Parramatta Eels 28
Warriors 18
While the Warriors had a fair bit of pluck about them, the Parramatta Eels delivered a nice, comfortable win that was safely locked away before the CommBank Stadium bars closed at the 60th minute. Not pretty, not ugly, it was another match you smile at, shake hands with and immediately forget its name. That falls into the good right now because the Eels have had too many days of that handshake being followed by a swift kick to the groin.
One week is a slip, two weeks is a trend. The Eels phoned in the last ten minutes for the second week in a row and have now dropped at least 20 points in a top four battle that may be decided on points differential. You don’t get that ten from the judges without sticking the landing, and the last two weeks the Eels have finished off a double forward flip twist by twisting their ankle and falling on their backside.
It sure would be nice if we could take a short kickoff too. Our efforts both defending them and executing them usually result in our players getting to the ball first just to spill it to the opposition.
Fun things were happening around Maika Sivo tonight, starting with that intercept and finishing with the kind of try the Eels used to score for fun a few years ago, Clint Gutherson getting adventurous after a shocker of an early kick from Reece Walsh. He put on a textbook try saving tackle and executed a textbook “why did you rush in?” try concede. It’s good to have him back.
Other than big Maika, this wasn’t much of an X factor game. The numbers certainly don’t indicate a classic game of footy, and the numbers in this case tell the truth. For those so inclined:
Possession: Warriors 51%, Eels 49%
Completions: Eels 33/41 (80%), Warriors 32/42 (76%)
Run metres: Eels 1,832, Warriors 1,671
Tackle breaks: Eels 19, Warriors 17
Offloads: Eels 6, Warriors 5
Drop outs forced: Eels 4, Warriors 1
Penalties conceded: Eels 7, Warriors 3
This was one of those classic “just give it to the guy with the best stats” kind of games. As the champion of the most irrefutable stat of them all, the VB Hard Earned index, Shaun Lane cannot be denied the MVP award. He made exactly zero appearances in my postgame notes, but he made 174 metres from 16 runs, with nearly half of those post-contact. He was well contained yet not contained at all, plus he defended well and so impressed Brad Arthur he got a crucial 3 minute head start on the hot water in the showers. You da MVP, Laney.
Clint Gutherson
1 – Fullback
This is a bit of a sympathy grade for the King, who literally got the stuffing knocked out of him by Marcelo Montoya of all people. A quick vom on national television was Clint Gutherson’s undoubted highlight, but I loved his vision for Sivo’s game clinching try and he was on the spot as always when Bailey Simonsson threw a hail mary. I’m just glad he didn’t eat spag bol before the game.
Maika Sivo
2 – Left Wing
Maika Sivo went for a quality over quantity approach here, not making many early set charges but taking a few decent runs when he did. He was responsible for two of the biggest moments of the game, his intercept was a 12-point turnaround and he polished off a slick move for his own try. I still have some questions over his defensive combo with Waqa Blake, but for now Sivo isn’t looking too bad for a guy coming off an ACL injury.
Will Penisini
3 – Right Centre
The man of unspeakable nicknames has given few reasons to spout any of them from the stands in the last month or so, perhaps showing signs of fatigue like you can expect from a 19-year old in his first full season of top grade footy. He’s strong enough to get low and finish off the move that eventually saw him held up and pushed over the sideline, he just couldn’t get it done. Will Penisini wasn’t bad by any means, it’s just getting tough to remember the last time he made me stand up and shout a horribly inappropriate schlong reference.
Waqa Blake
4 – Left Centre
That ball for Waqa Blake’s first try was a thing of beauty, but it was mostly on Reed. He finished the intercept nicely and did a lot of hard yardage work, and should have created a try when he belted Reece Walsh and the ref somehow found a knock-on, but he also continues to be a bit ordinary in defence, both tackling and positioning. The good outweighed the bad tonight, but I’d really just like that bad to disappear like it’s a mid-season rules crackdown.
Bailey Simonsson
5 – Right Wing
That try assist was a pretty nice piece of play, though let’s be honest it had a fair bit of fluke about it. Other than that and a couple of decent yardage runs, Bailey Simonsson earned his “Bomb Fumbler” badge by dropping one in both attack and defence and added another ineffective rush to his “try concede” highlight reel. Add in his play-the-ball failure and Sean Russell might be one good game away from a first grade recall.
Dylan Brown
6 – Five Eighth
After getting involved in the kicking game last week, Dylan Brown went back to running against the Warriors and had a few decent moments without being a gamebreaker. He was dangerous enough early that I thought he’d really turn it on in the second half, but aside from the high effort play to put Sivo in on the kick return he just did his thing this week.
