So as if it wasn’t good enough to have the footy back, in what is shaping up as very exciting year for the Eels, then how good was it for the Eels to win their first bit of silverware for a very long time.
As Eels supporters, we’ve been schooled to not get too excited about pre-season performances but clearly there were a bunch of things to really bring a smile to any Parra supporter's face. Aside from the obvious ones like the stunning form of Corey Norman, which have already broadly been canvassed I thought I'd throw up a few other observations, for things that gave me a lot of confidence that we're in for a really promising year.
No Sandow
I was a pretty vocal critic of Chris Sandow throughout last year, and it started for me at last year’s NInes. Sandow was mostly praised for his part in a decent Eels run, but I was very firmly of the opinion that at crunch times during last year’s tournament, Sandow took poor and selfish options. He had a couple of plays that came off, but I’d have argued more that didn’t come off and when they didn’t, we got bundled out.
I’m expecting, the same no Sandow effect to be at play during the competition proper. You cannot underestimate how much of a difference it makes knowing you have all players singing from the same hymn sheet as well as the importance of last tackles plays. And that’s not even to speak of…
Defence
I’ve already commented a bunch of times that I believe defence with be the single biggest strength of Parramatta’s 2016 campaign and our D during the Nines was excellent.
The chain analogy is an absolute truism in Rugby League - you’re only as strong as the weakest link. When you try and make up for the weakness of one player, other players have to stop focusing on their job and that’s when everything falls apart.
Brad Arthur, and I’m sure not by accident, has pieced together a unit that doesn’t have obvious weaknesses in defence. For all of their attacking ability, players like Kieran Foran and Michael Jennings don’t let you down in defence. We have size across the backline and we won’t be giving up tries without teams really earning it.
A more mature fringe
A player like Vai Toutai has copped enormous criticism in the past, and mostly fairly so, as have some of our other backup players. Some of that has come down to the fact that they’ve actually been really young. Vai, for example, just turned 23. Players like Bureta Faraimo, Cody Nelson, John Folau, Kaysa Pritchard have all now gotten that little of NRL experience while other fringe players like Ryan Morgan and Peni Terepo are coming into their peak football years. When injuries occur - and they will - Brad Arthur has players who have been there before and will cope much better with the pressure than maybe they have before.
Take out Semi, Corey, Tep and Junior and we fielded a squad of mostly second-tier players. And the real take-out is not just that those blokes were capable of some strong performances, but they sustained it and didn’t crack under pressure. That’s what we need. You shouldn’t expect your backup players to come in and win you games, what you want is that players who come in to fill a void, don’t let you down.
Something to look forward to
Most of you know, I’ve been a fan of Mitch Cornish for a while, so was great to finally see him in an Eels jersey. I’ve got a lot of faith that when Cornish is required to step up into the first grade team, he’s going to represent a fantastic backup option. He takes much better options than your typical stand-by half and is going to be a real asset to the team if needed. And I think the boys that play Wenty are going to love having a genuine ball-playing half to help their development as well.
And of course Bevan French. I’ve said a bit on French in other blogs, but the real point of excitement surrounding him, is that he really only got to demonstrate the running side of his game, when he has enormous ability with the ball in hand to go with it. I’ve seen a couple of comparisons that people have made between Bevan and other players, but for me, the very clear comparison is Brett Stewart - lightning speed, but also possessing a heap of skill and a really footballer's sense for the game. Like Stewart, there is only one position for French and that’s fullback and when he does inevitably make his debut for the Eels I really hope it’s wearing that number one jersey.
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Money and trophy that's what we took out of the nines
Camaraderie.
And yes that aint far from the truth over the last few years, but I would love to be present in an opposition video session this year with the coach trying to pick our defensive weeknesses because just run the ball at Sandow or Kelly just wont cut it this year.
That'd be a horrible attempt at a meme (pronounced meemee, plural is youyou). We still played those 18 minutes better than any other club could on the weekend.
It was great to see how good our fringe players have come on, now if injuries, we know the back ups can do an adequate job.
The nines was a great insight of where the eels are headed, finals footy for the next few years.
And finally a better defensive squad.
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