The Cumberland Throw

Post Game Grades – Round 15 vs Rabbitohs

Parramatta_Eels_logo.svg  Parramatta Eels 24

 South Sydney Rabbitohs 42

The Good:
Look, the second half was brutal but our energy and attack suggests that it’s possible we could soon put it together. That’s not something I could have said with a straight face after our performance against the Warriors, Bulldogs or Raiders games. We were pretty good in patches tonight, which is a pleasant change from post to post dreadful.

The Eels also finished with 81% completion rate, and 5 tries.

The Bad:
I’m sorry, but I can’t avoid immediately naming and shaming our right side defence. Michael and George were certainly their brother’s keeper tonight as Robert Jennings helped himself to a ridiculous 4 tries against his older siblings. Yet the problems on this right side included more than just the incoherent communication of the Jennings boys (and they’re not exactly strangers), but also involved Brad Takarangi and Clint Gutherson failing to execute anything as a collective unit.

In other news, do you remember when Hoffman scored first and then screwed the pooch on the proceeding kick off? Or when he was pushed back in goal with 5 left in the half? Or dropped the ball 15 times? Remember when Corey Norman was ruled to have dropped the ball 3 metres out which led to Robert Jennings’ second try? Or when Bevan took his turn to drop a Reynolds torpedo? I don’t know how it was for you, but personally most of the second half I was praying for amnesia. You could apply the above tweet at pretty much any stage of the latter 60 minutes of tonight’s game. Credit to Souths, at times it felt like the Eels were playing against 13 bulked up magicians out there. However on other occasions we were just plain bad.

Finally, I don’t want to sound bitter and twisted, but Greg Alexander’s gushing commentary was also pretty ridiculous. Is he sleeping with Anthony Seibold or was he just flirting with him?

X-Factor:

It was probably a pretty great night for the Jennings house. Not only was it Michael’s 250th game, all three Jennings brothers played and there were 5 tries scored by people sharing that surname. With that said, I hope they don’t read the grade I gave Michael.

Frankie say relax, click here, and buy some stuff to support The Cumberland Throw.

The MVP:

 

Probably a tie between Robert and Michael Jennings. MVP for the Bunnies, I mean.

1- Bevan French

Fullback, Parramatta Eels

I liked the sneaky grubber from Bevan French, as it seems to add a real threat to his game, and I thought he did a number of good things in cover defence tonight (albeit to no avail).

But oh man. There were also some pretty bad errors from French Fries tonight. The shooting out of the line on Cody Walker for Alex Johnston’s first seemed like a mistake, and it feels weird that in the Rabbitohs 7 line breaks, our fullback only made 1 tackle all game. Can Gutho please be our fullback again now?

2- Josh Hoffman

Left Wing, Parramatta Eels

Not since Harvey Dent has an individual turned from hero to villain as swiftly as Josh Hoffman in the first 10 minutes of tonight’s game. And unlike Dent’s depiction in The Dark Knight, Hoffman went on with it.

At the time, the tweet above was a little harsh but Josh ensured he proved its worth by the end of 80 minutes. Hoffman’s 4 errors were as varied as the four seasons, each change bringing with it an increasing chill to the Eels chances in tonight’s game. Imagine someone actually having a worse game than Hoff …

3- Michael Jennings

Right Centre, Parramatta Eels

Michael Jennings celebrated his 250th game milestone by running into inside defenders, often leaving one brother, George, to try tackle both Greg Inglis and his other brother, Robert. If Josh Hoffman was a natural disaster, Michael was straight up apocalyptic.

4- Jarryd Hayne

Left Centre, Parramatta Eels

In a pretty depressing game for the Eels overall, Jarryd Hayne sneakily built up a pretty impressive work rate. Jarryd’s 13 runs was only bettered by man beast Manu Ma’u’s 14, finishing with a try and 119 running metres.

5- George Jennings

Right Wing, Parramatta Eels

I’m generally a pretty big fan of yours George, but not tonight.

6- Clint Gutherson (c)

Five-Eighth, Parramatta Eels

That 65th minute 7 tackle set certainly took the wind out of our sails, and as I think we proved last season, I just think we are a better team with him in the 1 jersey.

7- Corey Norman

Halfback, Parramatta Eels

I might have been a little harsh on Corey last week (particularly when I watched the replay and was reminded it was he who chased down Kyle Feldt), and once again the Eels looks promising in attack sans Moses. Corey finished with a couple of try assists, a tackle bust, 10 tackles, no misses and a stop start running game (4 for 22 metres). It’s admittedly not perfect rugby league logic, but I figure if I criticise the halves in the games we can’t score tries, I gotta give Corey (and Gutho) some/most of the credit for the 5 we laid on tonight.

8- Daniel Alvaro

Prop, Parramatta Eels

The Italian international quietly had a terrific statistical game with 11 runs for 104 metres alongside 41 tackles (with only one miss).

9- Cameron King

Hooker, Parramatta Eels

In a worrying sign for those more keen on the young bloke, I thought our attack seemed to click better tonight when Kingy was on the park.

Coincidence? Other than the aforementioned untimely error, I actually thought he had a pretty good game.

15- Tim Mannah 

Prop, Parramatta Eels

Another very solid 11 run, 103 metre, 17 tackle and 1 tackle break performance from the old head.

11- Manu Ma’u

Back Row, Parramatta Eels

delicate: ˈadjective

1. easily broken or damaged; fragile.

antonym: Manu Ma’u

 

Tonight Monster Mash had 14 runs, 124 metres, 30 tackles, a tackle break and a general disdain for the opposition players.

12- Brad Takairangi

Back Row, Parramatta Eels

Taka, Brown and Gower’s footwork at the line had the South Sydney defensive line in a fit. Unfortunately his defensive cohesion on the right side left our defensive structures in a similar state of convulsion. Replays will reveal him skipping defensive assignments all night so I’d wager there’s a nasty video session on the way for Taka.

13- Nathan Brown

Lock, Parramatta Eels

Throw away your Fox Sports Lab, Nathan Brown’s impact is best measured using a richter scale.

I’d say he played like he had a chip on his shoulder against his old club, but to be honest he plays with that irritable vigour each and every week. Browny led the Eels in both running metres and tackles at HT, tying Jarryd Hayne for hit ups with 8, and only fell to third due to a late corked forearm. The reason you’ve never heard of that injury before is because it is Cyborg specific, and is less an injury than it is a malfunction.

There was very little not to like about Browny’s game tonight (12 for 125 metres, 4 tackle breaks and 33 tackles), unless you’re the guy at Souths who let him go.

Interchange

10- Peni Terepo

Interchange, Parramatta Eels

Last week I lambasted Peni for giving his haters butter fingered ammunition, but then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like I love you running incredible lines and basically scoring a killer try.

Peni could have fallen over the line (see Jennings, Michael for tips on this skill) with the ball for Bevan’s try after some brilliant footwork and a terrific Corey Norman pass. No errors from The Butcher tonight, 9 runs, 87 metres, 25 tackles and 3 tackle busts for the big fella with the fresh shave.

14- Reed Mahoney

Interchange, Parramatta Eels

Reed’s 44th minute jink went from great play to poor play in about 2 seconds flat as his errant pass to Nathan Brown (who may or may not have clocked off) went to ground. Not as stellar a game as last week (finding himself on report again), but that’s pretty standard affair for a young buck in the NRL.

