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'Soul-destroying': How 2018 wooden spoon haunted NRL star

By Brad Takairangi

We host the Warriors at Bankwest this Saturday at 3pm – this game will be a beauty!

Mooks (Stephen Kearney) has his boys playing some great footy and their record away from home this year has been good.

We’re having an up-and-down season but it is way better than last year when we ran last. When we’re on I feel like we can beat anyone, but we need to do it consistently.

From first-hand experience, I can report that ‘winning’ the wooden spoon is soul-destroying, it saps all of your confidence. You’re trying so hard but nothing, absolutely nothing, comes or goes your way.

Brad Takairangi says the Eels' wooden spoon in 2018 was tough to stomach.
Brad Takairangi. Pic: Getty

Towards the end of last year, we were losing so many games I was embarrassed to leave the house. I just didn’t want to be seen out and about by anyone.

After games, I’d do the recovery stuff and go straight home. If my missus wanted to go to the shops or anything, I’d stay home. I didn’t want to be seen in public and I certainly didn’t want to talk about it.

We were close to teams a lot of the time but just couldn’t come up with that win. On some occasions, all we needed was a relieving penalty or a simple bounce of the ball. But it never happened and we finished last.

The most frustrating part was that we had a good team on paper, but things failed to click on the field. That losing feeling was terrible and nobody at Parramatta ever wants to experience it again.

Using that down period as fuel, we changed a lot of things in the lead-up to this season.

A new legacy

The club had a big camp in the country and, on one day, every player was asked to get up and present the three things that meant the most to them.

It wasn’t only the players – the coaches and the entire NRL staff got involved as well. When my turn arrived, the sessions were in full swing.

Takairangi's Eels are right in the mix to make the finals in 2019.
Takairangi has painful memories of Parramatta's wooden spoon season in 2018.

I began my presentation with a photo of me and my partner, Sara, along with our three kids Kahlia, Hurricane and Hayze (I’ll explain the kids’ names later!)

My second item was my debut Kiwis jumper while the third was a special photo collage of me and my Dad Louis, who played first grade for the Eels back in 1987.

The collage was a gift to me from a Parra fan and features an action shot of Dad, ball tucked under an arm and running towards me in a modern-day jumper. We both love it to bits.

Making the club great again was also a big part of our attitude throughout pre-season.

Everyone knows the Eels had their most famous and successful era in the ‘Eighties. The current group is trying to build things up and create our own history – a new legacy for the players and fans of today and tomorrow.

It seems like the perfect time to do it as our squad has a great mix of youth and experience. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster season so far, but everyone knows we have a team capable of going deep into September.

I believe the momentum is building week-by-week and our new ‘fortress’ – Bankwest Stadium – is going to play a vital role.

Read the full PlayersVoice article here