A Tale of Two Halves.

A repeated cliché to many a football supporter; a pun to Charles Dickens fans; and the perfect way to summate the upcoming fixture between the Eels and Roosters this evening.

When the name Jeff Robson is thrown around, there are certain connotations that are associated with it in rugby league circles and as it stands at the moment, he is the man tasked with replacing Kieran Foran and to help lead the Eels back to the semi-finals for the first time, well, he was our halfback.

It is for this reason Eels fans will have fond memories of Robson. The unheralded number seven was a vital cog in Parramatta’s infamous 2009 winning streak, providing much needed composure and stability to the free-flowing attacking football that is now universally known throughout the Cumberland as ‘Parra-Ball’. However, he is called into the NRL team under much different circumstances this time round.

In 2009 Robson first came into the side in round five as a replacement for the recently departed Brett Finch. The move was instigated following a poor team performance against the Roosters the week before which culminated in the Eels larrikin Finch being released to Melbourne.

Another substandard team performance followed and Robson was subsequently dropped after only one game, with Kris Keating and Feleti Mateo the then preferred halves pairing. As such, it looked as though at that moment, Robson’s NRL career had very numbered days.

However, it was only a month later in a round ten loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval that both Keating and Mateo suffered long term injuries. The former breaking his jaw and the later suffering a major shoulder complaint. It was at this point that Coach  Daniel Anderson’s hand was forced and Robson was recalled.

Some inconsistent results followed for the next few weeks of the competition – a few wins here, another couple of losses there and very quickly the first half of the 2009 season was done and dusted, with the Eels looking to avoid another cellar-dwelling season.

However, unbeknownst to all, something unprecedented was about to take place at Parramatta and little did Eels fan realize, just how prominent a role Jeff Robson would play in it.

The rest they say is history. We all fondly remember the events of the second half of the 2009 season and as a result, Jeff Robson will always be a name associated with that time.

This time however, despite some similarities, is a little different.

Timely Return: 2009 hero Jeff Robson returns to the Eels tonight

Rather than coming into the side with the hope to do a job and to keep our finals hopes alive, he comes in this time with the expectation to do a job and to keep our finals hopes alive. For you see, since he was last at Parramatta Jeff Rosbon is no longer just a stop-gap measure, he’s much more than that.

For the first half of his career he was very much used in this capacity – a squad player intermittently called upon to fill the role of the injured or representative selected half he was deputizing for and as such, was often considered ‘a backup at best’

However, there’s a few things many league fans don’t consider when it comes to the development of players, as most only see a player at his current value and not what his future or situational value is to the larger squad.

After spending years training and playing alongside Jason Taylor, Michael Buettner, Andrew Walker, Michael Mongahan, Matt Orford, Jamie Lyon, Brett Finch just to name a few, does one not think you would learn a few tricks of the trade?

Throw in coaches like Brian Smith, Shane Flanagan, and Daniel Anderson; as well as some backs like Brett Stewart, Steve Matai, Steven Bell, David Williams, Krisnan Inu, Timana Tahu, Eric Grothe Jnr; forwards like Steve Menzies, Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Nathan Hindmarsh, Nathan Cayless, Feleti Mateo, Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita, Anthony Tupou, Luke Lewis and Wade Graham – that’s some pretty good company to be keeping for the last fifteen years – and those are just direct mentors and colleagues.

Throw into the mix that he has played two seasons worth of NRL with both our current fullback and hooker, one of which resulted in a very strong season in which their side made the finals, is it really any surprise that by the second half of his career, Robson blossomed into a regular first grader and as the man tasked to be the foil of the talented but enigmatic Todd Carney? Or why the Warriors initially recruited him to play alongside Shaun Johnson? Is it any surprise that he can come in and provide much needed balance to the sides he’s played in to great effect?

The answer for those of you playing at home is an emphatic no.

Fact of the matter is that Jeff Robson is an out and out first grader who provides plenty of stability – and for a club that’s lacked stability in more recent times, he personifies the very thing we need.

He also personifies the very thing Corey Norman needs.

Corey has done an outstanding job managing the kicking game and set play responsibilities normally donned by two halves, even before Kieran Foran went down earlier in the year.

And that’s not to take anything away from either Brad Takairangi or Kenny Edwards efforts. Those two have played out of their skins in unexpected and unfamiliar roles. As a coach and a fan however, you do want a genuine half playing in the halves – particularly when you have someone with the skillset of Corey Norman at your disposal.

