NRL Team List

The Parramatta Eels didn’t so much snatch victory from the jaws of defeat last week as much as they reluctantly accepted it like the shoddy sweater your aunt gave you for Christmas that you just know is going to itch like crazy when you put it on. Still, their 18-16 victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs means they tread water for another week and keeps them in touch with the Penrith Panthers and the Melbourne Storm as they head into the Round 13 fixture against the Cronulla Sharks.

Ryan Matterson is a surprise omission from this week’s team sheet with the Eels electing to give their star backrower additional time to recover from a concussion sustained against the Wests Tigers in Round 11. Marata Niukore will feature on the right-edge in his place for the second week running – a decision that I am not entirely pleased with. Please don’t mistake that for an attack on Niukore – who has been in superb touch in 2020 – but his work from the bench over the first half of this season has been a significant part of our formula for success. Weakening a strength to strengthen a weakness usually leaves a bad taste in my mouth and there certainly isn’t an exception here, especially since Andrew Davey has shown enough to suggest he could be entrusted with greater responsibilities in the absence of Matterson.

While the Eels do the right thing by Matterson, they do receive reinforcements for the second week running with Ray Stone ear-marked to play off the bench this week after overcoming a broken hand. How Stone is used this week will be of particular interest as evidence has been mounting in recent games that Reed Mahoney could use a brief spell to keep fresh. The cautionary qualifier here would be that Stone likely has had limited chances to work on his service from the ground in recent weeks given that he had a broken hand.

On the other side of the team sheet the Cronulla Sharks welcome back a number of big names this week – headlined by Matt Moylan, Jesse Ramien and Josh Dugan. Like the Eels last week, the Sharks eked out a victory over the Brisbane Broncos that was far from indicative of the respective positions of each team on the ladder.

With both teams somewhat stumbling into this game, the question will be who find their feet first. Can Parramatta cut down on the concentration errors that have plagued them for a month now, or will they gift another team the chance to score easy points? If the Eels allow themselves to get sloppy once more, there is a real chance that the boys from the Shire will pile on the points.

A mid season slump is nothing to be embarrassed about – although it is certainly frustrating as a fan. Timing is everything in this competition and as we all know, the run to the finals is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. The fact that the Eels have been in a funk and still banked so many wins in recent weeks speaks to the competitiveness of the roster but they do need to get right sooner rather than later. Hopefully it starts this week.

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