The dust has settled and the high expectations of an opening round win have been sadly dashed. It’s never much fun walking away from a home match after a disappointing loss, but there are some positives to consider.
- Resilience
Make no mistake – in years gone by, this could have turned ugly. In fact, there were a few voices of doom around me in the stands, with predictions of a second half thrashing after Norman failed to return to the field.
However, the players never let their heads drop. They have slogged out a tough pre-season with calls of “body language” echoing around the Old Saleyards complex. They certainly had to put such calls into action last night. The execution may have been a bit dusty but the effort was top notch. Not one single player turned it up. Times have changed.
- Dealing With Adversity Against A Quality Opponent
This Broncos outfit are a class side. Arguably, they should have claimed the trophy last year – it was after all a freak try after full time that took the Cowboys into their victorious extra time victory. It is therefore quite easy to find merit in such a loss.
The defence of the Broncos during clutch plays in the first half was remarkable. With Norman on the field, we threw some quality attack their way and they held strong. This could have been enough to break the Eels resolve but Parra didn’t fold.
Without Norman, we could be given a pass mark. In fact, there were moments in that second half where the Eels had the Brisbane defensive line stretched, buckled and pummelled. Unfortunately, without either of our first choice halves on the field, our attack just didn’t gel.
We have to take some self belief out of that!
The loss of Norman was crucial.
- Adjusting Our Defence
If we’re honest with ourselves, that right side defence of the Eels was diabolical during the first half. The compressed defence didn’t seem to communicate or trust each other enough. The result was overlaps and tries. The new combination of Taka and Gutherson looked all at sea and ready to be exposed.
Given what transpired in the first stanza, I fully expected the right side to be hammered throughout the second half. This didn’t occur. It was probably a combination of the inside men working a bit better and the Broncos not executing as well. Yet, the half time break no doubt gave the Eels that opportunity to adjust and rectify what threatened to be a gateway for points.
- Parramatta’s Forwards
Defensively aggressive and agile in attack. The forwards drove tirelessly all match. They bent the line and created half chances during the second half. The second phase play was in action (as it was from the Broncos) and it should have led to more line breaks.
Of note, were moments in the first half where their Brisbane counterparts seemed to be glancing up at our defensive charge before receiving the ball. Some encouraging signs there.
Manu Ma’u was a standout in a solid pack.
Areas of Concern
Naturally it would be ridiculous to only find positives after a 13 point loss. The areas of concern were not difficult to find.
- The Indecisiveness Around The Halves
Anyone who discounts Parra playing without both first choice halfbacks doesn’t understand the game. It’s not just using less experienced or less skilled players in those positions, it’s the impact on the players running off them. In other words, the attack breaks down and often.
In the second half, Luke Kelly looked devoid of ideas and seemed a yard off the pace of the game. I see this as coming about through being left stranded by his outside men and by some poor personal options. Unfortunately, the longer the match went on, the worse it looked. To be brutally honest, we cannot go into matches without both of our first choice halves. Then again, no side could.
- Right Side Defence
The right side played like they were on the field together for the first time; which they were. However, the fundamentals of communication and trust seemed to be missing. No matter the improvement in the second half, this needs addressing.
- Support Play
This was my pet hate of the night. Good teams take advantage of opportunities. Yes there were moments of great second phase play where support players were found. However, both Manu Ma’u and Kenny Edwards (I have not watched a replay as yet so I may have omitted someone else) found themselves poking their heads through the line only to find that nobody was alongside them.
Genuine opportunities against a quality Brisbane defence went to waste. By the latter stages of the match, passes were pushed (it seemed) out of frustration. We must address this issue.
Overall
Much can be taken out of this loss. Aspects that encourage and aspects that need addressing immediately. Parra looked like a team of full of new combinations; exactly what they are.
Sixties
Images courtesy of the Parramatta Eels
agreed mate. despite obviously wanting the win, i was surprisingly ok with last night’s loss. outside of the early goings with the right hand defence, I couldn’t have asked for much more effort tackling wise.
Yes I’m looking forward to Wicks returning mate. I’m not as n high praise as many for Moeroa. He looks unfit and at times uninterested?
Beaten first round by the almost premiers, without our halves isn’t a bad effort though and only 13 points in it.
Some good times ahead with all our squad on the paddock.
Sinner dont come onto this website with the language and nothing but bagging theres enough of that on one eye ,
I wonder if with all the games Luke Kelly played last year if he is in the top 25 as his nominal value goes on this years cap. He could be #25/25.
Therefore BA is kind of forced to pick him first week as since we have a half who is not injured wouldn’t Parra need an exemption to play Cornish who is likely 2nd tier?
Maybe Luke knew this was his chance to cement the back up half spot and cracked under the pressure. Last year there was no one behind him really. He at least had a go last night. Big game for Mitch at Wenty this weekend, get out and support him if you think he is the man.
