Round 13 Drink of choice – Auchentoshan Three Wood Scotch Whisky

I’m at a bit of a loss to find the right way to start this week’s edition of Whiskey Musings. Was last night a season defining triumph or will we soon look back on it as a Pyrrhic victory? Will all the heart and effort displayed last night ultimately amount to naught simply due to the horrific injury toll we have sustained in recent weeks? Last night’s win vividly channeled memories of late-2016 where the Eels kept turning up and finding ways to win in spite of stacked odds against them. With the iconic victory coming at precisely the halfway point in the season, it was the perfect moment for the Eels to draw a line in the sand. As always, let’s jump into the nitty-gritty of the game and see where Brad Arthur’s men made their crucial inroads.

Clinton Gutherson relishes the mantle of ‘The King’

When the New Zealand Sky Sports commentators flippantly dubbed Clinton Gutherson ‘The King’ and ‘King Gutho’ for his Round 26 heroics – fittingly – against the New Zealand Warriors in 2016, fans quickly embraced the fun label. Fast forward to midway through the 2017 season and not only are the mainstream media embracing the nickname but the man himself is starting to command the attention of the wider NRL. Of course Gutherson has a ways to go before his name is mentioned in the same post code as the imitable Wally Lewis but I have no doubt that the 2017 iteration of ‘The King’ would not look out of place in the arena that is Stage of Origin.

Gutherson reigned supreme over the Warriors once more on Friday night. He scored the game-clinching try, helped set-up an important try against the run-of-play for Semi Radradra, defended strongly and was a constant nuisance running the ball to the line. His football savvy and intelligence continues to shine though each week and even more – his role as a leader in this young team is starting to stand out.

With an under-strength forward pack (no Tim Mannah or Siosaia Vave), the loss of Kaysa Pritchard to HIA and a quiet game from Mitchell Moses (hip-pointer injury perhaps still in play), the Eels needed a heroic effort from a talismanic figure and The King delivered big time. Bravo.

Eels’ forwards dig deep

The Warriors came home with a wet sail on the back of some impressive second phase football once the crippling fatigue as the result of a 2 and then 1-man bench set in for the Eels. For the 70min prior to that though the blokes in the engine room stood tall to lay a platform that would ultimately see us home.

Nathan Brown wasn’t meant to play. He is still carrying a rib injury but he told his coach he was going to don the #13 this week. 18 runs, 153m, 1 offload and 38 tackles (3 missed) later and you couldn’t see us winning without him. Suaia Matagi enjoyed his most productive game for the Eels, bending the New Zealand defensive line to the tone of 146m from 14 carries while Daniel Alvaro ably supported his starting cohorts with 120m from 15 runs and 34 tackles (2 missed).

Our backrowers were crucial in stemming the tide as well. The numbers weren’t flashy for Tepai Moeroa this week but he laid on a try for Kirisome Auva’a with a great running line and basketball pass and later scored one himself. Beau Scott was at his disruptive best and continues to grow in his new capacity as an interchange forward.

The forward that really jumped out at the game though was Kenny Edwards. Edwards started the game inauspiciously with a loose carry on the back of a penalty restart and you could hear the audible frustrations from the crowd after his error-riddled effort against the Rabbitohs. From there it was all top shelf though as Edwards tore strips into the Warriors defensive line. His stat-line of 13 runs for 141m, while note-worthy, doesn’t tell the whole story of the ferocity of which Edwards ran into the line. It was Edwards who paved the way for Gutherson’s 79th minute try with a powerful carry and play-the-ball that took the markers out of play.

This is the Kenny Edwards that fans adore. Keep it coming, son.

Of course it wasn’t flawless. Along with the aforementioned error by Edwards you had a pushed offload from Scott that was intercepted, a loose offload by Brown knocked down along with Isaac Luke making some serious inroads around the ruck. There is no doubt the Eels could have played better through the forwards but at the same time it is also commendable that they produced the game they did with the odds piled up against them.

