Round Drink Of Choice – Black Douglas Deluxe
What a bizarre game – fitting of these crazy times really. The Eels started in red-hot fashion as they raced out to an early 12-0 lead, seemingly shaking off all their struggles in attack from Round 1, before collectively lapsing into a state barely above that of a coma before half-time. Then during the break it looks like they got a hold of Michael Jordan’s secret stuff and ran hog wild to the tune of 32 unanswered points in the second half. To their credit, the Titans battled fiercely through a bevy of injuries for 50-minutes before the class of Parramatta prevailed in a manner akin to an avalanche.
The win came at a huge price though with Reed Mahoney likely sustaining a serious ankle injury from a somewhat innocuous bump with Tyrone Peachey. Parramatta and Brad Arthur will await the results of scans anxiously but I think it is best to assume the Eels will move ahead without the services of their ace rake for some time.
On the back of their imperious second half performance, Parramatta edged ahead of the Newcastle Knights to claim first place on the ladder care of their +46 differential as the books on Round 2. Given that the NRL is deadset on forging ahead in the face of financial oblivion, there looks to be plenty of twists and turns ahead in the 2020 season but for now the Eels have positioned themselves perfectly. Let’s live in the moment a little as we dive into all the action from Parramatta’s big win.
The Miura
Supercars, much like NRL superstars, have a performance pedigree that just separates them from the rest of the pack. That was fully evident as Mitchell ‘Miura’ Moses left Phillip Camry – mean – Sami in his dust in a spectacular display of speed and confidence that lead to the opening try of the game. It was the sort of focused athletic arrogance that I love to see. An ice cold statement without any words that I am a better player and a better athlete than you and I am going to score from here. The only player in recent times that I can honestly recall that consistently backed himself in those situations was Jarryd Hayne – the human embodiment of athletic arrogance.
It was a stunning effort, with some terrific lead up work from Nathan Brown and Ryan Matterson, and I think it handily eclipses his effort to score the first try ever at Bankwest Stadium. Moses wasn’t done there mind you, not by a long shot as the ascending star played a crucial role in tries for Reed Mahoney and Maika Sivo while he was a sniper from the kicking tee knocking down 9 conversions from 9 attempts.
Dylbags a double
A quiet night at the office in Round 1 was quickly forgiven as Parramatta’s youngest star put in overtime today. Dylan Brown threatened to break out for a big run throughout the entire first half, regularly beating the first defender with footwork or breaking the first tackle with strength, only to be cut down moments before hitting the backfield. He wouldn’t be denied in the second half as he went on to score the try that would open the flood gates before icing the game in the 74th-minute to secure his double.
Finding ways to shine in the lesser play-maker role isn’t always easy but Dylan looks to be completely at home working as the foil to Moses. His short kicking game was fresher than any kind of royalty from Bel-Air and while a moment of laxness in the second half resulted in a poor error he finished the game with a staggering 139m from 14 runs. The best thing about it all is that we are only scratching the surface of his potential.
The Steel Curtain
Granted the Eels had their struggles early on with Ryan Matterson and Reed Mahoney both missing costly tackles but Parramatta exit Round 2 having conceded a grand total of 8-points and just the solitary try. That statement is attached with the qualifier that the Eels have faced the Bulldogs and Titans but Parramatta, for all their early season warts, have handled business in defence the way any would-be contender should.
Brad Arthur’s preseason emphasis on defence has his troops leading the likes of the Raiders (12-points conceded) and the Storm (14-points conceded) before a slew of teams that have already leaked between 20 and 40-points in the first two rounds of competition. It is a great foundation piece to build a campaign on and we will get a great idea of how legitimate their defensive credentials are in Round 3 when the Eels take on the Cowboys in their new house.
Corporal punishment
While the use of the cane has thankfully gone the way of the dinosaur, fortunately for the Eels the use of the Kane is entirely legal in 2020 as Kane Evans orchestrated a devastating stint off the bench today in a performance that completely transcends the numbers. Kane punched out a mild 81m from 10 carries but crashed over for a try while also helping Dylan Brown and Peni Terepo nab meat pies of their own. The Gold Coast struggled to contain the Parramatta bookend and that injection of fire and brimstone from the bench was hugely encouraging.
Evans had his starting role usurped by high profile recruit Reagan Campbell-Gillard after something of a redemption arc in 2019 and how he handled the transition back to bench forward was one of the stories that flew under the radar heading into the season. His ability to replicate the efforts from Round 2 will be crucial when the Eels cross paths with Top 8 contenders in the coming weeks.
