Sunday June 13th, 2021
Bankwest Stadium
EELS 40 defeat TIGERS 12
Half time: Eels 14 – 6
Attendance: 23,421
Eels Scorers:
Tries: C. Gutherson X 2, J. Lussick, W. Blake, M. Moses, M. Sivo
Goals: Conversions: M. Moses 6 from 6, Penalty Goals: M. Moses 2 from 2
Another strong performance from the Eels saw them put the Tigers to the sword in emphatic victory at Bankwest Stadium.
The only concerns to come out of this game were the slowish start to the first half and a late brain fade with regards to discipline.
Possession was fairly even with the Eels having 51% possession.
The set completion rate was a decent though not inspiring 77%, with 37 from 48 sets completed.
Time wise, the Eels were in the Tigers half for 45:37 minutes with 20:20 minutes in the Tigers red zone.
Attack
This was another attacking clinic from the Eels. Even though they started the first half fairly slowly, it was great to see Parra set up field dominance and build pressure.
In total Parramatta made 2471 metres against the Tigers 1744 metres. This included 1876 running metres from 184 carries, of which 591 were Post Contact Metres.
Waqa Blake led the Eels in running metres with 169 metres, closely followed by Mitchell Moses with 166 run metres. Shout outs to Clint Gutherson and Tom Opacic who ran for 149 metres apiece and Nathan Brown who led the forward running metres with 159.
In total 10 Eels ran for more than 100 metres against the Tigers.
Hit Up Heat Map
A wide and stretched out hit map this week. It’s pleasing to see the hard yards made up the middle which also extend deep into Tigers territory. This emphasised that both our middles and edges contributed to the Eels gaining significant territorial dominance.
Set Starts
Although there were not may restarts in the Tigers 20, the Eels still produced quality field dominance and maintained pressure on the Tigers.
We also saw the Eels make 8 line breaks, and good second phase with 15 offloads and 45 tackle breaks. Receiving 9 set restarts and 9 penalties also helped the Eels.
Defence
When you only concede two tries, your defensive structures have had a decent day at the office.
The Eels completed 307 tackles with 19 missed tackles and 13 ineffective tackles. A tackle efficiency rate of 90.6% would have coach Brad Arthur well pleased.
A great stat to come out of our defence was that the Tigers were only able to break the Eels tackles only 15 times.
With Reed Mahoney out for an extended period, someone needed to step up to handle his defensive work load. Stand in hooker Joey Lussick did just that.
Joey completed 48 tackles with just 2 misses. This was a fine effort for his first starting gig at the Eels.
My impression of him early in the match was that he looked gassed, but he proved me wrong with an outstanding performance not just in defence but also in attack.
Defenders of note include Papali’i and Nathan Brown with 29 tackles each, Shaun Lane with 24 with Dylan Brown once again proving his value as a defensive half with 22 tackles and 1 miss.
Discipline
The Eels made 14 errors to Tigers 13. We gave away 4 penalties and 4 set restarts. Four players were put on report – Nathan Brown, Maika Sivo, Isaiah Papali’i and Mitchell Moses. Sivo and Papali’i were both sent to the naughty corner.
As this report is being completed, the punishments been decided with Sivo looking at a week on the sidelines with the early plea and Isaiah $1150 lighter in the wallet.
Final Thoughts
Momentum is again building and confidence is playing a massive role in the Eels current form. Parra looks much better with an in-form Dylan Brown back in action. The footy is always much more effective when both Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses run at the line.
Even though the public comment would be to take it one week at a time, I have little doubt that the Eels would have one eye looking a fortnight into the future and that blockbuster against the Panthers.
A polished performance against the Dogs on Sunday will have the Eels confidence sky high going into the Battle of the West.
Stats That Matta Player of the Week
This week was a tight one between two backs.
Clint Gutherson and Waqa Blake played great games, but I will go with our captain by a bee’s appendage.
There is no doubt our best player this season has been ‘King Gutho’.
Hail to the King.
Gutherson’s Tale of the Tape
· 2 tries
· 13 runs
· 149 run metres
· 46 post contact metres
· 3 line breaks
· 7 tackle breaks
Yours in Blue and Gold
Colmac
Agree with the your observation that Parra just set about controlling field position to build pressure and pleasing to see them stick to the plan.
It was a different plan from the Eels who often target winning the physical battle in defense and attack particularly in the forwards. Not against the Tigers, they built pressure and the Tigers had no response.
Surprised by the balance in the heat map, at the game it felt like there was a of attack going to their RHS.
Joey Lussick did a heap of work, I thought he tired in the 2nd half and maybe struggled to get to dummy half but big step up in tempo coming into NRL so he did very well.
It should reassure us that both the attack and defence stayed strong with Lussick.