The Cumberland Throw

Parra Season Statistics – Annus Horribilis By Numbers

Well what a diabolical season that was. After so much anticipation following a top 4 finish in 2017, Parramatta played out a very poor 2018 with no rhyme nor reason as to why things went wrong.

But what about where things went wrong?

Do the numbers tell us anything that we haven’t already seen out on the field?

This post provides the opportunity to review some team statistics and, importantly, some individual returns. All Eels fans have opinions about the side’s overall performances, along with which players we feel were letting the team down. Are we justified to have such strong opinions?

The tables presented might just support the stance taken by some fans, or they might disprove the strong beliefs of others. As you check them out, reflect on your opinions and how accurate you were.

Here’s the stats that matter for the Eels 2018 season:

Team

Finish – 16th

Points for – 374 (16th)

Points against – 550 (13th)

Wins – 6

Losses – 18

Players Used – 31 (16th)

Tries – 66 (14th)

Goals – 55 (16th)

Run Metres – 33,694m (11th)

Line Breaks – 68 (16th)

Offloads – 195 (12th)

Tackles – 8239 (2nd)

Missed Tackles – 563 (9th)

Errors – 237 (9th)

Penalties Conceded – 200 (7th)

Interestingly, the Eels finished middle of the table in discipline (conceded penalties), errors, and missed tackles, The goal kicking problems were exemplified in the team finishing last for goals despite finishing 14th with tries.

Surprisingly, the Eels didn’t finish last with running metres. With the much discussed inability of the forwards to make metres, a bottom two finish seemed certain.

It was no surprise for the Eels to finish second for tackles made. Some matches seemed like a nothing more than an exercise in dealing out tackle practice.

 

The average completion rates for the season for all teams sits between 74% and 78%. The concern for the Eels was not their season average, but rather where the poor completion rates contributed to the losses.

Parramatta commenced the season with six straight losses. Five of those six losses featured a completion rate below their season average. Against Penrith (67%), Manly (69), Tigers (72), Penrith again (68) and the Raiders (74), the completion rates contributed significantly to the losses.

Games Played

First Name Surname Games
Daniel Alvaro 19
Kirisome Auva’a 6
Nathan Brown 15
Kenny Edwards 8
Kane Evans 8
Bevan French 18
David Gower 16
Clint Gutherson 19
Jarryd Hayne 15
Josh Hoffman 8
Michael Jennings 24
George Jennings 20
Oregon Kaufusi 2
Cameron King 11
Reed Mahoney 9
Tim Mannah 18
Suaia Matagi 9
Manu Ma’u 14
Tepai Moeroa 19
Mitchell Moses 22
Marata Niukore 14
Corey Norman 23
Kaysa Pritchard 8
Jaeman Salmon 5
Beau Scott 7
Will Smith 13
Ray Stone 1
Brad Takairangi 20
Peni Terepo 20
Siosaia Vave 12
Tony Williams 5

The Eels used more players than any other club. Season ending injuries and long terms in the casualty ward were the order of the day. Going so deep into the roster gives opportunities but it doesn’t help team cohesion.

Will the team benefit from the young players getting their start in such an injury riddled year? Time will tell.

 

Attack

First Name Surname Line Break Try Assist Line Break Assist Runs Run Metres Tackle Break
Daniel Alvaro 0 0 0 232 1972 21
Kirisome Auva’a 2 0 0 68 568 8
Nathan Brown 1 0 1 240 2062 21
Kenny Edwards 2 0 0 74 646 17
Kane Evans 0 0 1 62 554 5
Bevan French 5 3 0 115 1130 21
David Gower 2 1 0 135 1264 22
Clint Gutherson 1 8 11 226 2288 13
Jarryd Hayne 8 4 2 165 1672 49
Josh Hoffman 5 0 0 79 650 15
Michael Jennings 6 2 4 226 2051 50
George Jennings 9 0 1 290 2687 39
Oregon Kaufusi 0 0 0 20 162 1
Cameron King 0 0 0 21 192 0
Reed Mahoney 0 0 1 34 275 2
Tim Mannah 2 1 0 189 1969 20
Suaia Matagi 0 0 0 71 697 5
Manu Ma’u 3 1 1 179 1600 22
Tepai Moeroa 3 1 0 177 1596 16
Mitchell Moses 5 10 6 87 944 25
Marata Niukore 0 0 0 106 951 8
Corey Norman 4 14 13 169 1582 38
Kaysa Pritchard 1 1 2 28 306 4
Jaeman Salmon 2 1 0 13 126 0
Beau Scott 0 0 0 33 308 2
Will Smith 0 0 0 65 591 23
Ray Stone 0 0 0 2 18 0
Brad Takairangi 1 4 8 175 1553 20
Peni Terepo 2 3 2 217 1907 46
Siosaia Vave 3 0 1 107 921 16
Tony Williams 1 0 0 46 453 12

