It’s time for a reset.
There’s no disguising the performance of the Parramatta Eels in their humiliating loss to an injury riddled Roosters.
A blunt assessment would equate it to watching the 2021 Bulldogs at their worst. Honestly, lining up against Parra on Thursday night might have been two points in the bank for any NRL club, not just the Roosters.
It would therefore be easy to write the team off for this year, as many experts and Eels supporters have already done.
How does a team who played like that hope to win another match this season, let alone have any ambition of making an impression on the finals series?
Quite simply they wouldn’t.
They wouldn’t if that is how they approach any upcoming match in this season.
Therein lies the challenge of what needs to change and how big that change needs to be.
I’d argue that it starts in the mind.
I’m no expert on the methodology of positive thinking and how to achieve it, but Thursday night’s performance screamed negativity.
From the opening whistle the Eels were intent on shifting the ball. How many of you were immediately concerned?
With almost every pass I began screaming “no” at the television.
Everything looked stilted and the players’ movements and decision making were coloured a bright shade of hesitance.
Offloads were plentiful but without purpose. The pack forgot what they were called – forwards.
If the game plan was to explore the Roosters edges it looked like the team hadn’t bought into how to do it. The players weren’t on the same page, strike that, they weren’t even in the same library.
Gutho
My worry intensified when Gutho threw a rushed pass behind Jake Arthur then risked a captain’s challenge on a possible Roosters touch.
What made the match even more frustrating was the Roosters were ripe for a defeat. The tri-colours opened the match with a litany of errors. Nerves were getting the better of them.
Furthermore, despite the presence of quality players, this Roosters team was arguably weaker than the one which the Eels powerfully disposed of in Round 9.
Herein lies the point that needs to be made. The key word above is “powerfully”.
Let’s be very clear. The Eels don’t win matches like the Storm or the Panthers. They don’t dispose of opponents in the same way, nor should they be expected to. Teams don’t need to replicate the methods of another team to secure victories, and every team has a different squad and skill set at their disposal.
Parramatta have developed a brand of football, let’s call it “Parra footy”. It’s based on establishing dominance through the middle, thereby tiring the opposition defence.
The power play of the forwards continually bends the defensive line, clocking up post contact metres. Scoring opportunities come via the territorial advantage gained from big running metres and a strong kicking game. Patience and composure are critical.
Mitch Moses
The number of try assists from Moses’ kicking is no accident. If you’re in position for an attacking kick, you use it. After all, a try from a kick is worth the exact same points as the most spectacular, length of the field four-pointer.
On the back of the forwards’ dominance, the second phase play starts to destabilise the opposition defence, whilst both halves have the ability to create problems off that with their running game. At their best, Sivo and Ferguson are probably the X factors, creating tries out of half chances.
Another string to the attacking bow was added this season with Reed Mahoney’s variety out of dummy half. The development in his game added strike power to the spine. More on this shortly.
Such a formula for the Eels is simple, but successful. It is the foundation upon which variations can be added to suit each opponent, such as hitting edges, finding space behind the ruck, early kicks, and unstructured play.
However, for some reason this method of winning games has been branded not good enough, with Parramatta’s attack labelled predictable and incapable of matching powerhouses such as the Storm or the Panthers.
Funnily enough, when the Eels stay true to this “Parra footy”, that sentiment is not at all applicable. For most of the season, the Eels have sat in the top four for tries scored. The disasters seem to unfold when the team attempts to play an expansive game without laying any platform.
The poor performances against the Dragons, Souths and the Roosters have all featured a shift the ball mentality. The Eels forwards were overpowered in those matches due to their own lateral play which was belted by the direct and aggressive footy of their opposition. It resulted in completion rates of 72%, 72% and 74% respectively.
I’ve omitted the loss to Manly in that category. An inspired Sea Eagles dismantled the Eels right side defence in that match, resulting in the separation of Blake and Ferguson as a centre/wing pairing.
