Eels Blogs

 Team Review: (9/10)

1. Clinton Gutherson (9)
   1. Scored a try and got two try assists. Was always read in support as always.
   2. Good tackle on Levi to save a try. Could have done better for broncos try. I know they were defending a lot, but he took the short cut of trying to hit Levi’s hand instead of helping Papali’i defend Pangai Jnr.
2. Maika Sivo (9.5)
   1. I thought his effort today was outstanding. I think this is the most involved I have seen Sivo in a while, albeit in very humid conditions. Showed how much of a power athlete he is. Nearly had 5 tries. Pangai did well to hold him up and got disallowed one of an apparent forward pass by Gutho. I would hate to be a victim of his fend. Poor Coates had a nightmare.
   2. Not much defending required.
3. Tom Opacic (8.5)
   1. Becoming a very handy signing. Very good line runner. Nice assist for Sivo’s first try and good support for his own try. He should be resigned soon on a 2 year deal I believe.
   2. Defended astutely. Some good reads
4. Marata Niukore (8.5)
   1. Some very strong carries. Broke tackles and drew the outside man to put Fergo away for a line break once. I would give Waqa Blake his spot back, but if he doesn’t perform, Niukore can hold this spot long term.
   2. Some very good defensive reads when we were put under some pressure.
5. Blake Ferguson (8.5)
   1. I thought his carries were very good. Nearly scored a try if not wasn’t for Dearden scrambling. It really rocks and diamonds for him. When you see this, you always think Fergo should be resigned, then you see his tigers and dragons’ game and want him dropped out of the squad. Still one of the best in meters out of their own half.
   2. Not much defending required.
6. Dylan Brown (8.5)
   1. Put any ‘distractions’ behind him today. I thought he looked pretty dangerous down his side. I can definitely see Joey’s work paying off. He is starting to become very more deceptive when he runs the ball or plays short. He was let down by Lane in the early part of the game where they ran on the 5^th There was so much space if Lane passed it properly. He nearly broke through the line a couple of times. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Dylan game take off in the next few rounds.
   2. He defended very well today. Broncos ran Riki and Oates at him a few times, but D Brown is a gun defender and always did his job. Was running back to help Moses on the Broncos line break. After all he is good from behind ‘’ (Sorry my dude. Still my favourite player, lol).
7. Mitchell Moses (9.5)
   1. Great kicking game today again. Must have the best long kicking game in the NRL. So useful for field position. Goal kicking was a bit wayward. His try assist at the end was remarkable.
   2. Defended well today considering Pangai and Haas were running at him a lot early in the game. Covered Isaako and Farnworth well. Lucky not to get sin binned. However, I think there was an accidental offside by broncos when Sivo kicked it. So, play should have been stopped with Broncos having a scrum on their 10m line.
8. Regan Campbell – Gillard (8)
   1. Reduced minutes in this game due to the humid conditions and increase in workload of Kafusi and W Smith. Did his job. Made a lot of tackles and run meters for his limited time on the field, boosting his effectiveness, and also rating.
9. Reed Mahoney (9)
   1. Some good try assists. Really developing his attacking game inside the opponents 10m line. Kicked a ball dead for a 20m restart. Had the right idea and has done it in previous game, but just didn’t execute. Dropped the ball once.
   2. Made a couple of crucial tackles, in a typical workhorse performance from him. I think if W Smith didn’t get injured, Mahoney would have been given a break.
10. Junior Paulo (8.5)
    1. Did his job in attack and defense. I think Paulo is yet to hit his straps. He is yet to put an offloading or playmaking clinic.
11. Shaun Lane (7)
    1. Never did anything horrible, however he failed to ice off two opportunities. One when Brown passed to him early in the game on the last tackle, and Lane passed it forward. Also, after a Cartwright line break, when eels spread the ball on the overlap, Lane passed it into Mead hands and the ball went backwards for a Broncos to catch it.
    2. Missed a few tackles but nothing crucial. If eels manage to have a fully fit roster, I can’t see him in our best 17.
12. Isaiah Papali’i (9)
    1. Nice try. Good runs throughout the game. I swear BA better keep him in the starting side when Matto returns.
    2. Good of done better and got more help to defend Pangai Jnr try. With the game over early in the second half, looks like BA decided to give him a rest.
13. Nathan Brown (8)
    1. Great ball playing skills for the first try. A couple of good runs. Much reduced minutes with BA using Smith as a ball playing forward. I hope he stays at parra for the right price.
14. Oregon Kaufusi (8.5)
    1. Probably the best game he has played. Scored a try. Great leg drive and has clearly learnt from Paulo on how to use his big frame to generate offloads. Got some good minutes and did his job defensively.
15. Bryce Cartwright (9.5)
    1. Great skills all round. Earnt the right to play good footy by good defense and direct running. Really happy he proved 95% of eels fans wrong.
16. Wiremu Greig (6)
    1. Not going to lie, I get a bit worried when he is on. Obviously has great potential, but he fatigues very quickly. I hope to see him back in reserve grade to develop his match fitness. He has great leg drive, but most of those times Broncos were completely gone.
    2. Only played the 16 min but still made an error and 2 missed tackles. Still developing obviously. I think Hipgrave is a better option for now. If a forward or two go down during a game, we will need him to play big minutes which I don’t think he is capable off.
17. Will Smith (8)
    1. Playing a similar role to Connor Watson. Both have good footwork. While he never broke the bronco’s line, he was very useful in today’s game. He provides quick play the balls so Moses, Brown, etc can put an attacking play on. Good tap back for Kafusi’s try.
    2. A bit of concern as he left the field with what appeared to be an arm injury. I haven’t heard anything about it yet. 

