I dont want to be critical

I dont want to be critical of Parramatta, I love the boys and go for them week in and out. However first of all i believe that we were lucky to heave ever been within 2 points with 10 minutes remaining. The Tigers outplayed us throughout the majority of the game. We were inconsistent. Mateo played another great game and again provided the spark. And yes, i do believe that Tahu was taken out on the last play. People are saying Burt is not to blame. This is partially wrong. At the NRL level and him being the top gaolkicker in the league for percentage I believe that he must shoulder some of the blame. But in the same breath, everyone has a bad day or a bad moment, for Burt it was one kick and i do feel sorry for him. The player i believe that must shoulder most of the blame is the beloved and spectacular Jarryd Hayne. Before i say why, let it be known that I percieve myself to be one of the most passionate Hayne supporters and will back him up in any argument. But as the teams star player, you must carry more than your fair share of responsibilty for a loss. And while I am also a supporter of the less is more in terms of Hayne, a couple of crucial moments involving him may have stemmed the momentum and cost us a game we should have never won. Firstly the penalty not finding touch, this I believe to not be 100% Haynes fault, it seems as if Parramatta are playing musical chairs in terms of who takes each kick for touch, however at this level you would expect a player of his calibre to find touch. The second error was the Cayless offload / Hayne knock - on. I believe this to be Haynes fault. He should have caught the pass, Parramatta play a second phase game and while Cayless might have had a rush of blood, it wasnt a difficult pass to take and if caught could have created oppurtunities. The next moment was the Inu / Hayne mix up. This isnt Haynes fault entirely, Inu must share an equal portion of the blame but once again it stopped the momentum flow. And finally i believe the most tell tale sign was when he took a quick tap on our 10m line. That was an extremely rash decision and really wasnt thought out. I can see that these small incidents may have been results of Hayne attempting to stamp himself on the game, something he has bin less sucessful in doing this year, but I cannot fault Haynes commitment and passion for Parramatta. He goes out and plays as hard as any player everweek trying to get us across the line. Thes moments may have costs us a game we should never have been in a position to win, but we were and we didnt. I still love Hayne and the rest of Parramatta and I feel extremely sorry for Burt.

I would like to insert a metaphor or comparison at this stage. I am an avid follower of the NBA and I used to be a supporter of LeBron James. This was a man like Hayne who to a greater extent has the world of his sport at his feet, he could be the best ever. Now in playing for his team, James is and was expected to top the scoring every single night, be the best player every single night, make his team look better. Hayne does this, in patches. As many have highlighted he is inconsistent an i dont think you can argue with that. However as the STAR player, he, like James, has to do something special everygame. He is the player that the teams looks to to get them going. Hayne didnt play poorly, he made some questionable decisions and hence he has to be held accountable. If Hayne plays at an average NRL fullback level and the Eels lose, he will get some criticism, nto because of what he did. But because of what we know he can do and what he didnt do. So in todays game, while he didnt play poorly i believe that he must be held somewhat accountable to more of an extent as he is our best player. I can see the argument with the cayless pass, but the one that really annoyed me was the quick tap on our own 10m line, he seemed a little inconsiderate to the team and pressured himself into trying to make something happen. I am certainly not questioning his commitment, the way he plays and the way he speaks about the club and its personel clearly shows me that he loves Parramatta with a pasion.

"Master class from cleary. Took a huge hit in his stride and then good 40/20 which changed the game. Two quick tries, including one from cleary fooling the entire sliding right side defence of broncos. Nah no conspiracy here. We just had a video ref…"

"Good blog, Pops — as always. Things often aren’t as bleak as they seem, or as idealized as we hope.
What gives me hope is the club's internal alignment now - no matter the predictable outside Doomsday noise. As long as that remains, I have hope.…"

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Hugo August 22, 2010 at 6:58pm

Thanks for the time you spent on the post. Personally I believe you cant blame Hayne for the loss. The failure to find touch WASNT good, I agree, but the Caylo pass was an absolute shocker. There ARE 15 other players out there. IMO I believe that we were beaten in the play the ball /ruck area. Farah killed us. I hope that Ant Michell gets more time next year and backs himself more. Today he could have carved up the middle but was content to be merely the link man.
Amie_1 August 22, 2010 at 7:36pm

i love anthony mitchell,hes our x factor for next year so is haynesy
Sir Col "THE NODDY MUSHROOM" August 22, 2010 at 7:51pm

Which game were you watching ElDoughan?

