Say it every week . You can't compete in this comp with such an inept backline .We can hang in for as long as we can until the dam breaks but there is NO quality in the backline aside from Fox .
Will Penisni is the worst player in the comp and Russell isn't far behind him. No class , no speed , no athleticism , no centre skills , no ability to compete in the air , bad reads , missed tackles , concentration lapses , slacks off on the 1%ers , poor kick chase , can't beat a man 1 on 1, can't hit a hole. Worst centre pairing I've seen in my time watching the game . Wahs outside backs superiority once again won them the game.
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Agreed. In desperate need of two centres and a winger
...and a forward pack.
Apart from a forward pack, a backline and a half that delivers more than reputation we're pretty right.
I agree, our outside backs are sub par. However, outside backs are only 1 piece of what the Eels need to become a contender. Throughout the 40 plus years I've followed Rugby League I have never thought or heard that a side has won a premiership due to the quality of their outside backs! The Eels are lacking two or more good middles, two attacking edge forwards upgrades om two of there spine (6 & 9) plus majority of their outside backs. The 2026 Eels are so far away from being a top 4 side. At this stage a total clean out is needed, but with new clubs entering the competition signing quality players is difficult. The Eels are 5 plus years away from success.......... if their lucky!!
This is true . We are also light on a couple of quality forwards but the game has changed.
Quality outside backs are worth their weight in gold . Not only can they break a game open they're also asked to solve problems in defence , scramble to save try's and run for 150-200+ metres a game . They compete on kick chases.. there is just so much they do . All the top sides have impressive athleticism in their backline . I think the old saying forwards decide the game and backs decide by how much is phased out . You can't go into a season with no strike in your backline and absolute plodders like Penisni . They're redundant . Will needs to change codes but more importantly people at our club and in charge or our recruitment need to realise what players we are carrying that don't have the athleticism the modern game demands.
it's one example of many , but watching the Storm v Dolphins last night - Storm were right up for the game but when the game was there to be won guys like Herbie and Jack Bostock are making plays . Dogs Cowboys 12-12 and Chester splits them off loose ball. There's no one on our side who has that ability . Will is flat out catching the ball let alone passing it .
To make it worse our guys are absolute liabilities in defence and do brain dead things on the field . That penisni escort was horrendous.
Yes it's definitely all across the park.
Moses' long kicking game is basically the only skill we have as a team that is better than most opposition. Our middles are bad, our spine is average at best, our backs are shocking.
Walker, JAC and Moses would probably be the only players to be certain starters in any other NRL side.
We just don't have enough talent in the squad, plain and simple.
Yes but why do we need them now.
As soon as the decision to release Lomax was agreed to that had to be the #1 decision back then.
I mean we left the door open for DB to go also and we still don't have an answer at 6 this is how this club moves at glacial pace to recognise these situations.We also need middles also but are extending a high wear player in Jnr Paulo they have no choice there going to ride him until there's nothing left and I'd suggest they'll do the same with Moses using both as purely a bridge.
My biggest hire in the off season is a new S & C coach we need the best man available.
We lost our guy from last year and replaced him with the Knights guy ?
I tend to agree , if Lomax first requested a release mid last year and that was the road we were going to go down , I like you have no problem with it . But to wait until December / January to sign a replacement for a rep winger is pretty weird.
We also haven't moved to replace him for 2027. At this stage it will be Fox , Injury prone Simonsson coming off another major injury , Will not a centres asshole Penisni , and probably Nanva with Charlie poor man's Alvaro sitting on the extended bench if one of them goes down . Absolutely diabolical stuff.
Seriously what the hell have our retention committee seen in Charlie ? He loses almost every tackle he's involved in with and without the ball and moves around like a 50 year old . I'm all for needing depth and know not everyone is a superstar but what attributes does this bloke have that makes someone at our club think he's going to be any sort of valuable member of a 30 man squad ? Is it just because they bought him through pathways and had high hopes for him ? Another they appear to have got wrong .
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