A genuine concern was the try assists and line break assists produced by Mitch Moses. A return of 10 and 6 respectively was not what any team would want from their half. These figures look even worse when compared to Norman returning 14 and 13 and even positional nomad Clint Gutherson produced 8 and 11 from only 19 games.

On a positive note, the form of Jarryd Hayne could be measured in his line breaks. In only 15 games, Hayne produced the second highest number of tackle breaks (49), with Michael Jennings registering one more break after playing in all 24 matches!

As far as forwards are concerned, Terepo is the quiet achiever with 46 breaks in 20 games. He certainly provided a return on investment when it came to his contract extension.

Points

First Name Surname Tries Conversions Penalty Goal Field Goal Points
Daniel Alvaro 0 0 0 0 0
Kirisome Auva’a 2 0 0 0 8
Nathan Brown 1 0 0 0 4
Kenny Edwards 1 0 0 0 4
Kane Evans 0 0 0 0 0
Bevan French 7 0 0 0 28
David Gower 1 0 0 0 4
Clint Gutherson 6 10 0 0 44
Jarryd Hayne 10 0 0 0 40
Josh Hoffman 6 0 0 0 24
Michael Jennings 6 0 0 0 24
George Jennings 8 0 0 0 32
Oregon Kaufusi 0 0 0 0 0
Cameron King 0 0 0 0 0
Reed Mahoney 0 0 0 0 0
Tim Mannah 1 0 0 0 4
Suaia Matagi 0 0 0 0 0
Manu Ma’u 3 0 0 0 12
Tepai Moeroa 0 0 0 0 0
Mitchell Moses 4 36 9 0 106
Marata Niukore 0 0 0 0 0
Corey Norman 4 0 0 0 16
Kaysa Pritchard 2 0 0 0 8
Jaeman Salmon 0 0 0 0 0
Beau Scott 0 0 0 0 0
Will Smith 1 0 0 0 4
Ray Stone 0 0 0 0 0
Brad Takairangi 1 0 0 0 4
Peni Terepo 0 0 0 0 0
Siosaia Vave 2 0 0 0 8
Tony Williams 0 0 0 0 0

The points scored speaks for itself. When your top points scorer barely registers 100 points, and the top try scorer only just hits double figures, your attack is in a bad place. The reality is that these numbers scream wooden spoon.

 

Defence

First Name Surname Tackles Missed Tackles Tackle Ineffective Tackle Attempts Tackle Effective %
Daniel Alvaro 752 23 27 802 94
Kirisome Auva’a 49 5 3 57 86
Nathan Brown 525 15 14 554 95
Kenny Edwards 157 12 5 174 90
Kane Evans 141 9 11 161 88
Bevan French 94 22 7 123 76
David Gower 358 14 15 387 93
Clint Gutherson 195 20 10 225 87
Jarryd Hayne 123 22 6 151 81
Josh Hoffman 37 7 0 44 84
Michael Jennings 404 37 15 456 89
George Jennings 102 16 7 125 82
Oregon Kaufusi 37 1 2 40 93
Cameron King 341 20 6 367 93
Reed Mahoney 326 22 16 364 90
Tim Mannah 476 12 19 507 94
Suaia Matagi 170 12 6 188 90
Manu Ma’u 436 27 17 480 91
Tepai Moeroa 600 34 28 662 91
Mitchell Moses 351 63 15 429 82
Marata Niukore 357 16 9 382 93
Corey Norman 340 45 25 410 83
Kaysa Pritchard 258 23 8 289 89
Jaeman Salmon 71 2 3 76 93
Beau Scott 125 3 5 133 94
Will Smith 230 17 15 262 88
Ray Stone 4 1 0 5 80
Brad Takairangi 348 17 14 379 92
Peni Terepo 559 25 19 603 93
Siosaia Vave 209 17 9 235 89
Tony Williams 64 4 4 72 89

