You only have to make one change to what is expected to be the likely Parramatta Eels backline, for the whole Parramatta 2018 roster to make a lot more sense.
Start Bevan French at fullback.
With French at fullback, Clint Gutherson moves to the centres, and suddenly we have three strong options in the three-quarters - in Jennings, Gutherson and Salmon.
We have options aplenty on the wing, with Ferguson holding down one flank and Jennings, Sivo, Hoffman and Leleisiuao fighting for the other spot.
Will Smith provides a decent backup option for French at fullback, and suddenly you’re not looking at a bits and pieces backline.
All reports from pre-season suggest Gutherson has a lock on fullback but I remain unsold on two fronts. I do see him as our long-term captain and I hate, hate, hate the idea of having your leader playing fullback. Your captain cannot play out of the line and be effective.
I think Gutherson tried to do that last year and I felt it had a detrimental impact on his game. He made a lot of uncharacteristic errors, some of which were unforgivable for a fullback.
And secondly, I’m just not sure if Gutherson has the explosive acceleration I would prefer to see from the fullback role. I believe long-term his position is centre.
Bevan French on the other hand, gives you X-factor.
I know he had a terrible year last year but he proved in his debut season that he is a special player. He is one of those rare players who can just play on instinct and create something out of nothing.
It’s worth replaying how French’s 2018 unfolded. After a man-of-the-match performance in a pre-season trial, French started the year at fullback for the first three games before he copped a shoulder injury. His resumption coincided with that of Clint Gutherson and he shifted to the wing in a game that I felt destroyed his season. The painkillers he was playing on reportedly didn’t work and he barely got a touch of the ball registering 15 metres running total for the game. He was dropped, George Jennings came into the side and the Eels finally won a game.
When he came back into the side, it was as a winger and after a win against the Tigers,the Eels lost six on the trot. French’s size increasingly became an issue in what was probably the lightest back three in the competition. He clearly struggled for confidence the rest of the season and ineffective hit-ups, combined with uncharacteristic errors saw him dropped to Wentworthville as the season wound down.
However, I’ve maintained, even before French came into first grade that it would be a mistake to play him as a winger. I just always expected that he would get dominated by larger opposites. I had egg on my face on that one during 2017 when he succeeded in that position based on his rare gifts alone, but by 2018 opposition teams had marked his size out as a vulnerability and he didn’t cope with the extra physicality and attention that came his way. No doubt, disappointed not to be playing his preferred position, you can understand why he struggled for confidence in 2017
Without question the level of resilience that French showed in 2018 was disappointing, but he’s a young man learning to cope with high expectations and the disappointment that comes the first time things just don’t pan out for you. He’s always impressed me as an individual and I think he has it in him, to come out the other side of his horror year as a more mature player and person.
I personally hope that BA hasn’t settled on his Round One team and that French gets a chance to trial at fullback and show if that’s the case. I think this backline, and indeed the entire roster, just looks more balanced with better depth when French is first-choice fullback.
That magic is he capable of doesn’t go away. Opposition teams have a pretty good idea of what’s in his bag of tricks and he’s going to have to work hard now to be selective as to when he uses those. I felt last year that he just tried too hard and he wasn’t choosing his time to try and make his mark. But if the Eels are going to exceed expectations in 2018 then a revitalised Bevan French could very well be one of the keys to being able to do that.
Comments
Yeah, give him a crack. He has the speed and if he can find space off the halves, backing up running into holes then he is a better option than Guth.give Guth the role that Hayne had last year roaming across the park.could work.
It’s so easy to give up on a gifted player on one poor season. French could have a Barba type season in 2019 that really puts the Parra team on a sure competitive road. I also agree that the King is a centre and was found out at full back.
A well considered post OEE and about football. Well done!
French biggest issue is footy iq, yes is he is smaller body but he doesnt play smart enough to utilise his strengths and negate his weaknesses. He isnt far off the same size as slater, just a very breif compare of the two shows his problem. French is constantly trying to take the tackle and gets rag dolled into the try line, slater on the other hand surrenders in the tackle losing no ground, french almost every set wants to run down the sideline and burn everyone with speed resulting in him being thrown over the sideline, slater plays more around the ruck these days agianst tired forwards. For french to make it as a fulltime fullback he needs to use his speed more in the middle of the field where his team mates can help him out and tired forwards give up easy metres.
I don't know if thats footy IQ or just experience. Hopefully last years ends up being his learning experience in relation to what not to do!
Cannot agree with you that French can't chime into the backline. He actually has played a lot of his footy in the pass and he can throw that final pass better than Gutho in my opinion.
For mine French seems to get caught out often when trying to beat his opposite number with speed on the outside. Whenever he can't out pace someone he has a tendancy to throw a late, rushed pass. This puts the team into panic mode and we lose shape as a result and need to reset, or he gets thrown into touch. No argument that he has the ability to ball play but he needs more training to pick the correct option at the correct times.
It would certainly be interesting to see French play fullback with 2 big wingers in Ferguson & Jennings/Sivo. I think this will make a big difference to the way French plays. As Optimistic says, French doesn't need to take these hitups on kick returns, and he doesn't need to try to barge his way down the sideline. He can use his pace to sidestep some of the forwards to make a break and link up with a bigger body, or follow the halves around for an opportunity created by them. Mind you, Slater puts his body on the line and is prepared to get hurt. I don't know whether French can do that and will need some protection from those around him.
Too often have we seen Parra relying on one particular player to make some damage without the other players hanging in support. We need to get smarter in how we do the basic things, which has certainly been lacking in recent years. I think French at fullback can work if he is switched on, but from all accounts Gutherson has been the number 1 fullback at training. Not sure where that leaves French, but inevitable injuries will always require reshuffles anyway.
What do you think of this backline, Phil?
1. French, 2. Jennings, 3. Fergurson, 4. Gutherson, 5. Sivo
This is what I would go with but I think BA will go with the more predictable backline with experienced specialists.
Yeh, if we ended up with that I wouldn't be unhappy at all. I think you've got two centres there that can create opportunitis for their wingers, two big carriers on the wing and X-factor fullback. Not a lot more you can want from your backline. (Of course being dependent on Sivo being as good as his YouTube clips make him out to be).
If BA is going to persist with a heavily structured style with block plays than French should be nowhere near fullback, there is a reason French has struggled to make a real fist of fullback, this style of play does not suit his style. French is an old school support around the ruck style of fullback, if he is going to make fullback his spot than parra will have to play a less structured style with plenty of dummy half running and plenty of offloads.
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