Round 21 Drink of choice – Yamazaki 12 Year Old (a top shelf drop for a top shelf effort)
Talk about a stage on which to properly announce your premiership aspirations! Following a tumultuous week in the wake of a season ending knee injury to emerging (or should I say established now?) super star Clinton Gutherson, the Eels have produced their most complete performance of the season to stun the Brisbane Broncos 28-14. The pulsating encounter between two finals bound teams was played to an incredibly high standard and will almost certainly be marked down as one of the games of the year. There is so much to love and just a tiny bit to apply a minuscule blow torch to so let’s lay out this game in all of its freshly minted glory!
Fifth consecutive win built on Blue & Gold Wall
If I am not mistaken our win over the Broncos brings up a few landmarks for the Eels. It is the longest winning streak for the Eels under the tenure of Brad Arthur – surpassing the four wins (duh!) mark that he has brought up a number of times since taking over in 2014. I believe you also have to go back to our golden run of form in 2009 to find our last winning streak of such a length.
Most pleasingly though, and as noted by the Fox Sports coverage, the Eels have now conceded only 16pts at most in those five wins. In fact, in those five games our opposition has scored 10, 12, 6, 16 and 14pts for a meager average of 11.6. That record was under serious threat mind you when the Broncos shot out of a cannon to start the game. The visitors rattled off two converted tries in the first 8min and not only did the defensive benchmark look in jeopardy but the Eels were on track for a long night at the office.
However, between the expert and poised play of Mitchell Moses, Corey Norman and Cameron King along with an incredible defensive rally, the Eels restricted the Broncos to just a single penalty goal hence forth. It was the sort of polished team wide effort that fans have been craving for and given our run home it could not have come against a better opposition.
Broncos employ express lane attack against Eels’ compressed defence
Under BA the Eels are well known for their compressed defensive structure – daring teams to try and shift the ball to their edges early and fast in order to beat them. Brisbane did exactly that as they exploited both sides of the field from long range in their opening blitz. An errant jam from Semi Radradra led to the opening try while a late offload caught the Eels short on the right edge in the lead up for the second try. I imagine that plenty of other Blue & Gold fans were groaning after James Roberts crossed as unwanted memories of the thumping loss to the Roosters welled up.
From there though the Eels made all the adjustments required.
Improved interior line speed shortened up the ability of the Broncos to shift the point of attack with their forwards while our interior edge defenders showed greater diligence in their gap discipline when they slid to take away Brisbane’s pet strategy of turning James Roberts inside.
The magnitude of the defensive adjustments made by Parramatta is reflected in that statistics where you see that the Eels did not concede another linebreak, let alone a try, after the first 8min. Daniel Alvaro was titanic in this capacity. His 42 tackles (1 missed) were not only an immense figure in the box score but his willingness to lead the line and work in cover for his team mates was pivotal in crucial junctures in the first half.
Media see Cleary now but Moses the form NSW half
The rise and rise of Mitchell Moses continues as the young half continues to thrive under the guidance of Brad Arthur. Moses produced three remarkable try assists, including the game sealing pass to Kirisome Auva’a, as he displayed grit and class in equal measure.
For mine his first try assist was his most impressive as he utilised sleight-of-foot effort to put Tepai Moeroa over and ignite the Eels counter attack. The Broncos love to deploy Darius Boyd in their defensive line right up until the fourth tackle in their red zone and the Eels clearly identified that as an attacking opportunity in the lead up to this game. Moses showed plenty of bravery to attack the line and weave a grubber kick through the line so deftly that it momentarily left commentary thinking he had dropped the ball. He wore a withering shot from Adam Blair as a result but Moeroa surged through to regather the ball and get the Eels on the board.
His third and final try assist deserves plenty of plaudits as well for the sheer ballsiness of taking on the right-edge short side in the context of the match in the 75th min! You need your play-makers to be able to take risks when the time is right and Moses does not shy away from the big moments.
The Broncos tried to pick him out in defence as well but 18 tackles (2 missed) later and the dividends of his improved technique and intent are really taking root.
5/5 off the boot doesn’t hurt either!
Still, it benefits the Eels immensely if Moses continues to fly under the radar for State of Origin. Corey Norman was firmly in the mix for a Queensland call up before Cameron Munster won out (and likely cemented his place there) so fielding two representative calibre halves without the downsides that usually come with such players bodes well for the Eels!
Mannah brings the fire, Edwards the brimstone
Tim Mannah produced his best attacking effort of the season by some margin as he banged out an outstanding 123m from just 11 runs. Interestingly, it came at the expense of his usual defensive workload with the Parra stalwart completing only 11 tackles (0 missed). It will be interesting to go back and see how the Eels divvied up the defensive workload in light on Mannah’s numbers but the strategy worked a treat (even in light of the initial burst from Brisbane). Mannah had the Brisbane defenders on the backfoot as he rattled off a string of strong carries and from there we saw a resurgence of his once famous rapid play-the-balls.