The Bench Prince of Parramatta

Perhaps some what lost with all the hubbub about the show-stealing game from The King was the valiant effort of Will Smith on Friday night. When Kaysa Pritchard was knocked into next week in the 13th minute of play and forced to leave the field for a HIA, Brad Arthur called on Will Smith to assume a difficult responsibility in playing out the remainder of the game at hooker. 67 minutes and 41 tackles (2 missed) later and Smith had helped pilot the Eels to victory. I won’t claim that he was the key cog to the Eels claiming the two competition points but he did a really solid job – and that is what you are looking for from your utility/relief player.

Even with the burden of extended playing minutes, Smith kept his service clean. He was (sensibly) picked on in defence by the Warriors but for the most part he carried his weight for the team. There was a frustrating moment when Smith pounced on a New Zealand offload that was batted back by Manu Ma’u that saw the utility race downfield only to lose the ball as the cover chasers caught him. It was an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise pleasantly surprising game.

Moses finally gives critics ammunition

In his third outing for the Eels, Mitchell Moses produced his first sub-par game for his new club. Perhaps struggling from the lingering impact of a hip-pointer injury sustained against the Rabbitohs, Moses lacked the same zip and purpose in taking on the line that he showed in Round 12. A dreadful defensive read on the goal line resulted in Simon Mannering getting the Warriors on the board and you could practically hear his critics foaming at the mouth in the wake of the play.

I’m not going to shy away from criticising Moses in Whiskey Musings when he turns in a bad game and that is definitely the case this week. In Round 11 and 12 Moses showed the kind of effort and intent you want to see from your half in defence – your edge defenders can work with that. This week he displayed indecision at times and that is when you start to see the defensive line break down. Some of the fragility shown in our right-edge later in the game can be attributed to the reshuffle after the Josh Hoffman injury that saw Manu M’au move to centre and Kirisome Auva’a to wing but it certainly wasn’t a great defensive game by our new halfback.

Pleasingly, even given his struggles elsewhere, Moses continued to deliver an astute kicking game for the Eels. While there wasn’t a glut of line drop outs this week, Moses regularly found the carpet with his long kicks or otherwise kicked in a way to help mitigate the danger that Roger Tuivasa-Sheck presents as a kick-returner. That kind of deft touch to our set-completion goes a long way towards establishing or keeping the Eels in the arm-wrestle and once Corey Norman returns the Eels will have more kicking options than they will know what do with i.e. finally more than one!

Injuries begin to mount, can the Eels ride them out?

This is our injury report heading into Round 13:

• Cody Nelson – Indefinite – Hamstring
• Michael Jennings – Round 16 – Quad
• Matt Woods – Round 15 – Shoulder
• Corey Norman – Round 17 – Knee
• Frank Pritchard – Round 18 – Foot
• Peni Terepo – Round 22 – Pectoral
• Isaac De Gois – Indefinite – Concussion

Add to that the players we lost during the week:

• Tim Mannah – ??? – Ribs
• Siosaia Vave – ??? – Calf

And then the carnage from the game itself:

• Kaysa Pritchard – ??? – Concussion
• Josh Hoffman – ??? – Knee
• David Gower – ??? – Broken Hand
• Kirisome Auva’a – Round 14 – Knee

It all makes for pretty brutal reading with six first-graders definitely out and as many as four more under a cloud heading into Round 14. Brad Arthur mentioned in his post-game presser that he is only expecting Corey Norman to be in contention (not guaranteed) for selection in Round 14. He was answering a question in regards to troops coming back so it is difficult to interpret whether he considers the like of Mannah, Vave and Pritchard to be part of the current team (named in the Round 13 team list) rather than members of the official injury report. He went on to tell the media that Auva’a sustained a knee injury late in the game but that he (Auva’a) had declared himself good to play next week.

The Eels have a horrific bye schedule this year and are the last team to receive their first bye (South Sydney have their second bye the same week we have our first). They still have two rounds to go before they get a week off and have the Cowboys and Dragons to conquer in that period.

To say it is timely that our team has rediscovered its gritty edge is an understatement. They will need every ounce of character and grit they possess in the trials of the coming weeks but they deserve plenty of faith from fans after their recent efforts. The Eels are at 7-6 at the midway point in the season so each win edges us every oh-so-close to that crucial 13-win tipping point (30pts) for the finals so keep digging deep fellas.

A raise of my glass and a tip of my head this week to – Clinton Gutherson

Was there ever really a question about the shout out this week? Hail to The King, baby.

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