Losses are inevitable in a competition as long and as demanding as the NRL. The defeats may be disappointing, but as fans we should expect to experience that sinking feeling even in successful years. So with Parramatta’s loss to the Panthers still stinging, what went wrong and what we can expect from here.
The Telstra Premiership is a tough gig. Even with the breaks provided through byes, it is impossible to maintain peak form for 26 rounds. Consequently, the coaches navigate a challenging premiership course, picking up a collection of both meritorious and fortunate wins, all with the aim of finishing comfortably within the top 8 and in top form.
Therefore, when an early season victory is achieved, should we worry about how we played?
Of course, such a question is easier to answer after a win. You take the Premiership points, because come the end of the year, nobody is going to look back and add up those lucky wins. Taking that perspective, the Eels missed a golden opportunity to notch up 2 points against the Panthers. It’s frustrating to consider it that way.
Jamie Soward had the Eels in his sights and executed effectively.
Conversely, on viewing the draw, if someone had said to me that Parramatta could be on 3 wins after 5 rounds, I’d have taken it without hesitation. There we have the contradiction of emotions – the disappointment from the loss weighing against the acceptance of the table position.
I wonder how many supporters feel the same way? I wonder, whether any of the players felt similarly? Didn’t Brad Arthur signal such a concern in the previous round when he said, “Are they comfortable or do they want to be winners?”
No doubt, it was a challenging start to the year. The first 4 rounds had delivered three wins, but they had also delivered a physically and psychologically draining sequence where the team had to be defensively excellent against quality attacks. Interestingly, many of the NRL coaches set team targets in blocks of four rounds. Assuming Arthur does similarly, Sunday was the perfect time to re-boot for the next block of four.
With such a positive start to the Premiership, what went wrong against Penrith?
To begin with, one must acknowledge the efforts of the Panthers. They succeeded in scoring the most points of any opponent this year and competed for the full eighty minutes. Players such as Moylan and Cartwright are quality players and future superstars. To suggest that the game was lost to an undeserving opponent would be both disrespectful and incorrect.
Matt Moylan – a quality player whose efforts must be acknowledged.
However, lose we did and there are reasons to be found within Parramatta’s performance. Most supporters will probably agree that something was missing in the team energy on Sunday. That’s quite distinct from effort, because there was no doubting the effort of the team. Rather, it was that extra “something” that gives a team the edge, something that the crowd can sense from the sting in the tackles and the venom in the hit ups. Consequently, things didn’t quite click.
A good friend said to me, “We were the better team for 80% of the game.” My take on the match was that most players put in about an 80% performance. That meant that virtually every player had very good moments throughout the game mixed with incidents that they would like to have over again. Dropped ball, missed tackles, wrong options, ineffective kicks – the errors ran the gamut of possible footy mistakes.
It’s possible to go to the tape, as I’m sure Arthur will, and highlight the key moments and individual errors that contributed to the loss. It’s also very possible to examine the contribution that the much hyped bunker made to the result. However, it remains important to focus on the things that we can change and control.
Semi – we didn’t see any of this on Sunday.
To that end, a dropped pass, a missed tackle, a poor option in isolation are not major concerns. When it becomes a pattern, harder decisions need to be made. At this early stage of the season, the attack not quite clicking is probably the major focus for the coach, though nothing that would cause a loss of sleep.
What would be a concern is the manner of the loss and a possible pattern. When Arthur analysed the 2015 Premiership results, he highlighted a team that was capable of leading in the second half of virtually every match, but could not execute an 80 minute performance. Sound familiar? It’s why he was not happy with the late second half tries produced by both the Cowboys and the Bulldogs. Both matches were indicative of a trait that Parramatta has not quite eliminated.
Expect the players to work hard at training after the loss.
Moving forward, the supporters should expect to see a lift in energy and intensity this week and hopefully a fully committed and focussed eighty minute effort. The attack will come. It’s a combination that’s only five rounds old and it will gel in the fullness of time. Clocking off when the game is on the line – not acceptable and will need to change.
In the total scheme of the season, a loss to the Panthers hurts but it’s nowhere near a disaster. The squad is much stronger and there’s been plenty to like about the Eels footy this year. I see no reason to change my opinion after the weekend.
Sixties
All images courtesy of the Parramatta Eels and the NRL.
Is there a possibility that an impending points penalty is weighing on the players minds? Could it explain being down in energy or not quite focussed. Even if the players are focussed on game performances and don’t read the papers they get asked about it at so many press calls. It must eventually play on their minds.
