Parramatta coach Brad Arthur is wary of again falling into the trap of matching fire-with-fire against Gold Coast on Saturday after the Eels nearly got caught out by the Titans in their NRL season opener. Arthur's team hung on to claim a 32-28 win at CommBank Stadium in round one, in a game which featured 10 tries in the first 41 minutes before three penalty goals were enough to get the Eels home.
The high-scoring shootout may have been entertaining for the neutrals but Arthur felt it was a mistake by his team to get into such a free-for-all in the first place.
It's a situation he'll be reminding his team to avoid when the teams meet again at CBUS Super Stadium this weekend.
"They're a very tough team to play against in terms of they put a lot of shape and movement on the footy," Arthur said.
"You've got to be really good defensively and you've got to have a defence mindset and a grind mindset.
"We fell into the trap a little bit last time we played them and played a bit of touch footy because they do move the ball well.
"They're probably one of the better teams in the comp in shifting the footy, making the most of their opportunities, sideline-to-sideline.
"Defence is going to be really important for us."
After impressive wins over Melbourne and St George Illawarra, Arthur's team head to Queensland third on the ladder. Gold Coast meanwhile have a two-win, two-loss record after a last-gasp triumph against struggling Wests Tigers in a forgettable contest last week. The build-up to that game was marred by a COVID-19 outbreak which led to three players being ruled out as well as flooding at the Titans' training fields.
While Brian Kelly has this week been scratched due to COVID-19 and Jayden Campbell (ribs) remains unavailable, Gold Coast do get Phillip Sami, Beau Fermor and Isaac Liu back for what will be coach Justin Holbrook's 50th match in charge.
The Eels have Shaun Lane returning to the back row after he missed the win over the Dragons while Mitch Rein is on the interchange bench in place of former Titan Bryce Cartwright, who'll be 18th man.
Replies
Good match up of the coaches and tactics. Holbrook having worked under BA teaching our guys to attack and BA loving a conservative grind.
That game was comical. Too many errors from the Eels. The Storm, with their discipline, would have won by 20. That is the Eels' next objective - closing out games early when the opportunity presents.