I still have some faith in this young team.. just not much lol.
This particular game. 5 day turn around after playing in one of the wettest games you could imagine. Then having to play wet again. A wet track is a great leveller (who would have thought the Penrith Warriors game would be that close, are Penrith starting to choke?). We played a spirited team, the V's we're giving it all they had. The game just went against us, a couple of dropped balls where we should have been putting on the pressure, the ridiculous bunker calls etc, were enough with the obvious fatigue and resulting sloppy play to cost us the game. Last year we would have lost by 20. I think with a dry track and a normal turn around we would have smoked them. (But not Penrith or Melbourne...)
The season as a whole? We’ve got a hooker and 5/8th who are still very inexperienced. A couple of tough games gets to young heads. The talent is there, but not quite the mental toughness yet. There has definitely been some silly passing the last few weeks. Hopefully we can keep that spine for a few more years.
Moses is our weakest link. I think we played better without him for except our last kick options. That’s his only saving grace. He’s got a great boot, but in the opposition’s 20, he seems pretty clueless at creating space unless we’re totally on top anyway. A couple of times he got the ball yesterday near the line yesterday he just ran sideways waiting for someone else to run on the ball. Definitely not the Cronk or JT this team needs to be serious contenders.(Usually when I post about Moses inabilities he puts in a smoker the next game so if we beat Melbourne, thank me later lol)
Can we win the premiership?
Probably not, but not impossible. We may be under training for a bit so we can hit our straps again sweetly as we hit the finals. I think maybe the roosters are rope-a-doping too for a bit.
Storm and Penrith may be peaking too early.
Maybe Fergo and Sivo are playing injured (surely Sivo can’t be run down that easy)
Maybe this loss will make them stop believing they can just coast and still win
But that’s a lot of Maybe’s
Replies
With this team... yes.
With the current attack style inside 20 and edge defence rushing up constantly...no.
I think we have the team, we lack the direction / gameplan / focus.
I just feel with the Eels, we don't know one week to the next which team will turn up. Only way I'll start believing is when we compete with the best, beat them and put in consistent 80 min performances (especially away from Bankwest).
I went to 2 of the 3 games the Storm played up here on the Sunny Coast. These guys are just so professional, and their forwards are just massive. You know what you are going to get whether they are at home or away. The fullback who they played instead of Papy was brilliant. He was their 3rd string kicker and potted over every attempt. They just have talented guys that just slot straight in. So envious of the systems they have in place. It sets the team up for success. We should be emulating them.
This season injuries are going to be the deciding factor, and we are fully healthy with the exception of whatever ails Peni Terepo.
The Roosters & Raiders can barely scrape together 17 fit players.
The Storm are losing key players, Munster has already had 2 MCL injuries this season, he’ll be on one leg, Vunivalu is out till the finals, Jahrome Hughes is 50/50 to play Thursday, Smith is unlikely.
The Knights have been decimated, even the Panthers have a few guys out.
If we can stay healthy then we are every chance.
We seem to have players playing injured and being ineffective. Might as well sit out for a week or two rather than play with a handicap.
Every team has players banged up, that’s normal for the back end of the season. The Storm will be missing Smith, Munster, Hughes, Vunivalu, Finucane, Momrivovski & possibly Jesse Bromwich. That’s more than just a few niggles. They are all in their best 17.
Can you imagine if we were without Mahoney, Dylan Brown, Moses, Fergo, Nathan Brown, Waqa Blake & Junior ?
So what your saying is that as long as the top teams are missing players the eels have a chance? Fair enough.
The Roosters are gassed. They can barely scrape together 17 fit players, and a number of the players they are missing are key guys, Keary, Cordner, Radley, Verrills. Keary is gonna miss at least 3 games, Cordner is listed as indefinite, Radley & Cerrilks are done, even Lachlan Lam is going to miss a few weeks.
The Raiders aren’t in much better shape, and they haven’t beaten a top 4 team since they were in the top 4.
We have two tough games in the Storm & Panthers, a potential banana peel game against the Bunnies & games against the Broncos, Tigers & Warriors rgatxwe should win comfortably. Realistically we should finish with at least 15 wins, which puts us in at least 4th. But I’m still banking on us finishing at least 3rd.
I feel the ladder is indicative of where we are at. Melbourne and Panthers are both playing better then us. Roosters might slip out of the top4 with there injuries and I think we are going better then them atm.
If we hit form before the semis with a couple of good performances we can beat Panthers and storm as evident when we played Penrith earlier in the year. On paper if our team fires we are better then both of them. But on current form we will struggle to beat those two teams and keep the top4 position.
The key is to wether we can recapture our form or not. If we regain form then yes! On current form No.
Let's hope B.A is taking it easy in training hence why the drop in form like roosters usually do with resting player e.t.c
For me it's all about execution our attack right now is stagnated player s are running wrong holes and aren't adjusting there lines and depth.
This is what we really need to hone in on right now.
A dry track will help us aswell because it brings our off loading back into play.
Really want to see our halves take control of this team.
Yes, the team has the defensive potential to win finals games and their attack Is capable of scoring through run, pass or kick against anyone.
Will they? Not on their last month of form.
It's obvious there are weaknesses the Eels need to fix. Defensively opposition teams are targeting our right side. Needs fixing. No doubt. We can also be exposed by very fast wingers on sudden shifts of play. But we play up and in, so getting our-flanked will happen. Cover defense matters.
BUT we have lost 3 games by 14, 4 and 2. The gap between our best and worst used to be vastly bigger. Think loss by 50+. Even out of form our defense keeps us in games.
Our attack is a bit of an enigma. We bring it out of our end no problem. We often roll through teams to their quarter. We make meters. All the time. But then we often stall in the opposition quarter. Our issues in attack can thus keep the opposition in the game. We are struggling to land killer blows that create points gaps to put the opposition out of reach of victory. This exposes the Eels to bad luck, wrong calls, and an opposition that can convince itself it is still on the hunt.
Are the storm the new test? Can we reverse our form slump? By rights, if we find form we should beat a Storm team minus Smith and Munster. Not easily. But we should woin if we are truly capable of going up a gear. To win a GF they need the extra gear in both attack and defense
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 5 Next