Parramatta head coach Brad Arthur has defended his bench rotations in the opening three rounds of the NRL season after backlash from Eels supporters.
Interchange players Bryce Cartwright and Wiremu Greig did not see any game time in Round 2 and 3 respectively which was seen as a bizarre choice to fans.
Arthur said that the Eels have faith in the fitness of his players over opposition teams and that not using all four bench players is a weekly decision.
“Going into golden point last week, we had four interchanges up our sleeve. That’s the confidence I have in the team,” Arthur said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“That with our physical presence and our fitness levels … we can get the job done.
“In those tight games, you need your best players on the field for longer periods to win them.
“I needed Junior (Paulo) and I needed Reg (Reagan Campbell-Gillard) in the Storm game.”
Arthur faced criticism for not using all his players during Parramatta’s Round 2 loss against Cronulla in which the Eels lost in the dying stages of the match.
He defended his choice to not rotate Greig at some stage in the match as he believes in tight contests, you need your star players - irrespective of how fatigued they may be.
“We didn’t use one of our interchanges in the Cronulla game when it got very tight towards the end,” Arthur continued.
“I needed my best players on the field to try and close that game out.
“I’m more than comfortable putting the whole 13 out there and leave them on for 80 minutes if we had to.”
The Eels will look to improve to 3-1 when they host St George at Commbank Stadium on April 3.
More in NRL
Dragons blitz the Titans in dominant win
St George Illawarra have had a dominant win against the Gold Coast Titans last night
Thurston and Leniu altercation overshadows Roosters win against Broncos
A verbal altercation between Spencer Leniu and Johnathan Thurston has overshadowed the Roosters victory
NRL hopeful that Bears bid may claw its way back to the table
The NRL remains hopeful that the WA Government will come back to negotiate a deal for an NRL license