16- David Gower

Interchange, Parramatta Eels

The Evergreen David Gower made some great charges in our highlight reel first half, with 5 runs, 55 metres, 12 tackles and a tackle break.

17- Marata Niukore

Interchange, Parramatta Eels

Marata runs (4 for 31 metres), he tackles (15 tackles) and he gives love a bad name.

A Thursday night beatdown is not an ideal way to enter the bye week, but at least there were a few glimmers of hope in tonight’s performance; both for the end of 2018 and beyond.

We’ll be here whatever happens.

 

Go you Eels,

Mitch.

 

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126 thoughts on “Post Game Grades – Round 15 vs Rabbitohs

    1. mitch Post author

      Some will tell you now, but I think he’ll get (and deserves, despite our 2018 results) another preseason at least.

  1. Nathan

    Really think they need to send Michael Jennings back to reserve grade for a bit,not upto 1st grade standard for the last month.Hopefully the Eels don’t release Norman as he is a talent,I don’t care about his off field stuff he is a trier and the players around him seem to have his back unlike Moses.It might be just me but the team looks way more organised with Corey calling the shots since Moses has been injured.Guth also needs to go back to 1 and French to Hoffmann wing.

    1. mitch Post author

      Personally I agree that Corey is better at “7” as first organiser. However I just feel he is so inconsistent. I still think Moses stays in the game better than Corey does, which is concerning if Corey is your chief organiser. It’s also hard to make definitive calls when we can appear so different week to week.

  2. Michael Formosa

    If you take away the Jennings brothers, French and Hoffman the rest of the was mostly great but unfortunately those 4 were bloody awful! I love Bevan French but every break the opposition make will be a try because his defense is non existent.
    The team looks better with Norman at halfback, I’ll leave him there and put Mitch at 5/8. It settles Moses down while getting Norman involved more but I doubt BA will do that.

    1. mitch Post author

      I can’t really disagree with anything you’ve said, particularly regarding the halves. Even if they don’t switch numbers, at least it would allow Corey to organise and Mitch to play what’s in front of him. Not unlike Souths where Corey = Reynolds and Mitch = Cody Walker.

  3. Avenger

    Bevan French is not a fullback. We either put him back to the wing or we offload him. I also hope Michael Jennings does not take the option and stay with us. He has regressed badly in 2018. His decision making in defence was diabolical.

    Hayne deserves another year with us. I’d actually give him another 2 years and put him back to fullback where he belongs.

    The pressure will intensify on our coach. Sorry, BA but I think your time has come. I cannot this lasting and a call should be made ASAP in relation to a successor.

    1. mitch Post author

      I think Hayne should be a year by year proposition (unless he wants the stability and goes cheaper), and agree the Bevan experiment should be well and truly dead. Jennings would be crazy not to take the deal, and he has been a full blown disaster this year.

      The pressure will intensify on BA, but I hope he survives to see another run of good form.

      1. Avenger

        Mitch

        BA did great things in 2016 when we needed him, I respect him for that but his time has come. The roster needs a complete overhaul with a fresh set of ideas. The recruitment clock is ticking, other teams will start making moves and there will be fewer players available if we hesitate on the inevitable decision that must be made, now.

        1. mitch Post author

          People will have different opinions regarding BA, but personally I’m not a fan of cutting him loose in 2018 (ideally not at all, but it is a results driven business so it’d be important to start 2019 right). Regarding recruitment – surely that shouldn’t be of concern as you’d think we’d still be recruiting regardless.

          1. Avenger

            They want to know who the coach is and certainly, not one whose future will not be determined until at least this time next year (assuming we persevere).

          2. mitch Post author

            It’s less than ideal, but BA leaving might result in a bunch of our core players leaving too.

          3. Glenn

            Based on the core group of players here atm , that mightn’t be a bad result. In all honestly only Norman, Moses, Gutho and Brown, and maybe Hayne, Alvaro and a few others, are the only players worth keeping. The rest are only marginal first graders at best.

            It’d be best to make a call now on whether BA stays or another coach starts next year as regards recruitment. We badly need a major overhaul of the forwards.

          4. mitch Post author

            I agree it’s best to make a call now. I’d hate to think they keep him on if the decision is already made. I’d like him to be given a genuine preseason and a crack at 2019, but with our record know people will disagree. Either way, a call needs to be made.

            Gutho, Brown, Hayne and Manu (at least 2019), Paulo, Alvaro, Tepai, Moses and young blokes like Reed, Salmon, Stone, Dylan Brown, Utoikamanu, Oregon Kaufusi (among others) are our future IMO

          5. The rev aka Snedden

            Glenn everyone keeps forgetting karisome a’vua is a grand final winning centre I wouldn’t be calling him avg. at the end of the day his a centre not a winger. Brad is just using him all wrong.

          6. Offside

            Our core players arnt getting it done either so if they go because of BA then so be it

        2. Nathan

          Totally agree Avenger,no player is going to sign with a club that they don’t know what the future holds unless their going to be paying overs which never works out anyway.I rate BA but his handling of the Norman stuff is ridiculous and I would rather keep Norman than BA,He does have his ups and downs but on his day is up there with the best in the competition but just needs a little help around him.If we let him go it’ll set us back more years trying to develop players and or paying overs to try and get someone of his caliba.I think unfortunately we need a total clean out of the coaching staff or at least a total clean out of the support BA has and get some assistants in there with 1st grade coaching experience.

          1. mitch Post author

            Agree re on his day, but my fear with Norman is his consistent inconsistency. Like a (much, much, much) better version of Sandow.

          2. Nathan

            Agree but if we are rating BA on his previous years we have to rate Norman the same and the year he should of won the dally m if not suspended was exceptional and with the right forward pack in front of him would get back to that no problem.I can just foresee someone like the storm picking him up and him becoming a superstar if we let him go.

      2. Rowdy

        G’day Mitch, I was wondering which of our two groups of wins this year you are referring to as the predecessor of “another run of good form” was it the 2 wins earlier in the year or the 1 win last week?

  4. Cappy

    The footy show and courier mail reporting Bennett has been approached to coach the 2019 season after so many denials from Bernie Gurr.
    Whether Bennett comes to parra or not it looks like Bernie has thrown Arthur under the bus and we will have a new coach from November 2018.
    Arthur has had 5 years and our defence has not improved one bit. Time for a change while we have plenty of roster spots left.

      1. Cappy

        Where there is smoke there is fire Mitch. The NRL is a billion dollar game and I don’t think B.A. Can survive with a wooden spoon in his fifth year. The players and CEO have let Arthur down.
        Also Sponsors are putting pressure on the club.

    1. Hearndo

      Cappy, i disagree in your point that our defence has not improved one bit with Arthur. Over his tenure (bar some games this year) he’s instilled a defensive attitude that had not been seen around Parramatta for years. Remember the “brick wall defence” Parra were being aplauded for throughout 2016, despite the obvious off-field situation of the time. We finished in the top four last year, wouldn’t that indicate a serious improvement across the park compared to the wooden spoons of previous coaches?

