I think the Eels have been blessed with somewhat favorable draws for the frist half of last season and now this season.
I am now very worried that these last two loses will start a downward spiral as we play a lot of top 8 sides for the remainder of the season. I am concerned that the boys will struggle to make the 8 and I am even more concerned that if we are lucky enough to make the 8, they will go out in the first round without so much as a wimper. Based on how we have played against top 8 sides we are very suspect in a number of areas.
#1. The Eels cannot handle sustained pressure and are mentally fragile. As soon as we come up against a team that plays direct/straight we are generally unable to compete. The Dragons aren't even that good a side but when we played them they played uptempo and direct football and we crumbled. That is also exactly what Manly did to us.
#2. Leads on from #1 as our defence is only good against weak teams. As soon as we come up against a team that plays uptempo/fast and direct/straight football we immediately struggle to win the arm wrestle. We have managed to win the arm wrestle against lower ranked teams but outside of our win against the Storm (Our best game this season and all teams have one of those games in a season) and our win against a heavily depleated Roosters, any decent team that gets the upper hand simply compounds it on us. Our compressed defence shows that the Eels don't trust their team mates to make the tackle. I understand that no one can make every tackle which is why teams compress their defence and that the sideline is like an extra defender but neither of our wingers are fast and we regularly have teams run around us. Furthermore, as soon as a team plays uptempo with fast play the balls and direct, they also run straight through the middle of us. Our defence against top 8 sides is woeful and I think the Pathers put 50+ on us unless they happen to have their worst game of the seaons against us.
#3. Our attack is also only good against weak teams as we simply slide/crab across/run sideways and eventually run around them (This only works agianst weak teams as they, like us, cannot slide in defence) or get pushed over the sideline by good teams. Ironic that we slide great in attack but cannot do it in defence? For reasons unknown to me, our attack continues to run sideways with the player holding the ball insead of running a straight line/at a gap or against the grain? As soon as the pressure gets put on the Eels they drop their heads and think slow play the balls, giving the defence plenty of time to get their defensive line set, is the way to win back the arm wrestle!!! Just look at how the Panthers are playing. Everything is uptempo and in particular their play the balls. They also constantly have other players pushing up with them and It's almost ast though they watched the Eels 09 highlights and have copied it. The only way to beat teams with really good structures (Roosters/Storm) is to play fast, hard, direct and with plenty of second phase plays. One out from the ruck only works when you have the upper hand. Yes you have to keep trying for at least a few sets to see if you can wear down the opposition but at some point, particularly when you are down by a few (10+), you might have to consider that something else is needed to win? Our attacking structures in the 20 are WAY TO DEEP!!!. Inside the 20 and particularly on the line, we need it to be staggerd with a line very shallow and one deep to keep the defence guessing. You can guarantee that 90% of the time we will have a super deep attacking structure at the line and the good teams read it well and just move up quickly in a line and shut us down even further out from the line than when we started. Our passing game also needs work, the timing is off. We either pass way to early and it is easily read or we pass to late putting way to much pressure on the runner to catch the ball. It is a fine lline between to early and too late but that is the difference between the good sides/top 4 and everyone else.
#4 Leads on from #3 as our attack is based around Moses. I don't have any problem with one or two players (generally the 9, 7 & 6) running sideways but eventually, someone needs to straighten it up or go against the grain as the result will always be the same against quality/top 4 sides, they get pushed over the sidelines. Moses running sideways generally works best against weak sides but he is at his best when he straightens up and takes on the line. Unfortunately, as soon as the pressure is on he simply passes it off and looks for someone else to lead the team out of it. Again, when the pressure is on we resort to low percentage plays instead of just constatley running straight, running hard and kicking for the corners with players chasing hard. That is all on Moses's shoulder and he is the one we need to be the calmest on the field and to lead us out of the arm wrestle. Until he can do that, the Eels will not improve and only play well against low ranked sides but get comfortably beaten by the better sides. He is our general in attack and that is the pressure that comes with being a half back.
