Round 3 Drink Of Choice – Irish Coffee (Dimple Whisky 12yo)

A belated musings this week after a frenetic weekend crammed with my old man’s birthday and some frantic outfitting of a new truck for work. A long Monday at work means I need a pick me up as much as something to take the edge off so an Irish Coffee is a fitting deviation from the norm for this week’s ramblings!

Now as for our struggling Eels there is plenty to be discussed. They slumped to a third straight loss in a rather greasy Saturday night affair as the Cronulla Sharks booted their way to a dour 14-4 victory. Our attack was horribly disjointed. We were caned in the penalty count. There were potentially three front-line players injured for the short-medium term. All this and more marred our performance and yet I personally have the first real cause for optimism in this nasty stretch of losses.

From the moment Waqa Blake touched down in the shadow of half time in Round 1, each game each half and damnably near each set has felt out of our control. Momentum was catastrophically wrested out of our grasp against the Panthers and then the Sea Eagles and we were utterly powerless to do anything about it. And for all of the blemishes on Saturday night (and there were plenty), it was the first time since that inopportune try by Blake that you could see the glint of steel in our defensive line.

There is plenty of polishing left to do but let’s see how it all unfolded as the Eels finally started shaking off the rust in this week’s musings.

Confidence and Cardinal Directions undoings of Eels’ attack

As much as the defensive effort genuinely pleased me it really has to be noted that our attack equally resembled a cadaver or a Meatloaf concert – which is to say, it was pretty lifeless. From a confidence standpoint it is easy to see why the Eels would be second guessing themselves. They entered Saturday having not scored a solitary point across three halves of play and somehow having even less to show for in their general attacking structures.

Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses looked off-beat all night and worked stilted and unnatural plays across both our left and right edges. They struggled to correctly orientate our attack and much like in the Round 2 loss – were guilty of looking to go sideways to go forwards. Naturally a significant portion of the blame has to lie on your primary play-makers in an effort like this but so too were our forwards culpable.

While Nathan Brown, Manu Ma’u and Kenny Edwards all worked tirelessly to varying impact (and Tim Mannah produced an excellent opening stint) the Eels simply couldn’t make significant inroads in the North-South game. A rib injury to Kane Evans and a lop-sided possession rate (59% to 41%) exacerbated the issue but the Eels lacked the grunt through the middle when they needed it.

The relative size of our pack is always a contentious point here, and one that carries a fair bit of merit, but there is probably more than simple centimetres and kilograms at play here. How much are the Eels missing the bullocking set starters from Semi Radradra? Has our inordinate amount of handling errors scared our forwards off working in two or three man pods at the line? Are we running enough from dummy half to keep the markers honest?

However many problems there maybe contributing to our lack of go-forward through the ruck, the Eels need to figure out a solution rather rapidly.

Ain’t no fortunate sons

Luck certainly was not with the Eels this week. From the opening kick off which saw Jarryd Hayne strain a hip flexor to the brutal 6-0 first half penalty count (although one of these was for backchat), the Eels simply could not gain much traction in the opening exchanges of play. While Parramatta were saved from a second Cronulla four-pointer due to an offside call from the video referee, two prior offences were missed that led to a penalty conversion and a line drop out. Throw in injuries to Kane Evans (ribs) and Bevan French (shoulder) and the Eels didn’t receive much help from Lady Luck.

While it may seem like a cop out to apportion some of the blame on a loss to luck, sometimes that is just how a game breaks. A team that is battling for a breakthrough victory after a couple of bad losses often needs the ball to bounce the right way or for a marginal pass to be pulled up in order to jag those precious competition points. A just as luck sometimes is needed to eek out a win, so too can that sole victory serve as a catalyst to something greater.

When the Eels won in 2017, they did it in big clumps. Streaks of 2, 3, 2, 6 and 3 culminated in a 16 win season and a top four berth. In fact, Parramatta never won in isolation last year so once they get into gear they are more than capable of doing plenty of damage.

A slice of fortune won’t rectify all of the overarching issues currently present in our team but it could serve as the ignition point for positive change.

A glimmer of steel

Crushed amidst a tide of possession to the Sharks (59%, 9-6 penalty count, 89 tackle differential), the Eels had every reason to be engulfed on the scoreboard – especially after the shellacking they copped in Round 2. Yet the torrential rate of possession and field position for Cronulla only amounted in a solitary try following some impressive lead up work by Paul Gallen. Instead it was the boot of Chad Townsend (four penalty conversions) and the rather aggressive whistle of Ben Cummins that created the insurmountable gap between the two teams.

