The Cumberland Throw

Whisky Musings – 2021 Round 8: Eels Teach The Dogs About The Superior Aquatic Franchise

Round 7 Drink Of Choice – Canadian Club Dry

 

It feels odd calling a 32-10 victory serviceable rather than spectacular but that is exactly what the Parramatta Eels engineered on Saturday night against the Canterbury Bulldogs. Canterbury entered the game on the back of their maiden victory in 2021 after knocking over the Cronulla Sharks. They had plenty of reasons to be up for the contest but while Parramatta couldn’t quite cast off all of the shackles that have held them back in recent derbies against their western Sydney rival but they were able to keep the Dogs at arm’s length for the first time in a long time. The win, Parramatta’s seventh of this young season, consolidated their position near the top of the ladder and sets up a huge date with the battle-hardened Sydney Roosters – but more that later – for now let’s get through the rundown on this one!

http://www.starrpartners.com.au/office/starr-partners-narellan

Check out the instant reaction podcast to the Round 8 win!

 

On The Oregon Of Starters

Forgive me for the luxury of carrying last week’s theme into this blog but we were treated to a shock before a ball was kicked off on Saturday night. Brad Arthur shook up the natural order of things in the frontrow when he dropped Junior Paulo to the bench and handed Oregon Kaufusi his first NRL start. Kaufusi, who has anchored the bench in outstanding fashion throughout 2021, handled the promotion with aplomb. The young buck cranked out 125m from 14 carries and matched that in defence with 19 tackles (0 missed, 1 ineffective) but equally passed the eye-test in a great all-round performance.

Junior didn’t quite have the same impact from the bench and fell short of the incredibly lofty standards we all hold him to. 14 runs for 123m is a reasonable line for any prop but he wasn’t his usual polished self in defence given that he made 18 tackles but missed an additional 4 on top of pushing a rather unfortunate pass that led to a turnover.

That is rather inconsequential to the point I slowly getting to because we know the Junior will bounce back in rapid fashion. Rather we got our first glimpse at how the Eels will adapt when Paulo is inevitably called upon for state duties. Obviously it will be the likes of Shaun Lane and some combination of Marata Niukore, Isaiah Papali’i and/or Wiremu Greig that will provide the relief work from the bench in that case but Oregon gave his coach exactly what he was looking for this week.

 

The King’s Peach (Of A Game)

Clinton Gutherson is a damn treasure. On top of being a funny character of the game (I thoroughly recommend checking out his post-game interview with Mitchell Moses for those that have Fox or Kayo) he is also passably good at the whole rugby league thing. Okay, maybe I am understating it just a wee bit. Gutherson is damn good at rugby league.

The former crown prince of custodians put on a performance that would have made Geoffrey Rush proud. 261m from just 22 runs to go with a whopping 11 tackle busts, 3 linebreaks, 1 linebreak assist a pair of tries – all of which came with an early mark as the fullback checked out of the game with 8-minutes to spare.

Despite his constant and seemingly escalating heroics for the Eels, Gutherson faces an uphill battle to retain his place in the NSW Blues due to a glut of backline riches. His loss would clearly be the Eels’ gain but either way I am glad that he is solidifying his reputation among the game’s premier fullbacks. He also probably owes Shaun Lane a beer or three after putting him on big hit highlight reels for years to come with something vaguely resembling a hospital pass.

 

Parra Throw The Dogs A Few Scraps

It was a marked improvement on recent clashes between the two franchises for the Eels but it was still a ways off from a complete victory. After kicking down the doors and taking a 16-0 lead in the first quarter, the Eels let some sloppiness creep into their game. Dylan Brown in particular had a few moments he would probably like back with the young half chalking up 3 errors – the worst of which came on a fast-break down the right sideline. The moment that would have left him the most frustrated though came in defence when Jake Averillo sold him on a cheap dummy enroute to scoring Canterbury’s first try.

I liked Dylan’s decisiveness in taking on the line last week but last night he looked reticent to pull the trigger on the pass several times. Thankfully Moses, Gutherson and Reed Mahoney all had cracking outings to pick up the slack but Parramatta desperately need their #6 to settle back into a groove as soon as possible. I know he wasn’t on his Pat Malone out there in terms of the errors. Senior figures like Nathan Brown and ‘Junez’ also coughed the ball up at inopportune times but Dylan’s responsibilities mean that the spotlight shines that much brighter on his triumphs and failures. I know that he is cognizant of not putting his outside men in position worse than his own but by the same token he also needs to trust that they can bail him out when needed.

