Eels Blogs

1. Iongi - great game. Ran hard with his footwork. Solid under the high ball. Real player off the future.
2. Russel - Moved to centre and defended very well as he has recently. But unfortunately today his catch and pass went missing on 2 occassions. Its a necessity that a outside back can do it in the modern game. At the end of the day he is a onlya depth outside back so he did his job.
3. Penisni - n/a
4. Samrani - as you can  see he struggled a bit in defence due to inexperience in the NRL and with the players around him. Hard to judge him hard when he is being moved into the backrow long term too. His runs our strong.
5. JAC - unfortunately did not get good ball but did his job in defence and yardage.
6. Brown - As the game went on his involvement died down. His defence was solid on Olaktaou.
7. Hawkins - Does have the best high kick but managed the team well and still kicked well. Great pass for that try too. Great to have a halfback capable of filling in for Moses.
8. Paulo - Real captain knock in his miestone game. Been great recently. 207m and 64min. Only 1 offload which shows the real run firt mentality.
9. Smit - Did not overplay his hand either. Tackles and provides kick pressure all night long.
10. Moretti - Bit a of brain fart to kick the ball after stripping it. He obviously suits the bench impact role but was fine starting.
11. Kautoga - I cannot believe how much he has developed since round 1. He looks more the first grader each week and dominated Olaktou today. No errors or penalties. 4 missed tackles but nothing crucial.
12. Wiliams - big motor and was great in attack and defence. 5 missed tackles but again nothing crucial.
13. Hopgood - a better game today but still errors. Hope that flukey try gives him some confidence. Effort is not the issue for him. ITs concentration
14. Walker - one of the best signings of the year and arguably the best mid season signings ever. His ball playing is simply elite.
15. Matto - Did his job. I prefer him starting and Moretti off the bench. Matto has lost his impact and is more someone to absorb the collision at the start.
16. Tuilagi - Ran hard but still plants his feet while sliding in defence. At full strenth Samrani should drop back onto the bench with Tuilagi in reggies.
17. Papalii - obviously struggled in defence in the first half which is understandable. Never trained or played on the wing this year and with new combinations inside of him. Samrani and Hawkins are slow too which makes it harder to trust them in coming across in defence. FIxed it in the second half. Everyoen can see his footy smarts and footwork in attack.

Coaching Staff:

Have to applaud JR. The new style we are playing is great. Spreading the ball in attack and new defensive structures. He clearly spoke to that edge defence during HT and they improved which shows signs that he is a good coach. The other thing is shows which is across this team is that we have a lot of quick learners. Smith, Iongi and Kautofa have improved so much since round 1 this year. Testament to both players and coaching staff involved.