Eels Blogs

Is it weird to still be confident we can win the comp after a 1-4 start? Should i get checked out? Should i be taken away from my house wearing a straight jacket? This team can be competitive, there are pieces missing, we have came up against top 8 quality teams, three of them off a bye also. Are there positives to take out of this game? I think so. Considering we only conceaded 28 overall with having 13 players for 60 mins is great. We were also gallant in our effort to hold the Roosters out until the end of a 6th straight set on our line.

Bit of a weird day for the stats man as he has Easts only having 51% possession, which looking at running stats seems fair, didn't feel like it though. Easts had 9 more runs overall, making 203 more metres overall. Easts had more tackle breaks 27/23, while having more line-breaks also 7/3. Though an interesting stat that i do not normally comment on is average set distance, we led that with 44 to their 42. Play the ball was better from Easts 3.4 secs to our 3.94 secs. The way Easts dominated the first half you would not think our tackled effeciency was 88% though it says the Roosters made 27 more tackles. What in the world?!?!?! Anyway, errors cost us 10/6, we had even penalties with 5 each, but gave away 4 six agains to their 2.

Most Impressive:

Will Penisini: The attempted tackle on Tupou for the last Keary try was not great but overall he was one of our better players on the night. 2 try assists, 2 tackle breaks, 2 line-break assists, 2 offloads and 2 L's in his first name hahah. 15 tackles and 138 metres capped off a good night for Will who is turning in a nice 2023.

Bryce Cartwright: Another who is having a nice 2023, could it be due to being off-contract? Perhaps, but could be worth re-signing on same money for another year or two. Has really matured into a hard working back-rower. The type of back-rower that BA likes in his squads. Also showing the ability to playt eh full 80. 120 metres, 2 tackle breaks, 23 tackles, yes he had 4 misses though overall he was one of our better forwards on the night.

Wiremu Greig: Wasn't amazing by any means, but he was good in his minutes. Was not dominant but made some metres later on as the game went. I will say though i think Greig is better of being an impact Prop off the bench. Also, one issue was him getting back in the line where he was caught out by Smith a few times.  Defensively though didn't do too much wrong. For a game like this you give credit to OK to good performances unfortunately.

Clint Gutherson: Just gave us energy, wasn't a great performance, but that Radley try saver is enough alone to get him on this list. 

Most Disappointing: 

Refereeing: I am not one to blame refs solely for a loss, though Atkins was deplorable on Thursday night. Media have been singing the praises of how good the comp has been this year, mentiioning the quality of refereeing has helped that, to which i say i actually think it has been average this year. On both sides he was dreadful, the Penisini sin bin has been 50/50 on those who witnessed it yet i believe it was poor, added the Keary offside penalty was a bad miss as it hit Simonsson on the bounce so makes Keary onside. Atkins i wouldn't say lost control of the game but he did let fans dictate the calls. I do not blame him for the Simonsson sin bin as honestly it is consistent to the rest of the NRL. Whether Tedesco drops his head or not it is the way the NRL is going. But yeah the refereeing this year has been average at best.

Waqa Blake: You know it is bad when talk of Bryce Cartwright at Centre is regarded a better option. He is void of confidence and it is a shame for a player with 163 games of experience. Does putting Blake into cup work? I mean it doesn't really matter as long as he is out of FG for a bit. Hell, it wouldn't be an awful thing if he sees out his contract in cup like French and Mannah did in the past. Mannah and French were not playing as bad as Blake is now yet were dropped sooner. If you look at his stats they are not as bad, no errors or missed tackles but his runs are not having the effect they should. Forget an X-factor, just get an actual Centre, like a Brian Kelly or Enari Tuala someone you could realistically get now and will do a job. Hindsight is wonderful once you realise Opacic would have been cheaper and more effective. Set a challenge for Blake, put him in cup and have him dominate, show BA he is a freak athlete and can still offer the NRL something. Let's see how his attitude and response to being dropped is. Asi can hold the the fort for a week as a safe option against Kepaoa and Staines.

Bailey Simonsson: Was the pass to Gutho in our own zone off a kick return necassary? Simonsson's running was a bit better but again a player lacking confidence. It seems he always tries to go over the top to impress that he just makes things worse. He had 15 runs for 97 metres, which is 6.4 metres per run. Sivo had more of an average. He did score a good try and didn't miss a tackle but just is offering us nothing. Would Dunster be better? Well Dunster we know is better used in the role Simonsson is trying to fill. BA wingers are metre eaters, tough runners that lean forward for post contact, Sivo missed that memo recently, but Simonsson is not suited that, he is an open space winger. He get's lost when looking for work, but doesn't get the ball from Penisini when space is available. Dunster goes in tough work and prefers runs in field. Simonsson will be out for Wests and Canterbury, it is a big chance for Dunster to keep the spot and for Simonsson to work his way back in Cup, hopefully as a Centre.