More than the scoreboard though, it was the intent that shone through. Gone was the lethargy shown against Penrith and Manly as vigor and aggression was made apparent in the line speed – particularly in the second half. Barnstorming prop forward Andrew Fifita made an impressive 164m total running metres but was limited to 7.8m a carry as the Eels fronted up in the ruck.

It was a stirring callback to what defined the Eels in 2016 and 2017 but it can not be a one-off. Equally so can they no longer afford to handicap themselves on both sides of the ball with poor completion rates and mental lapses.

Parramatta are at their best when they can weaponise their defence and force their opposition into errors. Conversely that requires concentration and diligence in possession that the Eels are yet to show this year because every wasted possession takes that much more of a toll in defence. Saturday’s defensive showing was a hugely positive step forwards though and the building block the Eels needed to showcase if they are to work their way out of this rut.

With injury comes opportunity

Despite the long turnaround to the Easter Monday showdown with the Wests Tigers, there is a very real chance the Eels could be without Jarryd Hayne, Bevan French and Kane Evans. Despite his struggles under the high ball in Round 4, Will Smith seems the natural fit at #1 leaving Brad Arthur short a winger and a prop.

Nathan Davis had a rather unfortunate club debut on the right flank in Darwin last year and while he looms as an option he is a centre by trade. Ready made flankers George Jennings and Greg Leleisiuao are the most natural fits although Leleisiuao has only just returned from injury and is likely short of a gallop. Indeed George, the middle Jennings brother, is probably the safest selection for Round 4.

Arthur could also look to drop an agile backrower like Manu Ma’u or even Marata Niukore into the centres and then push Kirisome Auva’a back to the wing but that likely creates more problems than it solves.

Niukore is indeed someone that should also be firmly in the mix if Evans fail to pass fitness this week but Peni Terepo, Suaia Matagi and Siosaia Vave are all known quantities (for better or worse) that will also be up for consideration. An intriguing option out of left field could be Tony Williams, who enjoyed a strong return from injury in Wenty’s loss to Newcastle on Sunday. Adjusting to his new role in the ruck, ‘T-Rex’ produced 122m from 10 runs off the bench and most impressively churned out 59m after contact. Much like Leleisiuao though, you run the risk of introducing a player that is underdone – although Williams would be asked to play a smaller role from the bench.

I must profess that I would like to see a little bit of fresh blood injected into the team with Marata solidly entrenched as my favorite option.

The Final Word

There is no denying that is has been a dreadful start to 2018 for the Eels. The loss to Cronulla in Round 3 anchors the Eels to the bottom of the ladder but if you cast your minds back to 2017 we were sitting at a humbling 2-4 after six rounds. At 0-3 there is plenty of work to do but there is a real possibility that the Eels come out of the next three weeks with a better record than last year comparatively.

Here is what I wrote in Round 5 last year following our loss to Canberra Raiders, a result that consigned us to our third straight ‘L’:

“So when all is said and done it certainly does suck to lose three on the trot but this is the first loss of the three where it feels like the Eels have finally got something to build on. We are still a ways away from a complete performance – let alone hitting our full stride – but the Raiders are a heavy weight team that we actually pushed once we got our act together for 40min. It isn’t the win we all wanted but the first proper steps towards regaining our mojo are something that I can raise my glass to.”

There is a striking similarity here after the Eels finally showed an attitude in defence that will allow them to forge forwards. Our attack needs to ironed out and straightened out (quite literally) but I felt the pangs of optimism on Saturday.

I like to talk about how sports intrinsically create the most fascinating narratives and story lines without any great deal of effort and next week is no exception. While Parramatta would have to wait until Round 7 last year to end a four game slide there is a commonality of opportunity for ‘BA’ and his men this week. The team that we arrested our slump against last year and the opposition we now face on Easter Monday are one and the same in the Wests Tigers.

Ivan Cleary has made the the joint venture a formidable opponent, particularly in defence, and if anything they absolutely deserve to enter the game as favourites but I would be a liar if I told you I wasn’t excited about the prospect of the Eels springing an upset – however ugly it may be.

I will happily wear the label of blind optimist (and the more unsavory tags that come with it from an at times volatile fan base). In my musings and team list blog last week I asked the team to show me something more against Cronulla and while it was not the desired result it was a strong enough return to the team identity to warrant staying the course.

More than that though, there is too much recent history from this team to be writing them off. With their backs to the walls in 2016 and 2017 they found ways to win when they were given little recourse. They have dug a heck of hole for themselves after three rounds but if there is any team that is familiar with clawing their way out of hell it is this club.

See you on Monday.

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