Week 1 Finals Drink of choice – Penderyn Myth Malt Welsh Whisky
`Well wasn’t that some ride? In a game where the Melbourne Storm were expected to thoroughly dominate their opposition, the Eels not only took the unbackable favourites the distance – they threatened to land a devastating knock out blow. And the drama. So much drama to come out of this pulsating clash between two teams with plenty of modern history in the finals. From the opening try to Josh Addo-Carr that was astonishingly green lit by the referees to the heart in mouth moment involving Cameron King and his left arm, this game played out an enthralling but ultimately heart-breaking script.
It is difficult to describe the complex vortex of emotions that I am dealing with at the moment, though I imagine every bleeding heart fan of the Blue & Gold is facing a similar dilemma. From the white-hot anger at a string of costly awful calls to the helpless frustration from a number of uncharacteristic unforced errors. Above all though is the shining and absolute pride in both our coach and players. They may have fallen excruciatingly short but I will be damned if they didn’t send the Melbourne Storm a thunderous message today.
It may be aggravating and unpleasant given the result but let’s rip right into the dissection of our Week 1 Finals loss.
Will Smith, take a bow.
With Clinton Gutherson and Bevan French unavailable for selection it all fell on the shoulders of Will Smith to assume the fullback duties against the formidable ‘Big 3’ of Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater. Smith not only held his own but he shined with several crucial moments in both attack and defence. From his sensational combination with Mitch Moses to score the go-ahead first half try to his clinical last line defence against a flying Josh Addo-Carr, Smith made a big time mark on a big time game.
Most pleasingly though was his positional play and willingness in the kick return game against a pair of the most astute and tactical boots in the game in Smith and Cronk. While the Storm may have ultimately won the territorial battle on the back on a lopsided second half count, Will Smith ran his heart out to the tone of 145m from 17 carries, scored a try and broke 4 tackles to give the Eels every chance at an improbably victory.
Kenny Edwards, never change.
Kenny Edwards was thrust into the action early in the piece when a then red-hot Tepai Moeroa was sidelined with a game-ending concussion. While 8 runs for 70m and 22 tackles (1 missed) doesn’t make for a particularly stand out stat-line, as it so often does with Kenny the impact came beyond the stat sheet. His awareness to take the quick tap that led to Cameron Munster getting sin binned flipped the game on its head and he then backed it up by forcing an error out of Nelson Asofa-Solomona with a strong second effort in a tackle.
Edwards may frustrate fans at times with the odd error but there is no doubt that he is one of the hardest Eels for opposition teams to game plan against.
Nervous wait for news on Cameron King
When Cameron King stayed down grasping at his left arm late in the game it is fair to say that at that point my heart was well and truly wrenched. King’s comeback to the NRL in many ways personifies the plight of the team he is steering around the park. After so many false starts and set backs both King and the Eels finally look to be coming good.
So when he lay deathly still after completing a tackle on Billy Slater I held my breath. Eventually he fought his way back into the line and saw out the closing moments of the game but I am still feeling some sense of trepidation with the fear that he may have gritted his way through whatever injury fell upon his left arm.
Kaysa Pritchard has made a well publicised miraculous comeback from what was originally diagnosed as a season ending PCL and LCL injury and now looms large as a real option should King prove to be injured. There is also Will Smith to consider mind you. Should Bevan French make a return from a troublesome hamstring injury, Smith’s form genuinely warrants inclusion somewhere in the Top 17.
Of course all these considerations come with both my fingers crossed that King will be fine to suit up for next week.
BA breaks with tradition – critcises the Bunker process (or lack thereof) and inconsistency with blockers
This is a really telling moment for me as in his entire four year tenure at the Eels, Brad Arthur has made a pointed effort to never call out the officials after the game. That changed today when BA, in a very mild and measured spray by NRL standards, lamented the inconsistency that the officials took in handling both teams. He took aim at the first two tries scored by the Storm, which featured a blatant forward pass from Curtis Scott and an offside transition of possession from Cooper Cronk and Tim Glasby, as well as how the Eels and Storm were treated differently in the kick chase.
I have no doubt that Arthur was boiling under his collar after wearing two extremely dubious tries against his team along with a 50/50 call leading to Kirisome Auva’a missing out on his second of the day. Throw in a 6-1 second half penalty count against his team and the sheer refusal to blow a penalty against the Storm for running Brad Takairangi off the ball numerous times. In fact his measured response helped me type out this section as I was struggling with where to begin.
