EELS BRACING FOR RAGING STORM GIANT
Martin Gabor
PARRAMATTA coach Brad Arthur says he has no issues with Nelson Asofa-Solomona being available for Thursday’s epic clash after the Storm giant was hit with his fifth fine of the season for an elbow on young Roosters star Joseph Suaalii.
Asofa-Solomona’s disciplinary record has been a huge talking point this season, with the prop accruing five grade-one charges but not spending any time on the sidelines.
It means he’s free to play on Thursday, with the winner set to book their spot in the top four.
The Storm and the Eels have history after Felise Kaufusi was suspended last season for a forearm on Ryan Matterson that left the Eels forward prone on the turf.
“He’s been cleared to play, so ... we’re preparing to play against a very tough player,” Arthur said.
“He pushes you hard and he’s very aggressive, and we’re going to have to make sure we’re on our game for him.
“He plays tough. He’s a tough player. My job is certainly not to make the rules. My job is to follow them. He’s been picked so we’ll be playing against him.”
Thursday’s match shapes as Parramatta’s most important of the season as it looks to secure fourth spot and a showdown with the Panthers in the opening week of the finals. — with Jen Dawson and 3 others.
Replies
The smart coaches would have used that as an opportunity to put pressure on the officials....
Disagree. In private perhaps the club could have spoken to the refs boss but publicly I think BA handled this exactly how he should. NAS is playing, that's good. He's a tough guy and we'll be ready for him. Bring it on! Anything else would have sounded like BA was a whiny bitch.
Agree.. 1 of the good qualities about BA is he doesn't offer any excuses or whinge.. this can also work against us.
Spot on
Yes, totally agree. BA did handle it perfectly.
Not sure he'll do it because it's not really his style, but, if I were BA, I'd instruct my players to go out and antagonise the shit out of NAS. Get RCG to put a big hit on him early to bruise his ego then niggle him until he snaps.
The refs are going to be watching him like a hawk this weekend and it would be of great benefit to us if he gives away cheap penalties or has a stint in the sin bin!
Bourbon Man, do we think the refs will be watching NAS this weekend? Media have been talking about the ridiculous way the 'fines not missed games' judiciary system has worked out, but I wonder if it is just too late in the season for the NRL to send out an edict to refs to crack down on the dog shot stuff that has crept into the game? V'Landy's is quite reactionary - which I am not is either good or bad,m as that depends - and issued change edits to refs mid-2020 and mid-2021, but we are in the final week of the regular season. I'm more inclined to think if the refs ARE asked to keep one eye on the dog shots, this will benefit the Storm, who have been practicing disguising them! I am thus imagining RCG or Ice or Niukore getting agro in a tackle and getting pinged, for things far less than what NAS and Kaufusi have been doing for a while?
I think the noise has been particularly loud this week following the spiteful clash between the Storm and Roosters. Cam Munster has been 'warned' (whatever that means) and several pundits have pointed to the fact that JWH and others would have likely been suspended for teh grubby acts NAS has perpetrated, particularly this year.
He's lived a charmed life with the judiciary thus far but I think the NRL have had it with him and if he puts a foot wrong this weekend, they'll come down on him a lot harder.
Bellamy no doubt knows this and will likely have counselled NAS not to get baited.
But, he's a hothead and a thug - and won't be able to help himself if we target him and antagonise him. At least, that's what I would do.
Now, I totally agree with your point about not getting into a dog act battle with the Storm because we're less practiced at it and will inevitably lose that battle, but, you can antagonise him legally. Put on some big hits and give him some verbal. He's got a fragile ego and that'll be enough for him to snap!
RCG and Nuikore need to tag team him out of the game!
He's not that smart
Robinson was trying the Big Whine a bit last year, his players were always the victims, and all it got him was to be called out as a hypocrite. He has mostly went quiet about the opposition. Sticky recently decided that commenting specifically on an opposition player's character or play was a good idea and, in addition to a week's holiday, was obviously told by his club to STFU so they could try to resusciate his credibility (losing proposition, Raiders Board).
So I don't mind BA playing it straight. Nothing he says is really going to affect the way the Storm - especially NAS and Kaufusi - push the boundaries of foul play. Indeed, we could think there are two main hypotheses for why the Storm routionely seem to get away with it. One, the conspiracy hypothesis, that Storm/NRL/Media are in cahoots and so Storm dog shots get overlooked. Or, two, if cheaters are gonna cheat, they will figure out ways to cleverly disguise said cheating. I opt for Hypothesis #2. The Storm, just like they did with all the wrestling plays and exotic tackles (chicken wings, crushers, hip drops, etc), also focus on how to get those plays as close to legal as they can. All the dog shot stuff in 2022 from the Storm seems designed to rely on free-fall motion to deliver the dog shot, rather than arms cocked back and so forth. Every fan with eyes see's the dog shots for what they are, but the MRC lacks the nuance to figure out how to sanction it.
Nothing BA publicly says is going to alter that second dynamnic, of foul play and dog shots being delivered (that's how the Storm want to play) or of them getting free passes at the judiciary. All the Eels can do is fight dog shot with smart play. A dog shot war is only going to see a team that doesn't practice the dog shots get pinged. Evidence the Eels are not a dog shot team? The Eels are the least penalized team in the competion. But another piece of evidence? The way the Eels handled incidents like Cleary's spear tackle on Brown, or Moses getting caught high against the Broncos. The Eels tend not to initiate all-ins and tend not to have 3rd-man-in issues. I think BA wants them to play with more discipline. Probably doesn't satisfy those who long for boxing matches to break out during the footy, but is this more discplined play part of BA's style, of using possession and territory and patience, a style that can be undone by cheaply giving away field position and possession?
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