We without a doubt have the worst centre pairing in the comp . You can look through every other side - neither of our centres would get a start in any of them . It's an area we have neglected in both recruitment and development. We have a rep level halfback and his strike on his side is battering ram Pensini who lets in 3+ try's a week and runs the 100m in about 22 seconds. He doesn't have the ability to compete for high balls , can't beat a guy with footwork , has errors in his game , can't draw and pass , can't catch and pass , defends on his heals , stops and comes in when the defence is sliding out , lacks attention to finer details .. he's just an out and out battering ram . His carries were pivotal in us beating the Dogs last week but they were needed because he invited the Dogs to score 3 try's.
Rusell isn't any better . Just no class about him at all . On his good days he competes hard and has a crack . He is a bog average player who has no clsss or finesse and worryingly still has more of both then Penisni .
Nanva showed more defensively in 2 games than either of the above 2 have in their first grade career. He has a bit of height and smarts about him and may be one to go with moving forward . We desperately need to recruit a strike centre who can compete athletically . It's an absolute must . If we want to keep Will for his tough carries going forward he needs a new position . He can't play back row because he doesn't have the motor or work ethic - he's gassed after ever carry . It's a dead set massive problem for us moving forward if the club fhinks he's a centre we can build around .
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That's my point exactly HOE.
The analysis is still valid - here is our points for (attack) and points against (defence) normalised against the average for each season - showing how far below or above the average team for that season we are. Our defence is the worst of the last decade even when normalised for the VLandys-ball.
We have never been worse than we are right now defensively compared to other teams in the league in the NRL era. Our attack is only slightly under average, but our defence is PUTRID compared to all the other teams even when you normalise the numbers.
Don't shoot the stats guy.
Captain,
Sure, three blowout games means our defence after R8, is the worst to date in the competition. No arguments there.
But the comparison with unlimited tackle era and the modern Restart Era is so off the reservation it ain't even a joke.
Like I said blowouts are becoming normalized in the modern era — more than any time in the game.
And no team, not even Penrith don't concede 4 tries in a 20-min zone defending 70-80%. Let's just get fair dinkum.
And our injuries are one factor. Look at Souths last year, or Storm this year. We've used 28 players for goodness sake. I don't know what you buggers expect. It's certainly not realistic.
Check the stats. Listen to the players and Gus.
You're right Adam, it is bullshit.
This year (so far) we are the 4th worst Eels outfit defensively since 1947 (this is with all normalised numbers, not based on raw scores - so it reflects the average performance of each team each year to put things in correct historical context.
So yes, we're not the worst in 80 years. We're the 4th worst...so far (and one decent loss away from moving into 2nd worst in 80 years). Also, 2024 was the 5th worst, so we're definitely hitting some unwanted milestones recently.
Bonus credit, here it is broken down by Coach. So Sticky is still our worst and Gibson is still our best (surprise surprise). Even with BAs fall from grace in the latter years he kepts us dead on average overall which is an achievement given the squads he had.
I'm not saying the criticism towards R&R are not justified. I'm saying using Russell as an example for their ineptness is not. Remember when we extended him for 2 years and many here said we are inept for keeping him? Now he's gone as a club way over valued him with 4 years and now we are inept for letting him go?
R&R criticism is more than justified, but for certain examples. Russell was an example at the start of the week, now he's rubbish. It is an example of how reactionary a lot of us can be and I'm guilty of that too.
In terms of Penisini, just going off what he said in a presser.
Good points , Different opinions by different people I guess about who should stay who should go.
Please BE, don't think i am giving them a pass. 2021 off season alone is enough to dispise them as that set the club back years. Losing Mahoney and Papali'i including a few depth players, then having Paulo, RCG and Matto have us over a barrel for extensions and pay rises with Dolphins lurking and options in contracts.
If someone asks me, which nobody does as who cares haha, would i keep Russell or let him walk, i would say keep him. But at the same time when you have a club offer 4 years on top of an over pay of salary, he is crazy not to take it and we are crazy to match it.
But just over that being used as some sort of receipt to bash R&R more when if they gave him 4 years at that salary and how he played yesterday this place erupts with how bad R&R are. Not everything is their fault is all i am saying.
👍. I don't think Russell has been first grade material up untill this year. That is based on that he would have to keep improving. I can't get out of my head that great chip and chase to score. He had a blinder that day. But he needs to do that type of thing more often. Otherwise we have no strike in the centres.
where do you want the bullet ? Lol
i can't see Bamblet being given a chance there. Already been arguing if we develop him as a 1 or 6. Adding another position will hurt his development I believe. Needs consistency in a position to develop
Square in the temple might do haha.
Though i see it as a slight possibility to get him into FG via either Wing or Centre if they feel he can play it. Who knows, he could find his way into Cup in those spots later in the year and see how he handles it.
Or Ryles and co. could just see him as a Fullback/Five-Eighth only and that's the way it is. He out of all the juniors is quite possibly the most fascinating to see how he gets to FG, if he does.
Again, it is all forecasting with no clue of the future.
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