Statistics can be very misleading and simply speaking Saints outmuscled us, the implication is we panicked but it was more than those things. Al Hunt made a comment that we had 10 out of 13 six agains in our favour at a point in time. Whats forgotten in this process is the dislocation this caused, a deliberate tactic by Saints and they got away with the disruption until they got sin binned, at one stage they could have had two in the bin.
Whilst all this happened we "panicked" according to our supporters, It was not so much that but the problem they had executing against the dislocation. Good on Saints for taking in the tactics, Elliott and Griffin are smart guys, I would have loved to have Elliott as a tactician..... an obvious area we fall short in.
Just remember what Ricky said when Raiders lost to Penrith, they (panthers) were the better team tonight, implication "not always". Parra can take that forward, we are a power side and a power side can be undone by an equally powerful one with the right tactics, Parra has to learn to win by not trying to use muscle only. I thought our halves were very good, the players that ran off them were the problem....Papallii and Nathan Brown being obvious exceptions. WE weren't that bad! Saints just better on the night!
I really feel that our big weakness is not having the type of backline, that Saints have i.e centres like Lomax and Bird. Rawalla is a much better winger than Sivo and Ferguson had a game he/we would prefer to forget. Dyllan Brown had his best attacking game all season, even in the first half when he was maligned by the usual nellies.
Nothing in our reserve grade side can make the First's better at this time, but I do think that Matterson's absence upset the balance of depth we have from the bench. If for example Matterson remains out, then Nikorie has to come back to the pigs, not sure where we get a Jack Bird type centre from.
Finally take note of our fairwether supporters that could not come in quick enough to knock the side. Some are just planted Trolls to get the site into the negativity we so often see from our supporters. A poster called Gordon comes to mind and thats not even going towards a vertical smile, what great alternative name could we have for him assuming he alludes to body parts.
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Agreed Poppa that the tactics Elliott and Griffin came into the game with were the right ones knowing that the Eels and the Dragons play a similar style this year so the side that prevailed was probably going to be the side that threw their opposition off their game the best.
What was disappointing for me was how easily we were thrown off our game still. It took two tactics that I think everyone knew were going to happen prior to the game:
Neither of these tactics would have stopped us winning had we stuck to the plan - the stats show that. We won the yardage, we won the post contact metres. What it did do was get in our head and make us change our game back to frantic attacking - hail Mary passes, running up the edge when it was covered, going side-to-side when it wasn't on.
They got in our heads and then we lost the game ourselves. I don't think we were the worse side last night, I just think we weren't the smarter side. We need to play smarter and we will win these games.
Yes thanks Cap, your mind of reason is a pleasant change from some on here.
I watched the first 10 minutes or so like an arm wrestle, receive/attack/kick reverse from the other side.....It seemed to me we came out about square for the first couple, but slowly but surely Saints won the wrestle.
One movement back inside to Duffy set that first try up or it could have went the other way. This was a much bigger game for Saints than it was for us..... all the physcology aside it is understandable ...... no one ever quite knows what that final motivation is....Parra was up for the game, but not the same way. Understandable and a good lesson to learn.
Agreed Captain. We now know every team will be trying the same thing against us, and in fact these tactics are not new - they were also used against Parra successfully last year as well. We need to expect that to happen, and to work around (or through) it.
Terrible officiating?
You realise we were on the right end of penalties and set restarts by a long way not to mention a sin binning.
If anything the ref was more lenient to us!
Scott
A weak man blames the referees for losing in sport.
We simply weren't good enough, enough said.
Warm cheers,
Scott
100 % Scotty but we all know BRISSY and BLAD are weak
Misleading Dreggsie. Start thinking laterally and away from statistics.
What a load of Shit you dickhead.
The penalty try was the right call as the rules keep changing any dickhead knows that you cant compare games.
The game was over when that call of a forwarded pass so it has no bearing on the game.
Hey fu3KWIT we all know its BALD fault.
"You win some,you lose some" Going into the game on Sunday,I thought that St George would give the Eels a run for their money. And they did.
I wasn't confident that we'd beat them.. I'm a long time Eels supporter,been following them for nearly 60 years and I'll continue to do so, but when they lose a game that they should've won,them's the breaks. I'm getting too old now to get wound up over a loss. My sanity,such as it is,what is left of it anyway,doesn't need any extra stress,it has enough to cope with as it is. Sure there were mistakes but hopefully the boys will learn from them. Hopefully. When your team lose a game,no matter who you support,it's no good good jumping up and down,pointing the finger,blaming this player,that player,the coach etc. Sure,I get disappointed but I'll stick with Parra .
I'll continue to support my team of Eels,come what may.
Little Old Lady, you have so much to teach some of our.... lets call them " less mature supporters.".... who gauge their impact by how much support they are going to get off the site's negative nellies.
I love your support and I'm and like you and I also will continue to support my Eels, come what may!
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