the club looks to maintain the rituals that helped them to the grand final.
“We’ve earned the right to be there, we’ve got plenty of motivation; a 36-year drought, playing for our fans, members, families, sponsors, everyone, but we just need to play for ourselves. They need to be selfish, they need to go after the game, they need to go and do it themselves.”
Which is why Arthur is urging his players to take their individual battles personally as they look to bring the Provan-Summons Trophy into Parramatta’s dressing room after full-time at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.
Brad Arthur wants Isaiah Papali’i to take his match-up personally.Credit:Getty
Eels back-rower Isaiah Papali’i has already provided the blueprint. The 24-year-old New Zealand international wanted to make a statement against Jason Taumalolo in last week’s preliminary final, and Arthur says he did just that to help them run down North Queensland.
Now Arthur wants more of the same from Papali’i – who should be playing his last game for the Eels amid ongoing speculation about his deal with the Wests Tigers – leading into a battle with Penrith star Viliame Kikau.
“It’s now or never. We’ve got to take it personally, after that 80 minutes we don’t get a redo or another opportunity at it, we’ve got the opportunity and we’ve got to make the most of it,” Arthur said.
“Both [Papali’i and Kikau] like to play a physical, power-based game. Look at Kikau and the development in his game, his work rate in defence, he has become a very good defensive player because his natural ability is what he did with the footy.
“Ice is a well-rounded player. Ice comes up with a lot of effort areas that not a lot of people would see. He’s very good for Mitchell [Moses] defensively, and systematically he gets it right the majority of the time for us.”
Moses has one of the biggest roles to play as Parramatta look to spring an upset against a Penrith side favoured to claim back-to-back titles.
The Eels halfback is well aware of the pressure on his shoulders – and on his boot – and Arthur is confident he will be able to rise to the occasion in his encounter with the game’s premier halfback in Nathan Cleary.
“Some of the things he has gone through this year that you guys wouldn’t know about and the injuries he has played through, he has played tough and put his body on the line for his teammates,” Arthur said.
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