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At 44-12 with over ten to go, I was thinking "Wow". Sixty seconds later it was: "Here we go again".
Yet again, we implode at the back end conceding 28-0 in 11 minutes.
It coincided with Gutherson (above) leaving the field in the 70th. With Dylan at fullback out of the front line, our defence and edges (especially pur fight edge on this game) were road kill for the possesion-hungry Dragons' ad-lib eyes up footy.
Saints just needed another 60 seconds to probably pull off the impossible.
Graphics produced by the Eels' Club
A barnstorming Sivo and a great finish by Tago ulitmately proved to be the difference along with numerous no-tries to the Saints including another uncanny try-saving effort from Sivo on Lomax of all people. Sivo has quite a few intelligent footy moments since returning from injury. He's made a statement, but where will he end up next year and beyond?
Graphics produced by the Eels' Club
We have lost the backend of 21 from 23 games this season. We have lost the backend of every game after the bye 18-6; three tries to one. It's almost clockwork.
We always seem to find a way. An excuse.
Graphics produced by the Eels' Club
Our poor defensive resolve and lack of resilence spoiled what would have been a great victory - marked by some great individual efforts. It spoiled what would have been a rare highlight over the last two seasons, post 2022.
The Team Song tells a tale and underscores a somewhat pyrrhic victory to cap another annus horribilis that hints at deeper problems beyond fitness or talent. Ryles -and the club have a lot of work to do to unite the playing group and club top-to-toe.
PS: Currently we have the equal worst defence in the competition (leaked 690 points at 30ppg) with the Tigers. In next Friday night's spoon bowl, if Eels concede 28 points or more, they will have conceded more points in a season than any Eels team in its 78 year history.
Replies
Ah! Hoey.... my friend.
Its time Poppa took you in hand and explained that the season is nearly over........yes all nightmares come to an end.
Sit back in the comfort of your armchair and I am positive I can bring a smile to your face......
Haha, lol, Pops.
The end can't come soon enough. I'm looking forward to it.
What do you expect when all we heard from our previous 11 year mastermind was Front loading effort areas and chasing collisions. The efforts were certainly front loaded.
Snottie, Admitedly, I'm relieved he's no longer in the club. He was not all bad. He did some good things. But great for those he liked and you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch yours while running a quasi family business making deals on the side.
That Nepotism thing hurt the most . Bad for club culture. Hope Ryles doesn't have kids with footy aspirations
Unfortunately nepotism is seemingly accepted within the NRL at the moment. BA, Kevvie Walters, Cleary, Flanno. The blueprint has been well and truly laid and no one has put their foot down.
Captain, yep, lol. Perhaps if BA sired a Nathan-Cleary-Arthur like, it could've changed the equation.
Bellyache's son is an assistant coach at the Storm and you see him up in the coaches box with Bellamy.
But the Storm's success and culture overshadows any "nepotism" questions. Same with the Panthers. Billy Walter may not end up a Hall of Famer but they did do 2023 with him starting at 9.
Nepotism is commonplace in the animal kingdom in both patriarchal and matriarchal heiraches.
It's a moot point and in the past, but BA's nepotism (which went beyond his sons and included employment of family friends I believe) was the least of my issues with BA. I actually disiked the side deals far more and the acting. My issues were with how we played - highlighted by the 50 blowout losses we had under him - and he was limited imo. Just my view.
Glad you included Dylan Gutho Moretti and Sivo in your graphics HOE .All great spirits for me. How do you be Don't worry be happy at our age. What works for me is getting in touch with the innocent mind of my grandson and his discoveries in new things in life with nature.We can learn a lot from them in our search for being happy.
TAD, thanks. Yes, I'm liking the graphics the club is producing. They seem to have focused on upping their game on social-media and marketing strategies from last year's "Parradise" mantra.
And I hear you and agree on the whole "happiness" theme. Nature is a big one. I miss my cats, my late dog, and my koi. My goodness, I learned a lot from koi. Unexpectedly. What wonders of nature they are. Misty clouds hovering below mountain tops also does it for me, too. Or just seeing the innocent play of kids with my better half: That's as good as it gets.
Often, I wonder whether that whole "I want to be happy" is a fairytale illusion. If you want to be happy, you have to also be unhappy. Today, you may be happy but a tomorrow will bring about something that makes you feel "unhappy". It's the flip side of the same coin. Both are inevitable. Too much "I want" this-or-that self-focus kind of takes you further adrift of happiness as well, in my experience, as we aren't independent islands.
Learning how to switch from unhappy to happy is something we can learn from little kids. Kids learn the nasty stuff from us oldiesI woke up at 5 .30 am this spring morning to lots of singing active happy birds. I should get up early more often and take the time to learn from them as well
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