Kenny Edwards on the other hand copped a lot of flak for an incident on Jonus Pearson where he launched himself at the prone Bronco. After witnessing an explosion of negative comments from neutrals and Parramatta fans alike online I say good on you Kenny. The Eels NEED a gritty, nasty and I dare I say it grubby edge in their pack following the loss of Beau Scott. Was his shot a nice thing to do? Absolutely not. Was he within his rights to brutally unload on Pearson? You bet your bottom dollar he was!
Edwards copped scathing assessment from the commentators for his effort but it achieved its desired result on the field. It rattled the Broncos and signaled the moment in the game where they knew that Parramatta weren’t going to lay down in the business end of this game.
The prince who was promised?
Stepping into the vacant fullback spot after the season ending injury to Clinton Gutherson was always going to be a colossal task but Bevan French hit the ground at a brisk jog at the very least. French teased the Broncos with a number of weaving runs en route to chalking up a game high nine tackle busts while he embarrassed a number of defenders in the dying moments of the game as he scored from dummy half in a show of deceptive power and strength. French popped up on both edges regularly looking for second phase ball but also played with greater shape compared to his first stint in the #1 this season.
It wasn’t a flawless effort though. Ben Hunt did a surprisingly good job of picking him apart off the boot while French may also have been miffed just a wee bit by some errant passes from his inside men on otherwise promising sweeping plays down the left edge.
Brad Arthur has made no secret of the fact that he thinks Bevan’s best position long term is fullback so it was encouraging to see the livewire youngster shine in a match up against a team vying for the Top 4.
Parramatta have the legs to go the distance in a blazing fast shoot out
Much was made by fans of the fitness levels, or apparent lack thereof, of the team earlier in the season. Following a frustrating period where the team slumped to four losses on the trot, the sentiment that the Eels were a good yard behind the rest of the NRL aerobically started to bubble forth. Fast forward to Round 21 and the Eels stormed back into the contest at least partially due to their ability to maintain a high level of intensity in a game that played out as fast as any you will see in 2017.
While the Eels (333 tackles, 28 missed) and the Broncos (340 tackles, 26 missed) were asked to shoulder almost the same exact defensive load, Parramatta (1759m, 213 runs, 8.23m/r) pounded the Broncos (1583m, 209 runs, 7.57m/r) into the ground with the ball in hand. A dominant showing from the Parramatta outside backs contributed significantly to the offensive blow out with all five backs cracking the 100m mark.
Kirisome Auva’a (146m, 14 runs, 2 tries) was an important factor here as he complimented the usual hard work Semi Radradra (152m, 14 runs), Brad Takairangi (119m, 14 runs) and Michael Jennings (158m, 12 runs) in getting the Eels out of their danger zone.
Nathan Brown was in his usual superb form with 205m coming from 20 carries before Brad Takairaingi sent him to the showers early with a friendly fire incident. Tim Mannah (123m, 11 runs), Manu Ma’u (132m, 13 runs) and Kenny Edwards (111m, 9 runs) were also crucial in establishing the dominance of the Eels on the ground.
There is so much more that I could wax lyrical about from tonight’s superb team effort. Cameron King was excellent in his first 80min effort at hooker while Corey Norman, although overshadowed by Mitchell Moses, looked to be in ominous touch. For now though I think it is time to enjoy a final nightcap before work on Saturday! Enjoy the win ladies and gents!
Thank you for the write up Forty. Yes “plenty of groans” is right, but maybe that slow start made the win all the sweeter. Very composed effort; the usual graft was complemented by clear tactics, numbers in the tackle and everyone knew/did their job. As you say Moses continues to thrive and a second point of attack is helping Norman. I think King makes a big difference to the halves, the width of his pass gives them room. I lot to like in the forwards, they had the upper hand. A win that sets a new standard and gives hope we’ll be competitive in the finals!
40/20 good write up.
Where do I start … Was I worried when bronco’s shot out to 12/0 after 8 minutes he’ll yes. I was thinking like everyone else was we are in for a looooonnnnnggggg night.
But thank god we are a much better team then ppl give us credit.
I can’t really express how happy I am for the team. I’m not over the moon dam I’m over mars n our solar system that’s how happy I am. Good team effort n it will make teams think twice about thinking we are heading to the finals as cannon folders.
We are the parramatta eels we are hear n we are coming look out.
#eels4life#
Last night was remarkable. It began with one of the more complete NYC performances as Luke Burt’s boys executed brilliantly in defeating the Broncos in a high standard clash.