The adoption of such lateral football is difficult to understand. The players look uncomfortable, hesitant and the body language is devoid of confidence. Furthermore, the Eels history when resorting to this style should be a constant reminder of its failure.
In contrast, the Eels have played that “Parra footy” in their victories and even in their narrow losses to Canberra and Penrith. Both of those losses featured solid completion rates of 80% and 83%, and opportunities to secure the win. Errors in execution and a couple of missed kicks proved the difference.
And that’s just footy, not a reason to steer away from what works.
Disregard opinions about the questions asked by the Eels attack or any comparisons made to other teams. All that matters is winning. Parramatta can quickly get back on the winning path by playing the type of football which suits their players.
By way of exercise, have a look at the highlights against the Roosters in Round 9.
Firstly you’ll see Parra ice scoring opportunities off kicks, something which they failed to convert in Round 20.
Reed Mahoney
Watch the interplay between Mahoney and Paulo close to the line which manufactures a try. Don’t underestimate the importance of a confident Reed Mahoney. When he asks questions, Parramatta bend that defensive line. If he simply distributes, the Eels find the go forward that much tougher.
Finally, as Dylan Brown scores you’ll hear Peter Sterling praise Parramatta’s patience this season, and the opportunities which come against a tired defence. I’d challenge any supporter to find a shred of patience last week.
In reality, turning their form around is as challenging as the Eels are willing to make it.
A positive mindset and belief in their own systems and their “Parra footy” is the easiest path.
Listening to confusing messages about the different ways that the team should be playing is the doorway to more performances like we saw on Thursday night.
Ignore the critics and trust the process.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Totally agree, we need to work to “our formula”, but have the ability to play “heads up footy” when necessary. Seems the transition between the two modes, is our achilles heel.
100… That is why Panthers win… Not that we play like them but they can adapt their game during a match when needed. We stick to our game plan so well that even when it’s not working or just plain wrong we will keep trying with everything we have. As Sterlo says we have the most effort just need to think of it is working. I do agree we have to win the middle but also play what is infront.
Jonno, I don’t dispute that there are moments when more can be done. That’s footy. That comes down to players playing what’s in front of them in moments in a game. It’s why you get upsets in games. A team can be off in doing those things in a given week. Believe it or not the players are up skilled to do that, and as Junior said recently, BA gives them the licence to have a crack. The fact still remained that in that Panthers game, even without doing that bit more, playing that Parra footy should and could have secured the win.
Great article… Love the commitment to the team….
Thanks Tim. Won’t change that support
It’s all about the speed of the play the ball. You establish forward dominance by fast play the balls and quick powerful runs through that ruck. We would have the slowest play the ball speed in the NRL. Players like Sivo are simply pedestrian at it and it nullifies any gains he makes.
Fathead, you have hit on an issue that I think is separate to the concerns of this post but still worth discussing. I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of why, but we are regularly beaten in play the ball speed. It’s not in our own speed but rather the comparative speed to the opposition in each match. Ie the opposition manage to hold us down and wrestle far more than we do. I’ve previously attributed our discipline in not giving away penalties there, and many of us moan at matches about the way certain opposition push the 6 again in the ruck with the slowing tactics.
i don’t have an answer other than maybe we need to also push the rules.
As for Sivo, again I can’t disagree, though he’s probably improved from last year. But it’s still not good enough.
Sixties, nobody holds Sivo down, he just has the slowest play the ball in the comp, absolute ill disciplined play by him, just about every time he gets tackled, or tickled! He gets a roll on and plays the ball like in slow motion!
I don’t disagree with labelling it slow.
Great take Sixtes. Whilst this side’s identity went missing against the Roosters, it is not lost. It was only a month ago that we took it to the wire against Penrith (yes Clearly was out but so was Mahoney). This was followed by the most complete first half of footy that the team has put together in a long while. This is easily forgotten.
