After their Magic Round bout to an up-and-down Gold Coast Titans side, the Eels found themselves in a familiar spot, on the losing side.
It would be easy to assume the Eels have been playing poorly but the statistics would say otherwise.
This season only the top four have a better point differential than the Eels.
Those sides sit on at least 12 premiership points, whilst the Eels sit on eight.
They rank third in points scored and linebreaks, both totals you would not expect to see from a side in 13th place.
Even defensively they have conceded the third least penalties and sit ninth in points allowed.
Not amazing, but still better than what their ladder position suggests.
Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown are also firing, sitting in the top 10 in try assists effectively putting their teammates into scoring opportunities.
Despite this, the Eels have been written off by some.
"I don't know if they can make the eight, I really don't," Paul Gallen said on Nine's 100% Footy.
"I've said all show, if you can win two or three in a row you're back but I just don't know if they can."
With the Eels' ladder position underwhelming in comparison to their point differential in 2023, what has changed in a matter of a year?
How the Eels looked in Round 10 of 2022
The Eels are no stranger to close contests.
In 2022, seven of their first 10 games ended with a margin of eight or less.
Nothing has changed in a year; the Eels yet again have had seven games that have finished with a margin of eight or less.
The Eels won four of those games in 2022 compared to just two in 2023.
The side was placed in sixth last season at Round 10, with their point differential almost identical to this season, even though they sit seven places lower.
Only 13 points more were scored, and one point less was conceded at this time last year for the Eels.
It is remarkable how similar the two sides' point differential is.
Although, there are clear similarities between the two seasons there have been some areas that are allowing their opposing sides to get that edge.
With a set completion rate of 75 percent, the Eels find themselves in the bottom four in the category.
This an area the Eels thrived in throughout 2022 with the side ranked the second best in the competition.
Their ability to complete tackles has dropped dramatically in 2023 as well, with an average of 28.9 missed tackles in 2022 (second least)
Now, the Eels are missing 35 tackles per game (second most).
This is a huge discrepancy and a core reason why Parramatta is losing close games.
The Eels' loss of defence workhorse Reed Mahoney who is third in the competition for tackles completed, has been detrimental to the Eels' defensive effectiveness.
Parramatta are losing out in some key focus and effort areas and it’s costing them dearly.
“They're another team that want to play it on their own terms, they're not comfortable being uncomfortable at the moment," Phil Gould said on Nine's 100% Footy.
"They sort of got over that a little bit towards the back end of last year but you don't always get it your own way, you're not always on your game, they just don't seem to be able to handle it when the game's not flowing for them."
For a team that has prided itself on its ability to dominate the middle and win the completion battle, these are the areas that Brad Arthur’s side will need to fix if they are to recover their season.
Parramatta Eels: 2022/23 key stats comparison
| 2022 | Parramatta Eels stats by Round 10 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 6th | Ladder Position | 13th |
| +46 | Point Differential | +32 |
| 79.3% (2nd) | Completion Rate | 75.3% (14th) |
| 28.9 (second least) | Missed Tackles (average) | 35 (second most) |
Credit: https://www.sportingnews.com/au/
Replies
What matters is we are sitting 2 points from the spoon. Any team can pull out statistics on why they could be higher on the table, but the facts are that we just lost to a perennial bottom 4 club and Brad an co are dumbfounded as to why that happened
Look at the Wests Tigers. They lost very close matches to Parramatta by 6, Bulldogs by 4, Newcastle by 2, and Manly by 4. .
Like I've said every team has a story. We are near last and thats it. We're no hope against Canberra, have never been a hope against Souths and will be lucky to beat NQ.
cheif, you know you and facts don't get on - titans haven't been a perennial bottom 4 for starters - 2019 16th, 2020 9th, 2021 8th, 2022 13th (perennial: lasting a very long time, or happening repeatedly or all the time).
one point we can agree on is eels arent travelling as well as they should or we want them to be, but on the other hand its not as bad as it seems either...most teams above had at least one bye, add 2 points to our ladder position - where are we?
Like I've said every team has a story on why they could or should be higher on the table Some say its goal kicking, some say its the refs, just accept it. We are near last and its not looking great
the point of this article is not to say eels should be higher up the ladder or making excuses, more just pointing out the anomaly the despite the lowly ladder position at this time of the season, the stats show that its not vastly different to 2022 when we got to the gf and that the sky isnt falling (just yet)
be optimstic for a change, you will find that it does wonders for your life and you wont be a miserable cant all your life.
Yes but I am a realist meaning I accept a loss better than yourself who probably ends up having a down Monday morning lol. Then your great mate brissy flipper not only jumps ship to another club and puts the eels second, he now walks around the Goldie with his flipper shirt on saying look at meeey. If you can take a positive at being one win from the spoon good luck to you because there's a big cliff approaching.
see thats the childish kind of response we come to expect.....having a go at someone not even involved in this discussion.....
you say realist - i say pessimist.
do you know the saying: where theres life, there's hope....?????
You say we are two points off last, which is true. I say we are one win less than the team coming third. It's all about perspective Chief.
exactly meelk - perspective!
Perspective ha Meeiks, well if thats the case everyone will be highly anticipating you tipping the Eels against Ricky's Raiders this week lol 😆 😂. Go meeik. Ill be looking forward to this weekend !!!! Go eels. Lol
Great blog! I think the attack in general has been better when not resorting to the 1 out garbage. Barrett has to take credit for that. I think it's our defence and resilience which has been poor. Also team selections have been mind boggling at times.
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