I was then stunned by both the small crowd (those in attendance certainly made plenty of noise) – I shall no longer throw barbs at Roosters crowds – and the Broncos start.
The match then became finals standard with the intensity of the contest. I’m glad to see Forty’s assessment and the stats backing up my gut reactions after the match was over. The forwards were outstanding, the backs were a constant threat and our halves clearly out pointed their opposites.
I’ll make no bold predictions, but I’ll simply be proud of the performance. The squad train hard, so a result like this is a great reward for the coaches and players.
Now, time to focus on the next match.
Mitch and corey set up the points but the forwards set up the game ,most dominant and agressive performance by a parra pack for ages certainly in BA,s tenure ,the only other one that compares was 2014 defeating easts 4 rounds after being smashed 48 something .? The forwards didnt accept broncos challenge they issued their own and won it, while BA deserves his congratulations id like to point out PETER GENTLES our forwards coach STEVE MURPHY our backs coach JOEY GRIMA our skills coach , boy are they doing their jobs , good coaches need good support and BA has the best of them and it dosent end there either , managers trainers physio strength and conditioning coaches not to mention DENNIS ANDERSON whos a tireless worker not only for nrl but our juniors , taken a while to get where we are with plenty of work still to do but weve got a foot in the door,incidentally anyone who didnt think it would take this long was dreaming and theres still plenty to do , club pride is being returned to the supporters ,well on this site anyway!
Well pointed out Chika. The staff that BA has at his disposal would be the envy of any club. I count myself lucky to be able to watch the work put in by the team AND the work put into them by the staff. Seeing blokes like you’ve mentioned like Peter, Murph, Joey, Dennis. Some of the tough love from Bumpa and Ronnie (the session that they recently put Terepo and big Frank through was gruelling), Nathan with his rehab work, Jason with the leadership group, Mick being Mr Everywhere, Caylo and Burty. Fieldsy spotting and nurturing the young talent. I could go on and on with my list, but the point is that the staff at Parra would be the envy of any club.
I know I’m biased, but the proof is starting to show. The energy and morale at the joint doesn’t just happen. It’s created by everyone, and hasn’t BA assembled a crew!
and not a termite amongst them
Great effort by the boys and the forwards in particular really stood up today. Moses is going from strength to strength in both A and D, has he been coached poorly in the past, because except for a couple of games previously, his contribution at Parra has been top shelf.
King also needs a special mention, he is not explosive like KP, but his service is crisp and precise and he has a really good kick. A slightly inferior version of another Cameron and imo fills our dh role perfectly. .
Spot on with both observations Glenn. Look at the development of players like Gutho, Brown and now Moses under BA.
Cameron King is now a key component of this team, no doubt.
another great write up mate – those metres numbers are even more impressive when you consider we’d made 93 metres to the Broncos 394 after 7 minutes.
Love this site, and the fantastic summation of games by the most passionate supporters of the Club. Thanks Forty..
Absolutely enjoyed this game – I thought Daniel Alvaro made a HUGE contribution, especially in defence. What a player he is, and what an improver..
He made four tackles in one set…His thirst for work is unquenchable.
The style of play, and particularly ball control excites me for the balance of the season.
“I have been to the top of the mountain, I have seen the promised land”…
Pete, your efforts in the 1960s would have made you the pre-computer age TCT all on your own! It’s an honour that you feel that way about our site.
Danny is a real workhorse, with an attitude towards training that rivals Gutho.
One week at a time.
Came into the game late when we were already down, but on looking at the replay it was great to see that the boys adjusted their defence to cater for what was being thrown at them.
Good tough footy across the park from all involved. Very (very!) limited penalties and silly play. Great completion rate – hell, stats across the board were great!
Haven’t heard about Brown yet, hoping for good news, he’s come up as one of our best, credit to the coaching staff there.
Looking forward to going to the game when they travel up to Brisbane in the later rounds (and put em to the sword again)
Those early minutes aside, it was a complete performance.
The return match? How big will that be?
What a great effort and what a great win!
Beating the Broncos is always a bit sweeter than another Sydney based team but this one just had that little extra sugar!!!
One point I’d like to raise that was disappointing though was the crowd numbers. I just cannot understand how a Friday night game against the Broncos with so much at stake with the team running so well and we only just scrape past 12K in attendance.
BUT… I must say that the 11K Parra fans that did turn up certainly were in fine voice, particularly in the 2nd half. We may have been a bit shell shocked after the opening 10 minutes but I’m pretty sure that the team knew we were there during the last 20 minutes.
I have long been a critic of playing in the larger stadiums for regular season games but obviously understand why we are doing so for the moment. But surely the NRL needs to do something about filling seats. Make it free entry for the first “x” thousand, give the first 10k people $20worth of free food, just do something to encourage people to go to the game instead of sitting at home!!!