I understand that some Parramatta fans and neutrals will correctly point to a number of unforced errors in the second half as significant contributors to our loss but I can’t help but feel that the influence of the referees was far too prominent today.
With a likely date with the Cronulla Sharks looming as well I am getting in early and voicing my concerns that we are likely to cop the short end of the stick once more when we host the reigning premiers.
Moses and Norman not overawed in pressure cooker atmosphere
While they may not have been able to produce a miracle to pluck victory out of the jaws of defeat, Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses enjoyed a solid outing against one of the most suffocating defences in the competition. A lack of finals experience has consistently been cited as the single greatest weakness for our roster so the signs out of today were highly encouraging.
The Final Word
Gee it sucks to come out of that game with a loss but I am seriously impressed with the starch and resolve displayed by our boys today. The Storm came out in a violent flurry and after scoring a try off a rubbish no-call they ratcheted the pressure up several notches. However we rolled with the punches and just kept coming at them.
There IS greatness in this team and their coach, I know what with every fibre in my body. When the 2017 season was just getting underway we were barely given a chance at making the Top 8. Our forwards were too small and our spine too weak. Then when we were firmly entrenched in the Top 8 we weren’t a snowballs’ chance in hell at making the Top 4. We weren’t going to be able to overcome the loss of Clinton Gutherson or Beau Scott. We weren’t meant to get with 20 points of the Storm today and here we are having gone down by 2 points in a game where plenty of calls went against us.
All this team has done is prove its critics wrong, time and time again. They have thrived on adversity in the rarest of manners to forge a brotherhood that can shake this competition to its core.
Bring on the Sharks or Cowboys.
Great game of footy, had me on the edge in the first 15 mins but once we got though it we looked great and owned the middle. Second half we beat ourselves. Even though the refs certainly played advantage home team I’m tremendously proud of the teams efforts. We were played honest hard footy. I tremendously proud.
I think we have really seen an identity for this team emerge over the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Between injuries to key players and some roster limitations we are punching well above our weight and we really had the Storm reeling today. Proud is probably an understatement!
Couldn’t be more proud of the eels effort tonight. The storm absolutely dominated the first 20 minutes and the eels stuck patient and went into the sheds up by 6 AT Melbourne AGAINST the minor premiers DURING Cameron Smith’s milestone game. Can’t wait for next weeks match – i’m the only Parramatta supporter in a family of Sharks supporters so i’ll be copping it all week (maybe longer if we win) if the Sharks get up tomorrow.
Well said Hearndo. The Sharks seem like our most likely rivals next week and we will need to back up big time against the reigning premiers.
Great read. I reckon BA has blown up at refs once before. Was it when the ball boy threw the ball in to Sandow against the Dogs, or do I have my years wrong?
It was disgusting today. Most will concentrate on the big calls; the tries; the Slater acting. For mine the leeway given to the Storm in holding down in the ruck was the killer. Also the “grapple” call…wtf?
Proud of Eels effort. Few small blemishes to be sure, but a little luck may have made a difference, like the kicks from Moses and Norman that trickled over the dead ball line.
And the loss of Moeroa was huge.
They’ve got me believing. Carn the boys, you can do it!
Great effort and also some great teamwork. Yes sure they made errors and lost some composure at times but so did the Storm with all the experienced players they have. Sometimes the pressure makes simple plays difficult. That’s finals football- we learnt that today.
Not even going to comment or waste time on refs, nothing they did or did not do surprised me. It won’t change, I pity the team who play the storm in the Grandfinal qualifier , they have no hope. It is sad when you simply come to expect bias with the interpretation of rules, not even between different games but in the one game
We need to move on and take the positives from it. We played well ( although Manu had some interesting and unusual moments with brainsnaps) and they showed they can handle the pressure of the big time.
I am one proud and hopeful parra supporter.
Spot on! I do think the Storm can be beaten though, but I think it will happen in the grand final as i only see the Eels,Sharks or Roosters being able to really challenge them. Unfortunately, those same three teams are on the opposite side of the draw and will actually play eachother before the GF.
The refereeing was deplorable. It was pretty clear they had picked Melbourne to win.
Picking Melbourne to win might be too strong a phrase but it is clear that some grievous mistakes were made and some inconsistencies emerged in how both teams were adjudicated in the second half.
