League: Referees boss in spotlight for Eels

Daniel Anderson. Photo / Getty Images

Former long-time Parramatta chief executive Denis Fitzgerald says NRL referees boss Daniel Anderson is the best man to succeed Ricky Stuart as Eels coach.

Stuart on Thursday announced his decision to quit the club with two years left on his contract, in favour of a three-year deal at Canberra.

Speaking at the Eels' end-of-season presentation night at Rosehill Racecourse hours after the announcement, Stuart said the decision had been very difficult.

"I made a decision that's best for my career and my family and I'll wear all the criticism," he told hundreds of fans, sponsors, past and present players, coaches and management.

"I've been (character) assassinated over the last day and I'll get assassinated again tomorrow, but they are small-minded people.

"They don't understand the big decision I've had to make."

Fitzgerald, whose 30-year reign at the Eels ended in 2009, believed Anderson should be reinstated as coach - three years after being sacked by the club. "I think he's a standout," the Eels supremo told Sky Sports Radio yesterday. "As recently as 2009, he got the team to the grand final - even though there was a line through his name [in 2010] after I left.

"He's been a most successful coach in the NRL and in Australia, in New Zealand and in England. He's a Parramatta boy, he knows the ins and outs of the club and the development."

But with Anderson contracted to the NRL as head of its referees department, Fitzgerald said the move might not be possible.

"Daniel might not be interested - I don't know. But he's the best available coach that I would see to run Parramatta," he said.

"The fact that he did such a good job as recent as four years ago with Parramatta and, if anything, his experience with dealing with referees would be beneficial."

Neil Henry, Jason Taylor and Tim Sheens are among other early favourites to take over from Stuart.

Fitzgerald said appointing a coach should be at the top of the agenda for the repeat wooden spooners, who are also without a full-time chief executive and major sponsor for the 2014 season.

"The most important thing in the immediate situation is to select and appoint the best available first-grade coach," he said.

"There's a lot of work to do in terms of recruitment but that's got to be an ongoing process from where we are now, given there were 12 players who were told they weren't required for next season.

"That in itself is a big problem."

The 64-year-old said he would be happy to help the club and even take up a spot on the board if asked to do so. "Parramatta's in a deep hole at the moment and I think if they can call on anyone with experience that they think might help, they should do it.

"If that happened, I'd be happy to hold up my hand and say 'Yes, that'll be fine'. But that's unlikely to happen any time soon."

- AAP