Another week, and despite an Eels victory, another serving of rubbish commentary.
Naturally, my old Eels hating mate and Panthers Board member, Mr Alexander, took his oh so predictable swipe at Parra post game.
“I can understand Brad Arthur and Clint Gutherson playing it down and not being critical of his own side, but the statistics don’t lie,” said Greg Alexander.
“The Eels have struggled to score points, I don’t know how much we take out of what they did tonight.”
I wholeheartedly agree Mr Alexander. Statistics don’t lie. So let me remind everyone of some other truth bearing stats.
The Eels beat the Cowboys 42- 12. On Friday Penrith beat them 32-12 and back in round 10 Penrith beat them 22-10.
Parra beat the Broncos 26-12 and Penrith beat them 25-12 two rounds ago.
Yes, it’s an interesting half truth told by Brandy in the numbers he chooses to quote.
How many of you are tiring of paying your hard earned dollars for a subscription that employs people who cannot leave an overt bias bordering on hate at the studio door?
Enough of the biased haters.
The Friday night view From The Stands was a beautiful thing. The sight and sound of the Blue and Gold Army surrounding me was a welcome change to last week’s broadcast commentary.
Dylbags getting the guns out at training
Before the game, the Eels players sidelined by injury provided their own brand of entertainment. An impromptu competition of rolling footballs as close as possible to a witches hat saw the likes of Dylan Brown and Ray Stone having fun amongst themselves whilst delivering some laughs for the crowd.
To me, this was a microcosm of what the Eels need to bring every week – compete to win, play some tough footy and enjoy what they’re doing.
I saw many glimpses of it against the Broncos. Not everything was executed well, but the intent was there.
Indeed, my favourite play of the match resulted in the Eels turning the ball over on the first tackle when they kicked from the scrum to a chasing Waqa Blake. It was heads up footy. Every player knew it was on and it showed a well planned attacking mindset. Though the failure of the kick to remain in play was symptomatic of the Eels kicking blues, the positive mindset must be applauded.
Despite issues with execution, the Eels attacking plans against Brisbane demonstrated different shapes and a reduction in crabbing. The improvement was obvious and though the inaccuracies meant it was far from vintage football, the team look to be heading in the right direction.
Finally, I wish to comment on another encouraging sign.
The unforced error from Oregon Kaufusi when the Eels were deep in attack in the second half would have been frustrating for the Eels playmakers. However, there was no sign of frustration from Mitch Moses. His composure at that moment was exactly what Oregon and the team needed.
Over the past 5-6 games, this had not been the case. We had been witnessing him yelling at team mates with a body language that was reminiscent of 2018 Mitch.
Mitch Moses
I’m a huge supporter of Moses so it had been disappointing to watch him struggling with his temperament. Unquestionably, he and the team have been battling against a relentless and at times vindictive criticism. It has obviously got into their minds, as it would with anyone, and everyone’s form has suffered.
Mitch is a leader in this team. It comes with the territory of his key position. No matter his own level of confidence, his responsibility is not just demanding effort and execution from his team, it’s also picking up those around him when they fall.
Mitch Moses might just find that his form will come back when those around him find theirs. He can help them do that. And a large part of that help lies in controlling his own temperament, something that we saw evidence of against the Broncos. Though not perfect, there was the sense that he was more in control and his body language would have conveyed that to his team.
The trick to our team clicking lies in the head of Mitch Moses. I have faith he will step up and make people like Mr Alexander eat their words.
Shelley
Ha good old Greg Alexander, a superb player but over the last few years his comments have become a bit predictable. I do not mind him tbh Shelley as we know where we stand.
Others give me the cranks……Gould / Ennis and Corey Parker, but they all like to grease the palms of the ex-playing mates. That is why I have had the volume down for a while. They dribble than more than teething bub.
Look we will only be judged in how we go over the next 2-4 weeks. I only hope we can get into the 4, beat Penrith then be able to have a week off before the prelim final. Seriously there will be more pressure on Penriff than us, and yes the refs will come into but we cannot worry about that.
Our best 17 will beat them. But to me beating Easts and Melbourne is something else.
We’ll be getting the ‘win it for James’ script as the Riff’s captain heads for the door. It’s the way it is, but just can’t take to the transfer system these days.