The Roosters loss hurt (especially when plenty of your mates are chooks fans) but to draw out a conclusion that this side is doomed to repeat last season’s finals run is far too premature. The media and twitterati have loved spinning this yarn in recent days; it is lazy journalism but sells.
Without wanting to weigh on the past, such a comparison overlooks the decimation to our outside backs and the untimely and unfortunate news on the day of the Souths’ final. You’d be hard pressed to confidently argue that other sides could have handled it any better, indeed we led at halftime and only just missed the prelim. Looking forward, the comparison also ignores how this side has proven itself a step above last year’s side (not just on paper but on the field). Lastly, the impact of Moses’ eventual return cannot be understated. Certainly, a comparison cannot be properly made until this happens.
We will be playing finals footy and I personally cannot wait.
Cheers Anon. I echo all of your sentiments and the take on last year. There’s no question that Thursday was the worst performance of the season. There’s no question it was unwanted and potentially costly in terms of top 4. However, the competing teams still have to get the results, just as we do. The ball remains in our court and our ability to play to our strengths will determine that future.
Thanks for this article, totally agree that we need to get back to a more positive style of play and that if we do, then the good footy and results will return.
It’s probably worth asking though; why would a team that’s basically won 40 out of their last 50 matches with the same style make such a dramatic departure in such a crucial game?
It’s a leadership issue, captain, coach or senior player’s have to own up to that and do their best to make sure it doesn’t recur. Imagine making it to a major final or GF playing parra footy just to listen to some negative press and throw the game plan away on Game day – it’s not acceptable. There will always be critics of parra, the boy’s need to treat that as water off a ducks back & completely ignore the press/media before and after games.
Glad to hear that gutho made it right after losing it last week, He needs a haircut and a big shot in the arm of positivity. He leads from the front literally every game – which is not easy – but he only makes it harder on himself and the team if he manifests a negative mindset. He must be a beacon of positivity every game.
Here is another thought; Parra will often give the opposition too much respect – like they are afraid to give away a 6-again (which is a lotto anyway) or not confident enough within themselves to take on the big boys. EG: JWH was all over the forwards early and no one seemed willing to take Him on and win the ascendancy back. – the same was true with Rapana last week, he played a great game but you get the feeling if someone had pulled off a big hit on Him and crowed about it He would’ve quieted down abit and maybe not had such an effect on the game overall.
There has to be a certain amount of ruthlessness and arrogance by the forwards, they are the best pack in the game but THEY have to believe it. Hold down in the tackle, display abit of attitude when you force a mistake. Get that line speed back up on one out runs and look for big contacts.
We can’t rely on the officials to keep the contests fair and roosters, melb, penrith, souths, are not above bending the rules to get an advantage. It’s time parra took up the challenge and enforced themselves on the contest abit more. If the forwards go hard against souths all game & we hold our own defensively out wide – we will win this game and get things back on track but if we let burgess, sua arrow and co dictate terms then it could be another long night.
Steele, your comments about leadership and about ruthless arrogance resonated with me. Someone like JWH does walk that line. He pushes boundaries and it’s all part of declaring his presence. I had been talking to a wise person recently who declared that Marata could be that person for us. An interesting perspective from him and now you.
I remember seeing footage of Tommy Turbo spraying one of his forwards for being lazy. Only Turbo could get away with that… because his performance aside from injury is flawless. Gutho has been spraying his teammates but throwing erratic passes. He tries hard but it seems he is under too much pressure and is not handling it well. That rubs off on the team and the players start making more errors. Sometimes the harder you try the worse it gets.
I’m looking for an overhaul this week because a number of players are looking tired and we need to get out of this funk…. We need a circuit breaker. We need to change things up a bit.
I hope I’m Wrong but I don’t think we can beat Rabbits this week. Id be resting RCG and Paulo or bring off the bench, Arthur, Sivo and Blake rest this week. Reed is overworked so, i’d put Lussick on the bench to cover Reed, bring in Penisini, Dunster for Sivo and Blake.
