Eels Blogs

If Parramatta are to topple the Warriors, they are going to need to do something we’ve not seen them to do for many year. They are going to have to be far more ruthless than their opposition.

Let’s accept the reality that the Warriors are more powerful, they have more representative players and on paper they should win this match. The Eels have a backline with an average age of 22.

However, the Warriors showed last year, despite boasting some of the most exciting players in the competition, that they’re not mentally strong. They got themselves in positions to win most of their games last year, but regularly blew big leads or fell apart in key parts of the match.

So that’s where the Eels have to take advantage. They need to play this match for eighty minutes, competing in every tackle, hang-in regardless what is thrown at them, and then be in the position to win it as the clock winds into the final quarter.

This game has to be won at the ruck for Parramatta. For all of their size in the backline, the Warriors don’t have a massive pack. Winger Manu Vatuvei is as big or bigger than any of the Warrior props and we actually boast the biggest players on the park in Darcy Lussick and Mitch Allgood.

That’s the battle we have to win. If the Eels can outmuscle the Warriors, slow down the Warriors momentum and stop Shaun Johnson from running the match then we’ll give ourselves a chance at winning the contest. We’ve heard a lot during the pre-season that Ricky Stuart has focused on the Eels defence being more aggressive and dominant. We need to see that today and we need to see it in spades.

Defence is also going to be key outwide. I’m terrified of Konrad Hurrell. Memories of him trampling over the top of Ben Roberts with his first touch of the ball last year still are still fresh in my mind and Parramatta’s young backs struggled defensively last year. When you consider that Hurrell plays alongside Vatuvai, arguably the most powerful winger in the competition, it’s a fearsome attacking proposition. With the likelihood of Feleti Mateo or Simon Mannering running lines inside of them, the Eel’s outside backs are not only going to have to make good decisions, they will also have to complete the tackle even if they get it right.

In this respect, they also have to be helped by Chris Sandow. If the Eels defence starts to worry about Sandow, and is thinking about covering their little half-back, they won’t stand a chance of stopping the Warriors outwide. I’m sure much of the Warriors strategy will centre around attacking this ongoing weakness in the Eel’s defence. The proposition of Mateo running at Sandow is a mis-match of epic proportions.

The question of how Parramatta’s defence works around the ruck without Nathan Hindmarsh is going to be tested with both Johnson and Thomas Leuluai likely to work over that area of Parramatta’s defence. Both have sharp acceleration and are likely to continually test the Eels middle defence in order to create space for their outside men. The real challenge for the Parramatta will be when Matt Keating is interchanged for Roberts. While this may boost the Eel’s attacking potential, Roberts’ defence can be inconsistent and it’s when our middle men are going to have to be at their most vigilant.

I don’t expect there will be anything different about the Parramatta attack mostly revolving around, and depending upon Jarryd Hayne. Hayne still has the ability to create point scoring opportunities as well as anyone in the game. However, the side needs a secondary point of attack which is going to increasingly fall upon Chris Sandow, with Ben Roberts moved out of the halves. Roberts had many weaknesses in game as a five-eighth but when he was on, he was able to create opportunities as that attacking counterpoint. Luke Kelly will give us more direction but he won’t create as many breaks or opportunities so we need Sandow to be at his attacking best throughout this year. If he can’t do that consistently this year, I don’t see him holding onto that number seven jersey for long given the compromises he forces us to make in other areas. Sandow, of course, will struggle to put his stamp on the game, if the pack doesn’t create a roll forward, which returns us to our original point. We have to win the forward battle.