Why Feleti Mateo will play

While coach Daniel Anderson is insisting he will use the 17 players named, I feel very confident that Feleti Mateo will play. I have been tapping my sources on the shoulders throughout the week, and I'm not sure if Daniel Anderson even yet knows who he is going to play. If he does, he's keeping his cards very close to his chest. However I do know, Mateo and Kris Keating have been training as if they could be playing. As hard as I try, I can't come up with a reason Mateo wouldn't play this week. Yes, it will leave us with just one prop on the bench but we were prepared to go into the Newcastle match that way when Fuifui Moimoi was a danger of missing out. Either Joe Galuvao or Nathan Hindmarsh can move up into the front row during the match to fill that problem and I don't think either one would be any less effective than Latimore. I think given Galuvao has had an injury cloud over him, the likely situation is he will drop back to the bench to play as an interchange prop with Ben Smith moving into the second row and Feleti Mateo taking his place on the bench. Anderson has said publicly that Mateo and Keating would both have to wait for their chance and surely the Cayless injury opens up that windows for Mateo. There is no guarantee it will open up again and I'm sure Anderson will want to have Mateo's brilliance on hand, going into the Eel's finals charge. This week's match is our only clash against a non top-eight side so if you're wanting to bring someone back into the NRL slowly just to knock the rust off them, this is absolutely the game. Quite frankly, I'll be absolutely staggered if Mateo isn't a late inclusion. There is no player in the competition like Mateo. He offloads better than any other one, he can pass and chip like a five-eighth and he can make more metres than any of our second rowers if used purely as a running forward. His only weaknesses are that his defence can sometimes be clumsy and he often pushes the pass, but he can be told to reign that in. The advantages of having him in the team, far outweigh the negative.

"Meh , if he has half a brain he'd know that things will be different when our halfback returns. Take Hunt from the Dragons and they'd be lucky to win a NSW cup game. "

"His always wanted to come to the eels ever since he wanted a release, it was always the Eels mentioned from the start. Once loss isn't gna make him backflip on the deal😂"

Replies

Goyoueels August 14, 2009 at 4:47pm

Reading my mind 1-eyed.
Dan August 14, 2009 at 4:52pm

Hope you're right mate... It would be a travesty not to have him on our side during our assault on the finals.
ParraMagic August 14, 2009 at 5:33pm

In my opinion Keating and Mateo should already be back in the team. I have loved everything Ando has done up until this point. If you think about it say if Thurston was out for 5 weeks and they won the next five with a reserve at best halfback, Jono would slip straight back in even with the winning streak. I think with KK and Alfred Mateo (yes thats his real name) we would have a higher chance of continuing our running streak for even longer....... Whos with me?
- cgee221 > ParraMagic August 14, 2009 at 6:10pm
  
  Haha.....did you learn that off facebook? :P
  - ParraMagic > cgee221 August 14, 2009 at 8:40pm
    
    Hahaha Yeh
- Dan_Ref > ParraMagic August 14, 2009 at 6:22pm
  
  yes and no. its hard to say.
  
  thanks for the fun fact on mateo :)
Djl August 14, 2009 at 6:26pm

he will play unless i will cry
- TABONE > Djl August 14, 2009 at 6:35pm
  
  No shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ace Eel August 14, 2009 at 6:49pm

If MATEO does play , let's hope he brings LAST year's form with him .. if he doesn't it could be costly ....his early 2009 form was crap...
- Tim > Ace Eel August 14, 2009 at 6:54pm
  
  He isn't a 5/8, plain and simple. He had a huge amount of pressure on him, and it showed. Coming into the team now he should be able to just play his natural game, as he won't be the go to guy for creativity.