Parramatta co-captain Jarryd Hayne sensed something was up with Ricky Stuart Ricky Stuart reveals family reasons were behind his decision to quit the Eels. EELS co-captain Jarryd Hayne declared on Wednesday night coach Ricky Stuart left his teammates with a sense of abandonment after walking out on Parramatta. On a tense evening that saw Stuart front 500 Eels players, officials, members and sponsors at the club's presentation night, Hayne also revealed that he felt Stuart had decided to quit three weeks ago and described the defection as a "huge thing" in the wake of the coach's decision to tell a dozen players they were unwanted in June. Stuart gathered the entire team for a meeting at a Parramatta hotel immediately before Thursday night's function at Rosehill Racecourse to justify his decision. The coach explained how family issues had dictated a need for him to return to Canberra, as well as the increasing difficulties he's had operating under Parramatta's dysfunctional regime. Parramatta captain Jarryd Hayne and his Eels teammates look dejected. Most of the NRL squad arrived as a group around 6;30, but Stuart did not enter the racecourse until moments before the function began. Asked the team felt abandoned, Hayne replied: "I guess there's a sense of that. You look at Canberra, their board seems to be getting on well and the player roster is going OK. If you have an opportunity ... from his point of view I can see why he did it. But Hayne was clearly not pleased with the prospect of the club being forced to search for its sixth coach since he debuted in 2006. Personally, I saw it coming. The way Ricky was acting over the last two or three weeks, I felt something was up," he continued. He's made it, it's on his shoulders I guess. Refusing to offer a firm commitment to the club after signing a two-year extension this season, Hayne said his immediate focus was now on next month's World Cup. He felt most for long-suffering Eels fans, as well as the 12 players who had been told to move on mid-season. Eels chairman Steve Sharp on Thursday confirmed Stuart's exit would have no impact on the situation facing those players. "That's going to be huge because of the big decisions that were made and the people he did let go," Hayne said. Former NRL star Andrew Ryan chats to Fox Sports News about Ricky Stuart leaving the Eels and the upcoming finals series. I need to worry about what I'm doing with the World Cup coming up. It's such a big thing for me, I would be disappointed if I let things like this get me down and not focus my full attention on that. Fellow co-captain Tim Mannah was more understanding of Stuart's predicament. We had a bit of a chat with Ricky and the boys. He's done what he needs to do," Mannah said. Wearing a worn-out expression as he arrived, Sharp was still in shock believing Stuart would see out his contract until late Wednesday. "It did come as a bit of a shock to me even though there was a bit of speculation around," Sharp said.