Mitch Moses
7 – Halfback
This feels like the kind of game where, when Andrew Johns and Peter Sterling read these grades, they tab down and start bashing out an angry comment about how I don’t appreciate game management and the fine craft of killing a team with a kicking game. Mitchell Moses was good, but he threw fewer passes than Gutho and ran only a couple of times, perhaps hobbled after limping out of an early collision. He did what was needed and not a lot more here.
RCG
8 – Front Row
Big Reg got one long stint here and made it count, highlighted by some bollocking kick returns as the Eels chipped away with line dropouts and pressure footy early on. He laid a platform against a tough Warriors pack, constantly working his way through the tackle and then he got to sit down and watch the pretty-boys run away with it on the back of his hard work. A true prop performance.
Reed Mahoney
9 – Hooker
This might be the best Reed Mahoney has looked all year, as he nixed the triple crash ball specials to instead show some of the deft moves and sleight of hand that made the Bulldogs spend so much on him they needed a salary cap increase to register the deal. That Waqa try was as good a pass as you’ll see, complemented by a great line from RCG, while turning Papali’i in for his try was another good combination of line running and decision making. Is it coincidence that this was also his first sub-40 tackle defensive effort in three months? I doubt it.
Junior Paulo
10 – Front Row
Junior Paulo decided the best way to get over his Origin disappointment was getting back on that horse, putting in a solid effort on minimal rest after a brutal game. It had it all; a couple of offloads, some distribution and a lot of tough metres, and like Reg his efforts laid the platform for a comfortable victory in the second half.
Shaun Lane
11 – Second Row
The Tall Glass of Water had one of those “almost” games, where the defence constantly did just enough to shut him down. He poked his way halfway through the line so many times, but in the end was still the Eels forward leader in metres. Shaun Lane is nearing career best form, but I’m most happy with his improved defensive efforts. Isaiah Papali’i is getting all the tries and finding his name in the paper, but Shaun Lane is the form Eels forward right now.
Isaiah Papali’i
12 – Second Row
Ice added another notch to his try scoring tally, continuing to make my declaration at our fantasy football draft that “he won’t keep this up” one of the worst judgments of 2022. While his Naruto (or Dragonball, I don’t know, I’m old) try celebrations might not replicate Blake Ferguson celebrating a four pointer, we can only hope he is adept at the contractual backflip that his management has carefully been laying the groundwork for this week.
Marata Niukore
13 – Lock
Marata Niukore is doing an awful lot of hard work that I am completely failing to notice most of the time. He’s putting up good numbers but rare are those aggressive charges that skittle defenders and create chances on the edge. We’ve got plenty of workhorses already Simba, you go out there and make good things happen.
Maka Makatoa
14 – Interchange
A decent stint for Makahesi Makatoa this week where he again let nobody down. I don’t think I even remember the commentator calling his name on the replay, which is strange for a guy who made 100 metres and 24 tackles. We don’t always need this kind of no frills hard effort, but when we do it is nice that Maka can provide it.
Jake Arthur
15 – Interchange
Jake Arthur to hooker finally happened, and while his service was good enough he clearly has no combination with any of the middles he suddenly found himself defending next to. That’s to be expected, and if Brad Arthur wants to see what Jake’s got as an emergency replacement at hooker then the time to do it is when you’re leading by 20 with 11 minutes left. Going by tonight, the bench utility question remains without an answer.
Oregon Kaufusi
16 – Interchange
I’m wishing I hadn’t used Makatoa or Niukore’s names in their grades, so I could just copy and paste them here for Oregon Kaufusi. He played big minutes and did nothing wrong. Good job.
Ky Rodwell
17 – Interchange
Ky Rodwell’s gradual easing into first grade is making my tiptoed waddle into the cold surf look like an Ironman attacking a swim leg. Is Ironman still a thing? Anyway, Hot Rod set a cracking tackles per minute pace but again spent too much of his brief stint behind his own posts to get a good sense of how he’s progressing.
For a pair of games that many people would have been worried about, the Eels have got through without impressing in the slightest or ever really being in great danger these last two weeks. The big tests are coming, starting with a Broncos team that I really hope remembers the last time they came to Parramatta for a game that mattered to both sides. Eels fans sure do.
Until next time, stay slippery Eels fans.
Gol
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Fair grades. Sometimes you just need to get the job done and win. The Tigers and Warriors were 2 games we just needed to win – and we did with no injuries and no suspensions
Edge defence is still a concern…and the bench make up is still interesting….I just hope that for and against is not the factor that causes us to miss out on a top 4 spot – these tries in the last 5 minutes may be costly.
Bigger test next week against an inform Broncos
Hey Greg. I think this match was a step up on last week and was a composed performance. Next week needs to step up again, and the week after – it goes without saying!
