What an eventful weekend.

The headlines from the Friday night “circus” were unrelenting, so much so that they overshadowed what was arguably the upset result of the season. More on that later.

First we have to dig into that upset because it involved our beloved Eels.

I always look forward to watching my team play, but I was incredibly apprehensive as I watched the game on Saturday night.

Then, as the game unfolded, I found it hard to believe what I was watching.

In retrospect that was not a fair feeling to have, as history shows that this team, these players, can consistently play that way. In my defence, it just felt like a long time since we had witnessed our team play together and play with so much desire.

As a Parramatta fan I have never, and will never, demand perfection. Of course I want the Eels to win the premiership, but I believe that being accountable and playing for each other will ultimately result in success being attained.

So, to the game itself.

I could rave about the swift and precise attacking movements we saw or I could focus on the cover defence and the improved and united line speed. Instead the most pleasing aspect was how the Eels responded to mistakes. When the Eels play well, this is usually a feature.

Mitch Moses

As the second half of the match kicked off, many of us probably doubted that our team could match the energy of the first 40 minutes. Then when Mitch dropped the ball in the first set of the second stanza to turn possession over to the Storm around the 40 metre mark half, I wondered how Parra would handle it.

Earlier this season the Eels demonstrated a resolve to defend a mistake. They would have patience and battle to regain possession then kick long to restart the battle for field position.

It has been a while since the team has shown that backbone.

However, last Saturday night Parra found the internal desire and team accountability that has been sadly missing.

Nobody tried to fix problems themselves, nobody shot out of the line to do it on their own. Everyone defended together, covered for each other’s mistakes and stayed calm.

The team played with confidence – a confidence in each other and a confidence in the game plan.

Gutho

In recent weeks I’ve been critical of some of our leaders. Whoever has been responsible, or however it’s been achieved, we witnessed a return to team unity and without question there has to be leadership behind it.

I could say my family enjoyed watching the game but that does not really do it justice. We were proud. Proud of the team that they dug deep and found the belief in themselves and in each other. They became the team once again that so many have spent years trying to build.

I am going to end this post by addressing the weekend’s refereeing controversy.

The only way that the standard of refereeing will get better is with honest accountability. Unfortunately Mr Annesley and others still need to understand that the enormity of the errors is further compounded by the fact that such errors surprised no one.

Fans have actually come to expect referees to make basic errors, some that determine the momentum or even the outcome of games. It should therefore come as no shock that fans don’t have any faith in the ability of the referees to get better, especially when there is no meaningful accountability. At best, we get the occasional and simplistic “we got it wrong” trotted out in press conferences.

Intelligent supporters want a solution to the problem.

The harsh complaints of a high profile coach like Trent Robinson might find a sympathetic audience in all of us, and the repercussions faced by Friday’s match officials might be warranted – but they aren’t the answer.

The path to improvement lies in having referees rising through the ranks. The constant barrages made by coaches such as Mr Robinson every time their team receives a poor decision will only discourage young referees from being serious about pursuing such a career. No parent would want their child to be a referee and be abused so openly.

Our game won’t improve from NRL executives making knee jerk reactions to disgruntled coaches.

Referees will only get better when they are being led with honesty and accountability. And we must encourage more young referees to join the ranks.

Nothing that happened over the weekend, both on and off the field, gave me any hope that a solution is near.

Shelley

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