Eels Blogs

Another Nines tournament, another couple of finals appearances. The Eels are quickly becoming a Nines powerhouse, with the club making the finals in every edition of the competition so far, winning the final in 2016.

Parramatta came into the tournament as favourites according to the "pundits". They did pick one of the strongest teams on paper, mixing a good amount of size, speed, experience and youth into their squad.

Although they got off to a slow start, going down 13-10 to the Bulldogs, they won their next match against the Dragons 15-7 to move into the knockout tournaments. I could crap on about the lack of a third round of pool matches but I already did that on Friday.

They took down the impressive Newcastle Knights 14-7 before falling short against the Dragons in the semis 8-6. Again, I could mention the NRL's terrible scheduling which led to us playing St Merge twice in the space of about four hours, but I digress.

Overall, the side was impressive. Unlike in previous editions, we're we relied on some freakish play from a Semi Radradra or Bevan French to see us home, this was a side more invested in a collective effort, with Mitchell Moses often providing a spark to get the side going.

A lack of a recognised hooker was a concern going into the tournament and I feel it did impact the side somewhat, particularly towards the end of the tournament, where some dummy-half runs could really have opened up the middle. That being said, Rhys Davies, Ray Stone and Jaeman Salmon all did a serviceable job.

David Gower was one of the side's standouts. He seemed to relish being an extra ball player and his footwork through the middle opened up space out wide.

The real positive signs for this side though, was the attitude in defence. They conceded just 35 points across their four games. Grand finalists the Dragons conceded 63 points in five games while winners the Cowboys conceded 46. Fellow semi-finalists the Titans conceded 42 points. 

Of teams to qualify for the finals, the Eels conceded the second-lowest number of points per game, allowing just 8.75. The Knights conceded 6, the Cowboys conceded 9.2, while the Titans were at 10.5, Penrith at 11, Manly at 12.6, St George at 12.6 and Souths at 15.

While the NRL-proper is a world away from the Nines, defence is all about attitude, and the Eels had a large number of their top 17 in the tournament. For an Eels side known to have a soft underbelly, the steel in defence was a welcome sight.

Overall I rate their performance an A-. Semi finals were an expectation of the side and they met that, they also exited the competition with no injury concerns to key players and played attractive football with Jaeman Salmon's try against Dragons in the final netting the try of the tournament.