Seeing red: The brutal review behind Evans' resurgence

Kane Evans sat in Brad Arthur's office and sees red.

Arthur, assistant coach Steve Murphy, defence coach David Kidwell and Eels trainers and physios see red too.

Evans's brutal 2018 personal report card is covered in it.

To be fair, most all associated with the Blue & Gold during last year's wooden spoon slump cop the same.

Nothing but red as Parramatta are reviewed top to bottom, the club's first steps from last place to a finals berth within 12 months.

"We went over my performance over the year, and we've got a ratings system for each part of your game," Evans tells NRL.com.

"Defence, attack, preparation and so on. The only good rating I got was for my preparation.

"Because I always was preparing as best as I could, but with all the injuries I couldn't keep up.

"My in-game ratings, they were all in red. Defence, attack and the other ones.

"BA and all the other coaches and performance staff were sitting there giving us feedback and ratings, and they didn’t miss.

"But no one plans that and as a club we came last. So the talks weren't positive.

"They were pretty brutal, but even the coach he said that he had a lot to learn from last year, too.

"He wasn't talking down at me or calling me this, that and everything else. As a club we all needed to learn.

"And I thought that was pretty humbling for him, because we're the players, we're on the field."

Evans was knocked down several pegs last season after arriving on big money and with expectations to match from the Roosters.

A badly broken forearm playing for Fiji at the 2017 World Cup started a wretched run with injuries and form that limited him to just eight games for the Eels, another nine for feeder side Wentworthville.

Along with plenty of his Parramatta teammates, suggestions swirled that Evans could be shown the door.

He has still spent time in Canterbury Cup this year.

But with an extended run starting at prop – aside from sitting out a win over Newcastle due to food poisoning – Evans has started to show why the Eels lured him from Bondi Junction two years ago.

In 2019 he is good for an extra 20 running metres from the same 31 minutes a game he was getting last year. His tackle breaks (25) have quadrupled, offloads (16) doubled.

It's an impact role Evans is playing up front for Arthur, and will be looked to again provide against Brisbane's rising big men on Friday.

"I'm not as busted up as last year, that's the big difference for me," Evans says.

"Last year I snapped both bones in my arm in the pre-season, and then when I got back to running, on my third day of running again I tore my calf.

"So the whole year I was managing both those injuries, I only found a bit of consistent form in the last few games and then straight away the season was over and it was pre-season time again.

"I could still train last year, but it was just shit training, the quality wasn't there.

"I can train at my best this year."