Good lord, the reason i mentioned season is over is more so due to versing Souths and we never do well so if we lose to Souths i think it is 100% done. Wests Tigers in 2005 were 5-7 in their first 12 games in 2005, so it is possible. Anyway, it is hard to comprehend how we do not play awful or are an out and out basketcase yet only have 4 wins in first 11. We have a positive for and against also. No Moses, loose Lane early and the use of Hodgson and Hands changing the attack along the way is not helpful.
In terms of stats, two stat lines cost us the most were possession (46%) and completions (68%). Yes we did not have much ball, but when we had it we gave it away quicker than receiving it. Overall we had more metre average than Canberra, averaging over 10 metres per run. 5 line-breaks to their 2 and only missing 24 tackles though Canberra missed 16. An improvement but the power game not effective as it used to be with on 16 tackle breaks. The cold weather and dew caused our offloads to dry up with only 7, while play the ball speed was at it's best at 4 seconds, while Canberra were at 3.22 seconds. 12 errors and 10-3 penalty count against us are dreadful stats, yes the penalty count is on the ref but still some of them were on us.
Most Impressive:
J'Maine Hopgood: You can start to see when a player gets used to the top level. Hopgood i wouldn't say had his best game in the blue & gold but he had a damn good one. I would have rathered Hoppy sign til 2026, as 2025 is too cluttered on off-contract players, but another year at least is great for us and him. He can be the future leader for us. Remember he has only played 20 NRL games, yet he is in the convo for Queensland. If he does get an Origin debut, it would do wonders for his development. Hopgood by 2025 will be a top player, mark my words, he is still raw and getting used to the top grade, the fact he is playing this well at 20 games is incredible. Potential is strong and at this stage of the clubs future we need potential.
Bailey Simonsson: He had a game, i do not think it is him being comfortable at Centre, but more so on the left side. He played left wing for Canberra where with us he has been on the right wing. He wasn't out of this world great but compared to his games on the wing, he was good. Of course, he lifted against his former club, in 2022 he had his best game on the wing for us against Canberra, scoring 2 tries. We still need a Centre but if he can take that momentum to the wing he will be exceptional. Or even leave him there and sign a winger.
Will Penisini: Quiet in the first half, but mainly due to Brown taking control and targeting Canberra's right edge. Second half, we started scrambling due to catching up which opened Penisini up. Had an error though a lot of players in this match did, 8 runs for 116 metres, many of those metres though coming from a long run. Overall he was good.
Most Disappointing:
Junior Paulo: Again, did not really lead by example when needed. He was a little better in his passing, 33 tackles with 0 misses. But only 116 metres, granted we didn't have much ball, but at 13 runs you would expect at least 10 metres per run. Overall, for a Prop that is set to be starting his 10th Origin match in a couple of weeks and is a co-captain he has been missing this year.
Haze Dunster: I do not dislike Dunster, i always said he has potential. Though, bit like Turbo at Manly, he is suffering with confidence in his knee to go 110% at the moment. First half i was going to ring GIO stadium to make sure he is wasn't suffering from frostbite after not really doing anything. I had to think if he had a run, then around the 35th minute he got a run and got hammered. He is a trier and we targeted their right side so our right side attack did not get as much ball, but early on wished he took more of the harder runs to start the sets. 10 runs for 83 metres.
Criticism on Jake Arthur: The kid played an OK game, he did his job which would have been simply distribute, kick and tackle. He took the line on a few times and they were decent runs. Though he has only played 20 NRL games, only half of them he has started at Halfback or Five-Eighth, plus he has not played with these lot in a game since October. So of course he is not going to set the team alight. A few of his kicks were meh, especially the shallow one early in the second half that changed momentum. The kid needs to leave Parramatta, not due to being awful or not wanting him at the club, but more so for himself. He needs to have the criticism off him, he seems to have a level and humble head on his shoulders but it would eventually take its toll. If only we could loan him out to gain full-time experience in NRL level. But his criticism is getting too out of hand.
Refereeing: It was not the reason we lost, but did not help. Deplorable decisions on both sides yet Atkins was free from getting the cut. I found it laughable that Horsbrough gets sin binned yet Canberra still get the penalty due to Matterson. BA mentioned how the team tries to be compliant, hopefully now he wakes up to just play as it is and forget being compliant as it wont work anyway, if we get abused by the whistle against Souths, complain more.
Keeping it short and sweet as we werent dreadful but still we need wins. Beating Souths would kick start some adrenaline into our season and hopefully go on a run. Reason this is so late is due to work being busy at this stage.
I always say team changes but teamlists are out. I would have said same team bar Lane out and Carty starting with Ogden on bench. Glad Russell is in.
When Ofahengaue is available he will be a nice addition.
Now onto Souths, who are dreadful against and at SFS where we are dreadful playing at. Put 2 & 2 together, leads to an upset haha.
Enjoy your week or League, god bless Parramatta.
Replies