Round 8 Drink of choice – Suntory Hakushu Single Malt Whisky (what can I say, I’m a sucker for the Japanese whiskies)
Fun fact; the Eels are undefeated when Kenny Edwards suffers from severe cramping in the final 5min of play. You could forgive me then for the palpitations that I underwent when the wildcard backrower proved to be sufficiently hydrated in the dying moments of the game so as to not undergo any sort of spasming in hamstrings. Still, the Eels prevailed in a match that was in some way the opposite of our victory against the Tigers. Whereas a fast finish got the Eels home in Round 7, a polished and committed first half proved to be the difference this week as the game unraveled to an extent for the Eels in the second stanza.
Fun opinion; the Eels finally wrested control (pun intended I guess) of the ruck from the grips of any opposition team for the majority of the game. While the Penrith Panthers got away with bloody murder when it came to holding down and slowing the play-the-ball down, the Eels were convincing winners throughout with their aggression, line speed and ability to flip the Penrith forwards onto their backs. Penrith often had to resort to simply attacking laterally due to a sheer lack of penetration through the middle and our set defensive lines ate it all up for the most part. Much better on that front this week. There was more than a shade of our 2016 defence in the aggression and intent displayed today. More of it please!
While there is still plenty of room for improvement, today featured plenty of winners for the Eels so let’s start working through the honour roll.
Front and centre today is Kaysa Pritchard who shrugged off a number of disappointing performances recently to produce easily the best game of his young career. Pritchard was vastly improved in defence – making strong first up contact and finally establishing himself in the wrestle. He showed that he was able to work with the various prop rotations and maintain intensity and integrity in the defensive line. 50 tackles with only 2 missed over 74min are a fair translation of that effort. Equally impressive was his work in attack. Passes were crisp throughout the game and his work in the lead up to Corey Norman’s try was nothing short of stellar.
Is this a watershed moment for Kaysa Pritchard? In a word, no. It is however a glimpse at the potential that he does possess. If the Eels are to harness the momentum they have built to an extent over the last two weeks as we enter a tough run in our schedule (Cowboys, Roosters and Raiders), we will need Kaysa to keep playing near the standard he showed today.
Another Eel who enjoyed a return to form was engine room stalwart Tim Mannah. 123m from 12 runs belies the efficiency of his work through the middle as Mannah returned to his roots with surging runs that paved the way for quick and effective play-the-balls. A late dropped ball following a good defensive play from Reagan Campbell Gillard proved to be a minor blemish on an otherwise excellent effort. 38min is a seeming modest improvement on the ~30min he has averaged over the last three weeks but in reality it is a ~26% increase in playing time. Good stuff.
The engine room for the Eels was rock solid as whole really. Suaia Matagi was more productive than his stats would suggest, threatening to ball-play before the line and often ricocheting between tacklers when he pinned his ears back. Tepai Moeroa and Manu Ma’u were monstrous on the edges, often dragging defenders with them while also racking up 28 and 26 tackles respectively. Siosaia Vave may have failed to crack the 100m mark from the bench but his bullish carry early in the second half paved the way for Pritchard and Clinton Gutherson to weave the magic that resulted in Norman scoring.
Speaking of Gutherson and indeed Nathan Brown, here is their obligatory weekly Whiskey Musings shout out! Heck, Gutherson was so good today that he was good even when he was bad.
‘The hell you talking about Forty? Lay off the whiskey!’ I hear you say. Calm down and let me explain. I am of course referencing a little passage of play that occurred in the first half which involved Gutherson retrieving a kick in his in-goals. With three Penrith defenders closing in and Gutherson taking an angle to the ball that would take him out of play, he tried to pass to Josh Hoffman who was in a far more favourable position to get back into the field of play.
Reasonable call right? Certainly. Gutherson however lost control of the ball as he went to pass it and with those aforementioned three chasers closing it, things were about to go pear shaped real fast. In a moment that straddled the fine line between madness and ingenuity, Gutherson lashed out at the falling ball with his foot and hit it so sweetly that it flew perfectly to Hoffman who then made it back into the field of play. Maniac? Genius? Gutherson.