Credit to our boys though, they could have folded when the pressure got too much but they really stood up.
Good summation Forty – some real positives out of today. Will Smith’s best game at FB, King’s service is just so good; our bench doesn’t really cater for a back or hooker being injured.
In the 1st half we were unbelievably good.
Few people rated the Eels a chance…probably suits BA at this point to be the underdog. I love the line about greatness!
The most concerning issue is not the penalties conceded , it is the massive problem of the referees refusing to penalise sides like the Storm.
At one stage they laid so long on Semi, looked like the tackler was injured, this happened several times and still no whistle
Taka ran off the ball blatantly at least twice near the goal line, nothing given , yet they found a penalty 20 metres away from the ball to give possession and a following try, amazing
This was obviously not a day to upset a special occasion for Cameron, and then that idiot that is CEO waxing lyrical about our captain etc. etc, how naively biased was that
To finish the rant, Scott tries to talk to the refs and is told to go away, Cameron talks to them, laughs, jokes and bingo , Penalties flow their way, how frustrating to again have to see a second half 7-1penalty count, objectively and consistently disappointing refereeing standards
Yes , we made our own mistakes, just ensure decisions and infractions are ruled evenly
I mean I don’t know what to say chiefy, this post turned up. Not sure what is happening on your end mate?
I genuinely shed a tear over the bullshit calls and result tonight.
We were far superior and deserved to win.
I’ve seen numerous clips and screenshots of indiscretions by our FAVOURED opposition that mad my blood boil as well as many live calls made by myself, my wife and commentators which defied belief BUT FOR the fact we were playing HRH Cam Smith (Referee, NRL darling, Media Favourite) AND HRH Billy Slater (honorifics as above) AND HRH Cooper Cronk (honorifics as above).
The NRL was not going to let its fairytale pinup boy down with a deserved loss tonight. Oh no.
I was so angry.
Anyway, we were brilliant.
MASSIVE respect and kudos to our boys and heroes in Blue and Gold. Bloody well done!!!
#CAM356 was in full force today it felt at times. We did drop our standards early in the second half though, frustrating as it was. Manu had a very rare shocker with the effort to run Slater off the ball and then dropping a pass cold. Beyond that though we really stepped up to the plate in the most demanding cauldron in rugby league.
I think for me, as for our team and our fans, it is the inconsistency in the application of the rules that drives me the maddest. Billy Slater correctly picks up a penalty for getting run of the kick chase, OK, but tell me why Brad Takairangi or Semi Radradra have not been able to buy a penalty all season despite getting hammered by blockers each and every game?
#CAM356 was in full farce, you mean?
His half time chat with Cummins did work miracles…
‘Come on, mate. You and I know I’m supposed to win this one, especially. See what you can do, eh? There might be a couple of grand in it for you!’
Forty I agree with your comments about the inconsistency of decisions. I am totally convinced that the referees are involved in game management which is leading to this inconsistency.
The best example of this is the penalty to Slater correctly given even though he played for it and the no penalty to Taka.
There was no excuse for not blowing a penalty for Semi when they laid all over him after the tackle. That was just a poor decision but the worst decision in the game was the forward pass try awarded.
The other thing that I have noted all season is that Kenny simply can’t buy a penalty. I think that he has been marked by all referees as “not to be awarded a penalty” under any circumstances.
It is not so much the penalties awarded against us that are killing us but more the lack of penalties awarded to us.
On another note I watched the game at the Entrance leagues club, what an atmosphere. A lot of Eels fans on the Central Coast. Good place for us to play a home game on the road.
I’m from the Central Coast too.
*made
On the positive side, it was wonderful and gratifying to see Slater get SMASHED by our boys multiple times.
When you lose by 2 points and can easily point to 5 referee indescribable stuff ups, it’s a tough gig being a committed fan.
Could it be that Parra fans are too committed? NRL can treat us like that and we’ll still turn up and support our team. Melbourne fans will drop footy and pick up AFL in a heartbeat of their team gets the rough end on a consistent basis.
Having said that, it’s a tough gig being a ref, they can’t get them all right, just like players can’t always catch and pass. Sometimes they just stuff up, and it can cost the game.