Proptimus Prime
In the past I dubbed him The Mountain That Strides after a certain imposing character in George R.R. Martin’s (frustratingly unfinished) magnum opus fantasy series. In the early exchanges of 2020, Junior Paulo has gone to another level and as such I think the Eels’ #1 bull has earned a new moniker. Thus I bestow upon him the title of Proptimus Prime and boy oh boy did he earn it after a monstrous 19 run, 191m effort that also featured 2 offloads, a try assist and a line break assist.
Paulo has been the go-to man for the Eels when the going has been tough in the first two rounds and he has thrived as opposing defences have thrown three, four and at times five defenders his way. His efforts have been lost among the wider audience with superstars like Jason Taumalolo, Payne Haas and David Fifita capturing the spotlight with outstanding performances of their own but 2020 is shaping up to be the year that Junior enters the pantheon of elite forwards.
Jenko-min Button
31 seems to be indeed just a number for the ageless wonder that is Michael Jennings. The most experienced member of the Eels’ roster was at the centre (no pun intended) of a number of brilliant defensive reads and subsequently plays in the first half. In the second half he showed expert touch to split two defenders and get the ball around the corner to Maika Sivo to get the big Fijian winger on the board in 2020. He was put on ice shortly after that highlight reel play with replays showing that he made heavy contract with the ground in the same play. Hopefully it was all precautionary because Jennings is on a tear.
How many numbers go into 9?
The burning question for Round 3 (and beyond) is who will step into Reed Mahoney’s boots and how many players will it take? Clinton Gutherson did an admirable job covering at dummy-half but the Eels now have to scramble to fill the one position where they lack genuine depth. Will Smith, Ray Stone, Jaeman Salmon and Rhys Davies are all options inside the Top 30 but given the struggles that Davies had at dummy-half in the backend of the preseason you would have to think he wouldn’t be in the running.
The problem facing Brad Arthur is that neither Smith, Stone nor Salmon are capable of big minutes in the all important role. Obviously some combination of two of the three players can share the role but even then it will likely call for multiple substitutions to be used between the prospective duo – a huge handicap moving forwards. Parramatta could conceivably go to market and find someone out in the wild, Michael Lichaa is out there while they could also look internally at someone like Brad Keighran. As an unashamed fan of Stone I would love to see him fit into the formula somehow but Parramatta will need everything they can extract from Mahoney’s replacement(s) while Moses, Brown and Gutherson will have to pick up the slack in his absence.
The Final Word
It is hard to poke too many holes at the team when they sit atop the ladder after two rounds. They still aren’t anywhere near top gear but they are winning on the back of their defence while the attack came to life in the second half today. Reed Mahoney’s injury is a cruel blow to a team looking to a team looking to surge ahead in the early rounds and to a player looking to push for an Origin debut but that is the unfortunate nature of the game.
The Gold Coast Titans hung around with the Eels for 50-minutes before capitulating in the face of injuries and the blow torch that was been applied by Parramatta. That scenario should sound familiar to fans of the blue & gold because we were on the wrong side of it far too many times in the modern era. The good teams win can win ugly, the good teams can run away with games after sucking the life out of their opponents. The Eels are a good team. That was never really in doubt. We still have to wait for a couple of months to find out if they are a great team.
Thanks Forty20 – it was pleasing to watch. We are indeed the Greatest Game – well probably the only game in the planet still going.
Loved watching the Kane Evans show off the bench – he is definitely out to prove something.
Great report 40, you must have a vintage brew with the way you come up with hybrid words though, but good to take it all in.
Big lose with Reed, what concerns me is still no word on his resigning with the eels atm, he will be missed, and from what I read Gutho did a fair job from the DH spot in attack, but I would not like to see him in that spot for the whole game while Reed is out.
So for a replacement? the burning question that has had many asking the what if question if he is injured.
So as to your options I thought Davies was ok at times in last years CC GF except late in the game when he made some very poor calls and his kicking did not match up, that form continued to Bega as well, & I cannot see him meeting a higher position than he is now . In fact from what I remember of the Bega Trial Keighran who replaced Davies showed a heck of a lot of better options and controlled the play quite well.
I doubt Salmon is a real option as the primary 9, nor is Stone at this point of time, but for my thoughts I would look at Keighan as the run on 9 and have Stone on the bench in place of Taka as the option to share the 9 spot for Keighran. Although a case would be for DB to be put in the DH mix as well, depending on how the game flows, but not on a consistent aspect.
How good is peni doing – especially those of you who doubted his selection!