The right edge of Kirisome Auva’a and Hoffman continues to grow together and even though they conceded a try today they look a vastly improved unit compared to the fragility displayed earlier in the season. Brad Arthur has a heck of a selection headache coming his way down the road but that is postponed to an extent by a PCL injury to Brad Takairangi. The eventual return of Bevan French from a PCL injury of his own, along with that of Takairangi along with the week-to-week possibility of a release to Wests Tigers five-eighth Mitchell Moses shape up as the puzzle pieces in a soon-to-be crowded backfield. At least it is a good problem to have!
Kenny Edwards’ much anticipated return didn’t make hard work for the stat-keepers but the energy he brought to the team was undeniable. 20 tackles with 0 missed made for a very tidy defensive effort and his ability to cover the halves for the injured Takairangi proved to be crucial. BA is probably sending him to the remedial kicking class this week – if he doesn’t strip his licence away completely though! Zero ‘kramps’ was an unfortunate unofficial statistic to come out of today’s victory but ultimately it was just bloody good to have the bloke that is in many ways one of the emotional pillars of this team back playing footy.
The effort today was far from conclusive and a better team certainly would have made our lives a great deal more difficult. Even so, it was definitely another steps forwards after the streaky victory over the Tigers and an indication that the team is finally rediscovering its identity. I am making a special dispensation for this week as a result and will be laying off the criticism for once – instead enjoying another tipple of this lovely Hakushu.
A raise of my glass and a tip of my head this week to – Brad Arthur
Our unflappable head coach has worn a barrage of criticism over recent weeks from understandably frustrated fans. From the form of the team to his press conferences, everything has been fair game for a fired up fan base searching for answers. We are still a ways off our bench but Arthur has stuck to his guns and there is light at the end of the tunnel now. On top of an improving effort team-wide, Arthur has found much greater balance in the deployment of his bench over the last two weeks. Enjoy a drink on me, coach.
A dishonourable mention for workplace incompetence to – Gavin Badger and co.
Where to start with this doozey? The ruck is a good a place as any I guess and the is where the Panthers got away with bloody murder throughout the length of the match. The offside metres they were consistently pinching I am fine in writing off because plenty of teams get away with exactly the same leeway but the length of which they were allowed to lay all over the ruck was infuriating. I would go so far as to suggest that the lax policing of the Panthers in the first half is the only thing that gave them a tenuous grasp on a potential comeback. The Eels have consistently been disrespected in the ruck from officials following our plight to our lowest levels in our dark ages from Hagan to Stuart and it is hard to offer an answer to the issue. Brad Arthur has steadfastly refused to call out officials in a public forum and while I respect him immensely for laying the onus on his team to be better – maybe it is time to put the NRL on blast.
Other head scratching moments include a phantom knock on from Michael Jennings at dummy half. A missed dropped ball from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on a kick return that lead to the referee penalising Nathan Brown for dissent. A penalty blown against Beau Scott for a strip following inept ball security from the Panthers and a contentious no double knock-on call from a late contest between Matt Moylan and Josh Hoffman that resulted in Penrith’s second try.
Peta Hiku was one frame from having his left arm take him into touch as he scored the first try for Penrith. The officials ultimately made the correct call in awarding the try but it is a bit baffling that it wasn’t referred to the Bunker. That sort of margin of error is exactly why we have put in place the vast array of rather expensive technology around the field. Use it, damn it.
The Gutherson knock-on in the lead up to the Michael Jennings no-try will almost certainly be a talking point this week after coming in the wake of the Anthony Milford missed knock on and game-winning field goal against South Sydney. This one however doesn’t trouble me anywhere near as much as I feel it was the correct call – even if we were the receiving end of the inconsistency.
Perhaps the most troubling moment to come out of the entire farce was Gavin Badger’s admission to an error following the Jennings’ phantom knock on where he told the Eels ‘you are just going to have to cop that one’. I know it is an innocent statement with no malice or pretension behind it but I am sick of the Eels copping it. I understand that the officials will make mistakes but I want parity in the ruck. I want to be held to same 10m onside mark, be it 2m more or less on a given day, than our opposition. I want our captains to be shown the respect that their position demands from officials – just as the calling of a NRL referee deserves respect from the players.