Gotta take into account that maybe the coach is hindered at the selection table no matter what round of the season it is.
Interesting observation thruandthur. One would hope that we aren’t forced to make team selections due to cap pressure in Round 1 but who knows. Perhaps Kelly was being rewarded for his effort at the Nines.
I think you’ll find that the view on Kelly is that he was capable of playing a link role and a kicking role with Norman being the dominant playmaker. They would have wanted to give Cornish more time learning the plays (and the players). Kelly played the role satisfactorily in the first half, but without Norman was not able to provide any direction in the second half. My understanding is that there would not be the limitation of having to use Kelly ahead of Cornish.
I think what my have swung the pendulum towards Kelly is that Cornish is a left side half and that’s where Norman plays. Foran stated during pre season he will wear the 7 and play right which is Kelly’s natural side.
Interestingly, Cornish played a bit on the left for Wenty, although an injury to his halves partner may have impacted that. I have heard that given as a reason, though I still believe that they hadn’t wanted to throw Cornish in so early and Kelly had trained there when Foran didn’t during pre-season (though side preference may have been the thinking behind him training there during pre-season).
Please, please, please, keep the discussion intelligent and the language acceptable in the company of all parra supporters, including children. We don’t bother with one eyed eel site because it has been taken over by the lowest common denominator.
agreed Lady Eel. we don’t want to have to moderate or remove the ability for any comments. please keep your comments civil, even if you are frustrated.
What happened to my post?
It was in no way offensive and was positive?
Confused…
I think it was a reply to a comment that got caught up in the moderation software.
I saw your comment at one point though, it wasnt offensive, all good.
I can only 100% agree with yourself Lady Eel and concur with Miatch. We really do not want to be forced to moderate or worse still, remove the ability that parra fans have to be able to make comments. We know a lot of people are enjoying the site and we want people to continue to do so without having to put up with language that you wouldn’t want young children to be hearing or reading.
Totally agree Lady Eel, will somebody please think of the children, 1EE is nothing but a heaving mass of vile individuals, your spot on about lowest common denominator, great that this site is a lot more up market.
There was a couple of rants with expletives that were pulled. No ban or big deal. Just prefer that the language not be here. Criticism is fine, especially after sub-standard performances. We’re all big people who get to the footy and talk footy at the pub/club. We enjoy our colourful language in that context. Certain comrades even more than others!!!! I wouldn’t want the texts I sent last night to be published here or the boys would put a life ban on me! We simply prefer to not go that way here, especially with at least one of the posts that was taken down.
By the way, 1EE is a great place to voice an opinion, so I won’t criticise it.
I thought we were pretty poor actually, we lacked purpose, showed little aggression apart from a hand fuil of guys, our defence was ok but a bit soft in a few areas, all round very disappointing way to kick off a season unless people are content with more mediocrity, and thats what we were, theres very little foundations to come out of last night imo, and our attack was very poor before and after Corey left the field.
Our attack was disjointed, more so in that second half – especially our support play. Nothing to get excited about but nothing to stress about. Insert any team’s reserve half against the Broncos and watch the result unfold.
Agree theres nothing to stress about, i still think we are going to have a real big year, just a little disappointed in the application all round the park, what i did like was when Scott was interviewed after the game he looked hurt, his pride was hurting, you could see it in his eyes, i love to see that in a footy player, you can see it really means something to him, and he really put in out there, you cant ask much more from the bloke, solid first game from him.
He is a brilliant addition to the squad. He has that attitude of a real competitor. Trains the same way. His team mates know he’s out there! No half measures with him.
”he has the attitude of a real competitor” you nailed it mate.
Yes, I caught that interview Serpent. He was asked if Foran and Norman would have altered the outcome in favour of Parra and just brushed it off. He said that Parra would still have lost the game because Brisbane were too good on the night – or words to that effect (really quite poor paraphrasing from me). I took it as someone not wishing to fall back on excuses to explain the team’s loss. I’m not sure what kind of player Beau Scott will still be in three years time, but his presence at Parramatta is much welcomed. I really like his no-nonsense, straight-shooter’s style. This current team (which is a very good one, I think) may not give us the premiership that we as fans are hankering for, but from it there is likely to emerge the catalyst for success. Players like Scott have the ability to foster the next generation of leadership at the club that will leave us in good stead for a premiership tilt.
Personally I am glad that game has come and gone.
All supporter hype and media hype as well around our clubs recruitment was getting out of hand and to be honest I am glad round one has come and gone.
I think there are positives and negatives to take out of last nights game and realistically the negatives aren’t that bad and can be fixed with some fine tuning. Ie the right side defence.
Although it was round 1 I think last night showed everyone the difference between a top 4 side and a side probably chasing a spot between 7th and 10th.