Agreed 100%
That was a pretty uninspiring win but it’s better than a loss. As for Penisini’s defence it seems like the longer a player plays out wide for Parramatta in first grade the worse their defence gets. Will was great defensively when he came into grade. The reality is that we have been awful out wide defence for years and it never improves.
I also don’t get Brad’s use of the Bench. Forget picking Jake in the team, I’m past that. Why not bring in guys like Greig and Ogden to give them some game time? Rotate them with Makatoa and Kaufusi who are both playing average.
If one of our starting Props gets injured or suspended we will be relying on two guys who play average minutes and a prop on the bench who hasn’t played first grade.
Thats why you guys dont coach in real life , just from the stands ,your words , i dont get it .
Ok mate, thanks for the great contribution👍
I must say Clive, I wouldn’t sack you as a coach for those thoughts. The number of times we see Penisini left scrambling because of a jam gone wrong. He probably starts to think ‘could I have done better there’ when more often than not, he shouldn’t even be put in that position.
19 , learning the game , same said about gutho and everyone else starting out by the negatives .
yours are never anything but negatives , whats your coaching credentials and successes ,those with least knowledge always have most to say and are always negative , you cant even enjoy wins !!!!
It is called having an opinion, be pretty boring if we all got on here and followed the same view on everything. I enjoy a win as much as the next bloke but when we are watching a team like the Warriors shred us to pieces on the edges it does’nt bode well for the semi’s. The fact it has been happening for over a decade seems to escape you?
Cannot disagree with any grades Gol, and Coolangatta Gold was a memorable B grade flick mate….
It was good to see the team control the game for most parts.
I was comfortable with the game and management and was disappointed with the last two tries. That to me leaves a bitter taste – but we won. My concern would go if it was a one off, but these defence issues are not. The warriors can put 3 tries on most teams, but the last two were copybook in some way of previous matches.
I can only assume that our bench was used this way in light of Moses’ security? As i cannot fathom why JA is going on as hooker, albeit I don’t watch the training, and again feel the bench issue has not been resolved at all. I think forty / sixties mentioned our loss of hard man Ray Stone has not helped as he could have been the man to cover but if JA is coming on for Mahoney, i am not sure why Rein isn’t considered. Anyway.
I’d say the way Mitch Rein played when given a shot is why he’s not being considered, though if Reed goes down he likely comes in as the starter. He just doesn’t offer anything in terms of bench impact, but as a guy who could come in an do a job for 80 he’d be fine (as long as he holds the bloody ball if he runs).
I wouldn’t read much in to Jake getting a run at hooker, it is likely just seeing how he goes if he’s needed in an emergency. It’s a luxury you get when leading by 20 with 11 to go.
It doesn’t seem like Brad has an answer yet to his utility spot, but Jake is probably a better pick than Opacic as utility when Ryan Matterson is out, assuming Matto can go to 6 in an emergency. Perham isn’t as good as Opacic but covers more positions, Jake is a better halves cover but means Dylan shifts if an outside back gets injured. We’ve lost a lot of flexibility with Ray Stone out, for sure, as he was both worth a spot in the side if there were no injuries but could also cover hooker.
Thanks Gol, you have highlighted the conundrum the club faces. Fair point about Rein, mine being he has good exp but again I don’t watch the Reggie’s.
I would like to see Perham given a go as i do rate him as a player.
I just don’t think you can break up the halves now this late in the year to move DB to centre as we lose so much but its all opinion. Cheers
That Blake tackle on Walsh where he spilled the ball and was called ‘touched by Waqa. Boggles my head we didn’t challenge?
Also encouraging to see Big Papa saying all the right things (or the wrong things if you are a Tigers supporter) on his contract for next year ..
Yeah I don’t like the call, but challenging a touch and go call like that usually doesn’t end well. I think we’re being a bit more judicious in our challenges now, saving them for either obvious errors or critical situations. I’d be happy with a coach saying “never challenge stripping calls” for example as the bunker has proven inconsistent in attempting to judge intent.
Thanks for the grades
A win by any standard can be deemed either great, or good, and our last game? well it was good but the last two tries scored by the other side really dropped the the score and down to just good.
From my seat inside a warm room and the box watching the game had its old areas from the backs that plagued the eels in past games, and for me it was a real disappointment as oldish bad habits crept in to the eels play. In this regard I would point to those players in our backs who both ran in from their wings and allowed in tries. While not fatal they were very much plays of old that we should not be seeing and really are lazy & comical plays from so called professional players.
Simmonson along with Waqa made terrible calls even allowing for Waqa’s double, his first try was made for him but his running to the sideline could easily have been no try as to why he ran towards the sideline just inside the in goal. Simmonson is all but a minuture version version of Ferg’s as he constantly without success is also caught out with being too far inside his side of the sideline.