In terms of the overall performance the Dogs, the 32-10 victory is a good result. While we can justifiably be critical of moments of sloppy play and squandered opportunities – the fact that this squad barely got out of second gear in order to achieve this result is a testament to the talent and depth of the line-up currently.

 

Isaiah Papali’i

What a beast. That is all.

 

What’s The Matto You?

Nothing as it turns out and how good is that? Ryan Matterson made his return to the NRL on Saturday and while it wasn’t flashy it was everything we wanted to see. ‘Matto’ worked through a full 80-minutes on the left-edge, breaking through the 100m mark and knocking over a Bulldog on 38 occasions in defence. Crucially he avoided any sort of head knock and is set to lace up the boots again in Round 9.

 

Putting The Cart Before The Horse

Why didn’t I think of this one last week damn it? Alas, I wasted a chance to execute a superb Brisbane Broncos’ specific pun. Instead I will wheel out a week later on the back of another brilliant game from Bryce Cartwright. His lead-up work for his two try-assists could not have been any more different but both were equally entrancing. He kicked off the scoring in the second half with a speccy catch and pass to Shaun Lane and would later range down the right-edge and put Marata Niukore over with a gorgeous flat-ball at the line.

The best part of it all was that on neither occasion did it feel like the backrower was overplaying his hand. He created the Lane try purely on the back of his hustle on the kick-chase, letting his incredible athleticism do the rest in the leap and pass while the Niukore score was set up on the back of earlier work around the ruck.

Consistency is obviously the key for Bryce but he is doing everything right at the moment.

 

 

Keeping It Hip

The collective Eels’ nation had their hearts in their mouths for a very long moment when Nathan Brown was hit by a sniper in the second half. The lock forward collapsed in an attempt to chase down an intercepted pass and was left grabbing his left hip in very clear agony. Commentary speculated wildly on a potential ACL or achilles injury but all signs pointed, somewhat bizarrely, to a non-contact hip injury.

An official report is still pending but thanks to the ever insightful work of the NRL Physio we now believe it to be far less serious than initially thought. Brown actually sustained a severe cork to the same hip a smidgen earlier in the game due to a raised knee and the rest of the injury fully manifested in that later play. In layman’s terms, ‘Browny’ suffered a hell of a cork and his recovery could range from as many as 4 weeks off to being available for Round 9.

 

The Final Word

Taking care of business has been the theme in 2021. That is exactly what this game was when all is said and done. I certainly love to see it and I hope everyone else does and as always – I implore all fans of the blue & gold to appreciate our golden resurgence. There will always be things to nitpick and we will certainly drop another game or two for which we can complain about but the 2021 Parramatta Eels are just fun to watch.

Up next are the Sydney Roosters, who have been legitimately impressive in the face of a horror injury toll. Even so I expect them to give us everything they have and then even more on Friday night. Young Sam Walker is the talk of the NRL and for good reason with the young halfback hitting the ground running in first-grade in a manner so very rarely seen. Couple that with the return of some chump named James Tedesco and you know the Eels will have a cracking battle on their hands.

Before I do sign off I do want to share one more Roosters’ related thought. I was deeply upset to see Brett Morris potentially play his last ever game on the weekend and I sincerely hope that he is able to make it back to the NRL. Brett and his twin brother Josh embody pretty much everything I love about this game. Immensely talented blokes that never coasted on those inherent blessings and instead raised their games to a consistent height that is so rarely seen.

They effortlessly blended fun and hard work together in a manner that you can’t help but smile about. After all, who could forget their goofy ‘brawl’ when they met as Dragon and Bulldog? Above all though, they have been utter professionals on and off the field and perfect ambassadors for our great game. Brett is a living legend and one the best to have ever laced up the boots but his injury is a frankly brutal reminder of how fleetingly fragile these gladiators can be. The impossibly euphoric highs of rugby league come with some soul crushing lows. It is part of why I consistently advocate to enjoy the game rather than get caught up in complaining because sometimes you can blink and a career is over.

Sorry for ending on an sombre note, I will see you all next week.

