Eels Blogs

Pop's Corner: I Don't Like Latrell; But he was One of Two Things that Beat us Last Night.

Sure, I don't really like Latrell Mitchell. But, boy can he play! He is a genuine X-factor player. He was one of two things that beat us last night. The other was ourselves.

Defensively.

We all talk about second-phase play in attack, but what was fr

MINOR UPDATE; EELS' HEAD COACH RACE: THE HITCHCOCK CLASSIC; BRIAN SMITH AN ADVISOR?

It's getting closer to squeaky bum time. With the news Brian Smith has made a last ditch effort to join the race, it would not surprise me if he is appointed as an experienced advisor to the Eels coaching team. That makes sense. Reputable experi

R18 v Souths; Barrett: We’ll Get the Bounce of the Ball Soon

The equal last-placed Eels and 14th-placed Souths are in polar opposite recent form. Souths are on a red-hot streak winning won four-straight, while the Eels are in a rut winning just two from their last twelve. And it's been five years since the Ee

Round 18 Team List v South Sydney Rabbitohs

1. Clint Gutherson (c)

2. Jake Tago

3. Will Penisini

4. Sean Russell

5. Blaize Talagi

6. Dylan Brown

7. Mitchell Moses

8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard

9. Brendan Hands

10. Junior Paulo (c)

11. Ryan Matterson

12. Bryce Cartwright

13. Shaun Lane

Optical Illusions and The Modern Rookie Way

One of my favorite optical illusions is the Ames Room illusion. And there is another one doing the rounds in the NRL world. 

That the modern rookie is the "Modern Way" and more likely to be in touch with the modern game - especially highly-touted

Tough decision part II: Is it time to crown a new king?

I mentioned a week or so ago about moving on from one of our two big paid Props. Now, i believe it could be time we move Gutho on completely. Now some will say you can put him at Centre or at 6, to that i say we are better off trying to medically ret

Pop's Corner: Pacers and Chasers; how many games has it lost us?

Pciture: Bradman Bolt (Copyright Chief) in the clear without an Eels in sight for a double to seal the game after the Eels led 20-16 with 15 minutes to go

Whilst the post mortem's will continue when ever we lose and our defence is NOT GOOD, we nee

The Fades: You Can Set Your Clock to It

Before tonight's round 17 clash against the Knights at Newcastle,  I set my clock to around the 60-65th minute mark and made a note.

That's the time the Eels usually fade at the back end when Moses plays. It's worse without him. You have to set it t

R17 v Knights: 'It hurts', says Dylan but 'Arthur is a positive in a negative season'

Updated: Friday, 28 June 2024.

Mid-week Dylan Brown admitted it was painful seeing the Eels dead last, echoing what Moses said after Origin the next day.

"It hurts...It's pretty embarrassing to be be fair," Dylan added.

"We just need to find some pr

Resilience and the Truth of Toughness with Brian McDermott

If you haven't done any of your own research about why Brian McDermott could be what the Eels need at this moment in time, have a look at this podcast from a few years ago.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34vq8p_i234

It's very impressive. He is t

Round 17 Team List v Newcastle Knights

1. Clint Gutherson (c)

2. Maika Sivo

3. Will Penisini

4. Sean Russell

5. Blaize Talagi

6. Dylan Brown

7. Mitchell Moses

8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard

9. Brendan Hands

10. Junior Paulo (c)

11. Shaun Lane

12. Bryce Cartwright

13. Joe Ofahengaue

Tough decision to be made; will it get made?

So pretty much everyone knows this roster needs an overhaul, pieces pulled out and put in. But there is one area of this squad that has been apparent and needs addressing before anything else and that is age. Our squad is turning into one of the olde

THE EELS' COACHING SAGA: IN FEAR OF THE BOLD, A TRAGIC LOST OPPORTUNITY

The Eels' head coaching thriller began in secret closed door meetings, less than 24 hours after Jason Demetriou's offical sacking from Souths on April 30th. It has been a Hitchcock masterpiece. Suspense. Mystery. Inneundo. And the blonde damsel in d

Pop's Corner with more Coaching Rhetoric: Management Matters

I originally posted this on TCT because they had poor coverage of the coaching situation. Most of this has been covered on here but I wanted to reinforce the management argument over the coaching one.

Please note Wayne Bennett does not get "very" han

The Eels' Head Coaching Dilemma: Left-field is what What we may Need but is that what we Want?

Yesterday, when Greg Alexander was asked who he thought was best for the Eels he told SENZ radio essentially he had no idea. The Panthers' great was much like the rest of us, relying on what we had read on the papers to form an opinion or speculate.

What do the Eels' second half fades show?

Trent Barrett was both encouraged and frustrated by the Eels' round fifteen 28-18 loss against the Roosters.

Miraculously, the Eels came back from a 16-0 onslaught to lead 18-16 with 30 minutes to go. Then, like much of 2024 we could not win the

Pappa Pop's Corner: Some basic thoughts on the Chook's game

I think that we are very harsh in some of the judgements being made. I don't understand the negativity that comes through every week in the ingame running. How do people type that shit and say they are watching the game. Unless of course they have

R15 v Roosters, Barrett: This Game Is Massive For Us

In the 140th clash between these two, the Roosters, as the top attacking team at (29.7ppg) should have too much firepower for the Eels holding the third-worst defence (28.9ppg).

Both teams lost in their last starts and had all the opposition tries s

If you had control of the Roster Management ...

If you had control, how would your top 30 shape up next year. Give yourself some freedom and make bold choices. You do not have to be completely realistic.

2025 - TOP  30

Current Top 30 for next year currently sit at 22 players: Outside Backs (5), Hal

Gus' warning: On Rookie Coaches For the Eels

On Monday's 100% Footy earlier this week, Michael Chammas et al pushed the popular media narrative that Jason Ryles is the leading candidate, followed by Josh Hannay with Michael Cheika an outside chance.

When Gus was asked who was "best out ther