Is it to early to be throwing up the idea of swapping Taka & Jennings? I know BA will not budge on this subject but I honestly think it’s worth considering
Mate I said the exact same thing during the game on Sunday. Semi and Jennings is not going to work as a successful combination however I think that taka and semi are an extremely potentially dangerous combination but would need to tighten up the loose passes that would creap in from trying to hard
Thanks Sixties and although I normally take solace in your analysis it hasn’t worked for me this time as I’m still filthy about the result. It worried me leading up to the Panthers game that there was so much talk about the defensive load in past weeks and I just had the feeling that the players were talking themselves into a flat performance. The NRL comp is hard but it is essential to bank competition points when they are on offer especially when there has been positive momentum in the previous weeks. Sunday was the eels circa 2015, 2014 …..conceding tries just before and after half time is a killer, one from dummy half no less with hardly a hand on Wallace, let alone a couple in the last 7 minutes. Both sides were scrappy for sure as you rightly say with some good and bad aspects of every players game. However the eels did scrap themselves to a 18-12 lead with little time to go and should have closed the game out. I expected a dead eye like Gordon to have converted his try. I expected them to roll down field for a field goal attempt which to me would have indicated a hardness and awareness of the game situation but they didn’t. The opposition can’t score when you’ve got the ball but that early inept kick from Foran late in the game made me sick to the stomach. The look on BA’s face in the presser was pure disbelief. Disbelief that those bad traits had returned yet again after he’d thought they had been long put to rest. Momentum is a wonderful thing for a sporting team but if it stops it can take time to get it going again especially when the 2 of next 3 rounds include inform Canberra and the Cowboys. My final beef is the crowd -15,600 in attendance of which there seemed to me to be only a few hundred Panthers supporters and yet the eels play/players hardly engaged the fans at all. Someone like a Kenny Edwards could have got that crowd going with just a gesture and got some energy behind them.
Hard to see this as anything but a missed opportunity, in a close competition this year we need to win the games we are expected to win, we were solid favourites and fell apart with ten to go.
Our attack has plenty of issues, it is one dimensional with its ‘second man, second man, Jennings, Semi’ option that hasn’t changed in three years despite different personnel now running around. Opposing sides have figured that one out and we need some short balls, kicks or inside runners to keep defenders honest. The mistakes and rusty attack aren’t helping us but we’ve had a lot of opportunities this year to run our pet plays and they are just not working.
Defensively these last ten minute failures are a big concern. If we can’t maintain this standard of defence for 80 minutes that will be tough to fix, mid game injury/concussion tests haven’t been kind to us but if we are only going to use Kaysa for 20 minutes BA may need to consider going with a four forward rotation to keep our late defence fresh. Even a noted defender like Beau Scott fell off tackles late in this game and it wasn’t like possession was against us and wearing us down. We’re a team that makes a lot of hard tackles in numbers, at least for 70 minutes, we need to be fit enough or manage our bench better to make sure that intensity remains for 80.
I honestly believe we missed Mannah and his direct running. People forget how well he has gone; or I think he has.
There was too much ‘ad lib’ play; lack of direction. People say Taka had a blinder; we he did well with the ball but Gutherson’s defence is related to Taka too. They seem to lack confidence in their defence play. Rushing in from the wing is an E Grothe Jnr trait…and ends in tears.
Taka at times runs too much side ways; when he goes straight he is very dangerous. Sixties I agree with the 80%- they all went ok. But not one player stood out in my view and the defence was the down side. Poor defence near our line; and the last try highlighted this. Semi had a poor attempt at the ball and almost seemed to not know what to do; he had no cover as well. He could have tried to knock the ball, but having said that he was a few metres from sideline / deadball. We lacked urgency and looked flat in my view.
In posting this comment I hope to respond to most comments. I believe that the flatness in the team and the lack of penetration in attack was directly related to the form of our halves. Both Foran and Norman were off the pace in this match. There are plenty of varieties in the plays that are worked through in training but calling for and executing is another matter (we did see a variation with Taka’s disallowed try). We need the halves to be better this week.
In my opinion we are in for a few upcoming weeks of pain. Jennings and Semi are not working as a combination and I don’t think they will. Jennings is not getting enough ball when needed a d because of that he is trying to do to much and not feeding it to semi. Taka and semi must be together but Jennings on the right will never happen so not sure what we do with that. I am not sure of the full situation with Morgan but in my opinion he needs to be back in the team for the right side to be successful both in attack and defence. Stating the obvious Foran and Norman need time and it will come but so will missing the finals if it takes to long even this early in the season. The comp is that tight that this is going to be one of those games come September that we will look back on as a loss that could cost us top 4 or even worse top 8.