I really believe we can beat the Riff. This week is huge and we need to win that first. We need to be in control and patient in both games, take the energy out of the opposition. I would put Junior or RCG on the bench again this week to be able to bring them on after 20 and the Tigers have thrown everything at us.
The referee appointment will be significant if we play Penrith. If we get Sutton we are in trouble against them. Apart from Henry he gives the most 6 agains. Penrith rely on this and don’t really attack from outside the twenty they simply hold the ball. They are well disciplined but I am not sure that one dimensional well disciplined teams win Grandfinals. They remind me of Melbourne the last two years. Best team in regular season but could not step up with that individual brilliance to break open a tough and close finals game. On the referees, I always thought Sutton was the best referee because he stayed out of the game but the way he is using the 6 again in games is consistently taking teams out of games.
I know we all can’t forget Cummins and that Melbourne semi but he won’t give away ridiculous and significantly uneven 6 agains, he will give each team 3-4 each per game. If we get anywhere near even ball against Penrith I really believe we win.
Of course you believe. I think we should be focused on the Sharkies, as that is whom we will be playing in the first week of the finals unless Moses finds some form and learns a) how to manage a game b) gets some repeat sets so we can build pressure.
I think we’ll beat the Tigers
Therein lies the problem with your thinking,
“the referee appointment will be significant if we play Penrith”
If we have to rely on the lottery of getting our preferred referee then we are already dead in the water.
The irony is that it is the polar opposite of BA’s mantra since he’s been at the club, that is “no excuses”. Not once in his time has he ever blamed the refs, he point blank refuses to, nor would he ever be holding out for our preferred ref. Sends the completely wrong message to the players.
If we’re relying on the referee appointment then we simply aren’t good enough.
Period.
Whilst nine is going down hill, especially Sterlo’s commentary on our team. I would rather listen to them that Fox, so am grateful our game have been on FTA for the last month of so. I just cannot listen to Fox commentary on our games. I guess Fitzy and Spags have mates in a lot of places
To suggest we are even close to the Panthers based on a small sample size as you’ve described is just silly.
The Panthers were in complete control against the Broncos, and even though we were never going to lose to the Broncos we were never in control of the game, because we were never in control of our game.
Our mental application is still woefully short of Premiership standards.
Brett, kindly reconsider your use of we and our.
You don’t have a mortgage on supporter passion 60’s, it’s as much my club as it’s yours.
What game were you watching, I was at the game and at no stage did I think the Broncos were a chance. If that’s not control, what is? You wouldn’t get a bigger pessimist than me at a footy game.
I agree we were never going to lose to the Broncos, but not because we were so great, (apart from a couple of frustratingly brief periods of inspired footy), but because they were so inept. Let’s be honest, the Broncos are historically awful, and more worryingly for the NRL is that the margin between first & last is wider than at any time in the modern era and it’s getting wider.
I’ll say it again, we were never in control of THE game because we are not in control of OUR game. Everything we do feels like it is either a fluke or a temporary illusion before we revert to our mediocre mean.
We don’t follow up our periods of inspired footy with rock solid set for set footy, we follow it up with mental errors which allow the opposition back into the game, which is what happened against the Broncos.
We simply do not have the necessary mental application to be a legit premiership threat. To suggest otherwise is intentionally blinding yourself to the reality.
Brett I do respect your right to an opinion and I have no problem with anyone having a completely different view. That is the beauty of sport.
In my view the Broncos were not in either game. The point I am making is that commentators are picking and choosing when to apply the scoreboard and ladder and when not to. That is simply bias. You and I can be bias, we are not paid professionals. But I get annoyed when I pay for a subscription that is giving me as the customer, bias bordering on vindictive criticism. Channel 9 had Gutho waiting and listening to Gallen rip us apart and then expect him to be professional. I would have walked away and told them to stick the interview but can you imagine how that would be covered if he did.
I still believe the boys can improve and I admit they need to. We need to open up space in our attacking line and three things I saw on Friday gave me hope. First, Reed back and some tries scored by engaging markers, Moses starting to take on the line, especially after 20 minutes ( he was trying too hard early) and Fergo and Matto running more aggressive inside lines. They need to be more consistent but in my view Friday was an improvement.
We can’t do anything about commentary. We start winning in a commanding fashion and that all changes. Nothing energises the NRL than an Eels run, think ’09.
