Eels Blogs

Team Review: (7.5/10)

1. Clinton Gutherson (9/10)
   1. Stepped up when Moses was off. Touched the ball more times. Don’t know why he was kicking (tried a bomb) when Dylan Brown is a much better option.
   2. His positioning was great and helped defuse a line break.
2. Maika Sivo (7/10)
   1. Not involved in attack that much. Could of probably ran more hard yards. But realistically, since we dominated the second half, there was not much to do.
   2. Did his job defensively. The first try will be spoken into the review.
3. Tom Opacic (6.5)
   1. Still yet to see him provide Sivo with much good ball, except one instance. Still developing combination on his edge. Running incorrect lines.
   2. Is a good defender, just could be a bit better with his defensive read in the sharks try.
4. Marata Niukore (8)
   1. Great work to set up the first try and ran the ball well. He is doing well to make this spot permanent for the year.
   2. Got burnt for speed once by Kennedy in an otherwise impressive defensive display. Not much defensive reads were required since we had the territorial advantage.
5. Blake Ferguson (8.5)
   1. Good meters. Made one error
   2. Did well. Stopped a possible try when he hit a pass down.
6. Dylan Brown (7)
   1. Never really stood up after Moses went off. Like last year, Gutho took charge and Brown’s role stayed the same. Ran the ball a lot.
   2. Defensively good as usual
7. Mitchell Moses (6.5)
   1. Looked pretty dangerous during his time on the field.
   2. His tackling technique around the legs has always been dangerous. Needs to fix it up to be a less chance of getting a concussion.
8. Regan Campbell – Gillard (8.5)
   1. Nice pass to Stone’s try. Ran well. Scored a nice try himself.
   2. Defended well
9. Reed Mahoney (7.5)
   1. Overplayed his hand a bit too much tonight. It is good that the last two games has given him confidence, but he still has to ensure that he injects himself at the right times. Ran the ball on the last tackle couple times and got caught out. Needs to be smarter when he runs. His kicks from dummy half weren’t very good either. Has to be smarter on who he uses for the crash play and which defenders they are running at.
   2. Good defensive effort. Few good tackles, putting players on their back. Less effort required today in comparison to the other 50+ tackle efforts.
10. Junior Paulo (8)
    1. His footwork is crazy. Nice assist for RCG’s try. Ran the ball well. Reduced minutes today which make sense give eels position.
    2. Defended well.
11. Shaun Lane (8.5)
    1. Ran well today. Could probably get into positions to offload.
    2. Defended well
12. Isaiah Papali’i (8)
    1. Really hard runner of the ball. Did a good job. Made a couple of errors.
    2. Defended well. Didn’t miss a tackle.
13. Nathan Brown (7.5)
    1. Ran from the back fence as usual. Never passed the ball as much.
    2. Defended well. Nice shot on Connor Tracey.
14. Oregon Kaufusi (7.5)
    1. Probably one of his best performances. Big minutes. Big body and gets great leg drive and hence post contact meters. Really developing his game.
    2. Defended well
15. Ray Stone (7.5)
    1. Nice line and great show of speed and footwork for his try. Good to see him back
    2. Good defending as usual. Brings some aggressions.
16. Keegan Hipgrave (6)
    1. Gets limited time, but nonetheless does his job. Could drop out of the side next week if Cartwright and Matterson both return.
17. Will Smith (8)
    1. Great pass in Sivo’s first try. Forced a line drop out and did his job as Moses replacement. Pretty valuable bench player. Has had an impact in every game this year.

Coach: Brad Arthur

Not much to say. Made sure we weren’t still stuck in last weeks game. Sticking with Niukore seems good especially since the reserve grades first game was today.

Attack: PUT THEM UNDER FATIGUE + DECOYS = POOR DEFENSIVE DECISIONS.

Our attack is still very questionable. We weren’t looking threatening when Moses was off the field because our widespread shapes are not going to lead to tries. We do not use decoys on the edge which is bad. Non – decoy plays are only dangerous on short sides, big overlaps and a play after a big line break. We were purely relying on Niukore to beat his opponent. The only time there was a slight chance is because D Brown squares up the defense very well before hitting Gutho. We need to add decoys whether it is the center or backrow to make the sharks player have to make defensive reads under fatigue. Otherwise, opponents just need to slide and make their tackle. Keep in mind, that shape of Mahoney to Brown to Gutho to Niukore became so predictable.

 I did notice a couple times where we tried to add decoys but bloody hell it looked bad. The most evident one when Moses hit Opacic when he was aiming for Gutho. Obviously, the combinations on the edges are developing, but Opacic, Lane, etc don’t run good decoy lines. It really needs working

I must also add that we need to earn the right to play wide. We spread the ball a couple times during a set before we gained any momement throught the middle. If we force our way down the middle, we slow the defensive line and create opportunites outwide or through the ruck. This is espicially very vital if we don't want to use wide decoys in shapes. 

Our attack seems to be sparked by offloads and the last 2 tries were all created by our forwards linking together. One try was also scored of a shark’s error and another of a great short side play. So clearly our halves and shapes are still not clicking. Don’t let the 28 point score line trick you.

Defense:

Our defense of scrums is very bad. In the first try we had 3 eels on the left vs 2 sharks. On the right we had 3 eels vs 4 sharks. For God’s sake please match the numbers accordingly. If players move late, others need to ensure they follow so there is no overlap straight of the scrum. Based of the first try, we had a up and in defense as Sivo went for the centre and everyone else inside took their man. Opacic went for Dugan (decoy  we need to use this fucking concept in attack) so he could improve his defensive decisions. Throughout the game we continued to not balance the scrum line out. We nearly got caught out, only for Niukore to make a legs tackle.

 I am still worried Niukore will get burnt for speed defending in the center. If sharks had more ball in our side, I would back them to score on that edge. Once Niukore is isolated, they will back themselves to burn him (e.g. Kenedy). Otherwise Niukore defense 1 on 1 is exceptional and attacking wise is still potent.

I also notice our defensive line is very compressed and we often get caught out by a well disguised widespread. Fergo had to hit one ball down to prevent an overlap. We just need to make sure we watch our wings even when we are trying to compress hard.

Moses going off:

I am very interested to know the plan when Moses goes off. Last year it was obviously Gutho stepping up. In this game we had Smith on the bench, which was great, but we were unorganized in attack still. I don’t know whether BA instructs this but does Brown’s role change at all when Moses goes off. He played first receiver a lot in our attacking plays before giving it off to Gutho. He squared the defense up well but that’s all he really did in attack. I am a big fan of Dylan Brown, but I don’t know if he is ready for big responsibilities. While he is in his third year of NRL, people must keep in mind he is still 20 and also had injury interrupted seasons. One thing though that I thought he really needed to take control of was the kicking game. I understand and believe that Gutho and Smith is there to help  attack and playmake, but Brown had to become a chief kicker. He has a big boot like Moses so he should embrace the role. I had no clue why Gutho took the first long kick when Moses went off (his attempted bomb = shank). Brown needs to trust himself. I liked a couple of his runs.

 Game plan adapting:

Obviously, sharks had no bench players for some of the first half and the second half. So, BA’s plan would have always been to stay patient, go through the middle and tire them out. Eventually the points would come at the end when they are completely gased, which is what ultimately happened. But in the early second half when the shark players would have been fine and eels had good attacking opportunities, we never scored any tries. I know be patient, but that may off not been enough against a team with a full bench.