      1. mitch Post author

        Yeah I agree. Just because it is poor now, doesn’t mean it didn’t show improvement at some point. With that said, it is poor now.

    2. John Eel

      Max has stated that BA is here for 2019. He has also stated that he is not paying out $1Milm for him to sit on the sideline next year. Take it as done he will be with the Eels 2019

      Furthermore and most critically with what he has done for our club in crisis he deserves to see out his contract. Last year he overachieved in making top 4, you do not lose that ability overnight.

      People will say that he has been here too long, that is again rubbish, Bellamey has been at the Storm 15 years

      I look forward to seeing what he can do in 2019 with a renewed squad and the correct resources in the coaching team

  5. Clive

    Well that was diabolical! When someone with M Jennings experience is making the defensive errors he made tonight I really think a couple of questions need to be asked.

    Firstly was he on the take and had a bet on the other team or secondly is he trying to sabotage the coach. He was pathetic tonight.
    The sad thing is that the majority of the team played pretty well and it was only the two Jennings boys and Hoffman that gifted Souths the win.

    French made some terrible mistakes but he’s usually a very safe player so you can overlook it but M Jennings has been unbelievably bad for most of this year.

  6. Offside

    As bad as George and Michael were this has been brewing for weeks kidwells up and in style doesn’t suite them i said it before since the sharks game ive seen alot of worrying signs on that right side

  7. Shelley

    I support BA and that won’t change. However the thing that I admire about BA might just bring about his downfall. His loyalty and stubbornness .
    Souths attacked us tonight and scored tries the way the Dogs, Tigers, Warriors, Knights, Broncos and Sharks did- right through Michael Jennings. He has gone from being a decisive strong defender to an indecisive defender who tackles air. He gets stuck in between leaving his winger posted and his half inside him too much room to cover. Thankfully Moses did not play so he can not be the whipping boy to blame tonight for the right edge and if we switched Norman and Gutho the result would have been the same. Jennings is creating the holes with his indecisiveness. I don’t know how and why it has come to this but his defence is diabolical and has been most of the year. He is making Taka look like the worlds best defensive centre. I am at a loss to understand how BA can not see this as it is happening each and every week. It shows up even more for us because we sit behind the goal line to watch and you can see how terrible and slow his defensive reads are. He has had different players inside and outside him all year but the problem remains. So just like shifting Norman to fullback and ‘resting’ him was the right thing to do for the team and even for Norman himself after the Warriors game, BA can not pick Jennings at right centre against the dragons and hope he changes. The score line looked terrible tonight because Jennings did not tackle and kept making the same mistake just like he has most games this year. If Jennings defends as he should most of those tries are not scored and we are in the game. Dropped balls happen, missed tackles happen, but continual weekly bad reads in defence are not mistakes it has become a habit for Jennings and BA needs to shift him from there outherwise the habit will be repeated next game and the reality is BA won’t survive as coach. I don’t know if dropping him is the right move but something has to give we can not accept keep getting beaten the same way. We need to make the Dragons best us a different way.

    If BA can not see this problem and can not see that Gutho up at 5/8th really hurts us by taking him out of the game both in attack and defense then I can see no way he survives this season as coach. Gutho is a fullback, put our halves back in the halves give them the year if it does not work or they can not make it work move one in the offseason.

    Our forwards aimed up and I thought Norman looked better tonight and was more decisive. I would hope before we throw away the combination of Moses and Norman by letting Norman go give them another chance when both are fit and with our forwards are playing better. At least then we can move forward with clarity and confidence knowing we gave it a real chance to work.

    1. The Captain

      Unfortunately professional elite sport has no room for loyalty at the top level. This transition seems to be where BA has failed to adapt and doesn’t appear to have any “bad cops” around to offset his “good cop” personality.

      It’s lovely to say that effort is there week in week out, but at this many losses in, effort isn’t enough. A sports team needs effort and wins.

      The amount of time it seems to take BA to adapt to the game and make changes (due to form or the teams we’re playing or conditions or the scoreboard etc) has moved from slightly baffling to largely irritating. Try, test, learn. That’s how you succeed. No one succeeds by persevering with a losing formula and hoping that effort and passion will pull you through. You change, you adapt, you fail, you learn, you change and adapt again until you succeed.

      I think the passion and commitment that BA showed through these last years was amazing and as a club we are forever in his debt for pulling us through. Last year was pretty darn special. But (there’s always a but) this current failure and lack of adaptability can’t be tolerated in a professional sports club.

      In a way I think we need to learn the same lessons we learned with our Board and Administration – passion for the club isn’t a credential that should keep you an executive level role nor does it qualify you for it in the first place.

      BA is a proud and passionate Parra man and for that I identify with him and respect him. As a coach his numbers are getting pretty bad. Steve Sharp is a proud and passionate Parra man but as a chairman his performance was pretty poor. Passion doesn’t equal credentials. As a club we need to become more results driven. I’m not suggesting we throw out every coach when they lose a game, but we also shouldn’t cling to ANYONE at the club out of passion and club loyalty. If we want to win, we need winners. It’s basically that simple. We took Brad on as a relative rookie and he’s now had 5 (albeit challenging) years to deliver that winning culture. At the moment it appears we’re right back where we started.

      I will never lose my respect and passion for BA as a proud Parra man, but the numbers are telling a story about his coaching nous and it’s not an inspiring one. Why are we trying so hard to hold on to that?

  8. Real HN

    I feel bad for BA.. This team basically played their hearts out in a shit situation in 2016 and is pretty much identical to the team in 2017 which made top 4 but now we looking at another spoon and some hard facts need to be realised that our roster just isn’t gna cut it which is a shame but looks like another clean out is needed and yet another rebuild…. Don’t know if BA can save his job post 2018 but I’d give him another season but don’t see or hear anything around the eels recruitment strategy besides jnr for 2019 with 10 roster spots possibly available….

    Hayne looks good still some magic left in him.. I’d put him to Fb just cause we got nothing to lose now and maybe we can gain some x factor and put a lil fear in defenses with him looming in the back.

  9. Trouser Eel

    A lot of moaning about how poorly our right side defence was, which is justified. Jenko has lost his mojo but I think it can be found. Unfortunately I hear Jenko is a little too professional in that he treats his football like it’s his job, and not a passionate pursuit like BA does.
    To balance the criticism I have to say the forwards, who have been much maligned, did an awesome job stopping the Burgess boys and racking up metres of their own.
    I foresee Daniel Alvaro getting our player of the year award for his consistent high effort in what has unfortunately been a dismal year. I remember a time not so long ago there were some astute people running around trying to work out how Daniel’s tenure at Parra could be more assured. It’s good to see those predictions of his worth were correct. I’d be interested to hear a TCT interview with him.

    1. Milo

      Trouser IMO Alvaro has pretty much played a lone hand consistently all season. Brown has done well when he has played.
      I am not going to comment further as its too depressing…..

    2. mitch Post author

      Now his running games grows more and more consistent, I think it’s clear we need to convince Danny to let us lock him up long term. He, Mannah and Brown are the backbone of our pack.

    3. Colin Hussey

      TE, I was actually disappointed that Alvaro only got a one year extension, he should have been given 3 or a minimum of 2. The right side defence has been a nightmare for the eels for years now, the last time it seemed ok was when MJ was moved there to support French, but its not, or did not work last night, so was George following big brothers call and going inside to protect hime?