I agree, there were some positive signs in the Broncos game, I liked Shaun Lane in the middle, I liked Mitch running a lot more, I liked Reed running a lot more, I liked that our right edge started to look something like I thought it would at the start of the season, I liked all of that, but most of that was undone by simple mental & technical errors, the kind of errors that firstly simply have not improved under BA, and secondly the type of errors that we frequently completely collapse under. Even against the Broncos we made some silly, basic mental errors and we couldn’t hold back the ineptitude that is the Broncos attacking shapes.
Now if we continue to make those simple mental errors and we can’t even hold back the Broncos after those kinds of errors, how do we expect to be able to even compete with the Panthers, Storm or Roosters, and even the Raiders & Rabbitohs ?
Quite simply we can’t.
Oh sure, we can scramble like mad dogs like we did against the Panthers and pat ourselves on the back for “only” conceding 3 tries, but what good is that if we’re so exhausted we can’t fire a single meaningful shot at their defence in reply ?
We lost to the Panthers 20-2, but it might as well have been 3-2, the Panthers were in such commanding control of that game.
If Penrith were in complete control, how did Brisbane score 12 points against them?
Shelley, 100%. Praying for composure to quietly creep up on us and hang around for 4 weeks.
Well said Shelley. I was thankfully at the game, and therefore didn’t have to listen to the commentary – I can just imagine Gus giving us zero credit. He’s really good at that strategy they tell you for giving criticism, where you sandwich it between two positive things. Except, he says one positive/neutral thing and surrounds it with negatives, and acts like that makes him balanced.
I watched the post-game interview with Pete Gentle, where the media desperately tried to get him to say we’re not gunna beat the other top teams. Bless him, he wasn’t having a bar of it!
Bellamy’s predictable hypocritical whine about our tactics after we beat them didn’t help perceptions of the team, and I think it’s influenced how we are refereed. I do get frustrated with Mitch and his arms out at the ref – I don’t think it helps his/the team’s cause at all. I can understand his frustration though, as there seems to be a lot more protection for some players (eg Ponga) than others – we’ve seen Moses get wiped out off the ball on multiple occasions this year, but it seems to be disregarded as histrionics on his part, as he’s gained that reputation. Even when he landed on his head. Saving the big gestures for those occasions would hold a lot more weight, but it’ll take time to change how he’s viewed.
I feel strongly that there is a very strong element in the NRL who have too much power that they yield overtly unevenly. They wield power to hold there own cushy, well paid jobs. They act like a mini FIFA- driven by self interest. They fear the negative press that comes if you anger certain power brokers, people like Gould, Politis, Crowe, or upset certain favourite coaches with the journalist and respond accordingly.
When ever Manly, Roosters, Storm and Rabbits get any call go against them, Mr Annesley is straight on the phone to all the journalists pointing out the error and saying he will fix it. Yet when Junior was blatantly treated unfairly by being put on report and BA, plus just about every commentator and ex player called them on the absurdity they doubled down and charged him. The sad thing is I bet not one Parra supporter thought he would escape being charged despite what we all saw. If that tackle was carried out on an unknown Broncos player, Junior would not have been charged. When you expect uneven rule enforcement you have a big problem.
Tonight in an interview Mr Annesley repeated that players have a duty of care and if they go into a tackle and injure someone they can be charged. What utter rubbish. Instead of admitting the mistake he doubled down and has opened a can of worms that will force them into a corner come a big game.
I sometimes think Mr Annesley blames Parra and therefore dislikes us for him looking like a fool when he brought Hayne to the Titans and as CEO at that press conference he looked like an idiot announcing the big signing who could not stop speaking about how much he loved his old club.I often feel like sending him an email and letting him know that it was not our fault , we had as much control over Hayne as he did. None!
Tapau on Stone( 1 week)AssSolomona on Niukore (fined)and I”ll throw in Cameron Murray on Cleary(unpunished)…and Junior gets charged for an accident…bizarre.
Shelley. I had the misfortune to watch yesterdays, Ch 9 footy show to see if there was anything regarding the Jnr incident on the show, basically nothing from the “eggsperts” on it, in an interview with Sterlo he virtually sidelined it/avoided it.
The dribble/drivel from Annersley continues the saga and another person has said along with Annersley about duty of care in tackles, what crap, here it is now, how many years since RL was formed in this country, how many players have been sidelined after multiple injuries and concussions and with the latter how many suffer and had to retire early as a result?