2 short games, and he’s a hero?
nope just the job done he was asked to do both games !
I missed the second half rout…… but did we not click into gear when Cash went off?
After Dylan scored his first try in the second half, the team collectively remembered that they are in fact one of the most potent attacking outfits in the competition.
It was also a payoff for the stifling pressure they applied to the Titans.
Tks Forty. Black Douglas…is that something that swept London in the Middle Ages?
We certainly swept the Titans aside. From memory, our first half lapse after 10 minutes was off the back of 2 or 3 errors which rejuvenated the Titans.Instead of turning the screws, we had to match their energy. Better the Titans than the Raiders, maybe good character building. All ended well however. Could you publish the club psychologist reports on Kane Evans? He’s got that focussed look about him. Any one I knew like that,was always handy to be on your team.
It was bequeathed to me (alongside a number of other assorted bottles) by my grandmother from my late grandfather’s collection, certainly makes for an interesting tasting experience!
Kane is an absolute enigma isn’t he? If he stays dialled in then we might have one hell of a forward rotation to work with.
Yes, he doesn’t get flustered, not one ounce of drama, the non-verbal death stare. It looks like they’ve tempered that body smash tackle he got 2 reds for. I was hoping they’d just get his leading arm better aimed, and then, basically, annihilate a few more trespassers in the ruck.
As you point out that MM try was eerily similar to the Bankwest try. I thought for all money it was going to Gutho. Loved the way he backed himself.
In the Eels Titans preview I mentioned that I was confident of a big win against the Titans but I was hoping we could keep them try less.
They didn’t quite make it but I will take that outcome any day. You could see right from the Nines really the emphasis that is on defence in season 2020
The try assist for Jennings onto Maika was a thing of beauty
Oh and I forgot. Peni ended his run of five consecutive nudie runs .
How good is that
Thanks Forty. Very happy for the win and you can only beat the team in front of you, but how bad were the Titans? Their ball control was horrendous so there was no pressure exerted on the Eels. Moses looks sharp, Junior was a powerhouse, NBrown’s ball play and line speed in defence were the foundations and Evans really made a statement.
The lack of balance in the bench may have been costly against a good side. Stone surely deserves a go, his distribution won’t be at Mahoney’s level but he certainly deserves the opportunity. That may mean Smith comes on to give him a breather.
The Titans were put under a lot of pressure by the Eels which attributed to fatigue and a lot of errors.
I like your comments about having to beat the team in front of you . Very important but so far the best defensive team
i think our game management for early rounds rounds was OK. Ring rust was there as against Bulldogs with same intent from them for brutal defence. We matched it with concentrated attack that sucked the energy out of them. As it most always does ability and team footy opened them up.
actually reminded this old fossil of the way the great Saint George teams went about dismantling opposition who deluded them themselves into thinking they were matching them.
Pains me to say it about a Q,lander but Mahoney is real class and any Reedplacement will suffer by comparison.
Stay well all and be kind to oneanother.
You seem to be talking up Reeds injury, do you know something? From seeing it twice It didn’t look like he twisted it or anything, I had knocks like that if you get hit right on that ankle bone it hurts and is hard to walk on but is nothing serious ,had them xrayed a few times . hopefully just bruised.
I am basing my observations on a few things. Firstly, he struggled to put any weight on it as he left the ground. Then they quickly had him using crutches before ‘BA’ himself alluded to a negative outlook before scans in his post-match presser. Better to assume the worst and be surprised with the good news and if it is just a bruise I will be pumped.
Well the NRL has just suspended the season so sure he’ll be fit by the time we are back.let’s hope they do the right thing and just award the trophy to whoever is on top of the table at this moment.
The beast that is Kane Evans is playing well so well I’d swap him n RCG. For me RCG hasn’t done anything special yet his numbers vs gold coast Titans were nothing. Kane Evans number’s were much better n that’s coming from the Bench.
Michael Jennings been playing well n deserves his 2 yr contract.
Sivo on the other hand well below his best form.
Any News on Young Parry n funa they played well in the pre season games.
I heard that Brad Arthur was going to bring in stoney for Mahoney saying that stoney had been training at DH during the pre season.
Me personally I’d bring in salmon.
I personally Think salmon n Dylan Brown played in the half’s in wenty if I’m right.
I think I read somewhere that Parry is talking to other clubs.
Rev, I watched Ray Stone during this preseason as he further developed his dummy half skills. He deserved his shot, which has unfortunately been delayed due to the virus. Circumstances prevented Parry and Fonua from getting lower grade game time too.