Eels Blogs

Plenty have focused on the negatives of the start of our season which is easy because there are plenty to choose from.

I want to hear positives people have identified.  I know there will be those who blast it as a unicorn blog but this isn't about ignoring the negatives. We all know the front office is a shambles, our squad is full of overpaid and underperforming players and we have a rookie head coach, rugby union coach and failed NRL coaches as assistants and clear lack of leadership both on and off the field in playing group, but surely there are signs that the BA era is behind us and better days ahead. 

Even if we miss the 8 this year we can hopefully build into next year with some better performances than what we have offered so far. Then Ryles can offload more BA era deadwood, improve the squad with new players before the best pre season ever and find some sort of success in 2026.

1. Our draw gets easier leading into mid season against teams most likely from bottom half of the ladder.  It won't propel us into the 8 but we should win a few games which will make Mondays a little better.

We have played the Storm, Bulldogs and Manly.  3 sides expected to be top 6 at least and the Tigers who currently have best defence in the comp and are very different team to last year.  

We have done it minus Moses with a new coach, new structures and rookie spine who only have the 13million dollar man for leadership.  The chopping and changing of combinations isn't helping but there is cap space to pick up mid season signings and Dylan Walker will help with line speed and energy along with a bit of mongrel in the middle of the field. The team that will play the last 10-15 rounds will be very different to the current side.

2.  Slide defence is part of the defensive structure.  Unfortunately we are getting it wrong and some players still can't help themselves and still run up and in when sliding is the better option.  Under BA players never used slide defence they either charged up or stood flat footed so improvement should be seen once certain players get used to this new revolutionary defence system.  Ciraldo and the dogs had this issue with defence when he arrived but are now known as 1 of better defensive sides.

3.  Fitness levels.  We have been extremely unfit in previous years so it wasn't hard to improve here.  Our fitness levels are much better.  We actually seem stronger in the 2nd half then the first but Ryles use of the bench is still puzzling especially with young Riley Smith.  Maybe he is trying to minimise younger players minutes early in the season but the young players are out playing the experienced players at the moment despite reduced minutes. The younger players will only improve as the year goes on but we need some wins soon so we don't ruin their confidence and motivation.

4. Salary cap. Our cap issues were well known but offloading Brown, Gutho, Reg, Sivo and hopefully players like Lane, Matto and Jnr this year will allow Ryles to get new players who hopefully have performances that match or exceed their paychecks. Lomax, Moses and Hopgood are probably the only 3 players who would get offered what they are paid now by another team at the moment.

If the new players want to play for the Eels club not just the money their manager can squeeze out of the club that will be a bonus.  Come on down Lachie Galvin.

5. Young players. We are currently playing with too many average players who would only ever be emergency back up players elsewhere. They could do a job in an experienced team who perform week in week out but our senior players are leaving everything to the young players.  Ryles has stacked the reserves with youth which will replace our aging average players.  At least youth have potential to improve instead of current players who have reached their very low ceiling.

We have some good Junior players coming through and some of Ryles purchases of players like Iongi, Papalii and Smith will only get better if we can add quality players around them. I wonder if that is why some experience such as Carty and Matto are in reserve grade to help with experience.

6. Players 

Hawkins, not a world beater but we are much better with Hawkins over Volkman so listing it as a positive.  With Moses in the team, Hawkins will probably be the best back up half we have had for years despite being unable to create a try. I think he is expecting Dylan to take a bit more control but he has to take control. Practice kicking for Lomax and let him do the rest.

Smith plenty of energy and willing to run the ball making a good line break today. Big improvement on Lussick and Hands who still throw to many poor passes and are unable to take advantage of quick play the balls. Lussick is also very predictable and defences can pick which way the ball is going by the way he stands at dummy half.

Iongi has talent but needs the halves to help give him space to work in. Still has a few errors but he helps the forwards out with plenty of metres. He will get better once we have stability in the halves and can create some space for him.

Papalii going well in reserves and can create a try, something we need in the NRL side.

Lomax. Our best player tries his heart out. Can't wait to see how combination with Moses goes once he comes back.  Like Iongi needs space and 1 on 1 opportunities.

Williams. Massive improvement on Lazy Lane and I'll miss games over a fine Matto.  It's a shame about the injury but he should be fresh coming into the back of the season with an improving side which will help get the best out of him. Made most metres of our forwards despite only playing 3 of 4 games.

Tuivati and Kautoga haven't played massive minutes but show occasional glimpses of talent running harder than the experienced forwards. They still have errors and defensive issues but will improve as they get more experience. Ideally they would still play a bit of NSW cup to learn but we dont have players better then them at the moment to play NRL level.

7. Last but not least Moses will return. With Dylan giving up and a young inexperienced spine the team needs a leader. Lomax is trying but it's hard to lead from the centre or the wing. Moses is the heart of the team and we will finally be able take advantage of Lomax strength in the air or JAC speed with kicks into the in goal once he returns. Who cares if we can only score of kicks our defence hasn't looked this poor since we had Corey Norman in the halv