The Cumberland Throw

Whisky Musings – Round 9: The Self-Inflicted Wounds Cut The Deepest

Round 9 Drink Of Choice – Highland Black Blended Scotch Whisky

Margin Of Error – Four Games

 

That was all too familiar for all the wrong reasons. In a season where every game is essentially ‘must-win’, Saturday night was a particularly important road-block for Parramatta. A win over the injury-ravaged Sharks positioned the Eels for a run at four or five consecutive victories and some much needed breathing space against that constricting margin of error. Alas, it was the closest thing you will get to Rugby League PTSD for the Blue & Gold faithful as the Eels slipped back into the habits that saw them slip to a 0-6 start to 2018.

A frenzied rush of points in the final seven minutes of play nearly saw the Eels outrageously send the game to Golden Point save for an errant conversion attempt after the siren from Mitchell Moses but the brutal truth of the matter is that the Eels did not deserve to win this game.

It is a case of picking at the scabs of old wounds in this week’s Musings, or perhaps tending to freshly self-inflicted blows. Whichever it is, let’s grit our teeth and get to it.

 

Same old stats, same result

 

Remember when we talked about the key statistical indicators that were letting the Eels down…ad nauseam? We are back at square one this week after a game that saw:

  • 44% Possession
  • 72% Completion Rate (vs 82% for Cronulla)
  • 307 Kick metres (vs 613m for Cronulla)
  • 0 Forced Drop Outs (vs 4 for Cronulla)
  • 400 Tackle Made (vs 323 for Cronulla)

It makes for ugly reading once again as the Eels conspired to be their own worst enemy for yet another game. An inability to get to the end of ours sets coupled with awful decisions by our shot-callers in Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses on the rare opportunities we did get to a last-tackle hamstrung Parramatta early on.

Cronulla were gifted plentiful possession and worse – terrific field position. They gleefully accepted both en route to a commanding 20-4 lead in the 46th minute in spite of a raft on star-power on the sideline (including the in-game loss of Wade Graham).

This is ground that has been trodden to mud by regulars of this blog and we have all spoken as to our respective answers for this issue. Suffice to say, we will not win many more of our remaining games if we produce these sort of numbers ago such a broad range of performance indicators.

 

Halves and halve nots

 

It is almost unfair to leverage so much criticism at Norman and Moses but such is the heavy mantle that comes with the #6 and #7 jerseys in the NRL. While they can not stop their team mates from making unforced errors and the like, I do question our play-makers’ general approach to game management when a contest begins to unravel as we saw on Saturday night.

Instead of changing the pace of the game by working the sidelines and resetting our approach both offensively and defensively, we tend to slide into a self-destructive spiral. Perhaps this was best typified in the first-half when we insisted on spreading the ball down our left-edge on the last instead of looking to hem the Sharks inside their own goal-line.

Brad Takairangi is a handy off-play-maker but there is only so much he can do against the set defensive lines he was presented with. It may be that the Eels had identified something in the defensive make-up of Cronulla’s right-edge and were looking to exploit a match-up but it sure didn’t play out that way.

And of course all of this frustration is exacerbated by just how dominant Norman and Moses were in the electrifying seven-minute period of play to close out the game. Certainly fatigue and a degree of laxness from the Sharks played their parts in the matter but Cronulla had no answers for the mercurial halves pairing as they orchestrated a jaw-dropping 16-point comeback.

Somehow Brad Arthur has to figure out a way to get his two halves going when the contest turns dour.

 

The long and the short of it

 

I rarely take aim at coaching on this blog due to the nature of how many variables, intangibles and data points that we armchair coaches are unaware of when it comes to team selection and strategy.

Brad Arthur has certainly proven over the last four-and-a-half years that he possesses a mettle and character that stands among the best in the NRL. When we aren’t losing the possession battle in such a lop-sided manner his patterns, both offensively and defensively, have shown themselves to be consistently effective. The man knows how to coach a footy team.

However, there is one part of our approach to games that often leaves me scratching my head – our absolute refusal to deploy short restarts (both drop-out and kick-off) when trailing by multiple scores with under twenty minutes to play.

Our possession rate flat-lined at around 40% deep into the second-half on Saturday night. It corresponded with a passage of play where Cronulla had pinned us inside our goal-line with roughly twenty minutes left to play. Chasing sixteen-points to even lock the scores up at 20-all at the time, a short drop-out attempt seemed a fait-accompli. Instead we kicked long. I audibly groaned.

That wasn’t even the worst of it. When Cronulla converted a penalty goal in the 65th minute to extend their lead to 18-points, we kicked off long from the restart on halfway. While we very nearly pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in the modern NRL, we conspired to make it as difficult as possible on ourselves and the fact is you can not rely on an insane seven-minute flurry more than once a season.