If Moses isn’t back I’d have D Brown to 7 and W Smith to 6.
I guess I have the luxury of never being accountable for the team decisions and
I hope I’m Wrong and we beat the bunnies.
Go Eels!!
Pete, I wish we had the luxury of being able to rest some players. Maybe Sivo could be rested for Dunster. We could also expect the return of Moses.
As for Gutho, his effort areas remain strong but I agree – it looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. That’s tough when your captain looks that way. I reckon he needs to find the joy in his footy again.
Sixties, you may not know, but I am hearing that Gutho and BA are at odds over the continued selection of Jake Arthur. If it is the case I understand Gutho’s frustration, Jake is not up to NRL level at this point!
Anon, where are you “hearing“ that? That type of statement often belongs on forums where someone has made it up.
Jake isn’t ready to be a regular NRL player just yet, but he will be. People have turned him into an unjustified scapegoat, attributing the losses to him. As an 18 year old I reckon he’s done a good job filling in for 6 games. He attracted a lot of criticism for a couple of missed tackles, specifically against the Raiders.
Well, he backed that up with 21 tackles with zero misses against the Roosters, even though he was targeted.
His overall tackle efficiency is 86.3%. Here’s the efficiency for some top halves so you can compare – Moses 86.5%, Luai 86.7%, Foran 86.7%, Walker 86.6, Munster 84.4, Reynolds 89.6% and the half of a similar age, Sam Walker – 80%. The Eels are blessed to have Dylan Brown who has an outrageous 95.8% tackle efficiency, but if anyone thinks that quality halves won’t miss tackles when they are targeted on the edges, they are sadly wrong. And young Jake is hitting a good tackle efficiency at only 18 years of age.
If you are saying Jake isn’t up to NRL level just yet, why is he being played?
Are you saying that you don’t understand what I mean by regular NRL player?
in a young player’s development they might get a taste of first grade filling in for injured players. It’s part of the learning process. There are examples in the Eels team of such players – Marata Niukore, Oregon Kaufusi.
That is how Jake has been used. That’s where he’s at.
Dave good read sixties i think we got frustrated when we had those 2 tries disallowed our tactics was to score tries of kicks down 12 ..0 i think both tries were tries we started the 2nd half quite well if that was awarded at 12..6 it is a different ball game huge moment call from the bunker they scored 18..0 game pver then we had our 2nd try disallowed at 18..0 whats your oppinion on those 2 tries
Massive momentum changers Anon. The bunker got both right, but it comes back to how the NRL is a game of moments and we missed those two big chances in the second half. That said, the way the Roosters began the match, if we were playing our typical game, I believe we would have taken advantage of it.
I think your assertion that a positive mindset is the way to win is spot on. I believe Parra has trouble with the psychological process that results in that mindset. Do we have a Sports psychologist? If not, why not? They appear to have a collective negative attitude and you can almost feel it sometimes, like last week. Psychology should not be underrated and could play a part in our winning in the future.
Works for the All Blacks
I’m not sure about this year, but we have utilised a specialist (Kurt Wrigley) in leadership and positive thinking in recent seasons – definitely in 2019.
Sixties, good post overall.
I for one do not understand the change in playing style by the team, even though we lost a few players against the chooks, prior to and in the game itself.
I wonder though if the change has been manufactured by the Media experts regarding the way the eels use the ball and in attack, for two or more weeks now the dry ground experts on the TV expert panels, have been pushing the concept that the eels are not getting the ball away, not pushing it amongst several other aspects in regard to our play.
In those experts mind sets, the eels had to change, dare I suggest it was to inflate their ego’s and exactually set out making it hard to read for our players and to change to a new style. It ended with the horror shows of the past few weeks with our loses, especialy those that took place when the eels had defended top line but in the 2nd half they dagged themselves when the opposition scored first, with that our attack and defence fell to bits.