I’m pissed and it isn’t the fault of this lovely little whiskey.
Still, a win is a win and I am inclined to celebrate this one a little more than usual tonight…so maybe I’ll end up pissed and pissed. Ah the joys of this silly little language we call English! I’m off folks. Thanks for reading my little diatribe. Bring on the Cowboys.
Nice job Forty! The Somi/Hoffman side is coming along – they did concede that try but I thought their scramble was excellent and as you say, their were but millimetres in it.
All in all a happy outing but in need of a lot of improvement next week, especially if the cowboys get their magic man back
Teams seem to have a frustrating habit of getting key men back just in time to face us, I swear! Fortunately for us, Cartwright proved to more of a hindrance than help today.
I know it is always a tough trip up to the tropics but the Cowboys look very beatable. They lost at home to the Tigers and were pushed big time by the Knights this week. We are far from perfect ourselves but a rare win in Townsville could be on the cards.
Gem, caught up with Michael today. He is a quality bloke and a true professional in his role with the club. I’m glad you were able to spend that time with him. You’re right, there’s much to work on, and those two points were sweet.
Forties.
I had the privilege to attend todays game thanks to John Eel with whom I journeyed down, thanks John for the offer and ticket into the game, first one I have attended in some years, was a pleasure to meet you and travel, good yarns and sharing helped as did the eels win.
Perhaps to me to watch the way the eels played in the first half and in the way they scored all their tries, showed they hopefully have really turned the corner, the defence was great as was the return to open play football with the ball getting a heck of a lot of air time and smooth passing between players. The try instigated by Kaysa was exceptional and along with the rest of his play he dun good.
The big thing to me though was not the guality of the football nor the scoreling which did not truly reflect the difference between the two teams in any way, but certainly the two said dissalowed tries were absolute jokes by the jocks in charge, likewise at least one of the Penrith tries that was awarded was worse than the one disallowed for the eels.
If the NRL has a belief that the game is going forward, I would seriously love to see the crowd statistics for this year and compare to those of the last say 5 years, as I feel pretty sure that they would show a drop in attendance which has been showing for a few years now. IF, again they wanted to know the answer as to why people do not go as much as before, then there is a couple of reasons for mine especially after several years on the outside.
2: I put the second reason to start, and that is food costs, Oh that red herring again?! $20.00 gets you a mini bucket of chips that cost around $2.00 elsewhere, a 600ml bottle of drink and a cheeseburger, which has a largish dry bun, no salad of any kind, a thin slice of cheese that had been absorbed into the dry meat burger, topped up with a dollop of sauce. By the time I got back to the seat, it had no warmth to it at all and must have come out of the freezer not that far back, Rubbish and expensive stuff at that.
1: If the food fair/fare doesn’t turn you off then the two different coloured outfitted drop clowns that are suppossed to control the game in an unbiased and fair manner according to the rules, then its time the NRL and all in charge made appointments to see top line medical professionals to see if they and those clowns really have eyesight problems and they have an average IQ in the art of sporting abilities.
To see the performance put on by these main two in the middle despite being absolutely laughable it was really no joke. The wrong rulings on the no tries and the like if they were not bad enough even with multi Million $$$ bunker having some issues in there, the fact that those in the middle must have somehow got through eyesight tests this century amazed me. At each play the ball, when the eels were attacking, they stood back the required distance but on average maybe one Penrith player was in line or behind them with the rest at least 1 metre in front, and the whistle blower seeing them that way turned their heads the opposite direction.
I have seen some bad refereeing in my time but cannot reccolect a worse one that what I witnessed today.
Glad you made the journey Colin. I know it’s a hike for you, but the team got a win today so your timing couldn’t be faulted, The NRL scheduling for such a match – the western derby – was head scratching stuff. The number of Penrith fans in attendance was extremely low – understandable considering the amount of junior sport that would have been taking place in western Sydney on Saturday arvo. Still TV rules. You need those 3 Super Saturday games, even though a slot was there for a second Sunday match.
