Jason Ryles acknowledged in his press conference following Parramatta's 16-10 loss to the Storm that it was a night of mixed feelings.
The Eels put themselves in position to beat the competition favourites, but poor handling and costly penalties gave the Storm the chances they needed to seal a much tighter victory than was expected.
Ryles has spoken constantly throughout the year about his young side learning on the job and having to tighten up their handling.
The Storm have been near the pointy end of the competition for 20 years while the Ryles era has been grinding away at lifting themselves off the bottom for 20 weeks.
A 40 point turnaround is nothing to sneeze at and the Eels are an entirely different side now compared to the one that took the field at AAMI Park in round 1.
While Mitchell Moses' return clearly elevates this side into a top 8 level squad.
But it's not just about Moses. Josh Addo-Carr has added needed speed alongside experience in the backline, Zac Lomax's grunt work has added metreage the Eels have been missing since the early years of Maika Sivo while Sean Russell has steadily improved to a point where he is becoming a legitimate NRL level centre.
Ryles' focus on youth has perhaps best been seen in the forward pack. A broom went through the pack with only Junior Paulo and J'maine Hopgood remaining in the starting pack from 2024.
Kitione Kautoga, up until injury, had transformed from a clear rookie to both a defender with steel and a genuine ball running threat with Jack Williams also providing mobility and sting in defence on the other edge.
Ryley Smith was unveiled as the side's new hooker at the start of the season and took his opportunity with both hands, even if he is now job-sharing with new recruit Tallyn da Silva.
Parramatta's match against the Storm though was typical of what he have seen a fair bit of this year. Able to go with the top sides for long periods, but prone to errors of poor concentration or execution.
Melbourne were close to full strength and were taken to the 80th minute. But as Ryles said in the presser, this was a match the Eels lost more than the Storm won.
Parramatta is in a more optimistic position now than at this time last year as they barreled into a spoon bowl.
But Ryles and his coaching staff will continue to have their work cut out for them as they try to eliminate the errors, tighten up the defence and turn the Eels into a premiership force.
Replies
E A lots want would like Tino as the Alpha male. From what I have seen from the 20 year old Tuivaiti 1.9 tall 119 kg I think he could easily develop into the alpha male who takes over Paulo's role.. Not sure what others think . I like seeing how he is progressing.
I agree Tad. The kid went straight from Flegg to 1st grade, skipping NSW cup and he's doing more than just handling it. He'll be a beast in a couple of years and a good replacement for Paulo.
Thanks Joeyboyz let's see how Ryles uses him. Basically if he works hard merit will say something that you can't ignore
That's a quick progression for a player Joeyboyz. There could be a reason for that.
Not sure about Tuivaiti yet Tad I think there's some nuance and maturation to happen there as yet.
The biggest pick up I'm seeing with him now is teams targeting him with back to back defensive efforts teams little men targeting him because of his lack of awareness around the quick play the ball.Hes been caught at the ruck 2 weeks in a row with the inside ball to the little men trailing the dummy half through.
The tools are there physically he's still very raw though and I'm not sure if he's ready to be that alpha just yet.Parra's really missing that alpha in the middle and it's glaring.If we get a shot at Tino I think we have to take it.
The problem with it is the price and years these GC clowns have screwed the market for him as I think his deal starts at 7 figures and 5 plus years so if Parra are to take there shot it starts there.
Thanks Coryn
Raw and maturation are probably a good summation.
I did notice on Thursday though that Sam was making the extra effort. He was the defender a few times who was making that tackle to stop a line break.
He's got toget some scars also Tad right now bench impact is ideal.He also has to get a lot fitter to be able to punch out big or at least decent minutes right now he's about a15-20 minute stint max guy.He won't last a half of footy like junior punched out the other night.
Its one of the reasons they start Hopgood at prop because he can punch out minutes and is a solid defender and hence why they went and got experience in JDB it buys Tuivaiti and Moretti time as I don't think both can punch out starters minutes though I do think the latter mentioned is closer than Tuivaiti.
100% agree Coryn. It's why I also think Cup will be good for this development. He won't be getting big minutes in the NRL with the minutes the likes of Paulo, Williams, Hopgood and JDB can play.
Such a great comment Coryn on the real life lessons it takes to develop mental toughness.
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