  10. MAX

    Just really poor execution in both defense and attack. whilst a committed Eel supporter, that really was very ugly. Sadly Wenty is no better, we have nothing coming through! When do we look at the football structure, like “retention and recruitment”!!! Because there is a lot of young talent that we have invested in that has not come through, most of them are now at Manly and Sean Keppie is next to go, not to mention Josh Curran now at the Roosters, whom will debut this season.

    A disillusioned Western Suburbs MAX

    1. sixties

      Max, I’m looking at writing a column on our relationship with Wenty. There is genuine talent coming through outside of Keppie and Josh Curran. Josh Curran was given insane money by the Roosters. No club in their right mind would have matched it for a kid. Keppie is a loss.
      My issue is that the talent is sitting in the 20s and not in the Wenty team. Kaufusi has been elevated but others should be regulars too.

      1. mitch Post author

        Yeah, I think Wenty is more a graveyard for our failed signings (all clubs have them) when we should have it as a mix of experienced NRL players (think David Gower when not required in the NRL side) and a genuine stepping stone for young players on the rise. Unfortunately when it becomes obvious they’re not going to push on (ie Nathan Davis) it becomes a bit stagnant IMO.

        1. MAX

          Mitch I watched Wenty play Norths, and you are right, Nathan Davis does not want to be there, that can be seen by the way he warms up, Buddy Gordon is another. Parra should really be running the ISP! Rod Pritchard at Wenty will tell anyone who listens, that the ISP is a pain in their “A”. Further he tells the story far and wide that Nathan Cayless was not their first choice coach, but were told they had to take him. How is that a relationship!

          1. mitch Post author

            I’ll say I think it’s a squad that deserves a better finishing position than it often achieves. With that said, many had our first grade side in the Top 4 this year.

      2. MAX

        That would be a worthwhile column, you should ensure that you interview the president for Wenty’s senior league, whom has a genuine dislike for the Parra system because his son couldn’t get a start at Parra, but is now well regarded at the Panthers, and a good player he is too.

      3. Big Derek

        Sixties, sertainly Curran was offered what they said was crazy money by the Roosters, a bigger question is why do they consistently identify this sort of talent and get them into their system so much better than we do. From sources we have always tried to sign our own talent on the cheap, often offering below value for players we are trying to retain. Certainly there are exceptions, but as a club we need to do much better at retaining our own players. Sure, finances come into it, but we have done a poor job even in the recent past and looking at our team, could do better is a metaphor that comes to mind.

        1. parrathruandthru

          He was identified Derek that’s why he was playing HM at 14. You know what they are reportedly paying him, would you have paid that money for a player who hadn’t even played SG Ball?

          1. Anonymous

            I know what his father was saying around Hills Bulls after he signed with the Rorters, again my question is we see these kids sign for so called overs to clubs with consdiderably better rosters than ours. It happens too frequently, and like you, me and others that follow jumior pathways maybe it’s a question of how we don’t compete to retain talented players. By the way , he’s playing ISP these days, seems to someway justify his remuneration and pathways progress. Like players from our juniors going through at Manly, do we limit our juniors in some respect, not sure . It’s an observation not a question.

  11. sixties

    The Eels forwards gave it their all last night. They set up the first half and yet three soft tries via backline errors gifted the Rabbits a first half lead.

    Its never been my go to direct blame at individual players, the coaches can do that, but the Rabbitohs game plan achieved great success from two points – kick to Hoffman, run to Jennings.

    For both players, it became a nightmare and the longer the match went, the worse their confidence became. I noted that George J and Hoffman swapped sides but the damage had been done.

    BA noted that it was reserve grade stuff. Any players at that standard need to be wearing black and white, not blue and gold.

    1. Trapped in the 1970's

      I realise that other teams have done similar, but with Gentle at Souths they had a fair knowledge of our defensive patterns.

      1. mitch Post author

        Offside (commented above) has made a good point in recent weeks about the changes Kidwell has made to our defensive structures, and how the Jennings boys in particular haven’t adapted well. Also a factor.

      2. mitch Post author

        Also, it’s not like we’ve been a vault previously. It’s pretty standard affair to find and exploit defensive weaknesses, but no doubt Gentle had a hand in it as you say.

    2. Nathan

      Problem is BA has been pretty much saying the same thing for the last few weeks about Jennings but not doing anything about it,should have really been put in the bin and one stage AGAIN for pulling douie off the ball.I realised he is at the coal face and some players need to keep playing for them to get back in form but he is just not interested at all and doesn’t want to come in and do the tough stuff to try and help out.I was at the knights game and watch him and he was embarrassing,standing back out on the edge watching his forwards struggling and George running in past him to take a hit up still stayed there,when in the bin he did about the same amount of work as if he was still on there.To me it seems BA is hiving out empty threats to players who aren’t putting in effort that’s 1st grade level but not following through,there is definitely options if he replaced Jennings with someone else so that can’t be an excuse.

  12. Colin Hussey

    My take on the game is that there were players on the field that really have no right to be in first grade, it saddens me when we have internationals who are playing at 3rd grade standards, MJ, if he does not take up his option to stay will surprise me as I could not see another club signing him based on his efforts this year. His brother George did some good things except when he followed MJ in field, George has done ok this year and the better of the two brothers IMHO.

    Re French, How many other #1’s in the game have fell victim to the Souths #7 high kicks? French was running across field in trying to watch the direction of the attack, but was outsmarted yes! but who else would have been better? would like to see how many metres he covered trying to get to the souths attack.

    As for kicking from Reynolds, it was a heck of a lot better than our poor high balls from Norms, who absolutely was terrible, what made him lash out with his boot when souths did a grubber past him and Norms kicked it across field, 6 again and souths score a try.? We need someone better in organisation in the centre field that what we have now.

    The difference between the two sides is reflected not by the scoreline but by the tries scored, 8 to Souths and 5 for the eels, sure a couple of late ones but 3 tries difference by a very big team that has a few internationals in it as well. Souths will be premiership contenders this year for mine.

    Mahoney needs to be very watchful of his tackle methods and while a terrier, he is still green and needs to be stronger, tries his heart out though. I still believe that Pritchard is the better option over King, and have Mahoney off the bench, but in more targetted times on the field.

    As there is no way we can make the finals now, I think its time for more players to be given their chance to show up in the NRL squad

    If we can talk of changes, then I would be looking at having Gutho at 1, Taka back in the centres, Stone on to the bench, Vave on the bench. I would also drop Norms and give Salmon a run.

    Watching the plays of Cook last night makes me think of the aspect of perhaps the club sounding out Jackson Hastings, who could cover the 9 spot as well as halves. Put his reputation to the side, and put some conditions in a contract and he could add more to the team than what we have now. Just thinking out loud on that one though,

    1. Nathan

      Agree with all Colin except Hastings,I would even try and get Farah for the remainder of the year,give abit of direction around the ruck and show that we need to throw some $ at a decent attacking Hooker,depending on how he goes could last another year,even looking at the UK as the raiders picked up a fairly decent one didn’t they.

