Eels Blogs

Replies

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  Jimmy March 23, 2016 at 1:30am

  Lol@ Gus. I'm Semi's biggest fan and I gave him 3 points in the win against the Dogs but he ain't our best player.
  
  Me thinks Gus is downplaying the great team effort of the Parramatta Eels where our prodigious D has been at the forefront of our efforts so far in 2016.
  
  Gus has waxed lyrical about Semi's contribution and he is right on that front.
  
  His career reminds me of another rugby convert Noa Nadruku from the Canberra Raiders team in the 90's. It's a bit like saying Noa was the best player in the team that included Mal Meninga, Laurie Daley. Brad Clyde and - heaven forbid - Pricky.
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    Leith Holding > Jimmy March 23, 2016 at 10:21am

    I disagree. Semi has far more to offer than Noa Nadruku did. His playing ability is already greater. Last year - Semi was our best player. Sure Mannah got the Ken Thornett medal and Corey Norman gave us considerably more than he previously had but Semi was our MVP in my humble opinion.
    Is he our most important player in 2016? I feel this year he has greater support and the eels are a stronger team thus he is one of our most important players.
    Gus does have one valid point though - very few wingers have (and have had) the influence that Semi brings.
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  Jimmy March 23, 2016 at 2:12am

  I think this yarn sums up what I'm saying about how our D has been at the forefront of our efforts thus far;
  
  Parramatta Eels forward Beau Scott says “defence wins games” mentality is paying dividends
  
  March 23, 2016 12:00am
  Warren Thomson
  Parramatta Advertiser
  
  A STRONG emphasis on defence has Parramatta on track to concede fewer than 20 points a game for the first time since the club reached the NRL grand final in 2009.
  
  Parramatta’s stingy defence has let in only 25 points in their last 200 minutes of game time.
  
  The Eels have conceded 13 points a game in their three games so far this season, which is a great improvement on 24 per game in 2014 and 2015, and 30 a game in 2013.
  
  “Defence wins games. It’s as simple as that,” Eels forward Beau Scott said.
  
  “We worked really hard in the off-season on our defence and our attack and I guess giving ourselves the opportunity to go out there and play our footy.
  
  “I was pretty impressed by everyone that we managed to keep the Dogs to nil until late in the game and unfortunately we let a pretty soft try in.”
  
  Eels captain Kieran Foran said the win over the Dogs was a massive confidence boost.
  
  “Defence two weeks in a row now has been the most pleasing part,” he said.
  
  Parramatta’s defence will be put to the test against the young and talented arsenal of attacking options in the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday.
  
  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/parramatta/sport/parrama...
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  Wile E. Coyote March 23, 2016 at 6:35am

  I think the defensive effort from the forwards was great last year
  
  But we had two problems
  1. We had holes in our defence and we were only as strong as our weakest link
  2. The halves did not capitalise on our forwards work
  
  So given there blood and sweat was not rewarded and no use as opposition just strolled through our weak links the forwards eventually got demoralised towards the end
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    Wile E. Coyote > Wile E. Coyote March 23, 2016 at 6:36am

    But I agree Beau has taken it up a notch this year
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  Jim Tabone March 23, 2016 at 10:04am

  I just want to gloat and say I said this in another blog well before Gus wrote this story. :)
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  Drop Bear March 23, 2016 at 10:44am

  I saw Ken Irvine play. I was bloody young back then, but this article reminds me of another winger. I'm a huge Semi fan and it's pretty hard to gauge just who would fit the bill of the best player. This is one for sixties and DK, but one bloke who will always stick in my mind is Peter Dimond. I think his running style would have had him up on report each week because of the way he raised his knees when running, but he rightly deserves his place as one of the games greats. 
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  slip March 23, 2016 at 10:55am

  I wonder if Semi by the end of his career could challenge Eric Grothe snr for the wing spot in Parra's best ever team.  
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    Skipper > slip March 23, 2016 at 11:16am

    Interesting thought Slip. I'd love to see a team with both of them on the wings. I can't think of another winger that might surpass either of them at the moment.
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  Enforcer Eel March 23, 2016 at 11:53am

  Gould has his own agenda here maybe. See if he uses his media influence to drive up Semi's market value, so eels will have pay more for him, means we lose others. Its strategy

  Semi is a major contributor, but not worthy of being the highest paid.