Our Coach really went off about the penalty and the placing of Jnr on report but I read where someone has said he does not say anything against Annersley and the refs, I am still to find out if the eels are to challenge the MRC decision, which our coach and club needs/has to do for the sake of credibility, have already said if they don’t challenge then I am finished with the game.
Watching the crap yesterday with the football show, and listening to the crap in the boxes, has shown how far down the gurgler the game has gone, with the so called experts in each area of the game, both on and off the field, and levels in their parliamentary towers.
Enough is enough. Duty of care means that there should be no tackles and we go to matches of touch footy. But even there duty of care could still be an issue with inappropriate touches
Yes, I am happy we are in the top 4. But Cmon. Everything Gus said was true, we still do not have steely resolve. We are running 10th in offense. not ideal to win a premiership.
That’s it, Gus has done everything there is to do in the game, what he doesn’t know about Rugby League isn’t worth mentioning. The man lives and breathes the game.
Does he dislike Parramatta ?
Only he can answer that question.
But everything he has said about us is true, as much as I hate to admit it.
I will support my team and ride every tackle & possession, but I refuse to live in unreality.
And, Brett, you don’t have a mortgage on this comments section anymore than anyone else.
Never said I did
It seems to me that Brett tells it as he sees it and many here only want to be seen as optimists when it comes to objectivity.
What he is seeing and saying is that currently Parra are not good enough as a team to go much further than they have. Discipline is poor and they are making too many mistakes. That is fair criticism.
What I see is similar but maybe we can have some optimism in that Moses has obviously been carrying an injury and I understand that same injury prevents him from his specialty of pace and elusiveness……just to confirm that how many times have you seen him lose his footing on the Bankwest skating rink. That calf injury extends from the achillies and it doesn’t matter how you treat it, it has to come good, virtually by itself. Signs last were that maybe the case.
I’m therefore hoping with that the whole team may just take up the slack and get back to where we were when we beat Penrith…..most certainly the high expectations we all held are gone, so that pressure has been alleviated. If we get past Tigers then we maybe a chance of returning to that previous level.
We should be asking real questions notwithstanding as the game has changed up a gear and we haven’t changed with it.
As I have mentioned before, Moses problem is not having a calf injury, its in his head. When an article was written a few months ago that he was the highest paid parra player but lowest paid half in the competition. Then Moses has the nerve to come out and say, after the donekys game, that he has been playing for himself, which in my opinion means he thinks more highly of himself than the skills he has displayed lately. So yes Shelly, I agree with you 100% he is back in 2018 mindset. Disappointing he has regressed, even more so that he admits its is his personality. But as always, I am very happy where the team is at despite his admission. I just wonder how much better we would be with Dylan steering the ship and Moses not being in the team.
I would like to ask Moses to run. Run mate run. If you cannot put someone through a hole take if up and take the tackle. Make sure its not on the 5th. Would be good if you could bring some pressure on the opposition and get some repeat sets, that is when we will play the best. I dont mean to let you off the hook but I really would like to know what knowledge Joey is imparting on you as it does not seem like much at all. Is the 8th the problem?
I think you are totally out of context when quoting Moses playing for himself…..I would interpret protecting himself and he has been playing for the team when he probably should not have been playing at all.
How do I know this… I don’t but I prefer my mind reading than yours 10 year……I think your amazingly brave in telling him what to do and how to do it…..you obviously have a knowledge and ability that belies you have only been a member for 10 years!
I suppose his 150 odd first grade games and professional coaching received pales in the face of your expertise!
Moses showed very promising signs last week and hopefully has turned the corner. A couple of kicks were off and I’m sure as Johns talked about in commentary, he will be practicing those over and over at training. He is basically the only creative half out there at the moment, hopefully Dylan hits the ground running on his return as there will be no time to warm to it as Moses has done since his injury. I am optimistic i know but I think it will all come together in the next few weeks. Their biggest problem is mentally overcoming the enormity of meeting Storm or Roosters in the finals, although they almost pulled that off in 2017 with a worse roster than they have now.
?