      1. Colin Hussey

        Nathan Along with Poppa I have said more than once getting Farah here would benefit the club, play for this year and perhaps next, as he could mentor our 9’s, reports coming out today have Farah going back to the Tigers.

        I do not believe and this is based on what I saw of Mahoney last night that he is up to being the primary 9 at this point of time in his career. I was not that impressed with King, and his dropping of the ball from DH late in the match was terrible, hitting his ankle with the ball in an attempt to pass it.

        We need to have a 2nd #9 for next year and if its out of King and Pritchard, I would have Pritchard. Pritchard if he’s ok to play next round I expect him to come into the run on team and Mahoney on the bench.

        Jackson is a live wire, have read some reports about his issues yet the majority of his team mates at Manly have defended him, I believe the big issue over there is their half back as he cannot stand competition that would show him up. A year or two would be a good deal, and can cover the halves, as well as 9 quite well.

  13. Longfin Eel

    This season has highlighted some issues at the club that have been simmering for decades. Parra are perennial under-performers, yet the club has been unable to make the changes required to rectify this. This season reminds me of the early 90s, and we were fortunate that the Super League debacle offered a way out of that mess. There are so many things wrong at all levels of the club and to think this will be sorted by replacing a coach is very naive. The upcoming review needs to happen ASAP and must be all encompassing. The board also needs to take some initiative to set the course straight and get the right people in because where we are heading is more spoons in upcoming years.

    1. Realistic Eel

      Wayne Bennett SOS!!!! Why do we need Bennett? Because since 1947 we have been an inept basket case of a club except for a few brief periods when we were led by ‘extremely’ strong individuals:
      Early 60s: Thornett
      75 to 80s: Fearnley & Gibson
      Mid 90s to Mid 00s: Brian Smith
      Hence, Bennett is the only character strong enough to change the culture of this club & fix this pathetic mess. The board has never been able to do it, inexperienced coaches like BA can’t do it, we need a STRONG individual because that’s what our history shows. Bernie should present this to Wayne as potentially his greatest legacy. SOS.

      1. Anonymous

        Totally disagree, are you saying that Bennett changed the culture at Newcastle! He couldn’t get out of the place quick enough when Tinkler’s money run out. No longer flitting down from Brisbane in Tinkler’s private jet, he was absolutely a broken man when he had to fly economy. Ask any Newcastle fan about Bennett, I can tell you that most of it is unprintable.

      2. Milo

        Realistic, lets be fair Smith did notably well in first 5 yrs or so but the last few besides 05 were avg too and he also inherited the S League yrs with some decent players.
        Bennett did well with a one city team for a long time and good on him. He struggled with Newcastle and again there are reasons about why / why not.

        I am not calling for BA and the like but am for some serious people to support the footy club in terms of recruitment and transformation into NRL etc. and of course coaching at juniors in which we have done pretty well.
        From reading above there seems to be some politics with Wenty and Parra and that is for others with more know than this eel.

    2. Clive

      I find it incredible that this so called review will most likely be performed by a bloke who just got sacked. Have a look at how far Souths have improved since Maguire left and we are going to use the dope for a review. It’s like a bad dream.

      1. Longfin Eel

        Yeah I don’t know that Maguire has the experience to do a thorough review. We probably need someone like Bennett or Sheens who has seen over many years how things should and should not be done. A review is only as good as the effort you are willing to put in, and if you want to hear only the good stuff, then it is not worth the paper it is written on.

        1. mitch Post author

          Knowing the little I know about BA (I’ve only spoken to him on a couple of occasions, so it’s not much) I was suggest he isn’t the sort of bloke to put his own opinion above others when it’s not working out. He’s honest enough with himself to change

          With that said, there’s a pretty good argument that at least parts of his gameplan aren’t being executed by the players on the field. Still, a review seems wise, across all facets of the football department.

  14. BDon

    Would be interesting to have possession stats for minute 20 to 60, the Bunnies seemed to be coming at us for that whole period, and also stoked up their line speed(not a whinge, just a fact..we copped the first line speed penalty in 2nd half after sets where Souths first man up and kick harassers were allowed plenty of fudging).
    Hard to comprehend but 42 points suggests your forwards didn’t go well, but our pack toiled in that 20-60 period against an in form pack and sheer weight of possession. While we got carved up out wide, the South’s forwards (plus our errors) did their job via field position for the carve up to occur.
    The Sharks put the same try on us 3 times, last night it was 4. The definition of insanity is somewhere in there. We were getting done in a small width of play, RJennngs never threatened the sideline. Up and in ain’t working. I’m no expert, but the good up-and-inners seem to have an umbrella shape from edge forward to outside centre with the winger lurking, being patient, but we’re getting scrambled quickly, maybe after 2 passes. I thought v Cronulla we were shot before the Jennings brothers, maybe ask MJ why he is rushing in, getting stranded and dragging his brother into nowhere.?? Fix this and stop making dumb errors(how do you do that??) and we look 100% better.
    Corey Norman’s ball security in that strip was OK, you could see the inked arm of Reynolds pull the ball after held was called and Norman was trying to free himself. A mini turning point right there.

    1. mitch Post author

      Agreed re the turning point with the Norman ‘drop’. With that said, if we want to compete (or win a title) you need to rise above the calls that possibly go against you.

      See above re Offside’s comments on Kidwell’s defensive changes (bringing in an up and in defensive structure) and how the Jennings boys in particular have failed to cope.

      It is a bit pathetic how easily Jennings scored at least 3 of his tries. What an awful sentence that was to write.

    2. Longfin Eel

      I actually missed that period of the game as I had to step out. I could not believe what I was seeing for the back quarter of the game. The difference to the start of the game was very stark. The first part of the game Parra had their heads up high and were playing with confidence. When I returned for the back end of the game the players had their heads down and looked like wooden spooners. I think a lot of this is mental, but what to do to change the attitude?

  15. Big Derek

    Going over the game again , it’s really hard to stomach the result. I couldn’t get the live as I was at a junior league training session, let me tell you the standard of coaching isn’t great as teams that have won in the 10s/11s are still using the same structure in the older age groups and wonder they aren’t winning.
    Feels like there has been no change to any of our structure which just magnifies our issues
    As. I have said before, these performances have more than losing games as a trigger point, more importantly it impacts in a major way on recruitment for 2019. Anyone who thinks we can move into a new stadium without roster and coaching changes are in denial. We all understand that leaks in the past have been a problem, but recruitment whispers are not suggesting we are having any success. What does Peter Sharp offer in that respect, is there an allure to joining the club.
    Last night sent the frustration of passionate supporters into a tailspin, forwards carried the team, defence in the backs an utter shambles.
    Where is Bernie in all of this as CEO, not a nice as pie interview, a warts and all discussion on what is needed.. Shortly, sponsors will be asking more pointed questions.
    BA deserves another year, but needs to fix defence from set plays and a ridiculous umbrella defence that is proving easy to get outside, otherwise it’s time to go.
    Time for some soul searching and honest reflection from the CEO and Max the Axe.

    1. Avenger

      If Bennett is available we take him, simple as that. I don’t accept this too old crap. We have Donald Trump leading the free world at 70 plus yet a coach of a similar age cannot lead a league team? Give me a break!!

