by: Brent Read
From: The Australian
IT'S too early for the curse to lay claim to another victim, but the portents aren't good.
Chris Sandow, the man earmarked to finally replace Peter Sterling in the Parramatta No 7 jersey, has languished through the opening six rounds of the premiership, his form mirroring that of his struggling side. Bare statistics highlight the depth of his malaise. Through six rounds, Sandow has only two try assists and has missed 30 tackles. Contrast that with Melbourne star Cooper Cronk, who has chalked up 14 try assists and missed only 15 tackles. Cronk, it must be said, is playing in a side at the top of its game. The Eels are the total opposite. They looked devoid of confidence and ideas in their loss to Newcastle on Sunday. Sandow was as clueless as anyone. Last year at South Sydney, he led the NRL in missed tackles - but he also had 18 try assists. His deficiencies in defence were compensated by his exhilarating attack. His attack this season has been almost non-existent. Most concerning for Sandow and the Eels is the fact that he appears to have gone into his shell. Teething problems were always expected but his form is beginning to gnaw, the reaction of Kearney following the loss to the Knights indicating a level of frustration with the plight of his side and its star halfback. Kearney is not the type to publicly pan individual players, so his silence on the subject of Sandow indicated the depth of his concern. Rightly so too. He and the club's supporters have the right to expect more from a player being paid an estimated $550,000 a season. There was always a fear that Sandow would have trouble fitting into the Eels' style of play and thus far, it appears well founded. Last year, under John Lang at the Rabbitohs, Sandow was given the freedom to play his way. Lang's philosophy was to build a style of play around the players at his disposal. In Sandow's case, that meant letting him play to his instincts. In effect, Lang was borrowing a concept used to great effect by famed Queensland coach Bob Bax, who subscribed to the theory that your players had to do what comes naturally. But that was then and this is now. Lang has retired and Kearney has thus far struggled to get the best out of his halfback. Sandow appears to be playing with the handbrake on. Those who know him suggest he also looks overweight, prompting suspicions he may be struggling in his private life. If true, it would come as no surprise. At one point last year, Sandow went missing for two days as he wrestled with personal issues. He is also a sensitive soul. At times throughout his first grade career, Sandow had to be pulled into line. But Souths balanced the occasional tongue-lashing by giving him the emotional support he craved. He was loved by the club's staff and supporters, most notably owner Russell Crowe. They were prepared to forgive the occasional poor game because they had such a deep affection for Sandow and his passion for the game. He has no such wriggle-room at Parramatta. Sandow has no credit in the bank with Eels supporters. Patience is wearing thin. It's a precarious situation. Sandow doesn't react well to negativity. Nor does he enjoy being told what to do. The fear among those who know Sandow is the pressure may get too onerous. They fear that he might decide it's all too much and head back to Cherbourg. If that happens, the game will have lost a rare talent. And the curse will have claimed another victim.
Replies
I dont blame Sandow tbh, SK paid massive money for him and it seems he's given up on him already. Everyone knows how Sandow plays. He cant play the boring style our coach wants.
Watching the news last night on 7,9,10 all had a sandow story. 10 had hindy pleading to give us another chance dont make changes. Also backing sandow.
9 Had danny wanker calling him a million dollar flop and sandow looked really down saying its not all his fault.
Its SK's Job to improve sandow and make him play his style. He must teach him show him some direction.
SK recruited the wrong 7 for his boring style.
He should have kept Robson as he plays that structured style. Roberts would have complemented him nice and we could have spend 500k on a good 2nd rower or possibly 2.
Still I rate Sandcow if we just let him play how he wants providing he WANTS to play for Parra and is not just playing because he is contracted to.
I still can't believe we paid what we did for Chris Sandow but we did so it is now up to Kearney to get the value out of him. I reckon he does that by just letting him play his natural game.
This is really the make or break for Kearney - if he can't get Sandow to perform then it is the biggest waste of salary cap space ever. We could have spent that money on two quality players.
Yes good point about Robson.
I can see more Sandow drama in the coming weeks Sandow v SK
So once again the cross-hairs shift. The only question being: who's next?
Rinse and repeat until the endgame.
I think it was obvious to everyone and their mother before we signed him that Sandow plays best when he's enjoying his football. He is immature, bi-polar, and prone to get frustrated and sulky if things aren't going his way.
He isn't a toiler, and wouldn't fight for the team.
He wants to play footie and have fun doing it. Playing drab one-up footie in a losing side isn't going to inspire him to do great things.
bad boys make the best play makers
Gower, Johns, Fittler, Carney etc
Don't believe in 'curses' total rubbish! There is nothing wrong in the eels camp that cannot be fixed by a decent coach who knows how to get the job done and can get the best out of even the worst players! The only 'curse' is people thinking there is one! 'You are or become what you think if you think it long enough'
FFS leave the guy alone. It took Reni TEN matches to settle down last year, we got Sandy for four years and I reckon he'll pull his little black fingher out and will show those a rseholes what a good player he really is...who cares what they all say...ohhhhh curse this, curse that, f**k them!
The only curse we have is ..dennis fitzgerald & his voodoo dolls ....
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