ANZ Stadium – we came face to face with ridiculous regulations today. In using an uncatered box, those attending with us spent big dollars on individually purchasing food and drink. However, Stadium staff entered our box and instructed us to remove 3 packets of chips and dip from a table in the box! Apparently it was liquor licensing and food handling regulation rules! Absurd regardless.
The refs might get a special column from me. Still mulling over that one.
Thanks mate.
Now out of bed on a really beautiful post win Sunday morning, and love reading the various match reports, interestingly but not unusual with an eels win most were about the other side and how they lost without a lot of credit to the overall eels game, a fair bit on the practiced kick from Sticks that allowed Hoff to brilliantly get the ball out of our in goal though.
I hate bagging refs, yet when we walked in yesterday with the NYC just scoring and getting to within 2 points of the Panthers with 30 odd to go, the refereeing there was on the same plateau as those in the NRL, I wonder if they had rehearsed the scripts together?
Refs are human and can make mistakes, but it is so obvious or seemingly so that one side is often treated differently with nearly every game, not only that but it continues from the beginning of the season till the end. I have questioned the point of having the refs at the eels training in the past as the eels must forget all the pointers given them at training when they cop the pea crap come match day. I do not believe the players are that moronic in their approach either. To see both Scott and Mannah in the 2nd half go over to the bearded wonder while a time out scrum was called to talk to him and all he did was to back away was treating the captains and the team with contempt.
What of the paying public? The deserve better, likewise those who watch the game on TV be it free or pay, the viewers can see it, yet the NRL and refs bosses can’t. The old glasses and optometrist question needs to be raised again.
Sixties. Meant to also say. The distance is longish but PT makes it relatively pleasant and having good company eases things we had good connections yesterday and I was home just on 7pm being picked up at Wyong station less than 8 hours for match day, but if we were in Sydney used to get 3 games then, and would love to see that again.
Also I am not a great fan of the interval with the noise and the like, as a person with severe industrial deafness the screaming in the microphones and from the loud speakers provides for a headache and I do not believe adds to the game day as such, although the presentation by Bevan French of the Parra flag to go with HMAS Parramatta was a nice item.
I guess to me the thing that is so different was the old 3rd, reserve and first, plus the different changes provided for an almost non stop RL experience and even with the kids having a half time run was enjoyable. I know its living in the past but sometimes a lot of the past that is gone has not been improved with the new.
How poor were Penrith in their execution yesterday, they have lost all confidence or the coach has lost them. Time for Gould to pull the pin and get another coach….oh wait…..didn’t he do that to another coach and appoint Griffin?
Anyway what happened to Parra from about the 50th minute. Had 60% of the ball but looked out on their feet. Errors started creeping in big time and allowed Penrith back into game. A big, big problem we’ve had for many years now so what is the solution?
I dare say that the 5-day turnaround played a part in the dramatic fall off in the last 30min. It wasn’t the only reason mind you, mental lapses and basic execution also let us down but that extra day or two of recovery (and our second 5-day turnaround in a bit over a month) makes a massive difference when you start red-lining.
From my watching of the game, there did seem to be some tiredness and as Fory’s suggested the very short turn round did not help the eels cause, however what I saw appeared to more the case that in the 2nd half the eels seemed to have changed their game plan.
The first half was very exciting to watch with the eels throwing the ball around and playing very open and attacking football, I would say that they knew the short turn round would affect them and the plan was to play a more controlled game, the loss of Taka also hurt the team as it left them one man down and Taka had done some work prior to going down, so once the 3rd try was scored, not forgetting the 2 disallowed ones meant they went to a more dower game than in the first half.
One player on the Penrith side I will mention who seemed to trouble the eels in the 2nd half was their replacement 18 Corey Harawira Naera, he caused the eels a lot of problems with his hard running and the try he scored wasn’t bad either.
If the team plays more like they did in the first half, for the whole 80, they will win more than they lose.
Ive offered criticism of our teams performance recently and certainly targeted their appeared lack of fitness. Based on yesterdays performance I am now more of the opinion that attitude and not fitness was the major concern. From the initial kick off it was apparent our attitude was “right” for this game. The sting in defence, the strong runs, the running in numbers and improved support play all improved beyond belief. Semi, Tim and Corey were tuned in.
