The dust has settled following the Friday night clash against the Roosters with the Eels going down 32-18.
It's time to go over the five big talking points of the match.
1. Maika Sivo is underway
After some mixed performances in the opening two rounds, Maika crossed for his first two tries in Eels colours, with one of them seeing him trample is opposite before planting it down despite the best efforts of two Roosters defenders. To add to his two tries, he also took 14 runs for 140 metres, 10 tackle breaks and two line breaks to cap the best performance of his burgeoning career.
2. The forwards stand up
The Roosters boast one of the best and most consistent forward packs in the NRL. Led by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves they also boast the likes of Siuoa Taukeiaho, Isaac Liu, Boyd Cordner, Angus Crichton and Victor Radley. After Friday night, you can bet that the Roosters forwards will be looking forward to their ice baths with the Eels forwards relentlessly bashing them through the middle. Special mentions go to Kane Evans who played perhaps his best game in Eels colours, carrying the ball 14 times for 121 metres with an offload and 14 tackles all within 33 minutes of game time and Junior Paulo whose mammoth 62 minutes saw him run the ball 14 times for 86 metres, 29 tackles, one linebreak assist and five offloads.
3. Attack looks strong
The major criticism of Parramatta last season was their inability to look threatening in attack. Often plays fizzled out due to miscommunication and poor timing. Against the Roosters the Eels looked genuinely threatening against a world class defence, with all three tries being scored by beating the Roosters' defensive structures. Parramatta got creative when they needed to, popping 14 offloads while Junior Paulo also turned ballplayer for Ferguson's try when he threw a sweetly timed cut out ball to Brad Takairangi.
4. Sets need more polish
The difference on the night for the Roosters was the performance of Luke Keary who once again has put himself in the Origin frame for NSW. His kicking game and overall organisation helped the Roosters get back into the match and he tightened the screws once they took the lead. Moses and Brown would do well to learn something from Keary's performance with the Eels lacking some real polish to some of their sets. They also failed to exploit the rookie winger Ikuvalu, who gave away considerable height and size to Maika Sivo and could've been a target for cross-field bombs.
5. Not a wooden spoon performance
If there's one thing the Eels have made clear in the opening three rounds, it's that they are far from the wooden spoon team of 2018. The side seems a lot more committed in defence, more organised in attack and they seem to be enjoying their football. The challenge for the playing squad is to continue building on the good start to the season and proving they're not just a flash in the pan.
Comments
Agree, really think Tedesco was the difference tho. He was always going to step up once Friend went off
Yes I really felt for that poor kid on the wing, had a shocker, they should have peppered him.
Agree Bug. I thought we could have trapped them in goal a few times but the ball just rolled dead. A few repeat sets could have seen a couple more tries. He'll learn from this though as he is a smart footballer.
I think the reason they went dead was because the Roosters play at grubbers when defending their line so he was putting more pace on them to get them through.