Tim Smith: Indefinite leave

PARRAMATTA halfback Tim Smith has been granted indefinite leave from the NRL club to overcome his battle with bipolar disorder.

Smith approached the Eels this morning and advised his team-mates at training today of his plans to take time away from the sport and return to his family on the Gold Coast to recover from his mental health problems.

Smith says he has been battling with bipolar disorder for 18 months and told his team-mates he wants to get himself right before he can begin to focus on football again.

"This morning I made a request to the club to be stood down from this weekend's game," said Smith, reading from a prepared statement.

"They have granted me leave and I have just had a meeting with my team-mates to tell them of where I am at.

"I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 18 months ago. In this time I have been seeking professional advice and professional medical help to help me deal with day to day life of bipolar disorder.

"I am not using bipolar disorder for any negative things or any decisions I've made in the past. However, I am not coping well with the pressure and public scrutiny I am under."

His manager, David Riolo, said Smith had made a very brave decision but has no doubt he'll return to the NRL.

"I have no doubt he will come back," said Riolo.

"He is a quality person from a good family and he'll work hard to get back from this."

Smith has a long history of misdemeanours at the NRL club involving alcohol and spent part of the preseason in a rehabilitation clinic on the Gold Coast.

He has also suffered from depression and arrived at the club around 11am today with Riolo, two hours after the scheduled morning session.

Eels coach Michael Hagan was due to speak to the media following the session but cancelled at the last minute after noting Smith's absence.

Smith has played just three NRL games this year in his comeback from shoulder surgery and has copped the brunt of the criticism for the Eels successive losses.

But his teammates have stood behind him, with halves partner Brett Finch sympathising with the 23-year-old over the ongoing criticism.

"The continual criticism, I've had it myself in my career and it certainly gets you down and you get sick of hearing it," said Finch prior to training today.

"I thought (Smith) played pretty well on the weekend. I thought his kicking game was strong.

"I feel sorry for him because I know what he is going through, you certainly don't like to see your teammates cop that criticism all the time."

Sackings not the answer for Eels: Cayless

Eels 20 lost to Gold Coast 28

Parramatta skipper Nathan Cayless has called for calm at the selection table, claiming that sacking players is not the solution to the Eels' stuttering start to the NRL season.

The Eels slumped to a 28-20 loss to Gold Coast at Parramatta Stadium last night and now have only two scratchy wins against the Bulldogs and Newcastle to show for their first five weeks' effort.

With a meeting against arch-rivals Manly kicking off the NRL's heritage round on Friday night, the Eels need to find some answers in a hurry, but Cayless doesn't think wholesale changes are required.

"We can't give up and go sacking everyone and dropping everyone," Cayless said.

"You've got to stick with the boys ... everyone busted their arses out there."It was a big effort to get back into the game but the NRL's getting too hard these days, you can't give teams a head start and expect to run them down every week."

Most conjecture this week will centre on out of sorts halfback Tim Smith, who again struggled to impose himself on the game last night.

His lack of self belief and control was shown up sensationally as opposite Scott Prince ran the Eels ragged all night, and it was only when five-eighth Brett Finch started to assert himself that the home side looked capable of snatching the points. The Eels could be without Mark Riddell for the clash against the Sea Eagles - who also have just two wins to their name - after the hooker suffered a recurrence of the shoulder/chest injury he first suffered against Newcastle two weeks ago.

The nuggety rake will have scans early this week but it is believed Eels medical officials are leaning towards giving him a week off.

Gold Coast showed they could get the job done without an inspirational forward of their own last night after they made a mockery of claims they would struggle without prop Luke Bailey, who is out with a broken arm.

While his co-skipper Scott Prince was brilliant, coach John Cartwright heaped praise on some of the lesser lights who had stepped in to fill the breach.

"We did win a couple of times last year without Bails, he's very important to the side but probably the difference this year to last year is a lot of the guys from one to 17 are contributing a lot more," Cartwright said.

"It's going to stand us in good stead because there is rep footy ahead, the injuries always come."I was just really pleased for those guys that probably played bit parts last year who really put their hand up tonight."

