https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/11/05/parramatta-eels-2018-season-review-by-the-numbers/
Eels: 2018 season by the numbers
Parramatta seemed to struggle more than most clubs to adapt to the early-season rules crackdown, repeatedly falling foul of the more stringent new interpretations of offside and ruck policing.
Weighty penalty counts against them, poor handling and an inability to find repeat sets meant they ended up on the wrong end of the possession count more often than not, sapping their energy through tackles and leaving little gas for a sputtering attack to click into gear as halves Mitch Moses and Corey Norman seemed to get in each others' way more than complement each others' games.
A calamitous injury and disciplinary toll didn't help either. Tony Williams, Beau Scott, Jarryd Hayne, Kenny Edwards, Manu Ma'u, Kaysa Pritchard and Greg Leleisiuao were among the top 30 players absent for far too much of the season, along with medium-term injuries for key men Nathan Brown and Clint Gutherson.
Home & Away record
6-6 at home, 0-12 away
The Eels' home record actually finished up not too bad – it was a bit below what the top eight sides produced at home but 50% isn't disastrous. What is disastrous is the club's failure to win a single away game all season. That 0-12 record mirrors their away record last time the club picked up the wooden spoon in 2013, with the 2016 Knights the last team to finish with the same winless road record.
Leading try scorers
Despite missing a third of the season through injury, Jarryd Hayne's late-season form spike helped him to 10 tries for the season – the only Eels to hit double digits. Winger George Jennings (eight) had his best season after a few years wrecked by injury and Bevan French crossed seven times.
Post-contact metres
Hard-working lock Nathan Brown's 54.3 post-contact metres per game was a club high, but not quite enough to see him into the NRL top 10. Tim Mannah was the best on a per-carry basis with 3.77 post-contact metres per hit-up but that too falls outside the NRL top 10. Team-wise the Eels finished 12th for post-contact metres made with 481 per game and were fourth-worst in terms of conceding them at 510 per match
Try scoring – attacking channels
The Eels' most profitable channel for generating tries was the centre-left area, with 29% of their season's 66 four-pointers originating there, leading to 28 of their 66 season tries scored on the left wing or left channel. Their biggest scoring channel was right wing, with 17, though just a further six were scored in the right centre channel. All up, 66 tries was the third-worst tally in 2018.
Parramatta Eels: 2018 by the numbers
A calamitous injury and disciplinary toll didn't help either. Tony Williams, Beau Scott, Jarryd Hayne, Kenny Edwards, Manu Ma'u, Kaysa Pritchard and Greg Leleisiuao were among the top 30 players absent for far too much of the season, along with medium-term injuries for key men Nathan Brown and Clint Gutherson.
Home & Away record
6-6 at home, 0-12 away
The Eels' home record actually finished up not too bad – it was a bit below what the top eight sides produced at home but 50% isn't disastrous. What is disastrous is the club's failure to win a single away game all season. That 0-12 record mirrors their away record last time the club picked up the wooden spoon in 2013, with the 2016 Knights the last team to finish with the same winless road record.
Leading try scorers
Despite missing a third of the season through injury, Jarryd Hayne's late-season form spike helped him to 10 tries for the season – the only Eels to hit double digits. Winger George Jennings (eight) had his best season after a few years wrecked by injury and Bevan French crossed seven times.
Post-contact metres
Hard-working lock Nathan Brown's 54.3 post-contact metres per game was a club high, but not quite enough to see him into the NRL top 10. Tim Mannah was the best on a per-carry basis with 3.77 post-contact metres per hit-up but that too falls outside the NRL top 10. Team-wise the Eels finished 12th for post-contact metres made with 481 per game and were fourth-worst in terms of conceding them at 510 per match.
Try scoring – attacking channels
The Eels' most profitable channel for generating tries was the centre-left area, with 29% of their season's 66 four-pointers originating there, leading to 28 of their 66 season tries scored on the left wing or left channel. Their biggest scoring channel was right wing, with 17, though just a further six were scored in the right centre channel. All up, 66 tries was the third-worst tally in 2018.
