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Eels coach savages 'leak' agenda after brutal NRL demolition

Eels coach Brad Arthur (pictured left) speaking to the media after the NRL Finals.
Eels coach Brad Arthur (pictured left) let rip at the 'agenda' leak this week ahead of his team's 40-4 smashing of the Raiders in the NRL finals. (Image: Fox Sports)

The Eels made a statement on Friday night after obliterating the Raiders but coach Brad Arthur turned his attention post-match to the "agenda" reportedly being driven by people within his own club.

The Eels blew Canberra off the park on Friday in a 40-4 win to set up a trip to Townsville to face North Queensland next week, with a spot in the grand final up for grabs.

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The win was just Arthur's third finals victory in 10 games at the club and followed a tumultuous 24 hours in the build-up to their meeting with the Raiders.

However, Arthur took aim at accusations of nepotism within the club.

A day before they faced the Raiders, an internal document from a meeting last month, which claimed Parramatta was rife with nepotism, made its way into the public domain.

Arthur's son Jake, who has been booed by his own fans this year, was part of the 17-man squad in the semi-final win over Canberra.

And Arthur blasted the agenda against the Eels and said the 'leaked document' had a galvanising impact on the squad.

"I reckon we showed how it affected the group," Arthur said.

"Someone's got an agenda, and they're not going to break the spirit.

"There's some personal interest and whoever's got the agenda, you're not going to break this group. We've worked too hard.

Mitchell Moses (pictured) celebrates a conversion in the Eels victory over the Raiders.
Mitchell Moses (pictured) was instrumental in the Eels victory over the Raiders at CommBank Stadium. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

"We've dealt with plenty in the past - it's only a couple of years ago we had other dramas.

"We didn't even address it, we didn't talk about it. It's something we can't control, and it's rubbish.

"The boys just want to go and have a bit of fun and play for each other, and that's what they're doing."

Eels demolish Raiders in NRL finals thumping

A Mitchell Moses masterclass helped the Eels to arguably the most dominant performance of the season.

The performance came despite losing centre Tom Opacic to a hamstring injury along with Mitchell Moses to a HIA.

Maika Sivo celebrates with team mates after a try scored by Marata Niukore.
Maika Sivo celebrates with team mates after a try scored by Marata Niukore. (Getty Images)

Moses, who was concussed in last week's loss to Penrith, returned to action late in the second half but the prognosis on Opacic was less positive.

"It probably doesn't look great, but we'll have to wait and see," Arthur said of his centre.

The Eels will take a charter flight to Townsville on Wednesday where they are playing for a spot in their first grand final since 2009.

"We've got nothing to lose," Arthur said.

"We've got an opportunity next week and we're going to go after it."

with AAP

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