Not going to comment on some of the ultra dumb/manic/stupid plays by a few of our players that should have done it in our previous playing style. The wors of the experts was several comments from an ex eel, which did not go down well with many, deflating a team with negativity never works, especially when it comes from outsiders that should know better.
We have a tough few weeks ahead of us, and I see no reason why the eels, players and coaches should not get them back to their best style of football at a pace that they can win, but also not drain them for a real shot in the finals.
Outside noise should be easy to block out Col, but it seems like it found its way to the team. I imagine it’s difficult when the media directly ask the questions of the players and coach about the Eels game. We aren’t privy to team meetings or discussions, but I’d be surprised if talk didn’t feature on focussing on what the team does well.
Everyone is not addressing a huge factor, that being the extraordinarily physical/brutal game that was last week. I called it early that both parra and Canberra would lose following that game.
Too sore to hit it up or forcefully commit in defence?
I notice in the canberra game the rads were 8 mtrs back to us 10 and the play the ball speed ours was a lot slower you do get momentum through quick play balls but sometimes its up to how the reff rules pn those 2 areas ropana try there was 2 defenders sitting on the ground and had absouletly no chance to get in the defence line because the speed of the game favours the attacking side more then the defence i think the rules are unfair
Someone else raised the topic of our play the ball speeds. I believe that we focus on not giving away repeat sets, but it seems like those who have pushed the rules have gained an advantage. Maybe we need to rethink our approach? That moment in the Raiders game was poor work by our defenders who were caught on the ground but not on the tackled player. It was also smart play by the Raiders.
That might just be a fair call. Hadn’t considered that to be honest.
I hope we can turn it around, I really do. Just not sure we can do it. I’m sure Moses will make a difference, but will it be enough to win games? Unfortunately I think we will win 1-2 more games before finals, finishing 6th. I’ll still be supporting the team though. Prove me wrong Parra!
west Coast, this next game against the Bunnies will be the chance to make an important statement
Peter Sterling is a Parramatta great and is one of my all time Eels favourite players. However as I said last week I was disappointed with his comments in the media. I am certain that he would have the opportunity to have that discussion with BA in private:
Notwithstanding the opening to the Roosters game was frightening. I have no way of knowing if it was planned or it simply played out that way on the field. It was dumb football.
The best wins that we have had in the last three seasons have been against top teams playing the power game, Parra footy, to perfection.
I gather you reacted the same way as me to the opening against the Roosters. I just kept calling out no, no, no. In every set.
There are some personnel changes that need to be made. Peninisi for Opacic, Will Smith for JA if Moses not back and Dunster for Sivo who needs a good rest to reset. Not sure whats happened to Papa but his impact has diminished and he doesn’t pass/offload any more.
We constantly lose the ruck with slow ptb’s and refuse to hold down like the Storm do and ALWAYS get away with it. Also our line speed needs improving in D to put the attacking team under pressure. Minor changes there to really improve the team.
Glenn, I’d also like to see Sivo get a rest for a re-charge. A fresh and revved up Sivo could be the difference in a game or two.
We desperately need Moses back, simple. It’s not just his kicking game we are missing, his loss has changed our entire attacking structure and it’s been very detrimental to us. Gutho has gone away from what makes him so good – trailing the ruck waiting for an offload or jumping into dummy half on the back of a quick play the ball for an easy 15 metres and another quick play the ball to keep us on a roll and we can play footy off the back of it. Instead, Gutho has tried to be a 3rd playmaker – often overruling JA and Dylan and becoming a sweep player as well. It doesn’t suit him or us as a team and has to stop. Go back to what was working early in the year.
I agree about Gutho. His energy levels are just as high, but he looks less effective and under stress. And that’s not him.