      1. Colin Hussey

        Its not his age thing, he is no NSWelsham and only has eyes for the Brisbane or QLD arena. He got the saints a premiership but after that?

  16. jonboy

    There’s been plenty to day about the BS, I mean RS (right side) defence from last night and rightly so, but we have been playing with a compressed line all year to try and make up for a soft middle, now opposition teams just go wide and have been getting around us all year. Yes, MJ has been horrible in defence but he isnt the Lone Ranger either.

    I’m not a fan of the BA hate but as many of us are starting to acknowledge its a big money JOB and anyone not achieving results in their JOB is going to come under scrutiny. The job he has done over the last few years has been commendable, however with the weight of expectation for the type of year we should be having this year having completely crumbled under its own weight, its not surprising that there is the level of criticism there is.

    I do think its fair to say though that there is still plenty of time to get some daylight between us and the spoon (especially with the Dogs shedding players). We also need to fill those handful of key spots in the roster for next year and elevate some of the other young guys through the end of this year in readiness for next year. BA deserves, (no actually he has earnt the right in my opinion) to see out 2019.

  17. Unicorn Locer

    There are only 16 people in the world who get to be a head coach of an NRL team, there is no way whatsoever Brad Arthur is one of the best 16 coaches in the world.

    The bloke may be a passionate Eels man, but so am I, and so are many fans on here, that doesn’t mean that I’m the right man for the Eels coaching job, it doesn’t mean you are, and it doesn’t mean Arthur is either.

    Yes he’s a good bloke, but he’s also a mediocre rugby league coach.

    His loyalty and his stubbornness worked at first, but soon it will cost him his job.

    – One finals appearance in five years (20% strike rate) isn’t good enough.

    – Zero finals matches wins in five years (0% strike rate) isn’t good enough.

    – Less than a 50% overall win rate isn’t good enough.

    – Claiming the 2018 wooden spoon isn’t good enough.

    If you’re happy with Brad Arthur then you’re happy with failure, you’re happy with mediocrity, you’re happy for the club to remain the cellar dwelling laughing stock of the comp.

    Now I’m aware this is a unicorn site, I’m aware I’m going to be hammered for this comment, and I don’t care, so please give me as many thumbs down as possible to further prove my point. Prove to me that Parramatta fans are either deluded or have extremely low standards.

    We as fans deserve better and should demand better. If you don’t agree then perhaps the wooden spoon should be delivered to your house as I’m sure you’ll enjoy looking at it sitting above the fireplace.

    Give it to me.

    One dislike = one prayer for BA.

    1. sixties

      I’ll give you my tip. If your idea is to come here to label TCT with a name that is used elsewhere, or to mock people’s opinions, then I’d rather you don’t post here. By all means post your opinion about the footy, but don’t come here ridiculing the opinions of others. I’m leaving your post here with my reply. This isn’t hammering your opinion, it’s hammering your attitude to others in this post.

      1. The rev aka Snedden

        Well said sixties my son. If this person only has a eels loss to worry about then they need to take a good hard look at them selfs. Maybe they should spend a day with a person who has cancer n see how much they suffer. Come tell me how much you suffer unicorn spend a day with me n we can watch my mother who has lung cancer wake up most morning vomiting blood n then going to bed not know if she is going to wake up the next day.

        May god bless you unicorn n I pray that you don’t have to suffer like a person with cancer.

        I love watching my team win lose or draw. At the end of the day it’s just a game no one is dying playing the game.

        #Eels4life#

        1. Colin Hussey

          Rev, totally true. My prayers for you and your mother.

          I know how you feel with both my parents suffering the way they did, farewelling my dad as the ambo’s took him away, and my mum at RNS saying to me she’s had enough. Miss the both of them these many years on.

          1. Anonymous

            ignorance and rudeness are not required anywhere, especially on a supporters’ site. Supposedly we are all following the same team, but anyone who disagrees with a small but vocal group of supporters, well suddenly you are a Unicorn! By crikies I know what I would rather be, and I know who I would prefer to share my time talking to, mmm intelligent, considerate people or !!!!!l

    2. Offside

      Apart from deliberately trying to stir the pot i agree with what your saying the black and white of BAs time is not good enough Nd all things come to a end and for parramatta and BA that time is now

  18. Cappy

    Can I ask why with so much salary cap room for 2019 why are there no signing news? Is Arthur even in charge anymore?
    I would go Justin Holbrook fantastic young coach with plenty of experience and has coached everywhere learning his trade.
    He is the next young coach that really could make a impact in the NRL.
    Lets be realistic its only June and the pressure on brad is intense are we even planning for 2019?
    Where is the direction we are headed either fully guarantee Brad will be here next year and let him recruit new players or start looking for a new coach.
    Time is running out.

    1. Rowdy

      Cappy. I would like to address your Q’s if I may. Firstly the coach is in charge of coaching and has a considerable input into who we sign for next year. So say Bernie and Max since the loss to Souths. That should also answer your last request to guarantee BA tenure next year too as it was stated by the same CEO and Chairman of the Board this week and since the speculation re Bennett.
      In regards to Justin Holbrook he is certainly a fanatastic young coach whom we know more about than most. Do your research as hard as your speculation Cappy. JH is probably about 10 years in arrears to where BA was before he got the Parra gig.
      In regards to recruitment, Max , Bernie and Brad do not talk about recruitment negotiations, it is current policy not to do so. Be thankful we have resigned Junior Paulo. His signature will be “another factor” to encourage other players to come to the club along with BA’s popularity and the fact we are a great club moving into the best new stadium in Sydney in 2019.
      Sleep well Cappy. Hopefully these points should give you some real hope.

      1. Cappy

        Your saying JH is ten years behind B.A. c’mon Rowdy, Arthur let go Paulo because he didn’t want to pay overs now he brings him back on massive overs. Even Sterlo said the same thing regarding the money.
        If brad is coach next year then good luck to him but he will likely not get another contract so either way we are looking for a new coach in 2018 or 2019. The wooden spoon is ours for season 2018.
        Anyway im sure our defence will improve V the dragons we just need a bit more effort.

        1. BDon

          Might have this wrong, but I think Paulo’s negotiation coincided with someone finally doing a spreadsheet on our roster/cap, and our offer was blown away by Canberra. The Peats episode followed, we had zilch, in fact less than zilch.

        2. mitch Post author

          Did you say BA brings Paulo back on massive overs? Please. Compare Junior’s output/contract with all of the other props taken off the market. He is very close to the cheapest with arguably the best output. There is no way that is overs, and it over serves to promotes a poorly thought out agenda to attack BA’s recruitment of him.

          Say what you will about results this year, the lack of other signings (although I would argue we’re still well inside an acceptable window), disagree with me regarding BA staying for 2019 or individual players; but to say Junior is on overs for 2019 beyond is pretty ridiculous line of argument IMO.

