Last week, a mate at work asked me my opinion on whether he should tip the Eels against the Roosters. I told him I thought it was pretty much a 50/50 game, that the Eels were great value at 2.90 but I couldn't earnestly make a case for him to change his tip at even money.
This week, I would. I'm sure most of us would. This week, minus Farrah and Tedesco, most Eels fans will expect Parramatta to get up. If we get rolled, there will be considerable disappointment for the loss of two points, we figure we should bank.
That in itself should be cause for celebration. I can't even remember the last time I felt like that. And this for a game at the graveyard (ANZ) as well.
Yet I feel uneasy.Why? It's not that if we lose this, I fear our season going into the free-fall. I'm confident enough based on the past month, to believe that regardless of the result of this game, Parramatta is going to have a pretty successful year.
Rather, I think it's deeper, darker demons. You have to stretch your memory back, but there were times when Parramatta did go into games as heavy favourites. They were games I dreaded. Inevitably, Parra would come up half-asleep, get behind by 18 points and then spend the remaineder of the match playing catch-up football. Sometimes, it worked, more often than not, it didn't.
And while it made for decent entertainment, I hated that characteristic of our side. In a post the other day I called it "relaxed arrogance". Parramatta players have never tend to be in your face, obnoxious arrogant, rather when we were travelling well, there was just a subtle air of "we know we're pretty good, and when we put our mind to it, we can blow anyone off the park". And so they tended to go into matches against lower ranked opposition, with such a poor attitude, that those were the matches you had to worry about.
It's those demons that are gnawing at my ear right now. Somehow it seems that every week means something new to me. The Manly game was about how much pride we had to bounce back from defeat, the Penrith game was about whether a bad result could rock the building confidence; the Brisbane game was about whether we could shake the Away hoodoo, the Roosters game would show whether we could mix it with the big guys and for me, anyway, this match is going to show whether we can go into a match that we are favoured to win with the same level of commitment, effort and concentration as when we need to get up for a big game.
And can we win at ANZ, to boot? I'm sure many of you were there for that monumental semi-final against the Bulldogs. It's the last game I watched us win at ANZ. It was one of the best footy experiences I've ever had. Ever since, there has been nothing but pain and misery at what is supposedly our second home ground. If we make finals, we certainly don't want to be starting at matches at ANZ knowing we haven't won a game there for years.
Another week, another chance to show we have a brand new football side, here. C'arn Eels.
Replies
This is a very important game in the continued development of the team. As you say, the Manly game was a indicator of team belief and pride, the Penrith game was about maturity and keeping your head up, the Roosters game was about stepping up to the line against the best, the best who have flogged you previously. This game is about leadership and performing under the weight of expectation, leading from the front is harder than chasing.
We Aussies generally prefer the underdog tag, so this game is an important test, another niggling doubt to be suppressed.
the motivation for this game is lets break the ANZ hoodoo and lets win 4 games in a row.
The fact BA attends the presser and every week says they were good but need to get better says to me that we really shouldn't worry.
We used to get rolled early by lesser teams early in matches but this is a different team under different coaching.
I have this weird feeling as an eels fan, I think it may be faith?
Nah, surely not.
But I'm worried about the tiger I don't think there gunna be easy beats like everyone thinks? Look at who they have already beat and beat comfortably ! Without farrah there attack will be lacking but there defense won't miss much! I'm tipping parra 1-12
And in time gone by, these are the games we drop our bundle.
Im sure BA has drummed it into them this week to show no mercy!!!
Last year we fell to the tigers in a similar circumstance.
We won round 1, lost to the previous years grand finalist in round 2 and we were favourites against tigers in round 3. We ended up losing embarrassingly and our season went into a shithole from there.
I highly doubt our season will tumble but the apprehension is there.
Exactly..every week this year really has been something new. Each week has presented a new uncharted challenge.In the past we have capitulated under every different scenario and circumstance that this year has dished up already.
Despite all of those various challenges, BA and co have had the team up and ready to compete and that's why we all recognize what he is doing as such a massive achievement. With what the team has shown thus far, really can't see them free-falling, think they are armed with the right tools better than they have been for many a season.
Still old wounds cut deep for us old Parra fans, so I still find myself thinking, 'oh no we are the favorites this week'.
Favourites,yet another reason to feel tentative,excited and hopefully pass another mini test.
If the Eels win this week they will have shaken off all their big hoodoos from the past couple of seasons:
Away-Check
Raining-Check
Defending Premiers-Check
ANZ-
Favourites-
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