If you contrast the media reports at the start of the year, everyone was singing our praises. You couldn’t open a page of the Daily Telegraph without seeing an article on Parra the potential Premiers. Only one thing has changed since then – our form. Surely, this same media who was patting us on the back, is entitled to call us on our decline in performance? Yes, they all have agendas, but so do we. But let’s focus less on what others are saying about us and more on the immediate issue – the on-going form of this side, and whether we can give this comp a shake, and if we can’t, why can’t we?
Salty, it doesn’t matter what the media write about, the Eels generate clicks. They were writing good news stories because to write anything else would have been absurd. But, that first clash and win drew minimal praise for Parra and the narrative since has been how the Riff were unlucky to lose it. The Eels form since then, though not as strong as earlier, has been heavily criticised – no credit for wins, rubbished for losses.
But when all is said and done, that’s nothing new. What will matter is whether the team turns up each week from here on in. As far as I’m concerned, this match vs Tigers is a finals match as we need to win to finish top 4. Anything less is a poor result.
Love your work Shelley… It amazes me how when a panthers side score a narrow win vs bottom of the table side, the reports are how well they are doing to notch up another win. However when Parra do it, they are struggling. The thing that gives me so much confidence is that we are no-where near our best and still have won these games, whereas the Panthers look like they are firing on all cylinders for those wins.
Our finals series starts this week. We need to take the emotion out of the game and just hang int here for the first 20 minutes as we know the Tigers will be emotionally charged for Benji and Lawrences last hurrah. If we can stay with them for the first 20, we will run away with it.
Onwards and Upwards
What a joke the referee was again in the Parra game, as I said to my mate on Saturday. The refs won’t let parra get a roll on as so it stops there rhythm and stops them playing into form and thus stops there points being scored.
As usual a garbage job and bias referring. I don’t see this happen to roosters or storm nor panthers.
You want proof look at Canberra’s for and against then look at Parra’s.
YEP BLAITANT CHEATING.
BACK TO THE KELVIN JEFFS DAYS!
TOONIE TIGER ! GET THAT INTO YA !
I now we have to learn how to deal with any referee it just annoys me that we have to. Rules are rules, they are clear and should be applied evenly in games and by different refs. The problem is the NRL has allowed different interpretations but not holding to account those who are not consistent. You cannot tell me that Cummins, Sutton and Klein have the same interpretation of what is acceptable in the ruck and they should. A standard should be set and the referees should be required to meet that standard.
Hi Shelley, thanks again for another great article. I have trouble understanding why there is so much negativity about us, both from commentators and fans. As at the moment we have won 74% of our games this year. If that isn’t an exciting ride I don’t know what is! To put that in context, our best win % was in 1977 with 73%, followed by 1982 at 72% and 1964!! at 70%. If you can’t enjoy the ride we are on you’d better find another team to follow. I for one am sick of the negativity, even more so from fans who can only see that we aren’t as good as the Storm, Panthers, Roosters, Rabbits…. Even if we don’t win another game I will be still cheering for my team and being proud of everything they’ve done this season!
Thanks Molly for reminding us all about two things. Supporting a team should be fun and while not perfect we are coming equal third. People can find all the fault they want, you can find fault in anything but up till this point our season has been better when compared to 12 other teams. After experiencing year after year of scrapping into the 8 or trying to avoid the wooden spoon I will take that and have faith the boys can and will improve.
Criticism isn’t necessarily negativity, in much the same way that refusing to acknowledge ingrained issues isn’t “support”.
It’s called balance Brett. We offer criticism too, but we lean towards looking on the positive side because we stand behind our team. You choose to support in your way.
Great write up. We will run 4th, we will beat penrith, in the semi. We are resilient, and we can play. Losing ones “cool”, and panicking says more about the poster than the team. Good work Shelley 👍
Paul Gallon. Is the new number 1 tosser. On 💯 footy last night he was talking about how he hopes parra finish 5th as the Sharks would beat them but the Sharks have no hope if Canberra are 5th. What a tosser. Almost pelted my phone at the tv screen
I don’t watch that show but nothing surprises me. It is atrocious the way our club is being treated. We are not perfect and I have said so, including our current form, but since 2016 we have rebuilt, changed our constitution, created boardroom stability, have juniors starting to come through, have got the funding, location and started the COE, signed a 25 year lease to play at a brilliant and perfectly sized stadium and for the first time in years we will be playing finals two years in a row. Yet we get not one positive comment.
