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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HOE, Im not sure how to take the personal attack. I ve wrote a few responses in anger and didn't post them out of respect, but My statement of
i'm not up on all this Bluey, but you are one of the very best posters on here....let the boys figure it out but don't worry we love you posting, you bring balance, commonsense and rationale, as does Cappy.......i'm seeing a lot of anger coming through here....don't take anything personally on here whilst this current disaster is unfolding....we are a team of supporters as well and lot of the responses coming through are stemming from the frustration of all these happenings.
Injuries are the catalyst and looking for mystery historical comparisons is just another reason for the discontent.
The "dead zone" as described by Hoey is real and we are a victim.....lest just accept this is in the realm on of the uncontrollabe and we can make no valued jusgements untill we can grab on to things we can control.
Stay safe mate!
Apologies, Bluey.
I just feel The Unlimited Tackle Era and Restart Era are very, very different eras. I didn't mean for that to be a personal thing. Apologies mate.
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.
The agenda is clear but you'll need to explain your reasoning here, Captain. How do you calculate your PA and PF Deviation "average" stats? Just curious. Not saying you're wrong, to make it clear.
It's the standard deviation percentage from the Average Points For and Against for that season summed up by coach tenure. Using data from the Rugby League Project.
Interesting stats, Cap. Our defence has been on the decline since post 2021 (relative defensive ranking). Last year was the first time there has been any improvement in five years.
Good stats there Mr Captain....Was Kearney really so fucking lame as to be exactly -19.1% below avg for both attack and defence....couldn't do it if you tried.
Often when I try to get my head around things i end up with a useless song snippet or stupid poem...so I will just add
Round and around
In a sad state
Not gettin' any
Closer
Shake me berate me & leave me
With nothing left to
Ponder over
I say around & around
It's a sad state
Not gettin' any
Closer
You can't break our Spirit
You haven't got it in you
To get down that low
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.
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