Having lived under a house of cards, Beau Scott knows one when he sees one.
And he says the walls are not crumbling at Parramatta.
Early this week the Eels receive some welcome news when it is announced that the club will not be docked four competition points after meeting the NRL’s list of corporate governance requests.
After being fined $465,000 last year for salary cap breaches, the club was ordered to undergo an independent review and get its front office in order.
It’s believed the club has met the compliance requests and is set to receive a boost ahead of their NRL season opener against Brisbane at Pirtek Stadium on Thursday.
While the NRL has yet to sign off, it appears the Eels will be given the all clear ahead of a season which holds so much promise after a forgettable couple of years.
The Eels were in disarray in 2015, a year that saw them endure their salary cap scandal and almost let star recruit Kieran Foran slip through their fingers after a contract bungle.
But after resolving their issues with the NRL, landing Foran, as well as Scott, Michael Jennings and Michael Gordon in an aggressive recruitment drive, the side suddenly looks like top eight material.
Scott was at Newcastle during their horror 2014 season, during which owner Nathan Tinkler departed, Alex McKinnon suffered a devastating neck injury and coach Wayne Bennett announced his premature exit.
The NSW Origin back-rower said he saw no evidence of the Eels’ recent dramas extending onto the training paddock and declared the club was ready to put its recent woes behind them.
“We haven’t even spoken about it as a playing group,” Scott said.
“We’ve just done what we can control and that’s work hard and prepare for this Thursday.”
It was this week suggested that Scott’s fellow back-rower and former Blues teammate Anthony Watmough could be forced into early retirement because of a setback in his rehabilitation from knee surgery.
Watmough is still struggling to train after undergoing surgery on his medial ligament last year and will miss the start of the season.
The 32-year-old was last week forced to fend off rumours he was considering retiring with three years still to run on his contract.
Scott said his teammate was determined to get back on the field and he had seen no indication he was about to hang up his boots.
“He’s doing his best to come back from his injuries and I’m looking forward to running out alongside him,” Scott said.
