Saturday, March 27, 2004
Grothe left because of injury dispute
The Daily Telegraph today revealed that Eric Grothe left Parramatta after the 2000 season because he and coach Brian Smith disagreed over the knee injury that the rampaging winger was carrying at the time.
"It was just a bit of a misunderstanding and a disagreement . . . it happens a lot. Its all in the past now and I've grown up a little bit since then too. I treat injuries a bit better than I did then.
"It was a disagreement and it wasn't a perfect ending but that's just the way it went. I saw [Smith] a couple of weeks after it and we were just talking like normal. It was all good. No one held any grudges there."
The article said Grothe came to Parramatta on the same money as he was on at the Roosters because he thought there would be more opportunities for him at the Eels.
"There were so many good players in my position at the Roosters I couldn't really see myself getting a good, solid go there," Grothe told the Tele.
He credited Rooster coach Ricky Stuart for "helping me find some mental toughness that I never thought I had."
"It was just a bit of a misunderstanding and a disagreement . . . it happens a lot. Its all in the past now and I've grown up a little bit since then too. I treat injuries a bit better than I did then.
"It was a disagreement and it wasn't a perfect ending but that's just the way it went. I saw [Smith] a couple of weeks after it and we were just talking like normal. It was all good. No one held any grudges there."
The article said Grothe came to Parramatta on the same money as he was on at the Roosters because he thought there would be more opportunities for him at the Eels.
"There were so many good players in my position at the Roosters I couldn't really see myself getting a good, solid go there," Grothe told the Tele.
He credited Rooster coach Ricky Stuart for "helping me find some mental toughness that I never thought I had."
