29TH JUNE 2017
ANZ STADIUM
After a well-deserved week off the Eels come up against our old nemesis in the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.
Our first Thursday game of the year, but get used to it with another 3 to come.
The Eels will be getting much closer to full strength with reports that Tepai is a definite starter this week, so no doubt Brad Arthur would be happy where the team is at.
Obviously our hooking depth is coming under the microscope with Cameron King coming into the side following the long term injuries to Kaysa and IDG. He’s had his own battles with injury over the last 3 years, but his recent form for Wenty has been solid.
Peni Terepo and Frank Pritchard are two players that we can expect to return from injury in coming weeks, and those big bodies could still come in handy.
The news that James Graham will be out for a month has no doubt added extra confidence for the Blue and Gold army that we can overcome an out of sorts Bulldogs side this week.
So let’s look at some numbers involving these two great rivals.
Last 10 Games
Season | Round | Date | Eels | Bulldogs | Venue name | Result |
2016 | 9 | 29-Apr-2016 | 20 | 12 | ANZ Stadium | Eels win by 8 points |
2016 | 3 | 18-Mar-2016 | 20 | 6 | ANZ Stadium | Eels win by 14 points |
2015 | 19 | 17-Jul-2015 | 4 | 28 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 24 points |
2015 | 2 | 13-Mar-2015 | 12 | 32 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 20 points |
2014 | 23 | 15-Aug-2014 | 16 | 18 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 2 points |
2014 | 14 | 15-Jun-2014 | 22 | 12 | ANZ Stadium | Eels win by 10 points |
2013 | 20 | 26-Jul-2013 | 12 | 40 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 28 points |
2013 | 2 | 14-Mar-2013 | 16 | 20 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 4 points |
2012 | 19 | 13-Jul-2012 | 12 | 32 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 20 points |
2012 | 9 | 04-May-2012 | 12 | 46 | ANZ Stadium | Bulldogs win by 34 points |
The Dogs have won 7 of the last 10 clashes but the Eels were triumphant in both games in 2016.
Score Aggregate:
Eels – 146 Bulldogs – 246
Score Average:
Eels – 15 Bulldogs – 25
In total, the Eels and Bulldogs have played each other 140 times with the Dogs holding a 75 to 60 advantage. At ANZ Stadium, they have played each other 26 times with the Dogs ahead 15 – 11.
Overall at ANZ, Parra have played 68 games with a 31 – 36 record whereas the Bulldogs have played at ANZ 210 times for a 120 – 88 record.
The Eels past 10 games at ANZ have yielded 7 wins and 3 losses as against the Bulldogs 5 – 5 account.
For 2017, The Eels currently sit 8th with 8 wins and 7 losses from 15 games played, with the bye completing their premiership points. The Bulldogs sit 13th on the ladder with 6 wins and 9 losses from 15 games played with a bye included.
Scoring wise, the Eels average 18.8 points a game whilst conceding 21.2. The Dogs score 13.9 points per game and concede 17.9 points per game.
By Quarters
0 – 20 | 20 – 40 | 40 – 60 | 60 – 80 | |
Eels | 9 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
Bulldogs | 1 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
As you can see with these numbers, the Dogs are a very slow starter but can run down an opponent.
Eels on the other hand can fly out the blocks but can run out of gas in the back stages of the game.
Five of the six Dogs victories have come after heading into halftime behind on the score board. Seven of Parramatta’s wins have come when in front at oranges.
Attack:
*average per game (Ranking)
Eels | Bulldogs | |
Runs | 154 (10th) | 157 (8th) |
Run Metres | 1450 (10th) | 1441 (12th) |
Line Breaks | 3.6 (10th) | 2.9 (16th) |
Offloads | 9.6 (10th) | 11.5 (3rd) |
Tackle Breaks | 20.5 (12th) | 19.1 (13th) |
Possession % | 49.3 (14th) | 51.0 (6th) |
Complete Sets | 25.2 (14th) | 26.5 (10th) |
Defence:
*average per game (Ranking)
Eels | Bulldogs | |
Tackles | 321 (8th) | 312 (10th) |
Missed Tackles | 24.1 (6th) | 21.0 (3rd) |
Ineffective Tackles | 15.7 (11th) | 15.7 (10th) |
Discipline:
*average per game (Ranking)
Eels | Bulldogs | |
Errors | 10.7 (12th) | 10.7 (11th) |
Penalties Conceded | 6.8 (11th) | 6.5 (10th) |
Incomplete Sets | 9.3 (11th) | 9.3 (10th) |
Both teams a fairly evenly matched across the board with only a few areas where either team may have a very slight advantage. The Dogs hold onto the ball a little bit better than the Eels, but the Eels use the ball a bit better than the Dogs.
Both teams lift for this game and it should be a pretty entertaining game to watch as most of the Eels vs Bulldogs are. Both sets of forwards will no doubt want to gain dominance, so expect some hard hitting. Brown vs Klemmer will be a great match and the battle of the edge runners – Moeroa and Ma’u against Jackson and Elliott – could be crucial.
I’d expect Des to be using Kasiano on the edges running at Moses to test him out. Moses is getting better defensively but will need help stopping Kasino.
This is a big test for Eels debutant Cameron King who plays his first NRL game for the Eels. King has had big wraps on him since his junior days and is part of the Alexander family. Being hampered by injuries for most of his career, Kingy will no doubt want to prove his worth. A good finish to the season will set up his next contract. Good Luck Kingy.
Hoping to see a 20,000 plus crowd tomorrow night between these two great clubs. Thursday night isn’t really ideal but lets hope that doesn’t turn people off. Getting bums on seats to cheer home the Blue and Gold will help the team to cement a place in the top 8.
Yours in Blue and Gold
Colmac
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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Those stats paint a v even picture. Colmac, we ground and dewy will not be conducive to our backs, fwd tussle coming up. 50/50 game.
I think that the outcome of the game will be decided by the kicking game of our halves. To a big degree this takes the Dogs big forward pack out of the contest forcing them to work it out of their own half.
We need to control their offload especially in the second half. This could become an advantage for the Eels because if we control them and they start pushing passes they will make errors.
Our forth quarter performances have not been great so far this season. However after watching the Dragons game I get a sense that our game management is beginning to come good on the back of 2 good kickers and a great 4th quarter is just around the corner.