Is it any surprise that the wingers have the worst efficiency numbers? Their total tackles is amongst the lowest each week, and the successful attacking raids in the quarter often hit the wings, so you’d expect this. The poorest efficiency fell to Bevan French (76%) and it must be acknowledged that he struggled to hit and stick in significant moments this year.

Nathan Brown (95%), Tim Mannah, Beau Scott and Daniel Alvaro (all 94%) topped the efficiency list, the type of return that you should see from middle forwards. There were encouraging stats (93%) from debutants Niukore and Salmon, indicating that these blokes weren’t overawed by their elevation into first grade.

 

Discipline

First Name Surname Errors Penalties Conceded Sin Bins
Daniel Alvaro 2 14 1
Kirisome Auva’a 5 3 0
Nathan Brown 6 8 0
Kenny Edwards 4 6 0
Kane Evans 1 4 0
Bevan French 26 4 0
David Gower 4 5 0
Clint Gutherson 14 11 0
Jarryd Hayne 11 4 0
Josh Hoffman 10 0 0
Michael Jennings 27 14 2
George Jennings 15 1 0
Oregon Kaufusi 1 0 0
Cameron King 4 2 0
Reed Mahoney 3 9 0
Tim Mannah 2 14 2
Suaia Matagi 5 3 0
Manu Ma’u 5 4 0
Tepai Moeroa 5 7 0
Mitchell Moses 24 17 3
Marata Niukore 4 4 0
Corey Norman 18 16 1
Kaysa Pritchard 4 5 0
Jaeman Salmon 2 1 0
Beau Scott 0 4 0
Will Smith 12 4 0
Ray Stone 0 0 0
Brad Takairangi 9 14 1
Peni Terepo 11 10 0
Siosaia Vave 0 5 0
Tony Williams 2 2 0

It’s impossible to avoid the error counts that certain players returned. Moses, Jennings and French received some of the highest criticism from supporters and they feature as the leaders in the team’s error count. Both Moses and Jennings compounded their errors by being heavily penalised and also recording trips to the sin bin.

Should all of these players feature in the top grade next year, it’s vital that their discipline improves. When the number of close losses is taken into account, the discipline of individuals is crucial.

 

It’s not been an easy year to report on so many Eels losses. There’s not much variation in how you can present poor statistical returns. Hopefully 2019 provides the opportunity to analyse far more victories than defeats.

In Parramatta Eels habebat anno, ut obliviscatur, so we need next year to be a year to remember.

 

Yours in Blue and Gold.

Colmac (with Sixties)

https://i0.wp.com/thecumberlandthrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Champion-Data.png?resize=194%2C79

Stats courtesy of Champion Data.

All these stats and more can be viewed on our match centre at http://mc.championdata.com/nrl/ including live game stats.

 

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58 thoughts on “Parra Season Statistics – Annus Horribilis By Numbers

  1. Trouser Eel

    Good info here. It’s good to have this kind of reference when looking at team performance. The Tim Mannah bashers need to have a look at this before they open their gobs.

    1. sixties

      Tim might be in the twilight of his career, but there is no question that he gives his all every time he takes the field for Parra. His tackle efficiency and metres gained placed him near the top of the team. I thought it was one of his best years.

    2. Salty Pete

      So true Trouser. Teams often selfdestruct when form runs bad. It is a testament to the character and influence of Tim Manah that the team stayed united in spite of such adversity. In years to come his legacy will be much more appreciated.

  2. The rev aka Snedden.

    Good read Colmac.

    The players with poor discipline are the ones who were so out of form & it shows with these stats Mitch Moses n Michael Jennings, Corey Norman n beven French. On French I think a lot of his errors came thru with his attitude not wanting to play fullback.

