Eels Blogs

Replies

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  Big Dave December 17, 2015 at 10:31pm

  Lol
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  Alan Hunt December 17, 2015 at 10:34pm

  Strengths - halves and back row.

  Weaknesses - besides Semi it's a pretty average back line to be honest.  Gutherson could be fantastic but he is raw and injury prone.

  Depressing -   The fact that someone has named Ryan Morgan anywhere near our starting 17, the guy is dogshit who never has a decent go.  Can't remember a game where he has come off with a dirty jersey.   Hopefully this useless prick is nowhere near first grade next year.
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    Big Dave > Alan Hunt December 17, 2015 at 10:48pm

    You would think that Bureta would be next in line for Morgan's wing position but I suspect Bureta is not top 25 in 2016 and therefore he is highly unlikely he will make the top 17 for Round 1.  Unless we sustain a lot of outside NRL back injuries in the pre-season I think Morgan will get the gig for Round 1.  Tuha could sneak on the wing in front of Bureta as he looks a bit quicker then Bureta, Folau and Toutai. You would guess that Toutai has only one more season to prove he can catch, pass and tackle before moving back to the Ron Massey Cup for good.   
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  timbodavo December 17, 2015 at 10:39pm

  Id be leaving Taka with Semi. Also Alvaro walks into my top 17 and has to be played out of it based on last year
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  Steve December 17, 2015 at 10:41pm

  I think if we want to take a new direction next year we need to be MORE bold. Throw in Kenny Edwards instead of the tried and failed 2 hooker with Degois.
  On top of that NO Ryan Morgan especially on the wing. Let's throw Shultz or Faraimo and grab our balls and have a new aggressive approach FFS!
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    Glenn Lifetime Eel December 18, 2015 at 4:34pm

    I know it is a bit of a risk but I would throw 2 rookies in Gutherson and either Schulte or Tuha. They will quicken up the backline but they must be able to tackle.
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  1Eyed Eel December 18, 2015 at 12:02am

  Strengths: Defence

  I'm sure BA will base our game about conceding as few points as possible. WIth maybe the exception of Gutherson, who I expect will at the least defend on the wing, I think we have a very strong defensive line-up. We actually have some halves now who will help us keep pressure on so we're not always defending our line, and the team won't know itself in that regard. To make finals, I think we have to be one of the top four defensive teams in the competition.

  Weakness: Passing ability

  It will be very interesting to see how our attacking structures change because I don't know if we've got the ability to pass the ball as fluidly as we once had. While Joseph Paulo obviously had fundamental weaknesses, he did give us a very sweet first pass off the ruck option, WIll Hopoate had a nice pass and even Reece Robinson did an ok job of delivering that final pas. I feel all of the replacements for those players, are less capable passers of the ball. Our likely starting 13 for example, doesn't have a single ball-playing forward. So I would identify as our biggest weakness, either the fact that we're going to have to play a whole set of new structures or else we don't have the right players to play to our structures. 
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    Poupou Escobar > 1Eyed Eel December 18, 2015 at 9:42pm

    Both Gordon and Foran have been mentioned as bringing great support play. It was one of the assistant coaches who said we often lacked someone pushing up for the offload this year, so I'd say we're planning to create some second phase play in 2016.
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  michael picklum December 18, 2015 at 12:15am

  Dave is probably not far off the mark Frankie. Maybe BA will elect to keep Taka inside Semi but I think Dave has got the backs pretty right for the early part of the season. TBH, the alternatives r only so-so. Folau, Vai, Faraimo, Tuha or Schulte? I seriously doubt if BA will risk either Schulte or Tuha first up without seeing what they r capable of & the rest r really only proven backup options.

  The only area of possible contention with the forwards that Dave has nominated is whether BA will select 2 Dummy Halves at the start of the season. If BA elects to start with only one then Peats will probably get the nod with Edwards starting off the bench. In saying that, I would not be surprised if IDG got the nod whilst BA allowed Peats to ease himself back into contention after his injury. I would be surprised if BA selected either Kaysa or King into FG first up.
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  Johnny B Good December 18, 2015 at 12:28am

  Ryan Morgan and IDG should not play NRL unless injuries warrant it.
  
  I would start with Faraimo on the wing. He has never had a bad game for us and gives our right edge a bit of x-factor in attack.
  
  I would go with Kenny Edwards over a second hooker, he can fill in if need be and will provide a ball playing option in the forwards.
  
  I would also promote Pauli to the bench over Gower (provided he trains well in pre-season). He offers way more in attack and has a decent offload for second phase play. I know Gower is a toiler, but he is very vanilla and we have many strong defenders in the pack.
  
  Alvaro should be the first forward promoted if there is an injury/ Pauli is lazy.