If you looked closely a lot of so call league journos and experts didn’t have Parramatta in their top 8 let alone their top 4 and yet plenty of passionate Parramatta supporters had Parra as top 4. I think in all honesty last night showed the gap we need to bridge before we can seriously claim to be a top 4 side. And I think this time next year we will be in a position to dream of a top 4 spot.
*applause
Another great article Sixties, honest, balanced with a healthy does of positivity in looking forward.
While I am not going to be so bold as to compare us to the Cowboys of 2015, they did lose the first 6 games on the trot at the start of last year.
Yup, there are some areas that need to be examined, but I think we are all pretty confident that Brad and the coaching staff will be looking deeply at how to best address (and remedy) them.
Yes, I would have loved a first win (and a win with Semi scoring another hat-trick of tries in round one), but I do feel that last night was just a speed bump in what will be a much happier year to be a Parramatta supporter.
I didn’t know how to feel at the end of last night’s game. We lost the match but I felt like we won something. I honestly think the Eels would have been absolutely smashed in the second half if they played like they usually play but not this time, & it didn’t just look like they were lucky, there is something else there this season in their attitude on the field. Over the past few years you could see the team falling apart as the game went on. Their heads would drop every time they dropped the ball or let in a try, but not this time. It’s a long season & there are so many things that can effect a teams season but this year it will be interesting to see if last night was a one off or if we really are a changed team. Keep fighting hard Mighty Eels, Anything can happen this season.
You can see the club slowly building back to where it belongs ,unfortunately some people dont recognise how big a job it is and lack patience , i remember ricky saying it would take 5 years to turn the club around and that was without the knowledge of the salary cap mess and the loss of jared ,i personally think BA has us pretty close to the mark now and i pray that the powers to be have the patience to let him finish the good work he is doing ,true test of a coach is “that the place is in a better position when he leaves than when he arrived “,thats a given for me with BA .hope hes here for a long ride ! Just my opinion .
Does anyone have a list of our top 25 they can post here ????
this is a possible, yet not confirmed, list from the NRL Season Guide (doesn’t seem 100% to me, but nonetheless)
Daniel Alvaro
Isaac de Gois
Kenny Edwards
Bureta Faraimo
John Folau
Kieran Foran
Michael Gordon
David Gower
Clint Gutherson
James Hasson
Michael Jennings
Tim Mannah
Manu Ma’u
Tepai Moeroa
Ryan Morgan
Corey Norman
Junior Paulo
Nathan Peats
Semi Radradra
Beau Scott
Brad Takairangi
Peni Terepo
Vai Toutai
Anthony Watmough
Danny Wicks
Thanks Sixties. The guys laid a good foundation last night. We were competitive for 80 mins – goods signs of resilience. The new guys looked good, Scott was busy and led well, Gordon defended and chimed in like a professional, Jennings was a little quiet but exciting to have him. Seemed to me that the forwards + Takairangi were more mobile with more footwork and looking to off-load.
Good to move beyond the hype. Look forward to watching this team continue to progress during this season, we’ll surely win our share of games once we sort the areas of concern.
A few other comments, how good was our discipline last night. No silly penalties which really took the pressure off our defence.
The refereeing in general was great, it was efficient and in the background.
Bench selection is going to have increased importance tactically. Is Prichard the best option as a utility player? Alternatively, maybe there’s a case for Gower over Peni since he can cover the centre position?
Good summary 60’s and a good point in previous years that would of turned into a 30 or 40 point blowout. Resolve & discipline are there and the timing & execution will come sooner rather than later one would think.
Right side D was very ordinary interesting though how opinion can vary. Spoke to a couple of retired players at different times during the game and both made the observation that they thought Taka’s lack of genuine pace was being exploited by Brisbane and this also lead to Gutherson second guessing whether to come in or stay out on the wing IE: trust the man on the inside philosophy.
Taka is actually very fast. Watched him burn others at training and he even ran down Semi, though perhaps it’s not so much speed off the mark. It could be more of a case of not reading the attack fast enough and being caught out of position or moving the wrong way.
One big reason our defence improved in the second half was that we replaced a half (Norman) with another back rower (Edwards) in the defensive line. That should have made the Broncos target our right side but they kept it pretty even. I guess their left side attack was disrupted with Kahu off.
Thanks
Manly losing the way they did tonight cheered me up. As you all know they were laughing at us last night now its bring back toovs lol. I think our defence is a major improvement I just hope it stays like this every game.
What we have to remember is we just played a team that has been hurting for the last 5 months that had a premiership snatched from their grasp in the final seconds.The first twenty minutes we were well and truly in the grind and with a bit of luck could have scored a couple of tries.The positives for mine far out way the negatives.Sure we could have drawn the tigers or Knights first up and won by 20 but this game against Brissy and the Cows will hold us in good stead for the year and tell us where we need to be to be a top side.