The Eels now sit second on the NRL ladder following their impressive win over the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
Here are the five big takeaways from the 36-16 win:
1. Blake Ferguson
The Eels were sorely lacking in firepower last season but Blake Ferguson seems to have filled that gap. The NSW and Australian representative ran away with the match quite literally, making nearly 300 metres and scoring an intercept in the second half. Ferguson's early-set charges got the Eels out of trouble rather easily and laid a platform that allowed them to roll down the field. Fergo has simply started where he left off in 2018 and already leads the NRL's total metres run by 22 metres with 458 metres so far. In further good news for the Eels, Clint Gutherson is fourth on that list with 385 metres, four metres more than Broncos winger Corey Oates.
2. The Lane Train
Last week it was Marata Niukore stealing the headlines, this week it was the former Sea Eagle, Warrior and Bulldog in Shaun Lane who has taken many of the plaudits. Running for over 100 metres and getting a meat pie of his own, Lane was imperious on the left edge and Bulldogs half, Kieran Foran will surely have an imprint of Lane on his chest after he was targeted all game. Lane's defensive efforts should not be discounted either, making 29 tackles in 70 minutes with only one miss meant he had a tackle effectiveness of 96%.
3. Mental toughness
The Eels of 2018 probably would've packed up shop after the start experienced on Sunday. 10-0 down after 20 minutes, the Eels never looked out of the contest, nor did they look like panicking. They got back into the arm wrestle, took their opportunities and in the space of 10 minutes in the second half they took a winning lead that never truly looked under threat. Parramatta again showed some desperate goal line defence with Brown and Gutherson forcing the ball loose form Reimis Smith in the early minutes, while Gutho's boot dislodged the ball over the line in the second half to prevent a try.
4. Run, Reed, Run
In what was probably the best game of his short career to-date, Reed Mahoney tormented the Bulldogs middle defenders with incisive runs, stealing 45 metres of valuable field position and setting up a try by slicing the Dogs defence through the middle. His two kicks also took some pressure off the halves and shows he's not only grown in confidence but seems to have added some valuable strings to his bow. The diminutive rake also had a busy afternoon in defence, making 40 tackles. Given the fairly innocuous performance of Michael Lichaa, I bet the Dogs are wishing they'd never let Mahoney head to the Blue and Gold.
5. Junior is back
After missing round one with hamstring tightness, Junior Paulo ran out for the first time in Blue and Gold since the salary cap debacle of 2016 saw him depart to Ricky's Raiders mid-season. While he wasn't his completely barn-storming self, 139 metres from 15 hitups with two offloads is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering he spent almost the entirety of his first stint defending his own try line. Junior's improved fitness was also noteworthy, he played the first 33 minutes before returning late in the match for a further 17 minutes, bringing his total to 50 minutes which was the most of any Eels prop and second to only Dylan Napa across both sides.
Comments
Hayne will be back?????
Who says and why?
I’m not saying “no” exactly, but I’m worried about all his off-field dramas as well as negative media attention.
Also, mightn’t team dynamics be unbalanced again?
It is not a light comment to make, “Hayne coming back”
THE WHOLE REASON THE TEAM IS PLAYING WELL IS BECAUSE HAYNE IS NOWHERE NEAR THE PLAYING GROUP!!
Dont underestimate the negative influence Hayne had on team moral & work ethic.
Remember when some of us were saying that when he was here ?
We didnt re-sign hayne hand he wont be back.
Ferguson brings more than metres, B.A said in the dressing room hes a winner, other players just want to sit near him. He believes he will win every time he puts on the jersey.
You cant buy that sort of infectious bravado, belief. That "we can do this attitude". Priceless. Was quite impressed with our bench against the dogs, unheralded, even derided by some. Evans was good so was Salmon , they along with Mannah and Gower were great
"imperious". . . . . nice :)
Jarryd Hayne's time with Parra has come and gone. He is a great player but we have moved forward.
I don't want him back but I wish him the best.
Junior had an ok game but was clealy a bit short on match fitness. I noted he had the habit of hanging back from the defensive line creating a gap the Dogs exploited. Not sure if he was gassed but this will inprove.
Re Fergo - of particular note is his performance when the Eels first take the field PRIOR to kick off.
Takes time to have chats with selected players - Nuikore was first for a chat this game, went for several minutes, he then went over to Sivo and repeated his time with the young winger.
During the breaks in the game Fergo can be seen chatting to one player or another, it might be after we have done something good, or more importatnly chatting with a player that may have made a mistake.
He will then go and show the players what a winning attitude puts into your own game.
Junior, I was surprised at his involvement and commented in another blog it was good to see the 10 jersey constantly poppimg up almost right across the park. Was very surprised to see him go for the first 33 minutes without really dropping off the pace. I have never been a fan of Junior's but was pleasantly surprised with his first up effort.
Lane, another I did not think would do much when we brought him over to us, doing far better that I expected in his first two games.
Mahoney - a hooker who can kick!!!!!!!!! If this has not been my biggest beef for years with the Eels then I have not been here. Kicking from dummy half is one of the best weapons any team can have. It normally surprises the opposition and when the kicks are good ones we maintain forward momentum and pressure. OH how I love a hooker who can kick (and early too) Turn them around and keep the pressure on, force their back three to guess what might happen next. Drop back too early opens space for wingers and good centres, stay up and you isolate your FB.
Gutho, he is starting to own his position now with the effectiveness that earned him the title "King" Support play is excellent and if anyone says he should be moved into the halves they are just plain imbeciles. Imo, Gutho will continue to improve.
Team attitude and mental toughness - I have NFI how this has changed so dramatically over the ORF SEEZUN but keep it coming. We had a slow start to this game but never did the team look like folding their hand, same last week when under pressure. Has moving Hayne and Dozey on got anything to do with this? Me thinks it might be a lot of the answer.
Nice to enjoy that winning feeling again.
Rorters will be a great test for us and I am looking forward to seeing what evolves out of this contest.
Of note: The loss of Nathan Brown does not appear to have impacted our attitude and once he is match fit and back on the paddock I would expect this to enhance our toughness.
I still carry the raw scars fo 2018 and not expecting a great deal from any match - this makes the wins far more enjoyable when they surprise me the way they have been going.