Hayne got absolutely monstered by Inu when he was attempting to take that kick.
I have posted several times before about Inu jumping OVER the top of Reddy in the past and snuffing out our chances.
You cannot blame Hayne for someone else's brain snaps.

Won't argue about penalty not finding touch - agree 100%. At this level that is an unforgivable sin.

Burt missing THAT kick was a complete heartbreaker - he could have spat the ball over the bar - no further comment.

Re Cayless offload - the ball touched Haynes fingerTIPS and he was at full stretch - cannot see how you think he COULD have taken it let alone SHOULD have taken it.

Tahu intercept I can only put down to the force of the pass - it was meant to go 10 metres past Tahu so maybe the impact was just too much to handle. - who knows?

Apart from that there was too many other "defining" moments caused by other players that also contributed considerably to our loss.
I cannot agree that Hayne should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for this or any other loss to be honest.
Amie_1 August 22, 2010 at 8:01pm

Hayne played his heart out there.It was inu's fault for not communicating with hayne and reddy.Stop blaming him.
His the reason why we even had the chance to make the top 8.He has scored 9 out of the last 6 games

there.it

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Hugh August 22, 2010 at 8:06pm

we got beatten by a better a side, a side that was in the same position (as parramatta are now) for the last 3 or 4 years. So much potential but minimal return.

Parramatta will be better in the long run for not making the finals - hopefully it makes players on the roster next year hungry!
ElDoughan August 22, 2010 at 8:10pm

I would like to insert a metaphor or comparison at this stage. I am an avid follower of the NBA and I used to be a supporter of LeBron James. This was a man like Hayne who to a greater extent has the world of his sport at his feet, he could be the best ever. Now in playing for his team, James is and was expected to top the scoring every single night, be the best player every single night, make his team look better. Hayne does this, in patches. As many have highlighted he is inconsistent an i dont think you can argue with that. However as the STAR player, he, like James, has to do something special everygame. He is the player that the teams looks to to get them going. Hayne didnt play poorly, he made some questionable decisions and hence he has to be held accountable. If Hayne plays at an average NRL fullback level and the Eels lose, he will get some criticism, nto because of what he did. But because of what we know he can do and what he didnt do. So in todays game, while he didnt play poorly i believe that he must be held somewhat accountable to more of an extent as he is our best player. I can see the argument with the cayless pass, but the one that really annoyed me was the quick tap on our own 10m line, he seemed a little inconsiderate to the team and pressured himself into trying to make something happen. I am certainly not questioning his commitment, the way he plays and the way he speaks about the club and its personel clearly shows me that he loves Parramatta with a pasion.
Sir Col "THE NODDY MUSHROOM" August 22, 2010 at 9:48pm

Good argument ElD - I see the point you are making.

The 10M tap - you obviously do NOT see that move as Hayne doing exactly what you say is expected of him.
Quick tap - catch the opposition unaware and IF he broke through - totally different outcome.
He tried to do something "special" but it did not work.
Are we going to condemn him because he DID have a go but didn't pull it off?

The real trouble IMO is that Hayne on his own cannot get the team over the line.
Without the others at least putting in to help him he merely becomes the target for the opposition and that just makes it too easy for them to shut him down.

Bit of a Catch 22.
Engie August 22, 2010 at 10:02pm

The team is still relying too much on Hayne. Whenever the Eels are on attack, the opposition have all got half an eye on the ball and half an eye on Hayne which pretty much means that he gets a lot of defensive pressure on him when he has the ball. They're all looking out for him because no other Eel has the same firepower.
- Engie > Engie August 22, 2010 at 10:03pm
  
  Okay not so much firepower but play making ability.
ElDoughan August 23, 2010 at 7:52am

Yeah i see what you are saying Colin. He does try and that tap was a display of that, and yes the eels need a solid, not brilliant half who can kick, pass and sometimes take on the line. This would give Hayne a much more set role and i think that he simply lacks a little bit of structure at this stage of his career. I think he needs a set game plan that he can focus solely on to improve his play. I believe the eels should waitnext year out, go big in the next offseason and target Jarrod Mullen.

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