I’m at a complete loss how a fingernail scrape on the ball can propel it 2 metres forward for Storm’s first try. Also the bunker, how many times have they replayed over and over a clear try or no try before making a decision, yet took a whole second to decide a ball definitely not knocked forward was forward to deny Auva’a a try? If knocked forward why did the refs allow play to proceed? Even the commentators thought it was a fair try.
I feel gutted for the Parramatta players and coaching staff. They deserved better than the showing they got from the match officials yesterday. It was mentioned earlier, but everyone knows that it’s the penalties not issued that decide a contest. Parramatta deserved to be penalised for its indescretions – but then so, too, did the Melbourne Storm! I feel that the NRL is slowly turning into the WWE with every passing day – or is it more akin to a wildlife documentary that has teams like the Storm as its protected species? I place the games malaise squarely at the hands of its leadership. It is uninspiring, unimaginative and cowardly. There are just too many people working hard from the grass roots to the senior grades that are being let down currently.
Achilles, using the word leadership and the NRL under Greenturd in the same sentence is an oxymoron, pretty much what the leader is. Weak and ineffective and plays favourites
I think decorum is necessary in such matters. We shouldn’t slander a man’s surname. The game has its problems, but insults are no solution.
The 50/50s went Melbournes way but that is sport. I can live with the first 2 tries to Melbourne. On another day another ref might have called the first try back but it wasn’t to be
The no-try to Kenny Edwards was understandable given touchie called it a knock-on hence why it went to the Bunker as a no-try. If the Bunker had to prove it hadn’t gone forward that would have been interesting.
There were 2 clear penalties that should have been awarded to Parra in the last 10 minutes that were not given. That is unforgivable from Cummins as he was only too happy to blow them against us.
Really should have gone to Golden Point.
Having said that, we really have to accept that we lost the game, not the referees. We played Melbourne back into the match through 3 dumb penalties and 2 mindless errors. Sadly, Polar and Manu showed their real lack of big-game experience in this regard. We also kicked poorly for much of the game.
In the final washup, I reckon Moeroa was having the game of his career and his early exit from the game can’t be underestimated. Bringing Kenny Edwards on at the 25 minute mark instead of the 15 minute mark would have had far reaching ripple effects.
Good musings big fella. I personally was not surprised at our effort or the outcome/s of and during the match though. It actually went nearly precisely as I tipped on Thursday last week to quite a few friends. Heaven forbid I even posted it on a 1ee. blog. My tip was!
“I think the best result for us would be to lose a close game with all the commentators coming out after the game crying “Parra was stiff, they shoulda won that game” The good news is, the media are talking that way, the NRL has come out to defend the 100 pass try as a distraction to the forward pass which was more like a gridiron play! The media was all over it and even BA knew he could finally say something about the lopsided way in which we are adjudicated by the Refs and Bunker! Melbourne will NOT get that same advantage if and when we play them in the GF, because it will be topical pre-game.
The other point I would like to address is: Altough a week off gives a rest to battle weary troops in any conflict, sometimes and by varying degrees those same troops benefit or are disadvantage by the disruption to their routine. Parramatta are clearly poor performers after any break to routine that exceeds 9 days. We are a team that thrives on consistency of function and routine. Although this is a fairly recent phenomenon, It goes back a long way in regards to finals campaigns. In 1976 we had an incredible break from routine with a GF parade before the game; We Lost! In 2001 we had a total break from routine and went to play frizbee on the South Coast the week before the GF? We Lost!
The final point I would make is this: I doubted we could rewrite history by beating Melbourne 3 times in a row in the one season. Now we don’t have to!
Thanks for the terrific report Forty. Go Parra!
Everyone jokes about how Cameron Smith is the extra referee on the field. On Saturday he took it to a new level. During the time at the end when they were running down the clock he twice stopped the game because he believed that the Eels defenders jumped early
He was probably right but so were the Storm defenders throughout the game. I fail to see how it was his call and the referee did nothing.
The Storm have turned milking penalties into an art form.
But didn’t Kenny do a great job instigating Munster’s time in the bin.
Well, it was the man’s 356th NRL game, so we should cut him some slack in this instance. After all, the Cameron Smith School of Diplomacy has had a mesmeric effect on the whistle-blowers beyond such illustrious occasions. I’m more concerned that nothing was done to chastise those Melbourne Storm defenders who sat on Semi Radradra long enough to take in a fully-blown Tony Greig pitch report with all its temperature gauge and player comfortability readings, and its various key insertion sequences.