  19. Rowdy

    Cappy. I would like to address your Q’s if I may. Firstly the coach is in charge of coaching and has a considerable input into who we sign for next year. So say Bernie and Max since the loss to Souths. That should also answer your last request to guarantee BA tenure next year too as it was stated by the same CEO and Chairman of the Board this week and since the speculation re Bennett. In regards to Justin Holbrook he is certainly a fanatastic young coach whom we know more about than most. Do your research as hard… Read more »

    Comment awaiting moderation

  20. Rowdy

    Cappy. I would like to address your Q’s if I may. Firstly the coach is in charge of coaching and has a considerable input into who we sign for next year. So say Bernie and Max since the loss to Souths. That should also answer your last request to guarantee BA tenure next year too as it was stated by the same CEO and Chairman of the Board this week and since the speculation re Bennett. In regards to Justin Holbrook he is certainly a fanatastic young coach whom we know more about than most. Do your research as hard… Read more »

  21. Anonymous

    Ill tell you all this. If things are not sorted ASAP we will loose our brightest future stars.
    We have alot of good juniors coming through and if BA doesnt give them an opportunity then we will loose them just like we have lost others.
    Clubs will offer overs and it will be to hard to resist.
    On top of that if the players dont see BA willing to give them an opportunity they will leave.
    There has to be a pathway and it seems other clubs are doing it except us.
    I promise this we will loose 5/6 of our best juniors in the coming years.
    I already know some big name 18yo – 19yo – 20yo who are being courted and propositioned bye other clubs now.
    We need to pull our finger out and be proactive instead of reactive.
    Unfortunately i dont think we have hit our lowest point just yet and the situation we are currently in wont change in the next few years.
    Our playing roster is disgraceful and we need a clean out.
    No offence our recruitment is ordinary also.
    If you think Stone, Mahoney, Salmon are our clubs saviours your kidding yourself. They wouldnt even be in top squads at other clubs yet these guys are our clubs future.
    These players might offer something in the future but i am yet to see what others rave about.
    We need players with experience with a good blend of youth.

    1. sixties

      Mahoney has only just hit first grade. Stone and Salmon are yet to hit NRL. I think they’ll be good first graders, but we won’t really know until they hit the top grade. Are people calling them “saviours”? I think you’re stretching it for dramatic effect. Obviously your opinion is that they won’t measure up to first grade.
      So you don’t rate them but you’re suggesting that there are others who are better that aren’t getting or won’t get a shot from BA.
      I agree that the roster needs a massive overhaul. I agree that there are potentially very good players coming through the 20s or into the 20s right now. I’ve watched them from junior reps up. It’s the best group of young talent I’ve witnessed in a long time.
      We will lose players, of that there’s no doubt. Look at how many are in the 20s squad. The club can’t keep them all. You only have to get a few clubs offering top 30 deals to them, and in matching every offer you fill your own top 30 with multiple kids before they’re ready and blow out the cap with disproportionate deals. That’s what happened with players like Loko and Toutai years ago. The key is keeping the ones that are best for Parra, and locking them up before other clubs jump in with massive offers. I think we should have kept Keppie, but we have to now move past that.
      Personally I’d prefer to play a number of them in ISP, rather than Wenty contracted players.
      I also believe that we will have a number of players who’ve come through our system that will earn top 30 and rookie deals next year.

  22. The rev aka Snedden

    Good marks Mitch except George Jennings as we all know a winger should stay on his wing. But George should also come in when Michael comes in. In what started out as a good 20/25 minutes turned into a nightmare. Brad Arthur was right in saying there was a game to be won if we wanted it. We just didn’t take it.

    I’m not going to sit here and hammer Hoffman …gee those bombs Renolds was putting up most wingers what have had trouble catching those. But I will hammer 2 players Hoffman n mau straight after scoring dropping (watching) the ball go out. That was more manu’s fault he had more chance of catching the ball instead he watchers it go out.

    I think it’s time we blooded salmon this week while not continue to blood another young buck.

    My reason for this is because it’s time French moves to the wing n gutherson go back to full back n. do we drop Norman idk if talk is right his on the outer then I say yes bring in Moses n salmon start working on this new halfs combonation. We will have a young spine which is good will see our team in the future.

    As for all this talk about benny or Michael Macuire coming to parra I hope brad sees out his contract. Yes I was one who wanted him gone but my opinion has changed.

    We played very good footy in the opening 20/25 minutes n the last 10 minutes of the game. We just need to continue to play like that for 80 minutes.

    Talking about that opening 20/25 minutes leads me to mannah I really feel for the guy he cops a hammering big time on this site n the other (parasite) by the parasites over there. Mannah was playing well quick play the balls n hit ups he was playing well it wasn’t until he went off that we started playing poorly. Mannah brings a lot to our team weather ppl like it or not.

    Look our forwards really muscled up n matched the rabbitoes pack. It was our back line that conceded the try’s. I thought our packed was very good. Mannah n gower n brown really set the platform for us to win. It was a shame our backs let them down.

    Next week we come up against a side we have had the wood on for atleast the last 5 yrs. I unlike some will be tipping our boys to win if we played like we did in that opening 20/25 Minutes.

    My team for next week should be as is.

    1. Gutherson
    2. French
    3. Hoffman
    4. Hayne
    5. G. Jennings
    6. Salmon ( rested Norman foot injury )
    7. Moses
    8. Alvaro
    9. King
    10 Peni
    11. Takarangi
    12. Niukore
    13. Brown.

    Bench.
    14. Mahoney ( smith in if Mahoney is suspended )
    15. Gower
    16. Mannah
    17. Mau

    18th man
    Vave.

    Remember ppl it’s not brad missing the tackles or not catching the ball.

    #Eels4life#

  23. Colin Hussey

    Pondering over our season, I wonder about it and why we are in the situation we are in now. All I see in many areas is the almost totality of negativity towards the club, players but more especially the coach. To some it does not matter what is said to try and support the coach in particular the rebuffs come and say he’s had 5 years and he has the squad he wants and many other similar points. Few want to think of anything of the past few years and how the team was pre BA, and the simple fact of how many coaches in the past had tossed the eels job in part way through their contracts.

    I for one am not one that puts the full amount of blame onto our coach but he does perhaps need to look at alternatives as to the way the team is going, for me I wonder how many of the players really want to be part of the eels, we know there are 15 players off contract end of the year, and there has been signals from the club that we will be looking at 10 spots to be filled, also said at one point is that even those on contract beyond this year will also be looked at. Does any of that affect the players as for their futures? That I believe is the big question that is running through all of their minds.

    In this mornings SMH, there is a small article that has the caption Brad Arthour backs himself to turn the eels around, that to me shows where this person is at, he is a person that has not just self belief but I also I believe he has it in his players, or dare I suggest many or most of the players. To go forward there may well be the need for the players to look at themselves in the same way and ask themselves if they have the same beliefs, or more essentially do they perhaps want to play for the club, coach, each other and the supporters out there who are looking down at this point of the season.

    Lets not forget that its public knowledge that the club is looking for 10 players to be brought in next year with 15 of our players off contract and even some on contract may be moved on, under those circumstances I wonder how many of them actually really want to be here, and if they don’t then surely it would be best if they left, there is still time for them to perhaps get contracts elsewhere, if they can’t and decide to play out, then they really need to commit to the club and use what’s left of the year as an audition for next season.

    If a player/s does not want to be here then he should ask for a release, there is little doubt in my mind that there is a couple of them in that position, and its possibly the cause of a breakdown in general team morale, it doesn’t take much for an infection to spread either.

