Round 14 Drink Of Choice – Bundy & Creaming Soda

While games two through six were relatively tight encounters, the Parramatta Eels are on a 7-game tear against the Wests Tigers. The bookend results in that streak are a completely different matter. Starting with the legendary 51-6 christening of Bankwest Stadium way back in 2019 and most recently making it a magnificent seven with the comprehensive 40-12 blowout in Round 14 of the 2021 season.

With back-to-back 40-point wins cashed in it sure feels like the Eels have quickly shrugged off the mid-season slump which saw them drop consecutive games to the Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs. The win against the Tigers, Parramatta’s 11th of the 2021 campaign, leaves them just one victory adrift of the ladder leading Storm and Panthers and has them positioned beautifully ahead of their incoming bye and subsequent murderer’s row of games.

For the time being though, let’s talk about how the Eels tamed the Tigers on the long weekend and completed third consecutive sweep of their Western Sydney rivals.

Silk & Steel

Forwards that can blend brutal hits and punishing runs with moments of class and deft touch are prized commodities in the game. Parramatta are fortunate to have two such weapons at their disposal and while Junior Paulo deservedly gets top billing here, Nathan Brown put on a show against the Tigers this week to remind all and sundry of just how good he is.

In typical fashion, Brown tore into the ruck defence of the opposition with every carry coming off the back fence. He gashed the Tigers in behind the ruck with terrifying effectiveness, wearing down their defenders all game to the tune of 159m from 19 carries. What really killed Wests though was the fact that those charges from Brown won an incredible three set restarts on their own. He was ruthless and you just love to see that.

If he brought the steely resolve between the 20m marks, by contrast he suited up like a gentleman in his Sunday finest inside the redzone to lay up a feast for Clinton Gutherson. Brown served the entree and the dessert to his captain with slick offloads that lead to the Parramatta custodian opening and closing the scoring. The silky touch in his first try assist in particular was a treat for the eyes at the Eels worked a brilliant little set piece down their left edge.

The only knock on Brown’s game was a somewhat reckless tackle attempt in the first half where he tried to impose himself on the Tigers. Even so I acknowledge that he was trying to inspire the Eels to a dominant defensive stand and give him a bit of leeway for it.

Left is right and right is up

Switching Waqa Blake to the left looks to be 100% the right call while the introduction of Haze Dunster to the right wing has that edge trending upwards defensively in a hugely encouraging manner. The double change-up was a bold gamble by the coaches. Waqa in particular was a popular culprit for the team’s struggles down the right but instead it was Blake Ferguson to pay the price and through two games it honestly looks like an inspired choice.

I acknowledge that the Knights and Tigers aren’t exactly premiership heavyweights but the long standing struggles of the right edge were never limited to elite opposition. Mediocre teams have toyed with that edge over the last two seasons with the Blake & Blake combination often operating in completely different books, let alone pages. With Tom Opacic guiding him and calling the shots, Dunster has applied himself diligently to the role in defence. He has made cleans reads, great initial contact and perhaps more than anything else just a whole lot of energy in cover and pursuit. Haze might not be a star rookie but gee you can get behind what he is bringing.

Blake looks like a player reborn following his switch. The involvement, the energy levels, the impact – all of them are on another level since partnering up with the cool kids on the left edge. He backed up his 1 try, 16 run, 170m, 7 tackle bust effort against the Knights with a 1 try, 15 run, 150m, 6 tackle bust encore performance against Wests. The numbers are eye-popping but even more than that he is popping up on and off the ball so much. From quality kick defusals to heads up clean up work, Waqa was everywhere. Obviously he needs to keep playing at this level but he was challenged by Brad Arthur with the switch and has responded brilliantly.

Cash Mahoney & The Federal Reserve

The absence of Reed Mahoney for any sort of prolonged period had the potential to cast a nasty pall over Parramatta’s premiership push. Cash Mahoney has literally been a money printing machine for the Eels this year adding value all over the park with his peerless service, relentless defence and shrewd play-making ability. Reed avoided a season ending injury against Newcastle and is pushing to play against Penrith in Round 16 but Brad Arthur is expected to rest his star rake until after the bye to maximise his recovery window.

