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Eric Grothe - Source: Getty Images -
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Parramatta legend Eric Grothe Snr clearly remembers a time when his talented teenage son Eric Jr turned his back on rugby league.
Grothe Snr, a four-time premiership winning player, proudly recalls watching his young prodigy cut his teeth on the wing playing SG Ball for his beloved Eels.
But after success in the junior ranks the colourful 16-year-old decided football wasn't for him and took a hiatus.
"He had long legs and he was fast and he was quite strong and tall so football came fairly natural to him," Grothe Snr said.
"He played SG ball and that was the last game he played and he retired for three years and didn't do anything.
"It was a bit of a scary time, you don't know how your kids are going to sort of turn out.
"He had that break and he sort of withered away a little bit and I didn't know which way he was going to go. Most parents go through that situation with their kids.
"He's a bit of a late bloomer like I was in regards to being mature."
Grothe Jr turned his back on rugby league during his adolescent years perhaps because he had such a revered legacy to live up to.
Grothe Snr was a NSW and Australian representative winger, played 152 games for the Eels, winning premierships in 1981, `82, `83 and `86 - the only four titles for the club.
Parramatta are two wins away from their first premiership in 23 years but first they must overcome fierce rivals the Bulldogs in a sudden-death preliminary final on Friday night at ANZ Stadium.
Grothe Snr said at a celebration to mark the two clubs' proud finals campaigns during the 1980s that he expected his laid-back 29-year-old son to handle the pressure of finals football better than he did.
"It looks like he handles things fairly easy but you never know what's really happening inside," he said.
"I got fairly nervous before games, that's pretty natural, but it certainly looks like Eric handles things a lot easier than I did.
"He's just matured, and off the field what he does is a lot better.
"He's been looking after the younger kids in the team and just been fantastic.
"This is probably been one of the best years for Eric as far as I'm concerned. It's just been so exciting watching him come through and watching him play.
"He finally realised football's pretty important and he's been really good this year."
Grothe Jr has enjoyed a standout season with the Eels, scoring 11 tries and making 13 linebreaks in 22 games.
In 2008, Grothe was dropped by former Eels coach Michael Hagan during an indifferent season in which he played just 10 games.