I may be completely wrong here, which I freely admit as an armchair critic, but in a game where you are starved of possession and chasing multiple tries in a small window of time it seems like the short restarts are almost a no-brainer.

 

The Last Word

 

There is plenty more that I could tear into to breakdown just how the Eels lost so convincingly to an vastly undermanned Cronulla outfit but much of it honestly reads from the Rounds 1-6 script. The fact of the matter is that the Eels can now afford four more losses across the course of the regulation season is they are to be in finals contention. That is razor thin margin of error for a team that simply can not string together a month of quality football at the moment.

Individually, there was actually a bit to like from Saturday night – which again has been the story of 2018. Manu Ma’u was relentless as he tried to inspire the Eels back into the contest while Tepai Moeroa played with a single-minded physicality that impressively saw him unseat the human-nugget known as Wade GrahamBevan French and George Jennings both shone at various times while Clinton Gutherson continues to work tirelessly from the back – even if he hasn’t quite hit full stride in his return from an ACL injury.

Unfortunately though, strong individual efforts are only going to continue to win the Eels a share of last place this year. They simply can not afford the raft of trivial errors from their forwards anymore. They can no longer be caught a man short so consistently when defending their goal line. Their play-makers do not have the luxury of fading out for well over half a game. As it stands they face the prospect of wasting the 2018 season as seventeen individuals unless they somehow remember that they are a team.

 

One Eel that is consistently producing the goods this season is Parramatters by way of Sportfirst Nambucca. This week the mad-man brings to you the rather flashy 2018 Indigenous Jersey, which I must admit has grown on me to a fair extent – even with the green highlights. Hit that link below and punch in the ‘TCT’ code for a sweet 10% discount and free shipping!

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12 thoughts on “Whisky Musings – Round 9: The Self-Inflicted Wounds Cut The Deepest

  1. The Captain

    A great read Forty.

    I’m glad you called out the fact that we never seem to try short kickoffs or dropouts. In fact I’d say there are a few “tide turning” tactics that we just seem to be coached not to do:

    1) Short restarts
    2) Kicking long for the corners
    3) Forty twenties

    Heck, even the very occassion chip and chase.

    The thing is, when we get into an arm wrestle, we tend to lose. So we need some circuit breaking tactics for these instances to get us on the front foot again. Sure, they come with an element of risk, but if used sparingly and wisely it’s a calculated risk.

    As it is the opposition game plan against us is just so simple – get us on the back foot early by running big forwards hard and then kick long for the corners. Keep us pinned via either corner kicks or in goal grubbers. If you keep us pinned for 3-4 sets we seem to just stay on the back foot for the rest of the half. We need to circuit break these times.

    I guarantee the Dogs will try the same tactics and with their forwards they could well pin us out of the game within 10 minutes unless we change our tactics.

  2. JonBoy

    It’s been a frustrating week and I just don’t know how to stop the negative thoughts!!! If this was a TV show, the number for Lifeline should be on display now.

    But as I write I ask myself, are the team feeling the same? Is Suaia Matagi feeling as upset as me right now? Is Corey Norman at home studying video of the Bulldogs trying to find a way to win on Friday night? What is Peni Terepo doing differently this week to find a point of difference?

    We are talking about a team of athletes here who are paid very well to do their job! If I don’t meet my targets at work I suffer financially at best. At worst I am looking for a new job.

    There has been calls for heads to roll from many and I certainly think that the time has come for players to be held accountable. Nathan Browns return helps and surely he takes Matagi’s spot. I think Peni has to have used up his last life and even if Wenty form has been scrapy, surely now is the time to give Marata a shot…what have we got to loose? Look at Gennings and his form when put up against NRL level talent and the lift in his game.

    I’m not an expert and like most people don’t have a seat at the team meeting table but even the most optimistic of us have to concede that this year is on life support and the mortician is on standby. We can’t continue to do the same things and expect a different outcome.

    BA being loyal to individuals is admirable but even he must see that ultimately he is the “CEO” here and it will come down to him if failure continues. It pains me to say it after what he has done for the team but…as in business, you’re only as good as your last performance review.

    Come on boys. Pleeeeeeease, turn it around!!!

  3. Colin Hussey

    Forty. Short kick offs, how old fashioned that suggestion is. What I see in the games is that the opposition do not expect anything that is associated with the term, variation in play, be it in attack with the ball or in regard to kicks.

