Eels Blogs

Darwin is a bastard of a joint. Hot all year round, we are effected weeks after, especially after a short turnaround. Our record is good there but of late it has hit us hard, especially against a team from Brisbane who are used to warmer climate. However, some are saying the heat is too much and effects us too much afterwards etc. All i say to that is, Brisbane and whoever we verse is in the same boat. The first half it did not seem to effect Brisbane at all, second half maybe a little but i feel that second half was more so Brisbane's inexperience, they fell into survival mode and conservative play to seal the win. We capitalised in parts but not enough, we were good enough to level it and even win but again we shoot ourselves in the foot. The most frustrating thing about this club is the ability to look so god damn awful one half, then come out the next and play well enough to win. It masks issues if they need fixing but also masks positives where they are due.

52% possession for Brisbane and 86% completions is telling compared to our 68%. Completions and missed tackles seem to be a common theme, could the argument be made that if these were better in around 15-20 missed tackles and 90% completion we would be 6-2 or so? Could it be Barrett's system takes some time? Pressure that causes things to run 100 miles an hour? Lack of focus added in with lack of experience in some players and constant catch up footy? Whatever it is, lets give BA the next 5-10 rounds to show his worth coaching, as in 2022 we got to round 19-20 thinking we might miss the 8, yet we made top 4 and made the GF. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt instead of deciding his fate after one loss, which was not a dreadful loss, as we have had numerous poor performances and either won or lost by a small margain. Brisbane had 5 more runs than us but had 216 more metres, that comes from backline movement. Brisbane has 2 backs make over 200 metres, all bar Staggs made over 100 metres. We only had Gutho, Sivo and Penisini make 100 metres each with Gutho making the most with 125 metres. We focus too much on winning the middle through our forwards that it can cause them to be ineffective, our backs do try but are not good enough starting our sets. Unlike say a Brian To'o who starts your sets and creates momentum, we have no momentum starters so at times we are basically running into brick walls. We had more line-breaks which is weird to think, but 46 missed tackles to their 21 is diplorable and no excuses for BA and Antonelli. Our offloads returned, though selective offloads did not. We are a 2nd phase team, when that is limited we become stagnant and lost to be honest, we go to conservative play and it does not suit us. BA has said numerous times in the past we need to play the way we want to, we are like certain cricketers in the past that need a pitch that suits them in order to be effective. Well guess what, it is not always going to suit you, Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne could bowl on any pitch, they found a way to get by. Us as a team seem to panic when we cannot play as we want, we need more back-up planning to adapt. Issue is we can adapt but by the time we do the opposition has already scored points and it is too much to catch up. 12 errors also cost us, added from fatigue and desperation. We conceaded too many penalties particularly in the first 20, it cost us. 4 penalties to 3, even in ruck infringements.

Most Impressive:

Clint Gutherson: When we needed some boost, he was there. That try in the first half gave us some hope, it was pure effort and determination that try. He was safe all night bar that one drop ball saving the 40/20, it was a bit of a 'what the hell' moment and the captain's challenge was another WTH moment. Other than that he was great on Friday night.

Ryan Matterson: He was good, 42 tackles and was the only middle that did not seem to be dropping off tackles. Again he wasn't fantastic, as nobody was in this match, but he was steady. Though i feel he is more worthwhile being on the edge with Moses, as oppose to Cartwright who i will get into later, he had a great connection to Moses and Penisini against Canterbury and it is better suited with Hopgood starting at Lock and Matterson on the edge. 

Wiremu Greig: He is getting better and better each week. Played 31 minutes which is 20 or so more than we all thought he would, did not look like a liability in defence like other weeks, 105 metres off the bench also. Greig i believe, from what BA was leaning towards, will start against Newcastle. Frankly i wouldn't, more so that he is better suited as impact off the bench. But it seems him playing mroe and more NRL has helped his fitness and glad BA has stuck with him, he is slowly becoming a good bench forward for us.

Honorable mentions: Simonsson, Doorey.

