Eels Blogs

Replies

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  Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown August 27, 2014 at 12:24am

  Nice blog 60s, basically our finals have already started two weeks early.

  Lose one game and we are out, we just have to keep on winning and we need to start playing finals footy this week and build on the manly win, the old eels would have lost the next two games we are expected to win, it will be interesting to see how we go.

  I believe the club has finally turned the corner and is driving away from the darkness, but all that could change if Sharpy is voted out, we need to keep this set up how it is for the next 3 years at least, i honestly believe theres good times ahead, a huge difference to how i felt last year.
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  sixtiesboy August 27, 2014 at 6:22am

  That second half against Manly was against the odds. My worry is Parra feeling like I did as I walked out of the stadium on Friday. My first comment was"that makes my year". But of course if the players think that they're gone.
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    macybrown > sixtiesboy August 27, 2014 at 9:06pm

    Yes that's the worry. It's uncharted territory for our young side after such a huge high, and now having to re-focus for the next do or die. 

    On the plus side, guess they now know the intensity required though.

    Fingers crossed.
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  slip August 27, 2014 at 6:37am

  It comes down to BA. Take a look at the Dragons, they choked in GF's for many years, they played mistake ridden football (remember when Nathan Brown passed a ball to Lance Thompson's head because he tripped over). But enter Wayne Bennett and they won a premiership. Bennett gave them mental toughness and confidence. This is an area I hope BA can achieve, whereas SK and RS failed. Can you imagine a confident Parra with Hayne in the team. Anything can happen.
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  sixtiesboy August 27, 2014 at 7:23pm

  I dare to dream!
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  sixtiesboy August 27, 2014 at 7:58pm

  I try to reconcile in my mind that if Parra deserve to be in the finals they will win both games. I hope for a fair shake from the refs.
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  sixtiesboy August 27, 2014 at 8:47pm

  Hence the question as to whether mentally the players see themselves as finalists. I'm not sure why we lacked intensity in the first half against manly but we had it in spades in the second half.
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  Muttman August 27, 2014 at 9:44pm

  Mental toughness. This is the biggest change over the year.
  Even when collecting wooden spoons this side has had players with skills that can pull off a trick shot or two but they dropped their heads way too often and drifted in and out of matches. What I saw against Manly however was a hardened side. Throughout the entire match but particularly in the 2nd half we played tough. In their face, great initial contact, hungry for the ball and hungry to pile on the points whilst maintaining composure.
  With the exception of the Tigers in 05, the comp always goes to the team that is mentally the toughest and executes with precision. They play with a confidence that comes from believing in the game plan 100% because they know in their bones that it works. If they execute like they know they can they WILL win the match, they know it, they believe it. This takes time but we are definitely on our way.
  Even if we bow out and not make the 8 I won't be too concerned. This is a side on the up.
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    sixtiesboy > Muttman August 28, 2014 at 6:01am

    Those last two tries were delivered with execution. I agree about us being on the way up. Having got to this point, should we or the players be satisfied with what has been achieved so far?
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  sixtiesboy August 30, 2014 at 5:20pm

  As I feared, mentally we didn't show up. We were like a deer in the headlights in the first half. Dropped ball from indecision, no aggression in defence. We put in mentally vs Manly but couldn't back up. This year has been a step forward yet also a case of what could have been. Something is missing in the forwards because we didn't threaten there at all today.