Reagan Campbell-Gillard: This pains me, but reg was not at his usual best. Running only 12 times for 111 metres, yes we did not have the ball too much in his stints but still lower from Reg than usual. Added are the 4 missed tackles. Not a bad game but from 68 minutes Reg didn't give us what we needed. Harsh? Perhaps but RCG was just OK when we needed him firing.

Needless errors: The Matterson offload where Hodgson dropped it on Roosters own line was a momentum killer. We had Sydney on the ropes and that killed anything we had going, making worse with a penalty two tackles later. We are a dumb football team, but a great team when it is clicking. Added to Hodgson, he is getting used to us as a 2nd phase team. At Canberra he was used to Papali'i and Tapine pushing through the middle then chiming in himself with Wighton and Sezer playing eyes up. Now he has RCG and Paulo who are similar props but they also pass and offload to shift to their halves who are making calls themselves. It might be a case of Cartwright, where Hodgson puts the cue in the rack and goes along with the ride, backing up for offloads and embracing the 2nd phase play.

That is it, now time for an 11 day turnaround which is sorely needed. As for team changes, only the one forced change with Simonsson, Lane is expected to be back. It is expected that Dunster will get first nod at Simonsson's wing spot, Russell if he is returning will be better suited to cup for a few weeks. Lane will go straight into the 11 jersey, Cartwright will either go to the bench or take the right edge spot putting Matterson on the bench as impact. With Cartwright on the bench it will be Makatoa or Murchie who misses out. What i would do is Asi for Blake, Lane for Makatoa with Cartwright moving to the bench and Dunster for Simonsson, also i would start Doorey and put Matterson on the bench, Doorey i feel is a better starter. Or start Cartwright and put Matterson on bench; a bench of Hands, Matterson, Murchie and Doorey/Cartwright is a nice bench. 

I want to also say a little piece on Wests Tigers. I feel for their fans, it is funny but also know their pain from out tough 2010's. Wests are a basket case, give credit to Sheens for sticking with it and having a sense of humour about it all. They are dangerous, they have nothing to lose, their season is practically over though the closeness of this competition could keep them in it once it starts levelling out, their stars like Klemmer, Papali'i, Koroisau and Bateman are not used to losing this much so they will have a point to prove. They have done it before so why not now? What better way for an upset then against last years grand finalists? Only thing is, we are desperate also only having one more win then them. Had we won 2 or 3 then i would be saying this is a danger game, though in our favour is us being desperate for a result also. We are not going to walk in thinking this is an easy, we will walk in thinking we need to win. The thing i said last year is exactly the issue they had in Round 6 last year and is the same this time around. We need to grind Wests early and then quality will prevail and go from there. Do not blow Wests out of the water early. If we do then great, but do not force it. If it is 6-0 at HT our way then that is fine, finish the job as their morale goes down expecting another loss. We have seen Wests are a team that can accumilate points quickly if put into a groove, we are a team of late that can leak points. If we lose next Monday, i would be for the first time mentioning that is our season done, as what more motivation is needed when you are 1-4? It is more so nerve racking as this is the first game of the year that is a "should win" mindset. All 5 games so far have been a flip of the coin or leaning towards the opposition, this is the first game being undeniable favourites. A win alone i would be happy with as i expect Wests to throw the kitchen sink at this just to prove something. I do not even think Wests are planning to win, more so rattle a good team like Parramatta. They have the bye in round 7, so Wests may just go all out 05' style to get a win and go into a bye round with 4 points and jump a few teams in the process. Going from 0-5 to having 4 points in back to back weeks shuts up a few critics.

Let's hope instead it is their bye week having more media insults and questions with Pascoe standing down and constant talk happening. Or it could be the media abusing us about a 1-5 start and what the hell is going on with an embarrassing loss.

Anyway it is out of our control, knowing Parramatta for a long time this stuff happens. My mate is a Wests fan and is saying "cry me a river, you are only saying Wests are a danger to cover your ass if they do win" I replied that Parramatta are known for this, last year is case in point. Newcastle in 2019 was another that was embarrassing. Only thing that is different is we are also desperate so we will be primed ready to prove a point instead of going through the motions. Let's hope it is a mixture of taking our frustration out along with Wests continue their woe is me attitude that leads to a massive win.

Enjoy your Easter weekend.