Coach: Brad Arthur

I loved his use of interchanges this game. Brining it Carty, Smith and Kafusi earlier than normal was a great decision in humid condition. Carty and Smith skills were evident in attack. I like that he gives the lesser experiences players such as Kafusi and Greig minutes once the result is certain. I don’t think enough praise is given to BA on how he develops struggling players into good players. He is only second to Bellamy for it. He has developed youngster such as Niukore, D Brown, Mahoney, Kaufusi into good players. Then improved players such as RCG, Paulo. Lane, Papali’i, Carty out of sight.

General Observations:

Decoys

I have been urging for the use of decoys in attack for a while now. I think my case was made clear today. I know it was only the broncos and also against their horrible edge, but when we used decoys it caused poor defensive judgements and as a result overlaps and tries.

'New Standard’ for Moses

He was very dominants with his kicking game early. Once Haas was off the field and our forwards started dominating, so did Moses. He played very direct and ran deep into the line before choosing his passing option. It is very obvious Andrew Johns is having a big effect on his running during set plays and shapes now. At times in the second half, he could have probably taken more control as we got a bit impatient and tried scoring of every play. I know the game was over and it’s exciting for players when they see big gaps, but we went wide and made errors before going down the middle first. Though it was not his complete fault as players around him should know better. 

Carty Party

Welcome to the Carty Party to all those who had no faith that he would be a great signing. He is learning the way BA likes and the Eels play. He earnt the right to do everything he did with very solid defense and good direct and hard running. We all knew his capabilities in attack from his Panthers days, but I was very impressed by how he put his body on the line to save two tries against big boy Pangai jnr. Also late in the game he made a legs tackle on a broncos player when they were about to make a break.

Attack:

1^st Try:

Great ball playing from N Brown. He double pumps to Moses out the back. As I have said we need decoys in shape which exactly what Paulo provided (big body) causes Croft to come in. Then a nice overlap.

2^nd Try:

Again, down Brisbane’s horrible edge. Great hands from Cartwright to Sivo. On the back of repeat set that happened 3 mins prior. Keep in mind this was done of a quick play the ball from Will Smith.

3^rd Try:

Good offloading from Kafusi who finds Mahoney and puts Papali’i into a small gap and he crashed over to score. Great work all round by those three players. Cartwright nearly scored of the previous play

4^th Try:

Good kick by Moses. Smith jumps have an just hits it backwards. Kafusi picks it up and crashes over.

5^th Try:

Great direct running my Moses. He goes deep into the line and goes short to Cartwright who attracts Farnworth and Croft and still manages to offload out the back to Gutho. Gutho attracts Isaako and Coates and offloads to Opacic (good catch) to stroll over. Great support play by all involved. Cartwright ran onto the ball with good speed and into a small hole.

6^th Try:

Papali’I attracts 4 Broncos players on his crash play. Next play Mahoney goes short to Cartwright who runs straight and hard at a small man Levi, and he crashes over. Never seen Cartwright do this type of effort play because he is normally a ball playing backrower. Very impressive signs.

7^th Try:

Surprise Surprise. Again, down our left side. Great width ball from Mahoney to hit Moses. Moses runs direct to square up the defense to attract Pangai. Moses hits Gutho who runs at a 45-degree angle at good speed. Gets on the outside of Croft and Farnworth (horrible defense by Farnworth), and starts to cause Coates to come in before hitting Sivo who runs at a good speed over the line.

8^th Try:

Holy Moses. Cartwright shows his ball playing abilities. Runs hard and direct before hitting Moses out the back. There was still nothing on, but Moses kicks with the outside of his foot to beat Coates. Incredibly manages to come back into the field and Karata kick the ball behind Isaako where the ever reliable Gutho was there in support to stroll over.

Defense:

1^st try:

Broncos kick the ball and Sivo knocks on. A six again on the fourth tackle for offside. Then on the 3rd tackle RCG stopped an attempted kick to the in goal. Broncos retrieve it. Eventually Pangai Jnr power his way over Papali’i. Could have got some help from Gutho and Moses . But I thought Eels defended pretty well here. D Brown and Moses defended really well as they were targeting heavily by the Broncos big boys. Eventually fatigue got to them.

 Team List next Week

Difference

I would start Papali’i given how good his form has been. When Carty comes onto the field Papali’i can shift into the middle. Matterson to play the 80. Kafusi and Lane to play in the middle when RCG and Paulo need a break. Brown to play good minutes. Smith play a cameo before halftime and fulltime. I think Carty may eventually get a starting spot but for now I believe he should come on around the 25 min mark (like this game) when forwards are tired. There is a bit of concern with W Smith as he left the field carrying his arm. If it is bad, I would like to see Rankin as our utility. In the modern game, I think it is vital to have a player who can play in the backline in your bench.

When Waqa Blake is fit give him 2 games straight away in his center spot. If he plays crap Niukore can have that spot long term or until Blake shows he is ready in reserve grade. When Blake returns to our team, I think at full strength Lane won’t make the 17. But that is in a perfect world with no injuries. BA may start rotating the squad a bit (man manage) to keep them fit for finals time. With Hipgrave, Lane, Greig and Stone not making our best 17, we have plenty of forward depth now.