Most Disappointing:

Josh Hodgson: Ok, i am on the bandwagon after being a defender of his all year. He is bad and declining fast. Round 1 he was, in my eyes, best on ground against Melbourne. Then Cronulla he was good but not as good, then Manly got slower and the decline pattern continued. Hands was not great but we looked so much better in attack and defence when he was on. That must say a lot that a Hooker with only 5 NRL games experience, playing quite average as well, changed the way the team played for the better. 5 missed tackles in 31 mins, had he played more who knows what it may have been. He looks slow and weak and it is sad to see as you can tell his mind is working fine but the body is not doing what it needs to in order to keep up with his mind. Is Hands playing the full 80 the answer for us? I am not 100% sold on Hands being our future 9 full-time, but he is our best choice at the moment. Can we say win a comp with Hands at 9? No idea, but we can win games with him definately. Hands is first grade qaulity who will develop. But moving forward we need to name the best team possible, is Hodgson starting at 9 and Hands seeing out the game after the 30 min mark the best team possible? Considering we have had an issue of late of giving up points early and we have to chase them down? Honestly i think BA knows it himself, but it is more so believing that Hands at the moment needs more developing and playing 80 mins week in week out is not ideal. I think it is worth the risk compared to Hodgson who is declining rapidly before our eyes. Could we medically retire him at seasons end? Well JH has to agree, plus he has an option in his favour for less coin. JH adds value as a voice in the club, having him around the club i would be happy with. Being on the field not so much, perhaps he could be a blue shirt for us in the future in a coaching capacity for us, developing Hands and other hookers at the club like Matt Arthur and bring them along. Hands has mentioned JH has helped him a lot, so JH knows his time is coming, hopefully coaching is in the pipeline for JH, before heading back to Canberra we should keep him in that area. It is bad and we need to cut bait for JH and ourselves. BA should be like Arthur  Hoggett in Babe and say to Hodgson "That'll do pig, that'll do".

Bryce Cartwright: He i was going from forgetting he was even in the squad in round 1, to being shocked that he played the full 80 and held his own on the edge, to him being a consistent player ont he edge, to considering him being worthy of a contract extension, then switching to the right edge with Lane returning, to three straight poor performances. Could it be Carty was more comfortable on the left edge? Perhaps, but his defence has deteriorated rapidly, he is now starting to bring in the stupid offloads mainly due to his defensive problems. When he is performing poorly in defence, he usually goes over the top in attack to make up for it. Cartwright has not been for a few weeks now, granted he played Centre for most of the game, beforehand he his defence was poor, Kurt Capewell was easily getting through him. Cartwright is not a very nimble back-rower, not an overly powerful player, he thrives on the unexpected with an offload or a pass. I think Cartwright would be better off the bench as that impact back-row or middle player. I know some will say "You say his defence is poor but saying he should play in the middle" Yeah being fresh against tired opposition, plus he will only be on for 25-30mins at a time. It is Carty's 150th next week so hopefully he lifts.

Dylan Brown: I was about to send out a search warrant for him in the first half, reward? All of his $750k salary for this year. Brown looks uncomfortable, it seems as though the weight of his salary and deal is getting the better of him. He knows he needs to step up but doesn't know how to. Thing is, he is able to, we know he is good enough to. But cannot seem to involve himself to the point of taking control of a situation or creating a play. I thought with Lane coming back that he would feel more confident and involved, but Brown looks distracted. I am not going to say Brown is not interested or even has a bad attitude. Far from it as i believe he is actually trying, maybe too hard. Perhaps it is also working with Barrett bringing in new ideas and ways to hold himself on the field. Brown is a player that would have been the one to create that play on Friday to get us back into it, with either a break or a ball to Lane. Brown has been very underwhelming and honestly made me think if it would be better if JA was in at 6 for a few weeks. I would not drop Brown, instead i will have take a week or two out of footy. Go see family, get away from the game and come back fresh. Brown might just need that time away for a week or two to get confidence. Putting him in Cup is not the answer nor do i want him dropped but it seems BA's chat with Brown did stuff all and that is sad to think about, seems to have put him in his shell when i thought it would do the opposite.

