BURNING QUESTIONS FOR PARRAMATTA: Is Jarryd Hayne a five-eighth or fullback, and can Chris Sandow infect Parramatta with his confidence?
Is Sandow Parramatta's saviour?
Eels fans are too savvy to get carried away at the prospect of the young Queenslander instantly transforming their underperforming team into contenders. Still, the signs point to Chris Sandow having a major impact on Parramatta's style of play and collective psyche.
Think of Parramatta in 2011 and you think spirit, emotion, honest graft and workhorses like Nathan Hindmarsh, Fuifui Moimoi and Luke Burt. Jarryd Hayne aside, they do not have a slew of game-breakers. Sandow promises to bring an impudence and arrogance to the Eels that they desperately need.
The NRL is full of brash and confident personalities; it is about time Parramatta had one of their own. Sandow's attitude, as well as his footballing brilliance, will reverberate through the club.
Is Hayne a five-eighth?
The question of Jarryd Hayne's best position is a complicated one, but one Parramatta would do well to sort out as quickly as possible if they are to get the best out of this lapsed superstar. Coach Stephen Kearney undoubtedly notices Hayne's massive potential as a pivot. As do such rugby league luminaries as Phil Gould and Ricky Stuart.
But the player himself remains reticent, even if his string of performances in the No.6 shirt last year were extremely promising – his long, flat passing style has become a hallmark of his game. However, moving Hayne to five-eighth would probably see Burt become permanent fullback – that's a lot of firepower to lose at the back, however reliable Burt may be.
The waters are further muddied by the fact Parramatta have signed Ben Roberts, a seasoned five-eighth who could strike up a fascinating partnership with Sandow. The smart money would be on Hayne reverting to the back for 2012, yet chiming in as a playmaker in the line whenever the moment demands.
Can they find game-breakers out wide?
As mentioned, the Eels have a lot of reliable, yet unspectacular, players in their ranks. Out wide, this is something that has to change. Burt, for example, is a fine finisher and will let down no one, but is hardly explosive enough to change a game. The same goes for Jordan Atkins.
To mix it with the NRL's best, they need centres and wings capable of individual brilliance. New recruit Willie Tonga lacks pace these days and was largely brought in for his experience, so Parramatta could do with the accelerated progress of both his brother Esi and Jacob Loko.
Though he might stay a fullback, Hayne will surely be increasingly asked to help out as a creative ball-player, thus it is imperative they develop other damaging runners.
Can they hit back in the battle of the west?
If 2012 is a crucial year for rugby league in Sydney's west, it is doubly critical for the Parramatta club.
Not only must they compete for young talent with the AFL's Greater Western Sydney Giants in their inaugural season, but they may also have noticed a mini-revolution going on down the M4 at Penrith, where Phil Gould and Ivan Cleary appear hell-bent on earning success for the Panthers by vacuuming up all the juniors west of Blacktown.
It goes without saying that the club needs to up its profile. The best way to do this is of course to be successful. But they could also make moves to change the club's image, perhaps presenting themselves, in a mildly tribal way, as the proud and exclusive representatives of the region. A bit of glamour, a few emotive slogans, and they're on their way.
In many ways the Eels are the NRL's sleeping giants. Now would be a good time to emerge from that slumber.
Replies
Jarryd Hayne=Fullback, question answered
100% correct!!
not a 5-8th!!
Things must be slow @ Bigpond Sports.
This is a complete rehash of about 4 different 1Eyed blogs from around the end to middle of the off season. LOL
Parra fans are too "savvy" alright
Definitely a slow day at Bigpond Sports. I don't think the Eels should have arrogance. You don't win games with arrogance and it's probably not going to help. Sandow is more likely to bring more confidence to the side and the team can do with more confidence. As for Willie Tonga he's still got a lot to offer the team and is a great buy. Mention is also made that the club needs more media coverage and up it's profile. Now, with success will come the media coverage. Don't worry about the clubs image, it's not going to win games and premierships. Hayne is a fullback. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Hayne didn't win Dally M Fullback of the year and RLIP's Fullback of the year by playing 5/8. Hayne plays his best at fullback. When he doesn't have to create everything he is most dangerous. He's not completely in the game and can chime wherever and whenever he feels like it. It's harder to defend against that as there's no set structure in that facet of his game. Let him roam at fullback and the results will show. In short, this article was a space filler and the author shouldn't try to write about something they don't fully understand. Clearly they display some ignorance to the fact that Hayne plays his best at fullback and that a club's profile won't win them premierships.
Ahhhhh - one of my favourite subjects.
Supreme self confidence is more often than not, seen as arrogance by those who do not possess it.
It is like the line between genius and madness.
Supreme self confidence when allowed to be controlled by ego is arrogance though.
Noooooo you don't say !!!
Ah-hah !!
Going with your conspiracy theory then - that is why the media has the Tigers as favourites to win the premiership.
They are actually closer to the city and easier to hold against the threat of GWS.
Much like fighting a war - hold the stronger areas that can be defended and slowly increase your dominance from a position of strength.
This may increase the 50/50 calls to 55/45 in our favour.
Therefore the top 8 should contain Eels, Tiges, Pennies, Dawgs, (Battle of the West) Warriors and perhaps Bronx because Griffin is also a media fav. Storm to just miss the 8 so that our "National" attraction remains in tact.
Nice work SO'C