So who do you find when your main half has gone down, and his back up, and the back up’s back up, and the makeshift back up?

Someone who can provide stability and take the pressure off that’s for sure; someone with experience and who can easily slot into a structure; and someone who can attempt to replicate Foran in the aggregate with strong defence, an effective short kicking game, who can relieve the pressure off Corey but require little outlay and that we can afford at this time of year, under the salary cap circumstances – when you really think about it, is there honestly anyone better than Jeff Robson?

Return to the fringes: Kenny Edwards has admirably filled in the halves

It’s a problem that has now been rectified and thankfully so, because speaking of halves, our opponents the Roosters have had some troubles of their own.

Following a late night Australia Day soirée and a series of unfortunate injuries, the boys from Bondi are well placed to empathize with the halves problems of the Eels of 2016.

However the return of their former Captain, Mitchell Pearce, has given the tri-colours reason to be optimistic in more recent times.

The form of Pearce, although interrupted by injury, since returning from the events of January 26, has been nothing short of sensational.

Now I know this might initially sound like an overstatement, but let me first take the opportunity to explain why.

As a coach, one of the main qualities you look for in your players is energy. This is tenfold when it comes to your chief playmaker. If they’re not bouncing off the walls, if they’re not vocal throughout the warm up with words of direction and encouragement, then you’re not going to be at 100%

Energy is the universally unspoken sign that a player is ready and when it comes to your halves there should be no one more energetic than your chief playmaker.

As I was watching the warm up between the Roosters and Bulldogs last Thursday night, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the energy of Mitchell Pearce. He was barking instructions, words of affirmation and doing everything at 100 miles an hour.

Is it then any surprise that the Roosters then came out and dominated the Bulldogs for the first 30 minutes? Or is it any surprise that Mitchell Pearce was the most influential player in helping them establish a 12-0 lead?

The man even did what players like Bradley Clyde and Daly Cherry-Evans have done before him, he was the man-of-the-match on a losing team – that is no easy feat.

Yes, of course it has plenty to do with the way the Bulldogs played, but it speaks a lot more for the way Pearce played himself.

This is man seeking redemption; a man who feels he has a point to prove; a man who wants to make it up to his team mates, his coach and fans.

I heard the humility in his voice in his post-game interview – it wasn’t humility for the sake of humility, it was the humility of man focused on his outcome and disappointed that he didn’t get the result.

It’s the same humility that will make him focused on upsetting our boys tonight.

Nullified: Controlling Mitchell Pearce will limit the point scoring opportunities of the Roosters tonight

When we take the field against the Roosters, we all know the game will be played up the middle – particularly in wet conditions where limiting and slowing down players like Dylan Napa, Jared Warea-Hargreaves, Kane Evans, Sio Siua Taukeiaho are key to winning the ruck and ultimately victory; we all know that Corey Norman is going to be the creator of our points and that Semi Radradra or Bevan French will be the beneficiaries of those opportunities; but it will really come down to defensively, is how we limit the time and space of Mitchell Pearce; just as with ball in hand how effective, yet understated Jeff Robson will be in allowing Corey Norman to play with less pressure.

See for both sides, it’s the role and impact of their respective number 7’s who will have the biggest say tonight – be it directly or indirectly – they’re effectively what both teams have been missing for good parts of their respective seasons.

Mitchell Pearce brings the direction and polish the Roosters have lacked for much of 2016. He provides the opportunities that players like young gun Latrell Mitchell sweat on and is the link man the eastern suburbs outside backs need.

Jeff Robson is the stability Parramatta has lacked for much of 2016. His role in supporting Corey Norman, providing timely grubbers into the in goal, slowing down the play-the-ball on the fringes and giving his inside and outside men the time they need to control the edges defensively and like Pearce, also playing the link role, are the qualities this Eels side have missed since Foran went down.

Both players are the halves each side needs right now; both players have respective roles to play that are pivotal in their teams chances for victory; and both players know that a loss pretty much guarantees that their side won’t be playing finals football this year.

For our Eels, half the battle tonight is limiting the forwards, the other is shutting down Mitchell Pearce.

For Jeff Robson, he only needs to be half as good as we want him to be.

For the game tonight however, it will be the halves who tell the tale.

Clint

All images courtesy of the Parramatta Eels, NRL.com and Getty Images.

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