PARRAMATTA coach Brad Arthur yesterday called on his players to toughen up because if they found the Warriors pack intimidating then South Sydney would be equally as merciless next week.
Arthur and his troops returned from New Zealand late yesterday with their heads down after the 48-0 thumping on Saturday.
“They’re disappointed; they’re embarrassed,” Arthur said last night about the players’ mood on the flight home. “They realise they let themselves down and the fans down. But we’ve got eight games to go. So we pick ourselves up and make that adjustment to our attitude. We’re up against another physical pack next week in Souths. So we’ve got to be prepared to go hard because we know the Rabbitohs will.”
The Eels had a wealth of possession and penalties against them in the opening 20 minutes, in which the Warriors scored three of their eight tries.
But Arthur said his players failed to react.
“If things don’t go our way we’ve got to learn to respond,” he said. “Things didn’t go our way at the start of the Warriors game but that doesn’t mean we stop making our tackles and stop being committed to our defence.
“They didn’t want to put their body on the line and get tough.
“Defence is all attitude. We trained well, prepared well and I didn’t see it coming because it was one of our better warm-ups.
“So we just need to get a bit more resilient and get a hard edge about us.”
The Eels don’t have long to sulk. They play Souths on Friday night but they are at home at Pirtek Stadium, where they enjoy a 6-2 record this year.
Arthur said he would not be making personnel changes despite being disappointed with several of his players. “You only need a couple not doing their job and that affects everyone else. There were some boys that did have a go, but some that weren’t at their best.
“The way the comp is, if you haven’t got 17 all working together, all pulling their weight together, and the other team has, then you’re going to get burned.”
The Eels’ humiliation was not the only thing the match will be remembered for.
Deep in Rugby union territory, the Warriors scored a pushover try with fullback Sam Tomkins acting like a No 8 in the 15-man game.
“I don’t know how much the push was from Sam but he certainly took his opportunity,” coach Andrew McFadden told ABC radio yesterday.
“I’m happy for him because he’s been working hard, so it’s good to see him get over the tryline,” he said of the English import.
Whether a trend would start of NRL packs pushing hard close to the line, McFadden was unsure.
“It’s something we do every now and then — a bit of scrimmaging. It’s not something we put a whole lot of time into and I’ve seen other clubs try it.
“The boys saw an opportunity at that point in (Saturday’s) game. They just wanted the ball back and the try was a bonus.”
Replies
With our current injuries, I dont think we can make many more changes, except the obvious, Hayne in Kelly out...Hoppa in Morgan out...Maybe Sio?
What forwards are ready to make the jump up, Ualesi? I dont really follow the lower grades that closely.
I still think we need a good mix of exeperience and youth..
Let's get Jarryd Hayne back in the side so that normal service re-commences before we start axing people. When players are trying to do more than they are capable of, that's when their game goes to crap. Norman is trying too hard and you could see he was just getting frustrated out there. When he can get back to the team's structures, there's no reason he won't be able to immediately reverse the couple of ordinary games he's had.
Just a correction, Parramatta has a 7-1 record at Pirtek.
You take Paulo out of our side, and we become even more one dimensional. If we had a fully fit side, I'd have Gower in the 13 over Paulo but right now Gower is needed elsewhere and there is nobody else who can play the role that Paulo is playing.
More dimensional vs one direction, going sideways or going backwards. What a lousy choice. Tag footy Joe! Geez if we r relying on him to redeem the pack, then IMO we r shovelling water uphill with a toothpick.
It would be absolutely ridiculous to re-sign Joseph.
I'm sorry, but what role is Joe Paulo playing....?
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