Well, this was a real Sunday afternoon rugby league treat. Allowing for the fact it's only round one and all teams are open to improvement, Manly and Parramatta provided fans with a bruising encounter, highlighted by powerful forward charges and crunching big hits in defence.
In the end, it was a 20-12 victory for the Eels. More importantly, both teams gave their fans a real sense of hope for the season ahead.
The Eels dominated possession and field position in the first half, not so much by their own great ball control, but more because the Sea Eagles went through a 15 minutes period of "dropsies" where they just couldn't seem to hold onto the ball.
Time after time we saw Manly invite Parramatta down to their own end of the field with their own unforced errors. The result was that by half-time Parramatta had played the ball inside the Manly 20m zone on 22 occasions. By comparison, Manly only had four tackles inside the Parramatta 20m zone.
The second half was pretty much more of the same. With Parramatta half back orchestrating and controlling the play, the Eels again set up camp at the Manly end of the field. Whilst the Parramatta attacking game wasn't brilliant, Norman executed the fifth tackle options so well they forced seven line drop out restarts and kept the pressure on the Manly side for what seemed an eternity. The final statistics will show that Parramatta had 43 play-the-balls inside the Manly 20m zone. Manly could only manage 12 opportunities at the other end of the field.
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Over the course of the 80 minutes, Parramatta had more than 60 per cent of total possession and completed 31 sets of six with the ball compared to a paltry 21 sets of six for their opponents.
Whilst this flow of possession was obviously not ideal for the home side, I believe this is where we witnessed the biggest improvement in Manly's game compared to last season. They defended their line stoutly and showed real resilience when under attack.
Individual Manly players racked up some huge tackle counts. API Koroisau 41, Martin Taylah 34, Curtis Sironen 31 and Jake Trbojevic 49 led the way. On those numbers, Parramatta were probably entitled to win a far greater margin.
Of course, all this defensive work for the Manly boys meant they had little energy left for attacking football. They were in survival mode for most of the contest and constant fatigue took its toll.
For Parramatta, I was mightily impressed with their intent. This is a strong, committed and physical football team that constantly looks to make life difficult for opposition players. When you play Parramatta you will have to earn every metre and earn every tackle. They give nothing away.
Parramatta's attack? Well, basically it starts and ends with Corey Norman. He is a real class act. He missed the back half of last season and didn't get to trial before this match, but this didn't stop him producing a masterful performance. His combination in the halves with young Clint Gutherson will only improve with time.
Manly fans also have cause for optimism. You can cheer for this team. They have heart.
It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon of entertainment.
Thank you gentlemen, I enjoyed the game.
Replies
I agree - every time they were on our line they scored. so i on-line D needs work. Our attack has a long way to go, but this is the 1st time our 1,6,7 and 9 have played together. They need some time. They will only get better.
Nice read
I NEVER take Round 1 form as guide to anything - but it's hard not believe Parra will be one of "the pack" for 2017.
but yes Manly fans have cause for optimism.
Parra fans can be "hopeful"
I expect Parra to finish in the 7-11 range
NOT TOP 6
NOT BOTTOM 5
& they played like a 7-11 team....one of "the pack"
Tele 1,
A good practical and logical assessment. Game was a tough slog with not a lot of brilliance but we got up. Have been here many times over many years and have come also rans.
Have pure confidence that BA will keep us competitive but we have to see the quality of the other clubs before getting excited.
Was impressed with Broncos against the Bulldogs.
My pure fear but based in reality is that Ricky Stuarts Raiders will be the litmus test for all teams this season. Absolutely detest the man for what he did to the Eels but that said gee he has turned the Raiders around.
Make the 8 - anything can happen after that
One can only hope
That's true round 5 against the raiders will be the first big test. There's a few tough games to follow that one as well. Really pleased about our start to the year, can never be unhappy with a win. But I never had Manly down as a top 8 side.