The Eels held off a late charge from the Cowboys to sneak away with the win, thanks to a clutch field goal from our captain. It was a very typical Eels win, in which we were the better team for a large proportion of the game. However, gave the opposition several opportunites to crawl back into the game and steal it. This provides us with a solid buffer from the wooden spoon, and with our fairly soft draw (knights, rabbits, wahs, roosters), finishing 10th/11th is defintely a possiblity.
Player ratings:
- Joash Papaii 7.5/10
- I would argue this was his strongest performance for us yet, albeit a costly pass which led to a Cowboys intercept. He put to bed any doubts about his ability under the high ball, with Jeremiah Nanai testing him all game. He was busy in attack, and had very solid kick returns (100 kick return metres). In terms of the costly intercept, it looked as if he had defintely pre-empted the play, something which Iongi has also been guilty of early in the season. Nonetheless, if he can iron this out and develop some variation in his passing game, it'll take his game to the next level.
- Zac Lomax 6/10
- Since Origin 3, Zac hasn't had his best month of footy which also carried on into this game. Ultimately, It was a fairly average performance for Zac, with under 150 metres and only two tackle breaks. I think we need to add some variation on our last-tackle options. We have become way too reliant on sending up a kick for Zac to chase, a lot of which were too deep and fairly wasted efforts. If we can pick our moments better and utilise the play three or four times a game from stronger field position, it would be a much more effective weapon
22. Dylan Brown 5.5/10
- It was a pretty average game from Dylan. He held his own in defence but hardly got involved in attack, which was similar to his performances at 5/8 earlier this season. I still reckon we’d be better off with Simonson there, or even giving Richard Penisini a run.
4. Will Penisini 8/10
- One of Will’s better games for us this year. He ran hard, got himself a try, and was solid in defence. His opposing centre, Purdue scored twice, but when you consider both came from kicks, the blame cannot be placed on him. If he can keep building his form heading into the pre-season, it’ll be a big plus.
5. Josh Addo Carr 8.5/10
- What a pick-up JAC has been. He had a blunder late in the game that could’ve been costly. However, he also scored two tries, one which was purely on instinct that not many wingers could pull off. He was also huge coming out of yardage, regularly beating the first defender and even earning us a few penalties.
6. Dean Hawkins 7.5/10
- Probably Dean’s best game at six for us. He showed great hands and footy smarts with a slick pass to JAC for our first try, and outside of that, he did his job in both attack and defence. I’m still not completely sold on him as our long-term six, but if he keeps building on games like this, it’d give me more confidence.
7. Mitch Moses 8/10
- What a player! He stepped up when it mattered most, slotting a field goal from 30 out. He put in a very nice kick that sat up for JAC and went after it in defence. Loved seeing him hold TDS accountable, and you can just see how badly Moses wants to win, which is exactly what we need from our captain.
8. Jmaine Hopgood 8.5/10
- Early on, Jmaine gave away a costly penalty that helped the Cowboys out of trouble and I was prepared for another poor showing from himself. But after that, he really stepped up. He made 46 tackles with none missed and racked up over 130 metres. I’ve been impressed with his performances at prop this season, and I wouldn’t mind seeing this be a permanent fixture for him next season.
9. Ryley Smith 8.5/10
- The definition of battler. Each week you know exactly what you are getting from Ryley, and you can never question effort. Ryley was immense in the first half. He was busy in defence and also got out of dummy half more than often, while even putting through a nice kick. We saw him and TDS on the field together, with Ryley moving into lock - a sign of things to come for the future.
10. Junior Paulo 7/10
- One of Junior’s quieter games this season. The Cowboys pack came out firing early, but Junior and the boys matched their intensity well. He put up just over 100 metres in attack and chipped in with three offloads.
11. Charlie Guymer 6/10
- Charlie’s had some strong games on the right edge, but he was pretty quiet this time around. He ran for just 70 metres and made 20 tackles, albeit while having minimal attacking stats. I definitely see an NRL player in him, but I’m still not convinced the edge is the right spot for him yet.
12. Jack Williams 7/10
- A reliable performance as usual from Jack, running over 110 metres while also being strong defensively. The early kick was very questionable from him, however, it was luckily touched by a Cowboy.
13. Moretti 9/10
- Outstanding. I’d say this was his best game in a Parra jersey so far. He was damaging with every run he took. He made zero errors while only missing just one tackle which is a great sign given the intensity he plays with.
14. TDS 2.5/10
- I reckon every Parra fan had the same reactions as Moses to TDS' errors. He had a terrible 10 minute period, which was probably amongst the worst all season. Ennis nailed it in commentary, pointing out how TDS would keep taking several steps and engage the markers on each play the ball. However, this is all apart of the learning curve. Nonetheless, he has solid defensively, missing just one tackle.
15. Dylan Walker 7/10
- Dylan was quieter on the ball-playing front this game; however, he did his job in both attack and defence as always.
16. Matt Doorey 7/10
- Matt Doorey has definitely surprised me this season. I was pretty skeptical when he was picked early on, but he has been solid off the bench all season. He runs hard and is fairly reliable with minimal errors. In just 20 minutes, he made 14 tackles and ran just under 70 metres — a really strong effort.
17. Kelma Tuilagi 4/10
- He was really lazy in defence on the Cowboys’ third try, something that’s been a problem for Kelma for years now. While he’s strong in attack, moments like this show his effort and defence let him down too often. Unless he finishes the season strong, he could be starting next year in the Cup.
Replies
Da Silva is the main talking point out of this game. He had some nice runs and in defence was good. it was just those passes on NQ line and going for a try on 5th that soured a somewhat good performance. He has come in knowing only what has been taught through Wests Tigers system, he has learned on the run to fit into our squad. He will go into pre-season with a head start of knowing the fundamentals of our system then fix the skill points of his game. Decision making, passing off the ground, strength and fitness. All that, Ryles and co. will work on but knowing the system will be there which is a positive.
Hopgood had a sneaky great game. His defence is as always amazing but in attack he looked good, hopefully is slowly moving toward. Brown you didn't notice and honestly that's not a bad thing. He did his job in both defence and attack.
I think we throw the most intercepts in the competition and always seem to do it when we have the upper hand in games. That intercept turned the whole game on its head. Same v broncos a few weeks ago
The whole team did well collectively at points and worked together to come back into the game early on after not taking advantage of certain opportunities.
Ryles really needs to work on his first 25 minutes in games as a coach with team selection and tactics because the last month has showed we can compete with most teams.
Da Silva will know he had a bad game regardless of some glimpses of flair so he will be better for it as accountability seems to be a big part of how Ryles coaches.