Eels Blogs

 Cooper Cronk summed it up, at the end of the first half.

"This is simply stunning from Parramatta, showing grit, character & heart."

Grit. Character. Heart.

There were plenty of positives taken from the Eels Round 2 loss to the Panthers, perhaps none more so than the resilience, spirit & fight for the games entirety, despite the adversity & brutal defensive workload endured.

Still, we’ve been here before, many times. We are Eels fans, and know better than to jump before crawling towards optimism.

However, is there something a little different about the 2024 Eels side?

Has the shift in pre-season strategy from BA & the players, targeting connection, selflessness, camaraderie, and creating legacies, built a more unified dedication & focus?

A dedication & focus that appears, at least on the surface, to have developed a resilient core, instead of floating in & out like a pendulum?

I was proud tonight, more so than last week with the win against the Dogs, I thought we were extremely tough.

Brad Arthur in the post-match press conference

As tough, brave and commendable as the Eels were, ultimately we fell short. A loss is still a loss.

And history over the last fourteen seasons would suggest this week now becomes vital for the confidence-based Eels.

A dejected Morgan Harper on the left wing after being Tago-ed in last week's loss to the Panthers | Getty Images

And what a test this one will be. Bring it on.

In every failure there is something to be gained, even if it’s only practice for the next test you’ll have to take. Because that test is coming, that’s a guarantee.

David Goggins, former Navy SEAL, some call the toughest man on the planet

Teams

1. Clinton "Ragnar" Gutherson 2. Morgan Harper 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Blaize Talagi 5. Sean "Catch 'em while-they're-hot" Russell 6. Dylan "Everywhere Man" Brown 7. Mitchell "Nuts" Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Joey "No Hands" Lussick 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. J’maine Hopgood 14. Luca Moretti 15. Ryan Matterson 16. Joe Ofahengaue 17. Kelma "Nuikore" Tuilagi

1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Raymond Big-Bad-Boy-Tuaimalo Vaega 3. Tolutau "Jets" Koula 4. Rueben "Thousand" Garrick 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke "Finally-Free" Brookes 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8 . Taniela "The Beast" Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole "The Hulk" Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Karl Lawton 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan "Evil eye at you Braddy" Brown 

Blaize Talagi will make his first-grade debut (more on this below) and Luca Moretti will replace Brendan Hands.

Manly are also (thankfully) missing outside backs in Saab (still) & Tommy Talau, replaced by Paulo & big Ray Vaega.

Recent History

The Eels recent record against the Sea Eagles is positive, winning 3 of the past 4 games between the two.

However, since 2019, both teams have five wins a piece (50% winning ratio).

Who usually won follows where they played. When at Commbank, the Eels have usually won (4/5, 80%) against Manly. When outside, the Eels have usually lost (won 1/5, 20%). 

 And this shapes as a high-scoring, exciting and unpredictable contest. Over the last 5 years, since 2019, the average total score has been almost 50 points per game (48.3 ppg) but predicting the margin is a toin-coss.

The T-Factor

One of the best players in the game when on the field, Tommy Turbo has had a large impact on the outcome of the Eels V Manly contests.

Further to this, in the past four games between the Eels & Sea Eagles, Turbo has accumulated:

4 tries / 8 try assists / 5 linebreaks / 10 linebreak assists & averaged 218 running metres.

There may be no bigger test for our middle & edge defence, their work ethic, communication & cohesion from the inside out must be on-song or Manly’s ability to move the ball & use the superior speed on their edges will make life difficult.

For the Eels, is it far simpler? Is the blueprint for defeating Manly similar to one executed well against the Bulldogs (who also have speed & talent out wide)? Win possession, territory & the middle, and the Eels can suffocate Manly’s ability to use their edges. Easy, right?

Return of the Barlow

With that in mind, we are going to need 80minute efforts from our middles - perhaps no more so than big Junz, who is so often a barometer of the Eels mental application.

Paulo looks a different beats in 2024, racking up 162m & 152m in consecutive games.

And while Junior started 2023 in similar fashion (consecutive games with 200+metres), fans will hope that Paulo’s injection off the bench will not only provide the momentum shift that it did against the Panthers, but also might be the key to managing his workload throughout the season.

Milestone Central

It's a Day of Milestones. A feast.

The ultimate test of a team's beating heart & culture can often be found in their approach & reaction to players milestones, and what player deserves a unified effort more than Reagan Campbell-Gillard?

RCG has arguably been the Eels most consistent & important forward over the past few seasons.

And although Eels fans don’t always agree on players, one exclusion does seem to be the rampaging moustache-ride himself.

Congrats to RCG for his 200th game from very appreciative Eels fans

There are also other Moanly milestones, which I should not mention. But, Eels' fans are a class act. What more can I say?

If the players needed any more motivation for this game, they have it in spades as the much touted Blaize Talagi has earned his first grade debut in the centres. Keep it together, EA.

J’Maine Hopgood & Junior Paulo both spoke to Blaize’s calmness, an ability to not let things phase him.

As fans, lets get behind him & be understanding & patient. Talagi is 19, and this is his first grade debut.

Best of luck Blaize.

Bottom Line

The Electric Eel has no natural predator, which is pretty cool, however, one of the biggest threats to the Electric Eel is actually itself.

While charging, the Electric Eel has been known to bend its body incorrectly & electrocute itself.

Similarly, for all the positives taken from last week's loss to the Panthers, the question remains, did the Eels ultimately cause their own demise?

We were Tago-ed. When an opposition player has 6 line breaks, all of which are against a second rower defending out of position, questions are rightfully asked of the strategy. 

All of the Panthers' 26 points and five of Tago's six linebreaks came in the 50 minutes Tuilago played at centre for the injured Simonsson, with only 1 linebreak from Tago coming in the last 26 minutes of the game when Cartwright replaced him | Getty Images

 The decision to persist with Tuilagi in the centres didn't only baffle Eels fans, it baffled commentators alike.

Arthur has a really big call to make on that left edge because Tago is tearing them to shreds.

Cooper Cronk, on Foxtel, at half-time

This isn’t a ‘Brad Arthur' thing, this is an ‘Eels coach’  thing. 

Brad was proud of the ‘commendable effort’ Tuilagi & the left edge showed, but this fight was a Round 1 knock-out. What made the decision all the more baffling is the fact the Eels possess the best defensive (and one of the quickest) 5/8th’s in the game, defending one position over. Proz. Daz echoed many fans' perspectives on this site calling it "a coaching own goal". Bup, one of the 1EE communities top tactical minds, summed it up better than I ever could (hope this is ok to quote Bup?):

Defence in general is in your control, if you’re getting beat by speed on the outside continually leading to points, you must make adjustments, not because you want to, but because you have to.

On Friday moving Brown to defend in the centres but remain as a 5/8th in attack was a no brainer.

Your defensive structure should always allow defenders to cover poor defensive reads fro the inside, but when being beaten on the outside, the only recourse is cover defence.

If you are relying on cover defence you’re not winning on percentages.

We weren’t far off last week but 6 line breaks from one player without making forced changes is unacceptable.

Bup 

Brad Arthur justifiably & publicly called out players in 2023, he demanded more, he demanded better.

Well, in Round 3 of 2024 against a high flying Manly side, is it the players' turn to demand a little more from their coach?

As a club we can ill afford any more self-sabotage that plagued our ’23 season, each win is just too important.

Here’s to a rebound from the Eels, for RCG’s big 200th, Blaize’s debut, and a reward for the effort they have shown so far this season.

Good luck Parra - A packed out CommBank & Eels fans across the country will be behind you.