    On defence we have to applaud Daniel alvaro a massive 94% in tackles if only that was a team high then we would be nere the top 8/4 every year.

    1. sixties

      Rev, do you mean “only wanting to play fullback”?
      Bev went through a rough patch this year with the high ball and getting bundled into touch. The touch line was his enemy like no other season. He has been renowned for making much better decisions in the past. This year, it seemed like every option was the wrong one. It also seemed like the high ball, a previous strength, was now a major weakness. It was tough to watch him struggle so much.

      1. Colin Hussey

        Sixties, I mentioned on another blog about Bev and how he was this year, I think his confidence was down, especially when one considers the support he had last year with the centres in Taka and MJ, this year Taka was a jack of most positions and MJ had a season he would like to forget,

        To me Bev needs to get his confidence back and that includes having players around him that can help him in the defence area, Hayne could be big for him, in helping with the reading of the fullbacks role. I also think his knee injury has played on his mind as well, bearing in mind he’s still very young and we all know what he can do when fully fit and his mind is in the right place I would not like to lose him.

          1. Anonymous

            Yes I realise he’s still contracted for next year, but he has said in the papers that he will look at things end of the year, I sincerely hope that the club works with him to overcome his problems and does not let him go. I think with some ego heads being brought back to earth and the departure of others, we will see a new eels team and I suspect a whole new attitude and era begin next year.

          2. sixties

            The concern for Bev is that I believe Sivo has been bought for NRL, not ISP. If Jennings and Gutho play in the centres, then Ferguson will play wing. Hayne takes fullback. The Bev competes with George Jennings for next shot at wing.

          3. Colin Hussey

            You are likely right sixties and it will be an interesting tussle between George and Bev for the wing spot, both of them will have a good amount of competition with each other but, it adds interest with Sivo coming into calculations.

  3. Ben

    Good read, but alas not good reading fellas.
    Would love to get stats on penalties conceded after an error, I want names.
    I want penalties in opp 1/3 in D, to give them piggybacks out of their half… I want names.

    1. Metal Stud

      And what about tries conceded the set or two after a penalty is conceded. Sterlo mentioned many times in his weekly reviews that our mental resilience was not existent this year.

        1. Colmac

          Yeah I can got those stats but as mentioned below its hard for me to get them as we would have to start paying for stats.

  4. BDon

    Tks Colmac, as you suggest, the numbers tell a story that our discipline (errors, penalties, completions) were middling, as was missed tackles, but our attack was bottom drawer. A couple of contributory areas that don’t show up clearly in the stats were our kicking game and red zone defence. With the latter, we allowed a stack of tries unopposed out wide, are these allocated to missed tackles? The last man wears the rap for a team deficiency?
    And to applaud Tim Mannah’s stats, I reckon also he got pinged for some of the softest ruck penalties ever seen, but he was not alone there, all teams copped it.

  5. Colmac

    Hi All,

    Glad you have (some what) enjoyed the stats that have been put up.

    Most stats that have been asked for I can get, but, as I work for a sports data company, stats we supply are paid for by our clients. I have been given permission to run stats for free for TCT for Eels games only. If I ask to get more in depth stats, I get asked why and who for.

    I would love to deliver more but I am in some ways restrained to. Some of my analysis just comes from watching games and I use the numbers to back that up.

    Apologies for not being able to have more drilled down stats. I can try and clear up some stat info but thats about it.

  6. Metal Stud

    Great post guys,

    One thing we all agree on is our attack was woeful this year, especially when comparing it to last year….at least from a visual standpoint. Two areas that stand out for me are line breaks (16th) and offloads (12th). In 2017 these ‘seemed’ to be areas of strength for a resurgent Eels team that played a balanced combination of well rehearsed set moves and off the cuff footy. Do the stats reflect this? Do we know what the 2017 comparisons are?

    This year the set moves looked laboured, lacked intensity and the offloads dried up big time therefore putting out oppositions under little pressure. Did BA change the game plan? Did our preseason reflect this? We just didn’t seem willing to chance our arm this year in classical Eels attack. A huge example of this was Norman and Moses failing to dig into the line on almost every set play and telegraphing their passes so our outside backs were monstered. Pedestrian stuff.

