Eels Blogs

Unlike some members on this forum I believe the team we have this year can win the competition. However, it needs some tweaking to its plays and possibly the roster. Supporters have already begun the M.K. bashing which I think he doesn't deserve. He played nearly the entire game on Friday night. His service was good out of dummy half and he had a good couple of runs himself. As usual he was great in defence. M.K. is the best starting hooker we have at our disposal at the moment. In an ideal world I'd love to have either Cameron Smith, Isaac Luke, Nathan Friend or Nathan Fien. M.K. has done nothing to deserve the knocking he's received already this season.

Another topic which has bought much attention is the halves. I thought Sandow and Roberts had a very good start to the match. The plays were quick and crisp and their understanding was quite good. Sandow's performance dipped a little after Roberts went off. This was probably due to Sandow taking over the play making completely. IMO it resembled a little of what Hayne was doing last year. What I think needs to happen when Hayne is back is Sandow and Roberts using him more as a decoy runner. He's a player that defences watch very closely and can be used to distract them if he doesn't get the ball. I'll use our sweeping play as an example. On Friday night it was Burt at second receiver. Now I'm not doubting the ability of Burt, but he's not Hayne. Hayne's got size, strength, speed and agility that attracts 2-3 defenders every time he gets the ball. As well as that he's got ball-playing and kicking skills that can get a defence back-peddling. With him it's quality not quantity. The less he touches the ball the more dangerous he is.

A lot has been said about the value of Luke Burt. I'm of the firm belief he is and will be until he retires a valuable contributor to the team. He's got a good football brain and is a very good support player. What I would like to see from him more this year is getting involved around the ruck more towards the end of each half as the forwards are tiring. The last thing they want to see is a fleet-footed back running towards them. He's also a cool head when needed and has plenty of experience which is needed in such a young back line.

As for the forwards. Fuifui needs to start every game from here on in. He was an impact player at the start of his career because he wasn't fit enough to start. I'm not doubting the talent of Allgood but Fui just has the extra bit of punch and menace about him when he runs. He's someone who can get a good roll on going. On Friday night we needed that after Sandow's try. Because of his low centre of gravity and his speed he's hard to roll onto his back and gets to the ground very quickly meaning a quick play-the-ball. Use Poore and Allgood off the bench because Mannah deserves a starting spot.

Now, on the defensive side of things I thought the team defended quite well. Hindmarsh as usual was the leader in that department. Unfortunately Ben Smith is out for a large part of the season and therefore Sandow's protector is Taniela Lasalo. Lasalo's a decent defender but he's not Smith. I liked our intensity during the match. Plenty of big hits and collisions. The surprising leader in that factor was Sandow. He forced a number of errors and didn't make himself a target. I believe that separates he and Mortimer in defence. Sandow's no speed bump and is not afraid of a collision. What I would like to see in defence however is emphasis on locking up the ball. Some of the Broncos forwards were able to easily offload when being tackled. I don't know what wrestling training we're doing but there's got to be more focus on the ball. Teams like the Tigers and Warriors will kill us if we don't lock the ball up.

In terms of our sweeping play I think there needs to be a little more creativity in it. We tend to go to the second-man too often. I know on Friday night that it was Burt at second-receiver but once Hayne is there we've got to make sure he's not the one getting the ball every time we make that play. Often there's a hard running back rower who is the front man in these plays. If I was Sandow or Roberts I'd be hitting them in those plays quite often and using Hayne as a distraction. Once the defence thinks you're going to the front man, give the ball to Hayne and he'll have room to work in. The number one thing that has to be remembered in attack is to give the ball to Hayne when he calls it. He's someone who plays on instinct and opportunity, when he calls it he's got an idea of what he's doing and what he's going to do with it. A lot of what as to be tweaked in the team is getting the basics right. I'm sure that given a bit more time the team will gel and with a fully fit team we can win the competition.