Eels Blogs

For mine we played the perfect game just before the start of the finals. Our forwards went forward, our halves took on the line, and our backs stood tall. Next week in the finals they'll be playing the Broncos after finishing 3rd on the ladder and if we're lucky they'll be playing the game in Sydney.

1) Nathan Davis- He played the ultimate modern fullback game. He was supporting the runner and early on in the game he was put into a few gaps and half gaps purely with his support play. He also set up a few nice plays with his passing game and once again sent over Tyrell for a beautiful try in the match. What was also surprising in this match was his bombs. He put up 2 of the biggest bombs I've ever seen in an Under 20's match, although 1 was taken by the Raiders and the other was knocked on by Lavaka. This game and the Newcastle game have me confident that we could play him in the halves next year and he won't look out of position. He's a very good overall player and once he puts on a bit more weight he'll definitely be a player to be reckoned with and will be a handy player to have in our NYC next year given our high turnover of players in the backline.

2) Leva Li- Once again he proved to be a handful for the opposition not only streaking away for an 80 metre try but also with every run he was making a lot of metres and would often get an offload away. I think we'll have him signed up for at least 2 years as he only re-joined us this year and he'll be a handy addition to the Wenty team for next year.

3) Fabian Goodall- Whilst it wasn't his best performance he still put on a bit of a show in this game. His physical presence alone would make any opposition halfback and centre nervous but he also has some nice skills that can put away his winger. The combination he has struck up with Matterson and Li late this year has been remarkable. I can't wait to see him in first grade next year.

4) John Folau- Another strong performance from Sione. He scored two tries that required a fair bit of strength holding off a few players to put the ball down. Throughout the game he was proving to be dangerous down the right edge with a combination of speed and strength. I often think he's hindered by his last name as people expect him to be like his older brother but he's definitely a strong player on his own. Him losing a bit of weight during his time on the sideline has turned out to be a good ploy. With his height he's naturally strong but now that he's a few kgs lighter he's more effective with his sidesteps and fends. He was also back to his defensive best as he picked up and slammed at least 2 Warriors players. I still think he needs more time in NSW cup to refine his skills but he could turn out to be a solid first grade player.

5) Halauafu Lavaka- A bit of a mixe bag for the monster sized winger. He likes to cart the ball up but lacks the consistency of his winger partner and a few times was put on his back but when he was able to dominate in the contact he made a lot of metres. Again he was strong in the air and unfortunately dropped one of Davis' monster bombs but overall it was a pretty strong performance. Fortunately for Lavaka neither of Canberra's wingers scored and one of them was his main opposition for the top try-scorer in the NYC so I think he may have just taken it out despite only scoring 1 try in his final game in the Under 20's

6) Ryan Matterson- Another stellar performance from Matto. When he took the line on he looked very dangerous and he scored 2 tries with his running game. He also set up a few attacking raids for his outside men. When he was organising the middle and got his hands when tight around the ruck it made our team a lot better and I think with a pre-season of training with the first grade team and trying to put on weight I think he'll make the transition to lock.

7) ZDC- Bit of a quiet game from ZDC but he's becoming more of a half than just being a good player. He's talking a lot more in attack and defence and was setting up our right side nicely. He still has some mistakes and takes some wrong options but most 19 year old halves do. Even though he still has a year in NYC next year I think the club would benefit by moving him up into NSW cup so that he can defend and attack against players that have played first grade and generally better drilled teams.

8) Kelepi Tanginoa- In attack he showed why he was once touted as one of Parramatta's best prospects but you can also see why the club would be happy in letting him go. In attack he ran hard and generally won the collision when going into a tackle but a few times in defence but it wasn't as consistent as you would like it to be for a player of his calibre.

14) Joey Lussick- After coming back from a short break he was back to his good form. Whilst he doesn't provide the big hits of Kaysa Pritchard he still holds his own in the middle and gets through a fair bit of work. A few times he jumped out of dummy half but from what I saw he took the correct side of the ruck more often than not, of course it helps when you have strong players on either side but he counted numbers pretty quickly and handed the ball that way.

10) Tui Kamicamica- Same performance from Tui as last week. Nothing to be in awe about but it wasn't poor, definitely above average though. He gets through some work but he needs to put on a few more kgs or run a bit faster so that he can win the collision more often than he is now.

11) Josh Aloiai- Another workman performance from the N.Z back-rower. He often switched in between the middle and the edge and wherever he played he was effective in attack and defence. He threw a few offloads to Matterson which gained more metres after his hit and he knew when to throw it and when to hold onto it. Another half season in the NYC would do him well and if we have a good SG Ball graduate next year at the start or one come up from the season half way though I think Aloiai could easily spend the rest of the year in NSW cup.

12) Tyrell Fuimaono- He's starting to show why he was signed by Peter Nolan as a 15 year old and only 2 years later is starting in a Top 4 team in the NYC. For a young back-rower who is relatively small (Small in our monster team but average for the rest of the comp) he puts his hand up whenever the ball is sent his way to straighten up the attack and makes metres with every time he touches the ball. He showed his pace at least twice in this match, first time he was able to keep up with a flying Nathan Davis to score yet another try near the posts and the second was later in the match where he streaked down the right touchline and made Canberra's centre look slow.

13) Jeff Markus- Has slowed down a bit in recent times and his step hasn't seemed as effective. He's still doing his job in the team now that he's found his position he looks more effective but I think he might need a few less minutes so that he can get back to playing his best.

15) Jordan Muna- Ran hard but wasn't really noticeable

16) Alex Twal- Played his average game but this week he also added a bit of variety in that a few times he passed it out the back. Whilst it's good to have this in a forward's game I think the club should for the moment be telling him to focus on running hard and trying to open up his arm for an offload rather than an "out the back" play.

17) Fred Junior Mauala- Much like Jordan Muna

23) Corey Makelim- Came on late in the second half and defended at hooker but played a bit of a right half role. By the time he came on the game was already over in Parra's favour and his involvement in the game was to give Joey a bit of a break.

During the week I'll be doing a wrap of what I've seen during the regular in the NYC from all players that have taken the field and I'm sure that it will be around the same time that Forty posts his monthly wrap-up of all things Junior Eels.