Eels 26 defeat Tigers 22

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Finally, after a month of losses the Eels have treated their fans with a win – and what a great win it was.

Trailing by 12 with the final quarter of the game to go, the Eels rallied to put on 3 quick tries in 10 minutes to dash any hopes the Tigers had of claiming another Easter Monday victory.

In a strong opening to the game, the Eels put on 2 tries to lead by ten points to 6 and looked very much the team from Rounds 1 and 2. Unfortunately, the 2^nd 20 minute period and the opening quarter of the second half saw the Eels revisit their form from Rounds 3, 4, 5, 6.

To the Eels credit, they dug deep and bounced back with a terrific 4^th quarter to put the Tigers away and earn a much deserved and elusive victory.

So let’s look at the stats that matter for Parramatta.

Full Time Stats:

Going by the stats alone, very little separates the two teams. This game just couldn’t have been any closer. All aspects of the game were very even. This clash was fluctuating all the way through and the stats definitely reflect that.

1^st Half:

The first half shows that Parramatta had plenty of time in the Tigers end of the field. Yet after a great start, the second stanza of the first half saw the Eels fall asleep and allow the Tigers to come roaring back (all puns intended). I would think that this is the area where Brad Arthur was referring to in the presser and it’s an aspect that needs to be addressed.

2^nd Half:

The second half was just as close as the first half. Interestingly, the time in opposition half was swapped over, with the Tigers assuming the dominance. Although it was not desirable to allow such time in our half, it speaks to the team’s resilience that they could hold the Tigers out when the odds were stacked against them.

Furthermore, the Eels used their time much more effectively in the time they had in the Tigers half. This would delight Brad Arthur as it was a significant improvement on our previous rounds.

From a fan’s perspective, it was great to see the Eels move the ball like they did yesterday.

Attack:

Our attack did look better yesterday than previous weeks, but once again only ONE forward ran for over 100 metres. This is in stark contrast to the opening rounds where pretty much all of our forwards ran over 100 metres each.

Seeing this stat over consecutive weeks is undoubtedly a concern. Winning the middle means asserting dominance. Certainly the Tigers forwards fared little better (two forwards exceeded 100m), but BA would be looking for more impact from his pack.

• Special mention Siosaia Vave 97m & Kirisome Auva’a 94m

Whilst the Eels had four players topping 100 metres, the Tigers achieved similar numbers with 6 players bettering that mark.

I enjoyed seeing both sides of the field being used. At the start of the year we used our left side then the last few weeks has been mainly the right. Yes this is probably due to game tactics for our opponents at the time, but seeing Corey and Taka using both sides was great to see.

Writers note: No doubt some of you wonder why our runs might be lower then what is on nrl.com. We both have different definitions in what is a ‘run’. After consultations with clubs, we have come up with our version, or vision, of what should be calculated for a run or hit up.

Defence:

Kaysa once again tops the Eels tackle count with only 2 tackles missed all game. It was a courageous effort from Kaysa. I’m not sure what happened when he was taken from the field after that Sue try as he didn’t look injured on the bench. In my opinion that only made his defence harden up after that spell on the sideline.

The Tigers ran a lot of traffic at Takairangi who made 16 tackles but had a game high 6 misses. In spite of this I still think ‘Taka’ had a brilliant game.

So all in all it was great to have the Eels back in the winners circle. It takes a bit of the pressure off for at least the next few days – but we come up against a wounded Panthers team this week.

Just like all other fans and coaching staff, we hope this form continues and we start playing more minutes without clocking off at vital times.

ANZ is the venue so let’s get out there and bring the boys home once again in the Battle of the West.

Stat Attack Player of the Week

Michael Jennings

This could’ve gone to a handful of players. But I think this was Jennings best game this year for the Blue and Golds.

Apart from a team high 4 errors, Jennings did make up for these with his positioning and hole running.

Jennings was popping up all over the field and gave the Eels distinct field advantage with his runs.

Big applause goes out to Auva’a, Brown and Gutherson. Well played all.

Colmac

Champion Data

Stats courtesy of Champion Data. All these stats and more can be viewed on our match centre at http://mc.championdata.com/nrl/ including live game stats.

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