Part of following article By Tom Rock
http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/02/20/close-no-cigar-nrl-teams-another-year-away-contention/
Parramatta Eels
Most Parramatta fans I’ve spoken to see the club as a phoenix, rising from the ashes of last season’s garbage fire, ready to soar majestically once more.
I prefer to view the Eels as a gangrenous wound. Much of the toxic flesh has been surgically removed, saving the club from mortal peril, but Parramatta still needs time to heal.
That healing process began with the hiring of Bernie Gurr as club CEO. Gurr is an experienced rugby league administrator who isn’t burdened with the factional baggage and malignant self-interest that plagued Parramatta for more than a generation.
For a multitude of reasons, the side that takes the field in Round 1 will barely resemble the squad that offered so much promise only 12 months ago. Along with the departure of false idol Kieran Foran, the deciduous Eels were forced to shed a host of talented players to squeeze under the salary cap, including budding stars Nathan Peats and Junior Paulo. Add in the loss of Michael Gordon, Danny Wicks and Luke Kelly, the retirement of Anthony Watmough, and the uncertainty surrounding Peni Terepo and Kenny Edwards, and you could be forgiven for asking who was left on the team. Despite these heavy losses, the Eels’ roster is still in surprisingly decent shape.
The backline is richly endowed with attacking weapons, and some of the forwards are downright terrifying. But one can’t simply wipe away the mess of last season like grease on an Ajax commercial. Despite their obvious talent, concerns still linger around many of Parramatta’s star players. Can the team rely on Corey Norman, knowing he’s a Snapchat away from a Kate McClymont exclusive?
Do Beau Scott and Frank Pritchard have anything left in the tank? Will Clinton Gutherson and Bevan French handle the added pressure? And can Semi Radradra remain focused? So long as key players remain healthy and avoid Sons of Anarchy reruns on Netflix, Brad Arthur will have his men pushing for a top eight finish. However, with inexperience and uncertainty along the spine and limited depth across the squad, the Eels are still another season away from competing with the NRL’s elite.
Replies
Mate, thanks for the comments. I do a read across several RL sites of a morning and many articles are best flushed down the toilet and give up on them part way through. Others seem to come across ok like this one.
The worst for me is that too many start of and stay for too long on the "season from hell" of last year, rather than capturing something for a new season where all clubs basically start off on equal footing, the desire to keep reminding the RL world of what happened last year and maybe brooding players and supporters will accept a lesser effort for a team in recovery.
The writer of the above story from the ROAR has no sugar coating but I like his bit about rather than the eels being a phoenix, the club is recovering from a gangrenous wound after surgical removal. Straight and hard but very much so, and I doubt there will be many wounds left either especially on the paddock.
His overall assessment is realistic to me, the question of where we will finish is left open is a pretty fair call as we could be anywhere.
When you cut and paste you should acknowledge that in your article Col.
Oops! I usually do so Glenn my bad and now added link. Mondayitis. or something.
actually Tuesdayitis, just for the record.
No! Mondayitis,is something not confined to a single day.
So you can talk about our attack and player changes all you like, the fact is we'll be in every game this year and extremely difficult to beat. I have no doubts we'll be playing finals footy.
Yep. That's my thoughts too.
I'll add that I've believed since even before he came into first grade that Bevan French was the missing piece of the puzzle for Parramatta. I felt that as good as we were, there was a point where teams had started to figure out our attacking, and all we needed was that one bit of additional X factor. We already saw in the back-end of last year, that's what French gives us, and for me, it's going to be the difference between competing in every game, via our D, and getting the necessary points to win them.
One of the truest adages in team sports is that defence wins championships. If you can repel the opposition time and time again you create your win condition while you will invariably find a way to put some points on the board. Of course a super-charged offence can overcome a great defence in a given game but over the weight of a season I am backing the defence.
We have the weapons to put points on the board. So if our defence continues to give the likes of Norman, French, Radradra and Jennings the chance - we will win more than our share of games.
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