He's not deluded at all. He's trying to preserve his dignity and future employability. Whilst we may all want him to come out and admit its been a bit of a mess this year, you can hardly expect him to do that.

Is there any natural captain in the squad? Croft doesn't seem to have much of a voice on the field. You can see why being chief playmaker didn't work for him at the Broncos. Frawley would seem to check the right boxes for captain except there's not much evidence he can actually play to any standard.

We won’t know the true story about RS until some time has passed and the players talk, like happened before with Brian Mac and others.

Arthur is the most credible candidate by some distance to my mind; and a rare opportunity for a SL club to sign someone of his background. Having said that he won’t be the messiah either and there are no guarantees.

From where we’ve been, I just think Leeds need to get the odds more in their favour now and stop winging it on projects and unproven players or coaches.

Just said the same to a colleague this morning, Hetherington has made a series of very poor decisions over the last few years which has damaged the club and set us back considerably. He absolutely needs to shoulder a lot of the blame here. Thankfully Blease should sort this out going forward and i do wonder if he is also lined up for CE role in the future at some point.

Spot on Jim, agree. Arthur or Rowley for me, Holbrook is also one to watch too imo. Good coach. I think Leeds will act quickly here and i would expect an appointment made over next week or 2.

Rowley would be my choice, if he wants to come. Even if that means waiting until the end of the season.

As I said previously in another threasd, I dont get this lovefest for Arthur. I watch the NRL and have supported Parra since I was there in '89. Been some highs and lows, similar to being a Rhino's supporter although in my time of watching them they havent had the same success we had with the golden generation (but not many have).

Brad Arthur had a significant tenure as the head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, spanning over a decade. He first became the interim head coach in 2012 and took over full-time in 2014. Throughout his time with the Eels, Arthur's coaching record included leading the team to the finals multiple times and reaching the grand final in 2022. However, his overall performance was mixed, with the team experiencing both highs and lows under his leadership.

Arthur's coaching record by season is as follows:

(EDIT)
TLDR: Parramata only made the play offs 5 times in 10 attempts.

2012: 2 wins, 4 losses (interim head coach)
2014: 12 wins, 12 losses
2015: 9 wins, 15 losses
2016: 13 wins, 11 losses (affected by a points deduction due to salary cap breaches)
2017: 16 wins, 10 losses (lost in the semi-finals)
2018: 6 wins, 18 losses
2019: 15 wins, 11 losses (lost in the semi-finals)
2020: 15 wins, 7 losses (lost in the semi-finals)
2021: 16 wins, 10 losses (lost in the semi-finals)
2022: 18 wins, 10 losses (lost in the grand final)
2023: 12 wins, 12 losses
2024: 3 wins, 7 losses (dismissed mid-season)

Arthur's overall coaching record with Parramatta stood at 137 wins and 127 losses, with a win percentage of approximately 52%​ (Wikipedia)​​ (National Rugby League)​​ (Sporting News)​.

Despite these accomplishments, Arthur was dismissed in May 2024 following a string of poor performances, leaving the Eels in 14th place on the ladder. His sacking came shortly before his 50th birthday​ (Parra News)​.

In his favor Brad Arthur is known for his development of young players and his tactical approach to the game.

How this would translate into Super League, no one knows but his record is hardly outstanding, and win loss ratio almost the same as the departing RS. Even comparing his W/L to other NRL coaches he doesnt fare too well. I'm not saying he will be a bad appointment but i wont be overly excited if he does sign.

Rowley for me followed by Arthur , unless we go for an old prop who played a few games but I remember as being injured a lot and get S.Wane !

Please not Wane.

Out of possible likely options
Wane has ruled himself out of any change of job.
Wire offered Holbrook a deal worth in excess of £300k p.a. And he turned them down.
McNamara may be looking for a change , I’ve yet to see a comment on here saying anyone wants him as Leeds coach, so hopefully he is a non-starter.
One thing about Aussie coaches is what is family situation, Hull have gone for Cartwright , who at his age I’d expect all kids are grown up , that is a risk removed. You then have his /wife parents situation as a possible risk.
Rohan had a very young family , as wife was missing home and the day job is not going well , life is difficult.
Arthur has 2 sons playing in NRL , don’t know about anything else but that is far better than very young kids.
Demetriou , I’ve no idea but if you live for 10 years in wakey, you are used to living in grim Dickensian circumstances, so he will probably be fine, regardless.
I’ve no idea if these 2 would work or Rowley.
But given Arthur is likely to be expensive, JD looks risky and as Tad said, Rowley is in the UK, knows the SL and Blease knows him and he turned down FC, I’m guessing he will get the gig.
Whether he can come mid season could be the stumbling block.
Interesting times.