Sean Russell: Makes our backline quality and depth scarse. Dunster not 100%, Simonsson HIA, Blake injured. Russell is standing by default. For a player to be a Fullback by trade, under the high ball he is average at best. Of course he has only had 6 NRL games to his name, nerves can happen but when there is a chance to be a full-time winger with the ability to fill in at Fullback he is not making an impression to keep his spot. Considering we are shopping for backline help. Russell is a goer, but he is nowhere near ready for full-time NRL. He had 2021 NSW cup development cancelled mid way through when he was 19, had a debut and played another game that year. Then in 2022 he played round 1 and missed half the year due to injury. Then this year missed the first 6 weeks due to injury. So his development has been stifiled due to COVID and injury. He, like JA, needs full-time NSW cup time. Put him at 1 to get metres into his legs. I think Russell can be a good NRL player, but at the moment not ready yet.

Simonsson injury: He was playing well, back in Centre on the left. It seems the left side, where he played most of his footy for Canberra, is where Bailey is more comfortable. Added, Centre looks to be a good spot for him, seems better more infield. When he went off with concussion, i felt awful as he was finally having a good game and a chance to keep that momentum going into next week and now has to sit out and start all over again. But well done Simonsson for the work he did in the game to that point.

Haas penalty: How dare anyone here mention that Payne Haas should have been binned, he is Payne Haas he is above everyone else. If it was Corey Jensen or Kobe Hetherington then of course they should be binned. Haas though? Of course not, why would you do that to the fans and not let them watch Payne Haas. Of course i am being facetious, Haas was not binned cause he is Haas. If RCG was not hurt it would not of even been cited in case he misses Origin. I am a NSW supporter i want Haas in Origin, but this whole bias towards great players needs to stop. It was the same as media people saying when a player gets suspended for Origin or a GF and they say they should serve their suspension after those matches. Ummmm no, thats the rules, if you do something bad then bad luck it's the way it goes. It is like Issac Luke missing the 2014 NRL GF due to suspension, Koroisau comes in and Souths win. But people claim Luke won a premiership anyway as he should not of missed the GF as he was a long serving player for Souths, well maybe not do anything wrong especially if you have a bad record. Just ridiculous, Haas was suspended for only 1 game, but lets be fair it hurt the NRL to do that, only did it due to the uproar it would cause if he got off.

NSW Cup: Going off topic from NRL team, it can relate as these players are connected, the hell are they doing at the moment. Firstly, Cayless team lists are confusing. Firstly, Luca Moretti placed at 18th man despite being the in form forward in the group, putting in plodder and lost cause Jirah Momoisea on the bench hoping he might be able to do something. Second, Dunster pulled out of NRL, but is not put into NSW cup? The bloke needs minutes, he needs game time, having a week off is not helping at all, it pushes him back a further week. Moving Asi around all over the place week in week out also. Jontay Junior Betham-Misa at least got another run on Sunday and that is good moving forward, but man when you look at both lineups; Warriors had 116 NRL games of experience, with James Gavet having 75 of those games. We had 188 NRL games. We were man handled. Not sure what is going on but there could be a chance of something seaping through the squad where it could be the downfall of BA, we have seen BA pick us up plenty of times so give benefit of the doubt, but Cayless aint helping the development of these players.

Ok so now onto Newcastle, coming off two straight heartbreaking losses to Penrith and North Queensland, they will be wanting a scalp and what better than the scalp of last years grand finalists? Ponga will be back starting with a point to prove, no RCG and we are a bit all over the place, it is dangerous. If we lose to Newcastle i think it will be safe to say top 4 is gone. So makes this a must win.

Team changes, well RCG obviously is out, Greig will start and Makatoa i expect to move to the bench. Russell might move to Centre for Simonsson and Dunster to the wing. But i would put Asi at Centre and leave Russell or put Dunster on the wing. Also, i would consider Ogden on the bench over Makatoa as well Hopgood starting, Matterson to back-row and Cartwright to the bench. If it was me also, i would leave Hodgson out, start Hands and put Ogden on the bench, have a bench of Doorey, Ogden, Makatoa and Cartwright. Or have Asi on the bench as the utility.

God bless Parramatta enjoy ANZAC day,