Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. What better way to describe Parramatta's split personality on Friday night?
One half spent imploding with passes going to ground, balls spilt, tackles missed, ground given up easily and an ineffective kicking game. Another half looking like a well-oiled machine, capable of scoring at will and dominant in all facets of the game. So dominant in fact the end of game statistics made it look like a comfortable win for the Blue and Gold.
If the Eels want to be considered genuine contenders though, and not just semi-final fodder, they will need to banish the Jekyll and Hyde persona entirely.
Great sides, premiership winning sides rarely turn in such performances. The closest Melbourne get to a split personality is probably what we all saw on Thursday night, and it was still good enough to comfortably swat aside fellow premiership heavyweights South Sydney. Against a lower tiered side the Storm probably would have been about 30 points up by half time.
Parramatta though have spent a decade as a team capable of both blowing sides off the park and collapsing in a screaming heap. Often managing to do so in the same game.
There is no doubt the Eels are an exciting side to watch. When they click they're nearly impossible to stop. They punch through the middle confidently, offloads are released and the ball is moved crisply.
But where sides like the Roosters and Melbourne can be at that level 85% of the time, the Eels are more a 70%-75% side.
They go through passages of games when they're unbeatable, then they drift through other parts where they can't hold the ball.
If this side wants to be considered a premiership heavyweight, then it needs to be the high executing, high completing version it can be the vast majority of the time.
Performances such as the first half against Brisbane need to become a distant memory because against higher quality opposition there will be no 24 point turnaround in the second half.
And it's high quality performances that see sides win finals matches.
Eels fans were happy to be in the finals in 2019 given the car crash of 2018, even moreso given the thrashing dealt to the Broncos. But Melbourne provided a reality check.
When it came to 2020 the Eels again were bundled out in the first two weeks of the finals, this time being unable to take advantage of a top four finish.
The loyal Blue and Gold Army continues to grow at an incredible rate but the premiership window is open. The Eels can't wait for someone to invite them in though. They're going to have to crash through that window sooner or later or the premiership drought will grow into a fifth decade.
That's something Eels fans won't tolerate.
While the 2019 Eels could be expected to be Jekyll and Hyde, the 2021 version must ditch the dual personalities.
The team owes it to its loyal fans who are now in their 35th year without glory to knuckle down and repay that faith with the only thing that matters.
Replies
One of the mast based articles ever from you super.
You been redpilled?
Well said Super and spot on!
This is a pretty astute summation. There appears to be too much panic within the team, with a focus on winning each match within the current set of 6. Composure with the patience to build pressure will take us to the next level.
This is where I think the pressure lies with Mitch Moses. He needs to put kicks in at the end of a set that strangles the life out of our opponent if there isn't a scoring opportunity.
When Brian Smith turned the team around, it was built on defence. Frustrating the opposition then paved a way for point scoring. No use in scoring 30 points if the opposition can score 32.
In that second half it seemed like Moses and Brown got it. Rather than trying to win the match with one play, they began kicking Brisbane to death, culminating in that goal line drop out which led to the Junior match winning try. BA should be highlighting that final five minutes as how they should approach most games. Run hard, tackle hard, consistently kick to the corners, build pressure and capitalise once your opponent is exhausted.
Front Roweres Front Rowers Front Rowers! I am a broken record I know but look at this, Melbourne win the comp starting 3 Representative Front Rowers, Parra have 1 real Front Rower in RCG, Paulo is a Prop I know but maybe a lock with his style of play, The Bus needs an engine! We've got steering wheels in the halves and decent tyres on the edges, we just need a big bullying engine!
Kick to the corners and don't always wait until the end of the set.
Do it while their wingers are up in defence and make Paps run himself ragged chasing the ball.
Doing this will also wear their forwards out.
Spine spine and more spine development the guys that control the game need to go to the next level.
Mahoney picked his time Moses picked his time in the 2nd half and we iced it.
The 1st half you hope is a aberration.If it's not the seasons a wrap.
There is something about Parra that suggests the players cannot keep up the mental and physical focus to be on the ball for 100% of game time. If it is only once per week for 80 min, this should be doable, and we often see other teams able to do this. Are they drained from a full week of training? Are their minds not fully on the job? It's easy to lose focus, but the players need to be aware of when they are losing that focus, and know exactly what to do to get that focus back. The way Parra were able to come out in the second half (with not that much said by the coach) and start to put it together suggests that they are on the right track. The players all knew they had lost focus, and knew what they needed to do. Nobody had to tell them that.
The other things is that the team needs to completely ignore the premiership drought. This really has nothing to do with them - their goals should be to put themselves in a position to win the title, after the past few years working to get the team performing as one. It is right to say the premiership window is here, and the team as a whole needs to know what they have to do to collect the trophy.
The last time we played Melbourne in March we won. Ignore the fact it was in 2001.
it maybe worthwhile to see some highlights of the Storm and Rabbits game. Their tries are usually well constructed through with better attack formations..Walker from Souths sets up some good tries I like how Bennet has their backline working .Both sides are good at creating space for their backs.If our backs got this type of space to work with we would be a genuine chance.