It’s easy to over react to loses and just as easy to think we will win the Comp after a few good wins. Even the most half glass empty Parramatta follower would have to acknowledge that our performances prior to last weekend demonstrated a totally different footy team to the one we saw in 2018. A team getting over the advantage line, making ground at will, using the football but showing new levels of control and game management.Sunday was a different story with our forwards getting dominated and simple mistakes back in our game. Concerning is the injuries to Dylan Brown who looks a star in the making and Blake Ferguson who has had a remarkable beginning to his Parra career. Salmon was found wanting on Sunday and guys like Kane Evans and Dave Gower looked like reserve graders again.Many will say it is a return to the Eels of old and the calls for Arthur to be replaced have begun. Cries of don’t resign Improved half Mitch Moses have begun and Taka needs to go is a common call.The question remains to be answered ‘is this a blip on the radar or a downward slide’? I’m going to come out and say that it’s the former and we will see a return to form against the Tigers. Let’s wait and see! One things for sure, there is only one way to silence your critics and that’s to win football games. Go the eels on Easter Monday. This will be my first live Parra game in years as we have come from NZ to be part of this historic event. I sat on the hill at the first game at Parra stadium in 86 and watched us smash the dragons 36-6. That was the beginning of a premiership winning season. Let’s hope this Monday can be the same.Kiwi Eel
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That’s good news re Manu. I think Arthur’s comments re fergo were without having seen any scans and there were concerns he had fractures which would mean a few weeks at best. Fergo is a pretty tough hombre and he looked in a fair bit of discomfort. Hope he is right to go though that would be a huge plus against the Tigers who very much play a power game.
Agreed the injuries are a concern. We are still pretty good for forwards but we are thin for backline coverage. Looks like Hoffman will come in for Fergo, which completely changes the dynamic of the game we have prepared for all pre-season. Parra have shown that they are not good at changing the game style during the season, so I am expecting our kick returns to be severly affected. Wests will no doubt be on top of this.
Hope both Browns come back soon.
You'd think George Jennings would be the top choice given he was probably our best back last season and had a good kick return on him.
Isn't gennings suspended?
He is too. I thought he was back this week, but he's back in round seven. Still, not even sure if Fergo is out.
Not a blip
Elephant in the room.
Our big weakness laid plainly out
We must fix our game management or as Frankie says stop playing like dopes.
Hi NZ Eel, Thanks for this blog, and it's a valid question.
The short answer is: There are concerns, but our fate in 2019 hasn't been decided yet.
It was our worst performance of 2019, because we buckled under pressure, stumbling one error after another, hardly completing half our sets. Then ran the tank empty.
Failures are inevitable. Necessary. And it showed we panicked and were not ready. We also weren't quite prepared for the last 15 minutes against the Roosters too. And the first quarter against the Dogs. So there are other signs.
Which means either: our pre-season training and all our training, mentoring systems aren't good enough, and even that there are cultural issues, or two, some of the players aren't up to it physically or mentally. Now or ever.
There is hope, because our performances to date have shown courage, confidence and improvement on last year. Both in attack and defence. And got back off the canvas after the deflating Roosters loss. But this one is worse. And it could seem we're back to our old loser 'mentality' ways. But I am a believer that the seemingly impossible, is not always so.
The worst thing the whole team could do is believe doomsday experts, critics and fans; and lose confidence. Then it's all over. It's up to the team to get back off the canvas and grow from their failures. The good news is it seems Arthur doesn't sway when his critics praise or condemn him. And my belief is we have had a cultural problem for decades, maybe even further. And that must change. Starting with a win in our new home.
Time will tell but the main reason our forwards got dominated by the raiders was because they smashed our back 3 who had been getting our sets rolling forward, when they were stopped, our pack was stopped. Expect other teams to employ this same tactic against us, our forwards are going to have to get us going forward.
Reason for concern
* we have not won the comp since 1986
* our best forward is out
* our young five/eighth is out
* our star recruit is possibly out and was destroyed by the raiders
* Parramatta teams are known to be psychologically weak, perhaps that we haven’t won since 1986 goes towards some proof of this.
Blip on the radar
* gutherson is a winner. Will it be enough to overcome every other player now being psychologically destroyed is the question.
It was more of a blip. Attitude in defence was outstanding. Attack was terrible. But,
1. we need a second kick option to take pressure off moses.
2. farking big winger to replace fergos kick return meters.
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