#5 and last and leads on from all of these, Brad Arthur. It is up to him to find a way to make the above changes as it all rests on him. I am not a coach and wasn't anywhere near good enough to play eliete level League but I played for a number of years and have been a fan for almost as long as I can remember. The best teams alwasy master the basics of the game and then tinker with the finer points but the basisc are play faster, play straighter and play harder than the other team. That will be the secret ingredient to our great club finally winning another premiership and breaking the longest finals drought in Rubgy League history.
I say this every year, WATCH THE 09 HIGHLIGHTS. They put it all on the line that year and never gave up on a play. Yes they lost but to a team that was paying massive overs/breaching the salary cap.
In 09 there was always someone to offload to if someone made a break, they played the ball fast, moved up off the line fast and weren't scarred to play the ball. This is exacly what the Panthers are currently doing and I don't see them getting beaten by anyone. There highlights for this year will completely eclipse the Eels 09 highlights as they are likely going to do this for an entire season. They have their structures but also back themselves to play off the cuff. I am not a Panther fan but I can appreciate great teams who are setting the standard.
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I agree with almost everything there except that we had a ridiculous talent that created opportunities for our side to chase. Not sure we have the same game breaker or breakers to do similar.
The sharks game earlier this year was the only one where we decided to up the tempo mid-game. Cronulla were playing hard and direct and while we just held on, we fought fire with fire after the first few exchanges by playing hard and direct also. Eventually Cronulla lost 4 players to HIA and we won the game.
Fast forward a few games and junior has put the offload away altogether. I've never been a fan of Nbrown's slow play the balls, but the fact that he runs hard and fast and has a pass on him puts defences in 2 minds. Outside of this, we offer nothing in attack.
In defence we have absolutely no idea how to slide - and if you say we're playing up and in then clearly that's not working cos fergo and the centre are often caught in the seat and backpeddling.
It's been 8 years with BA. I don't know of another coach that has a consistently garbage defensive record.
Get Wayne in now. Give him 2 years. We've persisted with a single coach and invested in him for a long time. We have the side to go deep into the finals. We're no longer turning over coaches and while it's a good thing, now is the time. Thanks for putting up a half decent side throughout your tenure. Close enough isn't good enough anymore.
I agree with you too TG, but unfortunately I think we have BA for another 12 months, and Uncle Wayne has already said he is going back to Brissy. We won't get rid of BA until his contract is up I would say, as no one has the guts to show him the door. imo
A good read Matt.
I am not very technical when it comes to watching footy, so it is always good to learn things from guys such as yourself who know the game tactically better than I do. I agree with everything you say. I really think it is the coaching that is dragging us down. BA I feel is now a beaten man, Kidwell is supposed to be our defensive coach, but whatever he is doing is not working, on the edges at least. As for Steve Murphy???????????
We need fresh faces in the coaches box. All 3 have now been there a long time, andl et's face it, we haven't had much success. The sliding in A and D is a coaching thing right? Fergo annoys me when he comes in from his wing and leaves gaps. I assume he is coached to do that?? Otherwise, one of the 3 coaches would be telling him not to do it. I didn't watch yesterday's game, as the reports I was getting were torture enough, ( Iwas out, but recorded it) but it seemed we were doing the same thing in taking the ball up for 5 plays and then kicking. Dead boring, and so predictable. I assume BA tells us to do that?
For mine, we need the following:
New coaching staff
A new, matchwinning centre.
Speed in the backline
Better right edge D, which comes down to coaching for mine - nobody seems to know how to fix it
Better game management inside the 20.
If at least some of these things are not rectified soon, we will slide down the ladder quickly imo. I also cannot understand why we seem to get up for the storms and the roosters of the world, and crumble to teams we should beat. Is is mental or complacency, or bad coaching?
We have a side/the players that can match it with the best of them but unfortunately it is only on their best day. If it isn't on that day, we are easy beats for top 4 sides.
We aren't lacking the talent but we are lacking the mental fortitude and proper coaching direction to be real contenders.
I agree with you completely in what we need moving forward.