Brissy the benefit of Mitch’s kicking game is that against a fast defensive line we may not always get the metres we are looking for. However the MM kicking game can mostly be relied upon to get us to the other end.
It must also be remembered that by being measerly with our passing game at our own end of the field means our errors are diminished.
Spot on John.
I just read the Paul Kent article in the DT on the Eels and the rumour that they are chasing Bennett.
Not always a big fan of Kenty but he is absolutely on the money with this one. Leading up to BA after Brian Smith left we went through a number of coaches. None of whom brought us any real and lasting success.
I feel confident that the current board will hold their nerve and do what is best for the club long term.
I am not going near the other sites but they would be in meltdown by now especially given the fact that PK is the author.
Good point John about this. I thought it was a decent story by Kent.
I also hear Kent has Sixties direct phone line…..
Lol
I guarantee you haven’t heard me being critical of Kent for some time Milo. His other Central Coast mate might be different!
Yes he didn’t miss us today
You can’t talk commonsense to some John. Kent is on the money, but there is an absolute frenzy after two losses. Imagine if some supporters were in decision making positions! We’d be changing coaches annually, sitting at the bottom of the table and in a dire financial position. Thank goodness we have calm heads in charge.
Trust the process of a late season collapse? Uhhh…. okay…
Jake Arthur literally jumped out of the way of a pass, and you blame Gutho?
Parra kicked so poorly behind JA and Brown that we conceded more 7 tackle sets than we earned drop outs, only the second time this year we have done so (Dragons was the other game).
Anyway, this talk of “Parra footy”, that we have to win a certain way through our power game or we have no hope of winning…. guess what? Good teams need to find different ways to win! You need to win off the back foot as well as the front foot. If Parra can only win 1 way then we really are doomed and BA needs to be removed for a more dynamic coach that can make us win in more than one way.
Raptor, your dislike of Jake has you confusing the incidents. He didn’t jump out of the way of Gutho’s pass but was guilty of hesitancy when Oregon dumped an ugly ball out the back.
And surprise, surprise, in a game without our experienced and now Origin half, who is one of the best general players kickers in the comp, we didn’t reach our best kicking standards. How surprising! What are you trying to read into that? It’s not a revelation.
I said that Parra footy is the foundation upon which the variations should be built – set plays and unstructured footy. You develop opponent specific plans on the top of what works for you. If you execute a game based on your strengths it works off the back foot or the front foot. And guess what, sometimes teams don’t play well and get beaten. It’s called footy.
Raptor, your dislike of Jake has you confusing the incidents. He didn’t jump out of the way of Gutho’s pass but was guilty of hesitancy when Oregon dumped an ugly ball out the back.
And surprise, surprise, in a game without our experienced and now Origin half, who is one of the best general players kickers in the comp, we didn’t reach our best kicking standards. How surprising! What are you trying to read into that? It’s not a revelation.
I said that Parra footy is the foundation upon which the variations should be built. You develop opponent specific plans on the top of what works for you. If you execute a game based on your strengths it works off the back foot or the front foot. And guess what, sometimes teams don’t play well and get beaten. It’s called footy.
Was having this line of thought too. The Storm and Manly for example, exploited our poor defence in our red zone of wide shifts, they shifted wide from anywhere on the park, their execution was good. We try shifting early, execution poor. I may not be able to express a sophisticated explanation of what’s going wrong but what about the twin sins of errors and low completions, not many teams win games with these. They feature when we get dusted. Why are we leading the error count in the NRL?
On one of the Twitter feeds that was up on TCT this afternoon was one from Christian Welch.
He said that their game plan was to just keep taking it up to the advantage line. Isn’t that what the Eels do.
He also said that it wasn’t pretty but it is the modern game. Any win is better than a loss no matter how ugly.
If the Eels won ugly all the way to winning the comp I would not be complaining at all.
Spot on sixties. We need to play patient, direct footy. Ignore the whingers complaining that it’s ugly. It wears defences down and wins games.