Me thinks it is fear from Gould, Gallen and the like that if Parra finally regularly succeed on the field the power of our supporter base will overrun the Sydney market and hurt smaller clubs.
Parra fans can be divided on the form of the team, selections and BA but surely everyone can see the relentless and very deliberate agenda against Parra and fight back or at the least don’t fall for it. I don’t know if we can win the competition but I so want them come fourth and beat Penrith just to shut them up and look at them squirm.
At the moment League is a play thing to boost the ego’s of Vlandy’s Gould and News Limited identities. They are all manipulating each other for their own ulterior motivations. It is going to blow up in our faces and the ones punished will be the clubs, players and supporters who will be left to clean up the mess.
What a load of rubbish Shelley. Their criticisms, whilst harsh have proven accurate. There is no concerted conspiracy against the Eels, and Peter V’Landys is the finest administrator the game has had since John Quayle, and in time I believe he will be viewed as the game’s saviour.
This “poor us” mentality by so many Eels fans is a huge part of our clubs problem. We will never be successful, truly successful until we own our problems, instead of constantly looking to blame other parties.
Agree with you Brett and there seems to be no comprehension that these critics as we see them are just not emotionally invested in Parra, why should they, when we have been a basket case for some time and as Shelley reminds us we have done fantastically well since 2016 and that reformation makes me very proud of them.
I think an aknowledgement of that would be nice every now and again as well…..but I am prepared to be patient, as every dog has his day.
I also say we are a couple of years away and I think we need to be very aggressive in identifying weaknesses this year. If we go into next year with the current roster, I will be very disappointed…..just a few changes…..I would love to get JAC and if the purse strings are opened I cannot see why he would knock back an offer to good to refuse!
If Bellamey wants a winger, I would be very comfortable giving him a package of Blake and Sivo as a clean swap.
Poppa, we have to be aggressive in the market. We are losing top 17 players and fringe players, so we must recruit better to improve
Yes, I obviously agree. Something that I am noticing is we are now starting to see real athletes with multiple skills (like guth) emerging from the sea of players. The Melb fullback comes to mind, we have already got Keary as a small man dominating, new styles of locks in Murray and Matley. Young players like Brimstead from Titans.
It is a real challenge in choosing the mix, some players can be so complimentary….we saw the Souths halves destroy us and last night they destroyed the Roosters…..how integral is just one of those players to a season’s fortune. For this reason I would like to look at opportunist players to balance us with a counterattacking type format. I noticed that Tristan Sailor is being released from St George, young and expect very cheap but with huge potential to be a game breaker ? I think we looked at and picked up Jai Field for that role but despite the honest job he has done, not quite what I am trying to identify (in hindsight, no criticism).
Anyway when I say recruit aggressively it is from that type of direction that I hope it comes.
This season has seen a Paradigm shift in the way the game is played….the visionary will collect on that if the anticipation of the right type of player can be grasped.
Good post Pops, Given the score by the bunnies with one of their win last night which could have been a higher score than it was, they have set a pole vault level at new heights, while its easy to say they are the comps likely premiers, but injuries can harm any team, and knock them out as a result, although the bunnies were well drilled and if they maintain that level will be hard to see them losing.
Your mentioning of Field & Sailor is interesting, and who would be the better to have at the eels as basis of speculation only? Both have good speed, and ability to break the line, Field in certain respects is more a straight runner, whereas Sailor has speed and based on what I had seen of him had a VG step and evasiveness in his runs. Sailor is the younger of the two and a degree lighter, will that play against him?
From looking at our off contract list, would be easy to pretty much put them all out yet how many of the 10 have really had any RL games this year which disadvantages them, in saying that, with 10 off contract and at least 2 already going in Davey & Gower (retiring), & one wonders as to how many of the others will be staying, I would say 3 maybe 4 at best, but that would include Field in the mix.
With that list, and the 2 forwards mentioned, the only other real forward left is Stone, along with Peni, would therefore seem to me that if Peni is outed, we do need to look at forwards options.
There is talk of the eels being interested in Asiato, also with the mules letting Ofenhengoe talk to other clubs, and Welch still to sign but also asking big coin, who else of any decent calibre would be worth looking at? I scratch my head.
Being at the game last week was so sweet, a large part due because I didn’t have to listen to commentary.
Indeed Anthony