Eels Blogs

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  Parra fan on The Hill July 8, 2020 at 11:47pm

  

  The biggest differance between the squad of 2018 and this year which has been catapulted us as a genuine contender from pretenders last year is SIZE and no dickheads.

  I remember on several occasions our forwards being bashed big time in 2018. Bevan French and George Jenning being ragdolled into touch.

  Dickheads that left. Kenny Edwards, Norman, Williams and Hayne.

  Our forwards now not only have size but skills. Look at the ball-playing from Junior and Matto and their off-loads. The size of Lane, Waqa, Fergo and Sivo. Mitch Moses is no longer a turnstile. Dylbags probably has the soundest tackling technique in the club. Waqa and Fergo are pretty decent one-on-one defenders but struggle to stay on the same page as a defensive combo. If we manage to sort that out we won't having any obvious defensive weaknesses.

  Champion teams have great defences. Look at the Storm and Chooks. Their defense is their foundation that leads to premierships. That's what we lacked but now possess. We just have to beat them now to get the monkey off our back when it comes to those two.
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  Coryn Hughes July 9, 2020 at 4:41am

  

  I've always thought anyone who could hang on here through the turmoil is a guy you probably want to hold onto.For in his time here he's shown enough resilience to deserve a decent crack at mending what's wrong.People will mention but he's been here 5-6 seasons but he's been here under duress of poor management above him.

  Like building a house in quicksand.Being more interested in kitchens and bathrooms instead of the ground and the structure that holds the place together is how I equate to how Parra has been built.Seemingly now Gurr O'Neil McElduff and co have finally put the second mentioned in place has allowed the coach the foundation to launch and now we are beginning to bare fruit.The next thing is consistency being able to do it week in week out in which is what we are doing now then stringing months together then launching and going to another level come finals time.

  Its why I believe Parra right now are still in the process of building an 80 minute game.We are showing patience in attack and resilience in defense butte are still having lulls in games handing momentum back unnecessarily,once we see a near on mistake free performance I still believe there's alot of improvement left in our footy side.I believe BA is looking for this sought of performance aswell.
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    colin hussey > Coryn Hughes July 9, 2020 at 10:15am

    

    Coryn, good post and what you have said in the last paragraph is one of two concerns that I have, & both are fixable, the first is around the right side defence of Fergo and Waqa, they need to set their positions and tighten up their work there, Fergo needs to stay on his line and watch the play, often going in to help Waqa but has eyes only for the attack against the centre, with him facing Waqa, he is blind to the opposition winger who gets past him. Once that area is fixed he can then look to making his hard runs for tries.

    The other aspect is the lulls in the game, a good example is the Raiders game, however they have been somewhat a bogie team for the eels.  The changes for the coming game with the loss of Stone and Kafusi may be heavier than I would like it to be.
    • 

      Coryn Hughes > colin hussey July 10, 2020 at 6:18am

      

      For me helping the right side and helping the defense always starts inside and at the play the ball ball.Firstly in my eyes we need to win the contact.Then the A,B defenders have to get off the line quickly.i think Blake has the speed so I'd start him on the inside shoulder of his man f we win the play the ball.

      It also helps with Fergo doing the mentioned aswell and use the sideline as your friend.

      Its when teams come at him and they have momentum is when we get caught in that instance Blake and Fergo have to stay connected and push up n in continue to move foward to cut down the opponents time with the ball.Never stop moving foward you leave yourself open for the kick in behind but I'd take that than getting beaten by a hole runner or by quick hands because we've stopped moving foward and getting off our line.
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        colin hussey > Coryn Hughes July 10, 2020 at 10:30am

        

        Good post Coryn and agree.
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  Grunta the great July 10, 2020 at 7:47pm

  How good is it that we have a coach who has been here for 6+ years?

  To be honest, I didn't give a rat's arse who was our coach there for awhile, I just wanted whoever it was to stay in the job for more than a season. 'I believe in SK' was a direct result of seeing so many coaches come and go and constant instability. Let's face it, some phuckhead staff took this club for a lucrative ride for years. I didn't know SK from my arse, but I wanted to see a coach get backed from the board and stay solid for awhile.
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    colin hussey > Grunta the great July 10, 2020 at 9:45pm

    Grunts agree with the thrust of what you have said.  We had Smith for years but while there were good years there was other ones as well, always the bridesmaid.  I stand for what I said that the review and results were the best thing for the club, while what came out was a revelation but not only that it pretty much covered every area of the club, and with the changes that came in, those known and those not, but I believe it was the makings of the Eels, as each person on the payroll whether on or off the field would have done a lot of soul searching for themselves.

    Its worked so far and cannot see why it should not continue to do so for some years to come.