Tries conceded – defending channels
The same left channel that produced almost one third of the Eels' tries scored was also responsible for letting in the same proportion, with 29% of try-causes coming on the centre-left – well up on the NRL average of 22%. The other four channels (left flank, right flank, centre, and centre-right) were all consequently slightly down on NRL average.
Tries conceded from penalties
This was a real costly department for the Eels, who were level with the Titans when it comes to conceding the most tries from penalties. Both clubs let in 42 tries in the sets following a penalty conceded, even though the Eels were only the eighth-most penalised team with 200. Mitch Moses (20), Tim Mannah and Brad Takairangi (both 15) were the club's most penalised players.
Metres gained from offloads
Metres gained from offloads
Parramatta placed 13th for total metres gained from offloads in 2018. Their 214 total offloads ranked 13th while their 8.5 average metres gained from the carry following an offload was also in the bottom half of the competition. Their top offloader was Brad Takairangi with 38; Clint Gutherson and Manu Ma'u were next with 17 apiece.
Goal-kicking accuracy
The Eels managed just under a 70% success rate converting tries, plus nine of 10 penalty goals kicked for an overall average of 72.4%, placing them second-last in the NRL. Back-up kicker Clint Gutherson kicked under 60% in 2018 while regular kicker Mitch Moses managed 78%. Their tally of 55 two-pointers was five behind Newcastle's 60 goals which was the second lowest.
Total tackles
An inability to control possession hurt the Eels right through the season. The extra defence they were forced to do sapped them in attack and compounded other issues. The blue and golds won the possession count just seven times in 24 games, winning four of those (their other two wins they earned 49% possession). The Eels were eventually forced into making 8509 tackles, more than any team other than Wests Tigers (8622).
Players used
As mentioned at the top, the Eels had a horror injury toll with season-ending injuries to co-captain Beau Scott plus Tony Williams, who had performed strongly early in the season. Kenny Edwards was cut for disciplinary reasons and there were far too many short and medium term injuries. The club ended up using 31 players – the most of any club. Five other clubs used 29, the second-biggest tally, but most of them had players involved in Origin. The Raiders and Dragons used just 25 each.
Replies
It wasn't the penalties we conceded so much as the penalties we should have been awarded for similar offences but did not receive . It is the penalty lotto system with the refs that also contributed to our position.
Kerry, we were behind the 8 ball on that for the whole year, once the season had gone, with the injuries to key players not helping, we just became the whipping post for the refs and other teams. The players turned it up with no confidence that they could perform and played that way. The 2nd half of the season with a solid new experienced trainer showed things could change. While he did a great job he was also behind the 8 ball, he's with us next year again and that by itself should show out in big improvements.
The players though have to get the mental state fixed, start believing in themselves and the players around them, show commitment and work as a team.
Tad, many clubs have employed sports psychologists in the past, in many ways the have had varied success, think it was the dogs and another club a few years back who brought in hypnotists in an effort to get the team functioning better.
Sometimes I think we can end up with too many different professionals being involved that may not be of great help at all. Thing is how many of these professionals have any great insight into NRL players and what they go through, what training etc do they have to help mentor and get them through changes?
The aspect of giving away penalties that we did, also we were not getting the same treatment from the refs is something that I doubt some of the pro's could have answers for. Reason being when a team has some immature players in key roles/positions they have no skills in approaching the refs, and get a ruling and when they carry on, they go to the bin. This last season, I believe what staff we had in the early part believed the crack down was like so many others, would be temporary and then be shunted aside after a few rounds, the players I believe had that view and just go as per normal, thing is that didn't happen and the general lack of other coaching staff meant we did not have the back up needed.
The aspect to me also is that we lack a strong captain, one that the team will take notice of and follow in the game. Tim Mannah is not there for 80minutes and that does not help, ONE player needs to be captain and be on the paddock for the whole game unless injured.
Can't argue there TT.
Do we have a goal kicking coach like most other teams or do we just throw the ball around at the end of practice and shoot a few?
Agree FH, there is a need to stick with one goal kicker, and why MM was taken off that job is beyond me. There should be someone in the coaching ranks or support staff to help in that way. Don't get me started on the not taking penalty goal kicks.