Cartwright said he was hopeful of having five-eighth Mat Rogers available to take on Brisbane on Friday night after he was put on report for lifting Luke Burt midway through the second half.

Cowboys bulldoze Eels

Cowboys 38 - Eels 14

NORTH Queensland celebrated the appointment of their new coach Neil Henry and answered a torrent of criticism by belting Parramatta.

Prop Carl Webb, slammed by former Queensland and Australia prop Greg Dowling during the week for his poor form over the opening month of the season, set the tone for the Cowboys' first win of 2008 in front of 19,231 loyal Dairy Farmers Stadium fans by scoring the opening try after only four minutes.

The Eels - whose performance was reminiscent of their loss to the Warriors two weeks ago - were fortunate to be still in the game at 20-10 by halftime.

But despite the absence of injured fullback Matt Bowen, the Cowboys went on with the job in the second half. Second rower Jacob Lillyman scored on the next ruck after a long Ty Williams break in the 57th minute and then centre Mark Henry forced his way over in the 61st.

Compounding the woes of Parramatta coach Michael Hagan was three players - five-eighth Brett Finch, second rower Daniel Wagon and centre Joel Reddy - being booked for a lifting tackle on Luke O'Donnell in the 11th minute.

Cowboys replacement Shane Tronc could also be a bit of trouble for a late challenge on Finch after he had kicked the ball in the 47th minute. The defeat continues Parramatta's poor record in Townsville, where they have failed to win since 2000. Five minutes after Webb's try, they were in again with hooker Aaron Payne darting out of dummy-half and linking with Steve Southern, who found five-eighth Justin Smith backing up to score.

The Eels hit back with tries to Brett Finch and Eric Grothe but were never really in the hunt against a Cowboys side playing full of confidence of days gone by. With Johnathan Thurston converted both tries for a 12-0 lead.

Parramatta was given another headache in the 11th minute when three players were booked by rookie referee Bernard Sutton for a spear tackle on North Queensland lock Luke O'Donnell.
Sutton called out Joel Reddy and Daniel Wagon to caution them but replays showed Brett Finch was also involved.

The Cowboys' inept attack of the previous month was nowhere to be seen and the Eels looked sluggish but somehow the visitors managed to stay in the game, Tim Smith kicking for five-eighth Brett Finch to swoop after Webb had conceded a penalty. Luke Burt's goal narrowed the margin to six but after Parramatta made errors deep in their own territory on two occasions, halfback Thurston made them pay in the 28th minute by putting fullback Josh Graham over for another Cowboys try.

At 18-6, North Queensland threatened to run away with the game but Eels centre Jarryd Hayne took an intercept with another Cowboy try in the offing and raced 60 metres before slowing up and losing posession.

NQ fumbled themselves, giving the Michael Hagan's men a scrumfeed, and Finch's pass put winger Eric Grothe over in the corner for an unconverted try which kept Parramatta in touch.

The scoreboard ticked over to North Queensland 20 Parramatta 10 when Thurston booted a penalty goal on halftime following a ball-strip.

After the match Parramatta captain Nathan Cayless was brutally honest in the appraisal of his team.

"We were pretty awful, we've got to put that one down to attitude,'' Cayless said.

"We trained well all week, but we didn't turn up with the right attitude.''

When asked later to expand on his comments, he said: "I include myself in that. We're very disappointed. We talked about the Cowboys being desperate, we talked about how they would want to win. But in the end you have to get out on the field and do it, and we didn't''.

Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston praised the efforts of Carl Webb, who was criticised during the week by former Test prop Greg Dowling.

"It was Carl Webb who really inspired us with his first 20 minutes, he led from the front,'' Thurston said. "When he's at his damaging best, he's hard to stop.''

Fulltime

NORTH QUEENSLAND 38 (A Graham M Henry J Lillyman J Smith A Watts C Webb tries J Thurston 7 goals) bt

PARRAMATTA 14 (B Finch E Grothe T Tautai tries L Burt goal) at Dairy Farmers Stdm.

Referee: B Sutton.
Crowd: 19,231.