Where to from here?
Boy that Canberra game was a missed opportunity for so many reasons.
Win there and we hold a 4 point buffer from 5th spot with 6 games remaining. Basically 4th would have been ours to lose. Now we needlessly walk the tightrope.
Team selection was a huge mistake. It’s obvious we took Canberra lightly and paid the price. We’d definitely seen enough of JA this season to know that he’s not NRL level yet. This unfortunately proved true yet again. Canberra targeted him all night with CHN terrorising him. It proved a fatal decision for Parra both offensively and defensively. Anyone with even a casual interest in our club would have known Will Smith at 7 with Lussick on the bench would have been a much stronger line-up. And isn’t putting your strongest side on the park a fundamental of competing in the NRL? There are no participation trophies last time I checked.
The Canberra game was a disaster. Let’s be blunt about that.
So, where to from here?
Our remaining opponents are Roosters, Rabbits, Manly, Cowboys, Storm, Penrith. This is an absolute nightmare run home. What will be left of our team to play finals after almost 2 months of super tough games?
Attack: I’ve had concerns about our attack for most of the year. Yes the stats will say we’ve scored plenty of points so what’s the problem? The problem is we rely on kicks and opposition mistakes to score points. When those two things aren’t working out we literally have no other answers. (Re-watch the Canberra, Manly, Souths, Dragons, Penrith games if you don’t believe me)
The unfortunate part is our run home and finals footy will be more like those games we lost than any other games we’ve won. High intensity, quick line speed, limited opportunities.
We MUST find a new way to play!!!
BA is a terrific coach and has done so much right for this team, our club and certain players development. But he’s also a stubborn bugger. You don’t have to do much research to work out EXACTLY how Parra is going to play each week. BA will even tell you in interviews. The Eels are going to play the ‘power game’. Sides we’ve lost to have worked out how to nullify that. And when they do, we lose. We lose every time in fact!!!
Given Parra’s form I see absolutely no point in playing the percentages and sticking to the ‘power game’ from here on. If we simply stay on the same path we’ve played all year we will not trouble the top sides, we will not win a Premiership, we will not make a dent in the finals. To argue that our current game can take us all the way is pure unicorn stuff.
We need to start taking some risks!
If Parra is any chance of making an impact in this competition we need to mix things up and surprise our opponents. Try things that are high risk, high reward. Positional moves, set plays, off loads, go to the edges super early, team selections etc.
In 2009 our team was going nowhere fast. Coach Daniel Anderson made the decision to mix things up and focus on offloads as a key to our attack, Hayne caught fire and the rest is history. We over-achieved and stole the Dragons spot in the GF from 8th position.
We need to chance our hand once again and find that spark to ignite our attack. Because if we don’t try something like that, we may as well resign ourselves to an early finals exit from the bottom half of the 8. And if that happens, well BA may be looking for a new job. It’s up to him.
Replies
Good and Fair blog. We are going to struggle IMO to make the top 4 if MM is out for another week or two. Easts are a battle hardened team and we also play Melbourne, Manly, Penrith and Souths. We need to win at least 3 games.
This is where the good teams find a way to win, and win tough / ugly etc. We just need to be that.
Can we do it? I am not sure tbh. I saw that our forwards at times this week were one out and perhaps should have used the ball more on plays 2-3. We cannot continue to have slow play the balls....we need to nail that area and to me this comes from varying forward play sets.
Their defense is actually pretty poor.
The problem is that BA can't identify their weakness and target them properly. We always look shellshocked playing Souffs like we've never seen a block play before. It's actually pretty sad.
Teams like Panthers and Storm pull them apart like they are a reserve grade team. Unfortunately, BA seems incapable of doing this :(
We scored points against them. It is just whether BA can stop that one play they do to us for the past 2 years.
If we are any hope then you are right. If nothing else it will make the games more exciting.
We see if ba wants to drop his son and change the game plan in attack. But pretty sure we just wait to see next year. Wouldn't suprise me to see BA sacked as we will get eliminated in round 2 of finals. If I was Oniel I would demand BA to reach the primlimary final and give storm/ panthers a fight for their money
Mate we may be illuminated round 1 of the semis
Up in lights you reckon 😁
LOL🤣🤣🤣
We have some wonderfully gifted footballers who are capable of playing decent football if given a chance.
The raw material is there. If we don't unlock the shackles and do something different there is a possibility ... don't chuckle because it is definitely possible ....that we may not win another game this year.
The cowboys game being the exception.
What a waste.
This
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 19 Next