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15 thoughts on “Whisky Musings – 2021 Round 8: Eels Teach The Dogs About The Superior Aquatic Franchise

  1. Jonno

    Great read mate, thanks. Yes good win but not our best, although the traditional knock em down, slog it out close game, was avoided. Terrible news for Morris, hardly ever gave less than his best.

    1. sixties

      How’d you feel about the camera attention given to BMoz in the sheds? I thought it began to invade his privacy.

  2. John Eel

    Thanks again for your report Forty. I am travelling and haven’t watched the game yet but I will in the next few days

    Your sentiments about Brett Morris are spot on. That mock fight was goofy but funny

    Jack Gibson said once you can’t send them out every week with the full blown rev up in the sheds.

    They will eventually stop listening. Sometimes against the lesser teams you have to trust them to get it done and save your best pre game speeches for the most important games.

    I got a sense of that when BA said in the presser that with Gutho there it made his job easier. Using Gutho and MM to get the message out to the team.

    While it would have been nice to put a real big score on the Dogs. I am hoping that BA is saving his big pre game hype up for next weeks game against the Roosters.

    There is three more games we need to win in the home and away to make us genuine contenders. Roosters, Bunnies and Panthers

    Unfortunately I won’t be in Sydney for the game on Friday. It is going to be a cracker

  3. Colin Hussey

    Maybe or more than likely I am wrong but I get the suspicion that our coach is already working the players around with the semi’s in sight. Its very much early days and the semi’s are some time off yet, but I look at the overall roster and get the feeling of early preparedness being applied.

    Maybe its over reading things but with the overall squad we have there is a degree of experiments with player selection as well as their times on the paddock. The game against the pups, certainly was no contender for game of the year, but for me the eels played the game at a pace and plan to win comfortably and injury free at games end, the NB injury kills that theory, though it put some extra pressure on the lesser bench, it served a purpose.

    Any win is always good.

    1. John Eel

      Colin I think there is merit in your suggestion about getting other players ready for the semis. I also agree with Forty suggesting that it will help around SOO time

      1. Colin Hussey

        Thanks John. Having watched a couple of the knock on games, I have been impressed by the Kiwi Makatoa, he does not look that big and seems to sit close to Papa’s size, and shown a slightly less degree of papa’s hard running as well, could be a handy bench player going forward, but his age is possibly against him.

        I also wonder with NB and his injury if it many not be a benefit, while he could be missed against chicks we at least have some replacement options.

    2. sixties

      Interesting thought Colin. And do you as a coach, look at the team at the macro or micro level? Or both? I’d suggest both, because of you consider individual player development you are by nature investing in the team’s future too. So when BA said that it was important for Oregon to start a game, that is both for him and the team.

      1. Colin Hussey

        Exactly with Oregon, he has been a non starter as how many have said he’s not good enough in that role, after of course he was held back by the coach as not ready/big enough for the NRL. Thus the hold back and surprise works in the exact line as expected and of course needed and proved both to coach and experts of his value, to team, coach, club and supporters

  4. Jpe Briffa

    That was good mate. It took me back to my school days and all the reports which read he did only what he needed to do to pass , could have done much better.

  5. BDon

    Tks Forty. Ditto on Brett Morris. I follow the game equally as the Eels. The game would sink without the variety of characters, you just need a good proportion of Morris types to give it depth and balance. Like many TCT followers, I grew up with League kids then teenagers then adults, you just get to know that the mix is rich with difference.
    And Matto, couldn’t help but notice how smooth his game looked.

    1. sixties

      BDon, I thought Matto produced a very solid performance. Didn’t shirk any contact which is a good sign.

  6. Dday

    Forty I am enjoying the resurgent Eels – good standard and consistently good. Had plenty of years of the mediocrity, definitely enjoying 2021. Only 1 perfect game to date (storm) but really appreciate the Eels not being sucked down to the level of the opposition.
    And credit to BA for mixing things up – preparation for SOO, injuries etc but keeping the squad on their toes and developing the rookies.
    Also impressed by our fitness which is contributing to our good run with injuries.
    Love some bbq chook me… fingers crossed.

    1. sixties

      DDay, I’ve gone from being pleasantly surprised by any wins just a few short years ago to being disappointed by any losses. I wonder how many other supporters have had that mind set change.

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