I was just thinking about the style of play where we look our best and what the Eels way looks like. BA has tried to install a run hard, tackle hard philosophy with high completion rates. Whilst that has come with mixed results I think what we saw against the tigers and the dragons just a few games back is the real Eels way to play. I think BA made a mistake last week by trying to match Melbourne with 6 big forwards starting and keeping Paulo on for the whole first half and focusing on high completions. I think we tried to play it the storms way but 4 weeks ago against the tigers we saw the ‘eels way’ emerging. Getting our powerful and quick men out of dummy half after quick play the balls, plenty of off loads and plenty of creativity out of dummy half and off Moses is our thing. Guthos quick tap from the 20m restart that resulted in a try was the perfect example of what I mean. We looked like a team capable of doing something special this year just a month ago.
I guess you could say Melbourne combatted everything we threw at them and were never going to be beat them but I think if we’d played the high energy, creative style we saw against the tigers we would have seen a better result. Here’s hoping we see it again this Saturday and on towards the second half of the year.
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You never beat Melbourne playing like Melbourne.
BA screwed up more that any of the players his gameplan was always going to fail.
The playersmay have missed tackles or dropped balls even if they didn't the Eels were going to lose the momrnt Mahoney got benched
I was at the gane as the news came through an hour before kickoff i went to the bar and just had a few drinks before leaving at half-time
BA gave parra no chance in hell to win last week
He’s a key part of our side now. Crazy that we left him out to ‘add more size’. You always need a quality dummy half
I agree. You have to lay the foundations but it’s the games where we look afraid to offload and promote the footy where we struggle. We have to be willing to promote the footy even against the good teams. I think Arthur has to learn not to put the fear of god in us in preparation for playing teams like the storm and the roosters.
It certainly helped having Brown and Moses in the side. Two creative options and not to mention Browns defence
Think your right. When all you hear is don’t drop the ball and make sure you complete the set it’s bound to bring fear and have the opposite effect. Loosen up against the big sides
We do look good with the footy. We have scored some amazing tries this year and on paper we have an awesome backline. I do think we need Dylan Brown back ASAP as whilst Salmons filled in well he’s not up to it against the big guns
We’re starting games flat. It’s undeniable.
The game against Melbourne our body language before kick off was poor and when the game started they seemed ready to merely ‘get into the grind’ rather than make a big, bold statement from the get go with some savage defence. Once that ‘going through the motions’ mindset started it was impossible to change and Melbourne just tore us to shreds.
We must start better. Our forwards must come out of the tunnel breathing fire and ready to rip and tear from the first tackle. You can get into the grind after that, once you have momentum, once you’ve earned that right. But not before.
With momentum this Eels side can pile on points. We’ve seen it enough this season. But they’re not working hard enough to earn that right.
Well said Muttman. There is only so much a coach can do to rev his players up, most of that needs to lay with the players. I know from my own experience that athletes that perform the best are the ones who are in the right headspace. Their ability is secondary to this.
Parra need to be in the right headspace before they walk onto the ground. It's clearly a mental issue with the players.
Need some Tommy Radonikas type preparation before the game.
What I think you guys are saying is that we are never sure which Eels pack is going to turn up. At our best we match it with anyone but at our worst we look like pussy cats.
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