Coming into this season you'd excuse Parramatta Eels fans for being skeptical about the top four tags being slapped on them.
The Eels haven't done particularly well when expectations have been placed on them. In the past they've excelled when not much is expected on them, when they can spring a surprise.
As the 2020 season continues rolling on, it's become clear the Blue and Gold are one of the premier teams in the competition. They went toe-to-toe with the defending premiers, beat the side currently sitting second, beat the 2019 grand finalists and beat a Manly team with Tom Trbojevic.
And yet, there remain discussions about Parra's bona fides.
Phil Gould himself has constantly talked down the Eels this season and talked up Penrith. His reasoning is self defeating; Parramatta beating Penrith shouldn't have happened and the Panthers are more resilient so they are a better side.
Now it's true the Eels have squeaked a few wins.
But rugby league isn't easy and the NRL is one of the toughest competitions in world sport.
The narrow wins Parramatta have managed have been against sides also tipped for top four, and in the case of the Raiders, tipped as a Premiership contender at the start of the year.
That's what good sides do. They win games. By one point or by 30 points, they win.
Now, I compare this side to Liverpool of the EPL. The newly minted Premier League champions. At the start of this current campaign, they snagged a bunch of late wins, scrounged out 2-1 victories and gave their fans a heart attack.
Each week pundits questioned their real championship winning ability. Each week Liverpool kept winning until everyone looked around and the Reds were 25 points clear of their nearest rival.
Now I point this out, not to gloat (okay, maybe a little), but to highlight that the most important thing is winning and that quite often those tight wins help to build character and the confidence of a side.
As Vince Lombardi once said, "Winning is a habit".
For me, the pleasing thing this season is Parramatta's seeming ability to forget what happened last week. In year passed they'd play out of their skin one week and then drop off the next.
This season the intensity is there from the kickoff.
Alongside their narrow wins and one loss, they've blown away lesser sides in the Cowboys, Broncos and Titans. No jitters, no tight finishes. Just straight up run over them. The Titans put up the biggest fight and still lost by 40.
Those wins indicate a killer instinct. When this side smells blood, they go for the jugular and they don't let off.
In many respects it's a philosophy best employed by the World Cup winning German team of 2014. Once they were up, there was no consolidation, no playing out the match. They kept the pressure on and looked for more goals. Their 7-1 demolition of Brazil highlights that.
Against the Cowboys, Parra had that match wrapped up in 65 minutes. They still scored after that and if Maika Sivo had his way he'd have probably scored again following a penalty in the final minutes.
The hardest part for fans watching this is changing their mindset.
The Eels don't seem to be the up and down side they were in the past. Seven wins and one loss indicate a consistently high level of performance. They're the best defensive team in the competition despite having a weakness on the right edge.
Last season Parramatta had a propensity for fracturing through the middle. They don't break there anymore. Their left edge is also the stingiest in the competition. So in many ways the right edge could be a little blessing. Teams think that's the only way they can score so they keep sending the ball that way. It's up to that edge to get their act together and stop those points. If they do that it becomes even harder to score against this side.
Trust me, that change in mindset doesn't come overnight. It takes time.
As Jurgen Klopp said when he arrived at Liverpool, "We have to change. From doubters, to believers."
Yes, it's fine to be nervous before games, but we are not easy beats. Those other teams are worried about us. They know we're a tough opponent. But do we believe that?
We're a long way from finishing this season. The team will be taking it one week at a time. To do anything else would be foolish.
But for us it's a chance to dream of a top two finish. Our first since 2005.
11 wins probably gets you top eight this year. We have seven wins already.
So the question is, are you a doubter, or a believer?
Replies
Nice blog mate, good read
I'm a believer. They look relentless and play with a level of arrogance (read self belief) that any contender needs. And they hurt the opposition.
There will be losses along the way (maybe even this weekend) but at their best they are several levels above most and arguably a level above the rest.
Im a believer atm, good blog super.
Im concerned about Blake atm, watching a few of his interviews of late he seems flat, not his usual joker upbeat self.
Im worried he might be going through some mental health issues atm.
If you are Fergs, chin up mate, one day at a time and youll get ontop again.
I am a believer, there is a difference to this team from past teams, a mental toughness. I was very confident we would smash the cowboys even without Moses, in the past i would have been extremely worried about that game, it was the type we would usually lose.
Having said that, i am expecting a loss this week against the Knights, maybe even a 13+ loss. 5 regulars out including our halfback, the Knights playing at their home ground in front of their fans for the first time since the resumption, the fact we have a terrible record in newcastle and the fact we have been up for 7 games straight. At some point we are going to have a mentally off day and i feel this is the week but i won't be concerned, it's how we follow that up against Manly that will have me watching carefully.
I'm feeling the same way about this weekend mate. We've always struggled up at Newie and I've just got a feeling we may be a bit flat this weekend...
It's coming Kram, even the great teams drop a game here and there, i just hope this site doesn't go into meltdown when it happens.
The site WILL go into meltdown - it's inevitable :)
Imagine losing two in a row. Meltdown followed by Armageddon.
Well this will be a good test then
A game we 49/50 would lose. Let's hope BA drills that into them. For some reason I feel fairly confident even though we traditionally struggle against Newie. We will see I guess.
Oh Slugg, you're an optimist after all:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7wtfhZwyrcc
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