It all started off with the impressive 18-16 win against Melbourne and we need one of those wins.
Here's what happened:
Round 19 - 18-16 win over Melbourne Storm
Round 20 - 27-8 win over Canterbury Bulldogs
Round 21 - 30-0 win over Cronulla Sharks
Round 22 - 40-8 win over Newcastle Knights
Round 23 - 40-4 win over New Zealand Warriors
Round 24 - 26-18 win over West Tigers
Round 25 - 48-6 win over Penrith Panthers
Round 26 - 0-37 loss to St George Illawarra Dragons
Finals Week 1 - 24-12 win over St George Illawarra Dragons
Finals Week 2 - 27-2 win over Gold Coast Titans
Finals Week 3 - 22-12 win over Canterbury Bulldogs
Grand Final - 23-16 loss to Salary Cap Cheats, Melbourne Storm
History can repeat itself only if we want it to. We can't just wait for things to happen. We need to make them happen and as fans we should do that by supporting our team, our coach and our club management.
Last year I did something similar, looking at the games ahead and making realistic predictions. I believe that not only can we can make the 8 but we can come 6th or 7th if we work for it.
We have a tough road ahead but we need to believe the Parramatta Eels can win. We will not surrender ever in the face of any adversity.
Round 17 - New Zealand Warriors - Easily winnable match as long as we don't underestimate them. We need to work hard for this win so that we can break out of our current situation.
Round 18 - North Queensland Cowboys - We can win if we play like we did last time. We need to have solid defence and shut down Thurston.
Round 19 - Penrith Panthers - This will be the hardest and toughest game we have. The punters will doubt us and that's when we'll lift. The more confident we are, the better. Our season will likely be determined by this game or the next.
Round 20 - Canterbury Bulldogs - Sound familiar? We played them in round 20 too last year. Will history repeat? This game will tell us about it. A win bigger than last time will prove we can take the extra step to win the Grand Final. If not, we're going to need to push really hard.
Round 21 - Sydney Roosters - If we're in the top 8 at this point, the outcome won't be too important, otherwise we'll need to win it. It's going to be tougher than you think, with the Roosters desperate too.
Round 22 - Gold Coast Titans - Another tough game away may mean some serious trouble for us. We can't underestimate their abilities at all as they can always win games narrowly when we least expect it. We'll carry the underdog tag for this game and we should win it.
Round 23 - Brisbane Broncos - Coming up them again but this time away will put us in a bad situation. Honestly, I don't feel like we can win this game but we can't doubt our team's ability.
Round 24 - West Tigers - This game will be really important and will test whether we can reproduce the magic of last year. The Round 24 win last year will inspire the media to fabricate stories about repeating history. We can't buy into that crap. To win this game, we need to be desperate, we need to play this game as if it meant as much as the Grand Final. A win will boost our confidence and I'm almost certain we can win the Grand Final from here as long as we have no major injury concerns.
Round 25 - Souths Rabbitohs - Another tough game but it won't be meaning as much as by now, we should have virtually sealed our spot in the 8. Personally I don't mind if we lose this one unless it means we could end up in 8th place.
Round 26 - The New Zealand Warriors - Brace yourself for a small win or loss. We should be resting players from this game. The finals will be very important.
My Finals and Top 8 Prediction
1. Dragons
2. Panthers
3. Tigers
4. Rabbitohs
5. Titans
6. Eels
7. Broncos
8. Roosters
From here on its do or die football and that's when we're at our best. We need to play for our lives. We need to be prepared to put in anything to win that premiership.
I do not want Nathan Cayless leaving this game without a premiership ring, lifting that premiership trophy or missing out on the lap of victory with his children. He deserves better. Hindmarsh has a few more years in him but he deserves a premiership ring more than any other player in the game. He is a legend and anyone who doubts his ability or personality, is doing a disservice to the game. Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu leave this club at the end of the year and have been fan favourites for years. They are 2 of my favourite players and there will definitely be tears for me if they don't leave with a premiership. Hayne will not want Inu, a childhood friend to go like that.
The team will lift when it's the right time to lift. We as fans need to be there for support whenever we can. We were robbed of one premiership. We are not going to let any other team take this one from us. Especially when there's so much at stake. If you are going to be pessimistic and doubt this club's ability, then go support another team. Our team should be built around a healthy culture of relentless support and optimism in the face of any circumstance. A few losses will not stop the Parramatta Eels I know from taking out the premiership. If the current Parramatta Eels want to be that VERY PARRAMATTA EELS CLUB, then we should all stand up and prepare to do what we can to win. We've done so much for this game and I believe it is time for us to have the premiership. This year is the year. The game is not just about winning but we have to remember that this team and its supporters really deserve it. We've been waiting long enough. The 2010 Premiership is there for our taking if we want it.
GO THE PARRAMATTA EELS!
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Replies
So we have to win 6 of our remaining 10 - not a huge ask really.
I still think we are a huge chance of making the eight and from there it is a new competetion. I hate to be a 'what if' guy but can you imagine if we had beaten the sharks in those tight encounters and won either the Broncos or Newcastle games, we would nearly have already qualified for the finals and there would be no talk of a crisis.
We have to get to the Premiereship and Win for Nathan and my other 2 Favourite Players
are Feleti and Krisnan and we have to Win for them and i know Jarryd would want to win
for them and for Krisnan his Best Friend
Seriously i was at the Knights game in Newcastle, we should have Won that and we could
have Won the Broncos Game
How do you reckon we will go against the Warriors without Jarryd?
HOWEVER -
if we are to settle for just scraping into the 8 then as the saying goes - stick your head between your legs and kiss - you know the rest.
The current system is designed to make it almost immpossible to win a GF from 8.
If you are going to be positive then we have to be 5 or better - simple mathematics.
That means we will need around 32 points which is a minimum of 7 wins in our run home.
I think part of our problem in the GF last year was we had spent all our energy in our do or die finals and the "Big Arena" became too much for a lot of the guys.
This year should be a lot better for us as most of the team can now say - been there, done that.
But we do not want to be below 5.
PLUS - if the guys really want it (the trophy) then having a rest in the middle of the finals should in fact be very beneficial.
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