    The frustration continues…

    MS

    1. Colin Hussey

      MS, frustration yes! best thing I think and I am trying to do this now is to just watch for developments, such as the review findings being handed down, not that the general public will see it all but more especially the recommendations that come from it, however I suspect that there will be some details that will reveal several specific areas of where the club failed in, and it wont be 2018 exclusive.

      I will be surprised if there is not some direct pointers to the behind the scenes running of the football side of things especially the lack of staff in specific needed areas.

      Between now and when its publicly revealed there will be a smattering of players who will be leaving like revealed today with Cameron King, who actually was quite pleasant in the way he announced his departure, well done Cam..

      1. Metal Stud

        Yep lets wait and see hey Colin. Unfortunately this has been happening for near on 3 decades now. It sounds like this year the review will be somewhat ruthless. We need it.

        Its seems last years departure of Ron Palmer and others had a huge influence on the club. I also wonder how many line breaks and offloads Semi contributed to last years stats. What a loss he turned out to be.

        Well done Cam King. Gracious in departure, a wholehearted performer and good clubman during his time here. A likeable member of the squad. It’s a shame to think last years run to the finals may well be his career highlight, unless he can pick up a gig in the UK.

        MS

        1. Colin Hussey

          MS, its interesting isn’t it re Ron Palmer, he was soundly criticised in certain sections of the so called eels fan base (Not so much real supporters though) of how old and dated his training methods were, get rid of him was the call – retire old man and I put in polite sayings from the others rather than what they said.

          Many of them and their tales of woe got to me and still do, this year because there was an AFL trainer brought in and carry ons continued, would appear to me that many in certain sections of the eels outside base actually are happy with our woes as it gives them the chance to vent their speel, as few of them really put much thought into the game, and still have not changed just gotten on with the vendetta’s.

          Forgotten easily what was done in progression.

          1. sixties

            Its my understanding that both Lachie and Adrian will continue to work with the team. I was fortunate to have about ten minutes speaking with Adrian Jimenez last weekend and he’s already champing at the bit about next season.

      2. sixties

        Colin, I was not surprised in the manner in which Cam King announced his departure. He was one of the genuine good blokes – as evidenced by his community work. Vave is another. These fellas may not get the headlines as players, but when there were special community groups or individuals who came to training for meet and greets, these blokes would do more than the photo or signature. They’d stay and talk to people. I watched both be last to leave when the team would be on a break between sessions. In one instance Vave remained talking with a woman and her child who was in a wheelchair. He then offered to help push the chair to their car, something that they were grateful for. There are other instances I’m aware of but its not my business to report.

        As for the review, I hope that we as supporters are made aware of as many findings as they can tell us. I don’t expect to know every detail but the greater the transparency, the better.

        1. Colin Hussey

          sixties I read that a lot regarding some of the players, as it seems most if not all of the players are very open to help supporters and make them feel part of the club. Would love to be able to get down some time next year, all going well.

          I agree with you about the review and really was where I was heading in what I said. It would be good for some home truths be kept in house but also some of them to be made public, its something if handled right, will bring the team and supporter base back together I believe.

          1. sixties

            Colin, if I’m honest, I think that this year has seen the biggest disconnect between supporters and players. From the open hostility on social media, to the distance between players and spectators at ANZ and lack of open days, there is a palpable separation.
            Wins help, but I think the club/players need to do more.

          2. Colin Hussey

            Cannot disagree with that as its a season that I’m glad is over, and for the first time ever I have absolutely no interest in this years finals series, and I put that down to how the eels have gone, but I never gave up on them and never will.

    2. sixties

      Metal Stud, this was the tough thing for me. I know that BA encourages players to back themselves if the opportunity is there, but then he expects the team to back up any error with a strong defensive set. I reckon this aspect was impacted by a negative mindset. To that end, the matches that we led and got run down in were indicative of not being able to be positive about our footy.
      The forwards have trained in offloading skills and to link with other forwards in passing exchanges. That try that Hayne scored off Terepo was a result of such skills work.
      If you get hold of the trial footage, that was how they trained during the pre-season. The amount of training that’s devoted to keeping the ball moving was in no way reflected in matches. I’ve mentioned many times before about my frustration in watching matches after watching the preparation.
      Spot on about the halves not digging into the line.

