Eels Blogs

Parramatta latest recruit Luke Kelly could find himself in a Blue and Gold jersey sooner than he might have thought, because on tonight’s performance Chris Sandow must play for Wentworthville next week.

It was a game media reports were touting as Sandow’s big showdown against his old club, but the Eel’s prize signing provided absolutely nothing tonight. Where the Eel’s needed direction there was none, where the Eel’s needed penetration in the middle there was none, and where the Eel’s needed committed on-goal defence Sandow was found wanting.

He wasn’t the only one, who pulled up short tonight. Jarryd Hayne seemed just as unwilling to take on the South’s defence with his running game and with Parramatta’s two most expensive players firing blanks tonight, it was always going to be a tough night for the Eels.

They started well enough. The early linespeed was impressive and they were on-top in the opening exchanges, and after conceding possession with some cheap penalties, there defence was also holding strong. Indeed, it tooks a couple of near-perfect rucks for Souths to initially break Parramatta down. Quick hands from the South Sydney backline saw them break down-field only for the Eels to scramble back in defence. However, on the ensuing ruck rookie half Adam Reynolds planted a pin-point kick for his flanker with Nathan Merritt catching the delivery for the opening try. Reynolds landed the conversion from touch and Souths took the early advantage.

Souths were excellent in the first half. They played a very disciplined, professional game with low turnovers and all of their attack working towards isolating Greg Inglis on Chris Sandow. The second try they succeeded with that objective and Inglis cruised through Sandow’s attempted tackle before slipping a ball to Justin Hunt, the son of former Parramatta winger Neil Hunt who scored out wide. Again Reynolds slotted the wide kick and Souths were up 12 to nil.

Already, Parramatta’s attack had been found wanting. Perhaps over-encouraged by the success Jarryd Hayne had in the Eel’s last game, Parramatta seemed simply intent on shovelling the ball wide for Hayne. However, with no one really engaging the Souths defence, it was all too much the look of past years as the South Sydney defence easily slid to cover. It should have become apparent to the Eels that the Bunnies were sliding quickly and that there would be opportunities to run the ball inside and take Souths on closer to the ruck, but that hasn’t been a part of Parramatta’s playbook this year and they were unable to respond to South’s defensive tactics.

Down 12 to nil at half-time, the game was certainly within reach, however Souths scored quickly in the second stanza. Greg Inglis again untouchable and setting up Dylan Farrell for a try that was always just about going to be enough for Souths.

The Eels hinted towards a possible fight back when Reni Maitua scored running off a Jarryd Hayne pass. Matt Keating almost snuck through but was brought down in a try-saving Greg Inglis tackle and then with ten minutes to go, Sandow snatched an intercept and raced down-field. It was a scene that Souths fans watched many times last year, the only difference being when he wore green and red he seemed to invariably match it all the way to the tryline. On this ocassion, in a sobering dose of irony it was the man who replaced him at Souths, Adam Reynolds who was fleeter of foot and pulled off the try-saving tackle that snuffed out Parramatta’s last hope.

Souths sealed the match when Michael Crocker took advantage of lazy marker defence from Sandow and Moimoi. The Rabbitohs barely got out of second gear in the second half, a fact for which the Eels can probably be thankful for.

The loss continues Parramatta’s atrocious record in wet or slippery conditions. I may be wrong, but I do believe they have not won in those kind of conditions for perhaps the past three years. It serves to highlight that Stephen Kearney has been unable to get the kind of disciplined, gritty performances you need to win a game-like tonight. And it was somehow ironic that at least in the first half, Souths did. Like Kearney, their coach Michael McGuire is also from the Melbourne school of football, and like Kearney he took over a team known for being hot and cold and not able to tough out a win. However the first half, at least demonstrated McGuire has had more success in changing the mind-set of his club. Kearney will be left scratching his head. Where Parramatta needed to go on with the improvement they demonstrated against the Sharks, tonight they simply slipped back to where they were previously. Luke Kelly must be playing for a first grade spot tomorrow for Wentworthville. Parramatta desperately need someone to take control in the halves because they simply looked a rabble out there for much of the game tonight.