Given that the dummy-half handles the ball more than any other role it is fair to suggest that it kind of an important role and replacing a representative calibre rake is a massive task. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Joey Lussick aka The Federal Reserve. After a couple of short stints from the bench, Parramatta called upon Joey for his first start at the club and he delivered emphatically. From an opportunistic solo try to some staunch ruck defence and critically consistent top-shelf service, Lussick delivered above and beyond the replacement level for his role.

It was clear in 2020 that the Eels needed better depth behind Reed and while the recruitment of Lussick was largely met with negative-to-lukewarm responses at the time, it is yet another piece of quality work by Mark O’Neill and company. Lussick himself has a wild fortnight ahead of him as he plumbs the depth of the competition against the Bulldogs before a showdown with the standout Panthers looms large. Seeing the next man up mentality very much alive and well is always a credit to both player and staff and it exemplifies how far the club has come since the dark days of the early 2010s.

Showdown to substitute Sivo

With Maika Sivo taking a 1-week holiday for a careless tackle on Adam Doueihi the biggest selection question facing Brad Arthur for Round 15 is who replaces Sivo on the wing. Blake Ferguson is the obvious candidate and will likely get the call but there is a legitimately fascinating option to blood outstanding rookie prospect Will Penisini.

The ‘ideal’ opportunities to give Penisini his first grade debut in 2021 are few and far between now given that Parramatta face a brutal gauntlet after the bye. Looking at the schedule you can limit those windows to Round 18 vs the Titans, Round 23 against the Cowboys and more immediately this week against the Bulldogs. In terms of form there should be little doubt as Will has been in sensational touch in the NSW Cup and is coming off a string of mammoth individual games.

Penisini’s most recent three game average is an eye-watering 199.33m from 17 carries at a brilliant click of 11.72m per carry. Defences have struggled to contain him in any capacity with the young centre breaking 6.33 tackles a game and breaking the line 5 times in the same period. Will has also scored in each of those three games and also tacked on a try assist for good measure. Offensively, he has clearly been a juggernaut and he has been equally effective on either edge given his recent switch to the left.

Crucially though, Will Penisini has been a rock at arguably the most difficult position in defence. Plenty of traffic has come his way in this recent stretch with Will asked to complete 54 tackles combined against the Rabbitohs, Knights and Magpies. With his missed tackle count sitting at 1 and his ineffective tackles tallying to 4, Will is good for a superb effective tackle rate of 90.7%.

While calling him up might facilitate an awkward shuffle of the backline where he either plays out of position at wing or pushes Waqa Blake to the flank it should not be ignored that he is the hot hand. The Eels gambled on Jake Arthur stepping up earlier this year and as a result it wouldn’t shock me if they did the same for Penisni.

The Final Word

Some second half sloppiness derailed what could have been something more akin to a cricket score but that was a largely enjoyable win. The Eels got a little bit too kick-happy and squandered some prime opportunities to forge an even greater lead.

Isaiah Papali’i was at his destructive best throughout but a momentary lapse of judgement resulted in him getting sin-binned. Admittedly, some of the blame should lie on both Grant Atkins and Henry Perenara who both allowed tensions to escalate when they refused to act on some blatant foul play from Tom Amone on Reagan Campbell-Gillard. Still, the Eels hamstrung themselves by getting baited by the niggle and can definitely afford to reassess how they handle those sort of opposition tactics.

Mitchell Moses was cutthroat and I truly love that. He slid into 5th gear multiple times and torched Wests with his running game. He was flawless off the kicking tee as well which led to a whole lot of Sweet Caroline getting played at Bankwest Stadium. That seems like a hate it or love it kind of deal but for me at least I always enjoy belting out a bah-bah-baaah at the footy.

Naturally, the focus now shifts to the next game where the Eels will host the Canterbury Bulldogs who enter this game off a season best performance against the Dragons. Parramatta cruised past Canterbury earlier this year and there is no doubt that the Dogs will want revenge. By the same token Parramatta will be looking to fine-tune what they showed in their last two outings and complete another sweep.

If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.