      1. Metal Stud

        Yeah I watched the trials and they seemed a progression on our form from the end of last year. It was very encouraging!. Fast forward to the second half of round one against the Panthers and we put the cue in the rack…….and our season never recovered. Our mental toughness evaporated overnight.

        1. Colin Hussey

          The Maitland trial really made me think this year was going to be such a big one, the first 25 or so of the Penrith match where we were in front with the opposition at Zero completely changed with the missed tackle that allowed Penriths first try and end of our season.

          I still cannot understand the why of that as the eels were still in a commanding lead, but they simply went tackle shy for the next 120minutes and beyond.

  7. The Captain

    I had such hopes for Moses. He was on fire at the end of last season and through the world cup. But these numbers can’t be ignored.

    Do we chalk this up as yet another failed Eels half or do we forge ahead in the hope that he finds form? Let’s not forget he’s the same age as Munster, so we can’t really play the “he’ll mature into the role” card.

    Such a disappointment. Why are the 6 and 7 jersey so cursed for the Blue and Gold??

  8. Anonymous

    Its amazing the difference of perspective stats show us.
    I am a Mahoney fan.
    But looking at all the stats between King and Mahoney kings statistics are better in nearly ever area of the game. missed tackles, Ineffective tackles, penalties conceded, Just makes for a very interesting read..

    1. Colin Hussey

      Anon, bear in mind that King has years more experience playing in the top grade of RL, Mahoney is in his first year of top side experience, looking at the comparison between King, Mahoney, & Pritchard in an overall of the stats, then how many matches each have played. Given also the aspect with King that he has more experience overall than either Reed or King.

      Reed may have worse stats in a couple of areas owing to how many top grade games he’s played in. Reed is on a steep learning curve owing to his age and basically rapid rise to the top.

      With the full off season ahead he will have developed more than he has this year condition and adapting to the higher standards. Not all players make a top grade early with wiz bang capabilities and stay that way for the rest of their years. The old 2nd year syndrome is still in vogue and some players end with that until they finish.

      I believe Reed is the 9 going forward, Kaysa is worth keeping in back up and likely for rotation between the two.

      As for penalties, its the worst aspect of watching RL, as the inconsistency that is on show for all to see is quite pathetic really, often the decisions change after the half time break as they need to juggle which team gets them and for what reason and at what field position for effectiveness.

    2. sixties

      I link Kings form to the halves. He was the perfect dummy half for their combination last year, with superb service that seemed to read their minds. This year, I wonder how his form was impacted by both halves demanding the ball.

      1. Colin Hussey

        I guess its the classic aspect of team play, if you have a position in the team and a link with others, it will only work while the link is not broken, to me its been more than one link that’s been broken.

  9. Milo

    It’s a sad read tbh; some of our backs made the most errors; and TBH our fwds copped it hard in terms of injuries.
    Our halves didn’t lead imo and they played 22/23 games each. Both need to be accountable and either step up or move on.
    We need one exp hooker imo to back up Mahoney and Schneider etc and another good fwd; and to decide on which half to keep and move if someone takes them on.
    Lets not forget our halves are being paid v v good money to perform each week and it may seem i am picking on them but they are the leaders of the team imo.
    I fear the off season may be strife if something doesn’t eventuate; as players can make and break coaches.

    1. sixties

      It’s an important point to talk salaries. You expect your halves to be on elite money. You therefore need elite performances. If both stay, they need to be on the same page and deliver far more diamonds.

  10. Longfin Eel

    The last set of stats is very telling. You can’t win games if your discipline is so poor. This gets us behind in every game that we lose. Actually this points to the players not being in the right headspace this season, and they seemed to lack self belief. We need to get this right for next season or it’s going to be another ugly one.

    1. sixties

      Can’t disagree Longfin. I wrote about this negative headspace on match day a few times this season, and disappointingly it was evident so early on. Effort without self-belief.

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