    I would suggest that the opposition knows that we do not have that in us, yet we do have players including the primary ones used to kick off who can provide variation. Short kicks that are to specific spots where the opposition has some gaps. Not just a short kick but one that’s very high and gives the eels the chance to attack the ball and take it themselves. Long grubber types that puts the ball over the side line. Time for one of the kickers to learn how to kick the wobbly boot style.

    I tend to remember a couple of opposition kickers who had the ability to kick the ball in such a way that it landed near an opposition player just out of his forward reach that had the ball bounce over the head of the player, which caused a rush by more than one of the opposition to come and try to kill it, even take it over the side line.

    I loved the kick against the horses, last week (I think it was) that bounced just in front of Boyd, it bounced awkwardly for him and he fell on his back with the opposition getting a try from it. Great stuff.

    Kicks can provide a huge bonus for a team, and we need to have players trained in that area.

  4. Gazzamatta

    Unfortunately our kick off have been, not so far to call them deep and not short enough to call them short. Coaches talk of the one percenters yet our initial kick off of the game gives posession in a reasonable field position.
    I am flabbergasted by the small things our team appears to have no concept of.
    Who fights a tackle to speed the play the ball or earn a penalty?
    How many are marched forward by an attacking player with little thought of someone tackling his legs?
    How often is the ball not secured when defending?
    How often do our A and B defenders go the same direction?
    Why do we take ages to make a decision when awarded a penalty?
    Why is the first 4 (or 5) tackles in an attacking set always head down bum up with not even a thought of an offload?
    I could keep going.
    Last season Moses would shift from open to blind at speed to try to gain advantage. Have we seen that once this year?
    I think we are playing a style that is A. Not working and B. Not supported by the team.
    Spice it up a little BA. This dour percentage footy is A. Not working and B. Boring not only the fans but it appears the players as well.
    Go Parra.

  5. Offside

    The short kick offs is easy to explain BA in so many press conferences and pre and post game interviews talks about field position and possession its a low percentage play BA doesn’t take risks

    I was never a sandow fan but towards the end of his time with us the off the cuff high risk plays were attempted to be taken out of his game. Our systems are about those key areas its why we seem more than any team to really struggleagainst teams who throwsome unstructured play at us.

    Personally i like the short kick when it works when your already behind and the game is slipping away go for it Luke Burt was one of the best at the grubber drop out how often did he get it right more then not id wager.

    1. Forty20

      I can understand trepidation about the short options in a tight contest. Low percentage plays can backfire awfully in such scenarios. When you trailing by 18 points with under 20 minutes to play in a game where you have had 40% possession, surely it has to be considered.

      It just feels like bad game theory for mine.

    2. Milo

      Burty was superb wasn’t he Offside; i recall some of those dropouts more like grubbers at Parra.
      I think BA wants them to play more structured from set pieces and tbh i am not sure i would want us defending close to our line at times from some of these plays but i get the point.
      Sandow for me did too much off the cuff but that was just how he played.

      1. Colin Hussey

        Cannot disagree with you on each aspect Milo, was very sorry to see Burty go, I think he has a future in the coaching arena.

  6. Glenn

    Unfortunately, for the first time, I’ve climbed onto the ‘sack the coach’ bandwagon. BA seems to have NFI along with the team and they are terrible to watch. Doubt our tactics have changed much over the 4 plus years BA has been in charge.
    He has assembled a team of small forwards almost devoid of an offload so how can they compete against the bigger packs? And that imo is our biggest problem. We can’t pass our way out of our malaise so can only resort to bash and barge.
    I said before the season started that the loss of Semi would impact us badly and we’d overachieve if we made the 8. Doubt if even he could help us out of this mess. Now we are playing so badly I doubt we could even win the spoon!

    1. Milo

      I feel that pain Glenn; but i cannot see the loss of one winger the main cause. Gutho and Bevan and Hayne being injured has been a hindrance too but again imo not the main cause. You do not go from being a good coach in 4 months. That is my take

      1. Colin Hussey

        I agree with you on that Milo. Sure Semi was a big loss, but he is one player, and a winger at that, yes he came in to relieve some pressure at times, but he was also found out in some of those times.
        We have been very unfortunate in the replacement winger states this year. But with the return of Gutho and French to one wing, along the way Gennings has shown I think we have it reasonably well covered, especially if Hayne comes good, and he could well be the ideal replacement for the left wing.

  7. Milo

    Forty good blog again; I was not as worried about those things as you but am more concerned about the disparity in our forwards playing as a unit; and the errors and missed tackles; we played our footy when the game was lost; and it appeared we chanced our arm then.
    It is very disappointing and leaves us very frustrated. No doubt we have the coach imo and yes some amendments behind the scene could help; a few in the front line roster need changed.
    Our hooking area seems inconsistent and know this is not one players fault but some errors on the weekend were not good.

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