Much improved and well done to team and BA. Even when the obligatory low period occured ten minutes into the second half, the defencive committment remained.
Certainly a poor performance by the OPSM Men but pleasing to note our players kept battling. Often without much smarts but fight they did.
In the end, a 24 point better team on the day scraped home by 6. Such is the influence of a few bad decisions by team and officials.
Concentration must improve but the effort was there for all to see.
Go you Mighty Eels.
Always appreciated your thoughts on the blog Gazz. I think you nailed it with the attitude vs fitness thoughts. We really lost our mojo from Round 3-6 and the mental difference between then and now really translates to the field.
We carved an identity for this team in 2016 based on competing in the ruck, aggressive defence and the ability to score from anywhere using our potent weapons on the edges. How good to was it to see that brand of Eels on the field again this week?
We won! And I’m wrapped! I’m drinking the balvenie 15 sherry wood single barrel! Victory is sweet!
My man!
I think there is no coincidence in the return of Kenny Kramps and the improved enthusiasm we saw yesterday. His energy on and off the ball is infectious.
Kaysa also had a blinder and for all the doubters out there of him I refer you to the top tackle count stat on NRL.com. Kaysa sits in position 4 behind Cameron Smith only 13 tackles ahead in 3rd and Cameron McInnes 2nd a further 9 ahead. No surprise that broncos McCullough is a long way ahead.
Kenny is definitely one of the emotional pillars for this squad. He serves as an outlet for a lot of the pressure in tense games and the fuel that turns a spark into a fire when someone makes a play. Even beyond that he brings an element of swagger to our outfit – the confidence that we can take anyone, anywhere, anytime. It is really hard to overstate his importance to this team.
As for Kaysa he absolutely deserves all the plaudits coming his way after his effort in Round 8. I don’t think anyone really had an issue with the volume of his work as he was always getting through a tonne of tackles. Rather it was the outright missed tackles and the general lack of ‘hit and stick’ that played into wider issues for the team in defence. Mark my words though, if he keeps playing to standard displayed this week then the Eels will venture deep into the Top 8.
Forty superb read again mate…and I’ll forgive the second little image / video, as it reminds me of some earlier movies. Alas to say my drink is 150 lashes mate.
Watched the game in tv, as we prepare to move house this week.
Our forwards were good IMO. Very direct in attack, and Kaysa was v good.
Second half errors hurt, and the refs…well they often allows teams to lay all over us….beau Scott played well with Mannah. Norman had a good game and Gutho was superb. We need a second kicker ready for norms when he decides to run. Good teams have these options ready.
Cheers mate! 150 Lashes is a fair alternative for those who prefer the amber ambrosia to be quite fair.
Your point about a second kicking option resonates with me. In time Gutherson and French could potentially be that option but it does highlight how important Mitchell Moses will be to this team. Giving Norman the ability to freelance on the fourth tackle and threaten the line with his running game will be crucial in plenty of big games…just as having Moses there to put in a measured kick on the last tackle will keep the blow torch on our opposition if Norman ends up tackled.
Well written mate.Unfortunately being a pensioner I celebrated with a cup of Lipton tea will that do
Given the injury situation it is going to be interesting to see how BA structures the team for the Cowboys game.
A lot of questions to be answered
Good read – I have made some pretty harsh comments on KP and i have to say he deserves credit for his game on Saturday he played well. I hope he can be consistant with that level of performance.
The refs were so bad. When i talk to people i often here it was always like that but imo i can’t remember it being so blatant that they are favouring one team over another. The ten meter line, ruck speed, wrong penalites at key times. You could say we still won but there is point differential at the end of the year. Helping teams get back into it to make the game ‘Entertaining’ is ruining the game. Teams dont need a ref piggy backing them back into the game, they can do it on their own if they’re good enough.
It really bothers me as well that when Tim Mannah or any of our captains question it on the field and they are showed no respect.
Nick, what astounded me with the penalty count that I have seen given out is that we received 6 penalties to the panthers 5, seemed much more than that but, should have been at least twice that in favour of the eels.
The decisions against the eels were bad enough especially the no try ones but the obscene amount of ignoring the off side play that Penrith got away with in defence was not just disgraceful but obscenely so.