    We moved from the Central coast last year, and we rent a house now that has had a moth plague, no matter what I did I could not find the source, I simply thought it was the area we are in. Yesterday however, I happened to notice a clear cereal container at the back of the pantry cupboard that had cobwebs in it. Getting it down I noticed it was full of moths and their maggots. on the bottom of the container which I thought had been empty and cleaned out I noticed around 1mm of cereal crumbs the source of the infestation. I poured boiling water in and killed them off, and then the lot went into a sealed bag and into the dirt bin.

    I could not see myself using that container again, and why it was tossed, but I had to kill the maggots at the same time otherwise they could get out and infest somewhere else.

    It doesn’t take much to infect and contaminate, and I wonder about this with the team, how can they show their support for a coach and all and sundry who has shown and still does show his belief in the team, players and all? Thing is though, they also need to show the same belief in themselves as the coach does in his abilities.

    1. Ray

      So Col, are you suggesting we should get rid of some of the non performing maggots, pour boiling water over them ? LOL I thought we had a reasonable chance of winning after watching the first half but it all disintegrated from the start of the second half. I think part of our problems is we have players who genuinely want to be there to play for the club and for that matter BA as well.
      Then we have players who are mainly there for the easy money, those who are getting a few hundred thousand odd a season, beats having to work a 9 to 5 job all year types who don’t always give 100% & give up early. Maybe we should have an incentive system. Oh well I’ll still keeping following them if the club doesn’t do the wrong thing by BA. Don’t mind being branded a 🦄

      1. Colin Hussey

        The point with the boiling water was to kill the maggots, I do not nor tried to say that its a way with any player or person that is underperforming, live maggots always breed and until you get rid of them all they will always be a problems….

        My primary point is that there are players in the side that are very much underperforming and when it happens at crucial times in the game with a dumb but dare I suggest deliberate play that will advantage the opposition, and they should be given the option to leave, and let another player have a go at his spot.

        If you can get a chance to watch the second half again you will see some of the actions I am talking about.

    2. BDon

      We’ve had a front office debacle since 2010. Andersen, Kearney and Stuart all became ‘bad’ coaches under the spell of our admin gurus, Brad Arthur would need to be better than Jack Gibson to have broken that spell. And while i’m playing the JG card, he got it totally right when he suggested that it all starts (or finishes) with the front office. Sure, BA’s results board isn’t that great, but the crap going on above and around him guaranteed him those results.He deserves a shot at the better world that Donnelly/Gurr will deliver, they just couldn’t deliver a world that is any worse???, i reckon they’ve now got their eyes wide open to the pitfalls of a failing NRL club. Brad Arthur will have to accept change in the structures, people and playing roster around him, doing things the same doesn’t sound like a good recipe. Without change, he goes into year 6 unrefreshed and burnout lurking. I can see a case for the ‘clean slate’ approach but the risk is that we can’t or don’t get the right people. So according to Gibson, if Donnelly/Gurr get it wrong (ie front office) probably won’t matter who is coach and each 5 years we ll get a 2017 sugar shot.
      And that dirty thing called money, I keep thinking, what would it cost to unwind many of the contracts of players and coaching staff who have been hoisted onto the dartboard. Probably more than Stuart’s cleanout.

  24. Shane

    It’s a shame to see our good juniors leaving and believe something has to be done to fix this, what I am not sure but we need a better path ways for our juniors. I thought we played really well in 30 minutes of the first half than the wheels seemed to fall off. Norman is a good 7, just needs to be more consistent and as for Moses I think he should be moved on, to me he has no footy IQ and runs around and sideways too much not knowing what to do so how are the rest of the team expected to know. He looks like a headless chicken to me so I believe we need a better 6 to support Norman. We also are missing aquality prop and 2nd rower with a offload and a top quality hooker ( don’t under stand why we did not get Farah for 2 seasons to mentor Mahoney) to be a top 8 side and get rid of Hoffman and sorry to say it but I do not think French has a spot in our side as well. Defense structure is not adaquit and Kidwell is not the person for the job as New Zealand fail because of his structures. BA needs better help and people he trusts so he will listen to them.

    1. Offside

      To hit home the point i was talking to a young player from another club who is looking at finding a club i asked him if hed spoke with Parra he has but neither he or his manager think its a good path way club at his age. This young fella still has another year to play 20s

      1. Mr Perpetual Commotion

        If he’s looking to find a new club at nineteen years of age he must not be all that highly regarded, otherwise his existing club would be seeking to keep him. What’s your point? Parramatta has no trouble attracting juniors. It’s what happens once they hit the senior grades that has become the point of contention for many.

        1. Offside

          Its not about weather the kid can play More about how juniors and managers see the club in terms of player development and pathways.

          1. sixties

            Offside, the issue, prior to the current group of juniors, was actually the calibre of talent produced by our system. Read the list in this post http://thecumberlandthrow.com/2018/04/13/the-spotlight-misinformation-and-the-blame-game/
            Now tell me who came back to bite us as lost talent.
            There are far more future first graders in our current programs, so the issue is making sure that we transition the best ones. We can’t keep them all, and they aren’t quite ready yet. It’s going to happen over the next 18 months.

          2. Longfin Eel

            Over the past couple of years, most of the back end of the top 30 (or whatever it was before that) players have been seasoned fringe first graders. I wonder if we would be much better placed to have a policy that at least some of these positions are filled by young players almost ready to be called up to first grade. This year there happened to be some empty spots, but I don’t know that this was by design. Yes you would take a gamble that you don’t need them as injury cover until at least mid year, but it might be a risk worth taking. It also offers the benefit of getting these guys accustomed to the NRL hype, whilst still mostly playing lower grades.

          3. mitch Post author

            I completely agree with this sentiment. It’s all well and good to call up a David Gower, Peni Terepo or Tony Williams, but to rely on Vave, Matagi, Auva’a to fill in, you’d be better off with some young bloke on a experience impacted salary.

            However, in that light, it is easier said than done picking the first list from the second.

        1. Offside

          No the player in question plays in a position where it would be better to go to another club to see a path way much like jamon salmon did last year to us.

          I just found the statement interesting. I’ve bashed BA alot and i feel rightly so one thing that BA has been criticized for is his junior development and pathways now you cannot just blame BA for this but as a club with the catchment area we have to not be producing talent is a worry.

          1. Colin Hussey

            There’s a lot of dams, major rivers that have huge catchment areas and are more often than not only partially full/empty rather than full for most of the time.

          2. Colin Hussey

            What was offside saying Mitch? Relating to a team that’s in a drought of wins but we have a big catchment area that appears to not be supplying what’s needed.

          3. mitch Post author

            Mate I read yours and Offside’s comment several times and still couldnt work out for the life of me what you meant. Maybe I’m just slow.

      2. MAX

        Offside, our junior pathway has been flawed since Peter Nolan left the club. Too many People Been in there for way too long, with no fresh ideas! I was told on the weekend that we missed out on Jesse Ramien before he signed with the Sharks because we offered him peanuts!

  25. Michael Formosa

    110 comments …. it’s safe to say even the most loyal Parra fans has had enough of this shit. Looking forward to the week off!

    1. mitch Post author

      Ha certainly sick of the performances, probably indicative that we’re disagreeing on where to from here, though.

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