Sivo, did the hard work for Waqa’s first try, but gee it also showed that Sivo has lost his speed factor but is at least has the power runs to set up the inside players. Yet he was not there when he had 2 tries at the end of the game scored against him,
Check out top 25 try scorers col 75% wingers , seems like it happens most teams in todays game , cant play without compressed defence nowadays ,will is 19 and simmo 1st season together , the games changed col not 1960 anymore , we won , just enjoy it the opposition arent .
Tks Gol. Shaun Lane has become very consistent. Comments on Marata interesting.Nothing much happening around him these days, still running hard but defences are eating him up, don’t seem to be falling off him. He did have a knack, like Dylan Brown, of getting half through tackles. He’s had to work on injuries and some technique issues(short holidays), maybe it’s that phase of consolidating, focussing on doing your job.
Glad to see Laney get MVP… I have to say last year I winced everytime the ball was passed to him… but this year, I think he’s been the only consistent player every game… very solid, great running, good ball playing in the attacking zone, low errors, and solid tackling… well done!
Hard to disagree David.
I put together a whole column of Shaun Lane insults to use in grades at the start of the year and have barely got the chance to use any of them. Very disappointing.
Sorry, but the Elephant in the room was again not addressed.
Why was JA on the bench at all? Niukore was in the side and so they had the backline covered. The opportunity was for Nathan Brown to have been a genuine impact player off the bench. Something LA, Oppie or Perham cannot say if they come on.
Good example was Perham who played a half a dozen games on the wing and never made a line break…..You cannot afford that!
Now no one seems to know what NB has done to upset the apple cart but his performance against Wests was good enough for him to outweigh Maka, Origon or any of the other forwards we talk about.
Finally the number 14 is and should not be a pawn! all these make do 14’s are second grade only players…..we can be fair dinkum going forward or we can pretend we are playing chess and happy to sacrifice pawns……I have news for many…..we are not that good a side to do that. NB was out of form, it took a while but he came back (from injury), I never doubted he would.
12 months ago he was an Origin forward, i refuse to accept he is no longer any more in comparison to what we are carrying on the bench.
I think JA was there as halves cover, or maybe the plan was always to see how he went at hooker if the game was in command. In normal circumstances Matto is our emergency half I would imagine. Opacic was offering nothing except injury cover, JA might at least be able to cover hooker as well. Looking at Friday night I don’t think he can, but we have an answer now.
Brown has clearly ticked off BA and isn’t getting back into the side easily. He might have been an Origin forward once but this year he’s been slow and sloppy, and his distribution skills are better done by Paulo and Matto. Technically he’s probably a better player than Kaufusi or Maka, but the difference between them isn’t worth the argument going by form this year.
I just don’t see much need to get aggro about our bench. We don’t need four forwards on the bench, and we don’t have a good utility option. JA, Carty, Opacic, Perham, Rein, whoever, they’re all only getting a run if there are injuries. If Greig or Ogden were good for a 15 minute impact spell then surely they’d have been given a chance by now. Unless we sign somebody in the next 2 weeks, we are stuck with our ordinary bench.
It’s quite obvious that BA is looking to get Jake as his 14. That’s the sole reason he picked him and used him at 14. Jake will be the 14 for the rest of the year. All other excuses are fanciful.
The disconnect is that Jake can only play in the halves whereas BA believes he can be a super sub.
Classic case of a dad living through his son to the detriment of Jake.
The fans know what’s going on – that’s why Jake was booed at the ground and it’s only going to get worse.
A terrible thing for a young man to endure.
I think your blind GOL to what I am not sure. If you believe it was rationalised by the Moses threats to have JA on the bench, then that was negated when Moses was obviously playing and therefore no need go have JA as a half sub. JA is not a hooker, he has no value to the team unless Moses himself doesn’t play. Even if Dyllan is out JA should not be the 5/8….he is a one trick pony! …..at this very early stage of his career.
Finally your negative comments re Nathan Brown are historical now, he has obviously got over his problems in terms of form…..for BA to punish the fans and the team by not playing him in the 17 is a disgrace.
Poppa, you won’t get many fans here unless you are blowing unwanted smoke up the backside of the club. BA cannot be criticised and civil discourse is discouraged unless you are firmly flying the “BA can do no wrong” flag !
I tend not to have fans and I really respect everything BA has done for the club….this particular aspect is just the same, pretty ordinary.
I do not think TCT blows smoke up anyone’s arses, it is just a style that let’s say is a bit more governed by manners rather than redicule.
As I am, writing this, Parra’s team for the Bronco’s has been announced.
I now note that Nathan Brown is not even in the 21…..it maybe OK to say he has upset BA but in the process he has punished the team, I also checked the injured list and he is not on it.
Whatever he has done he has played his way back into form in reggies and the Wests game.
The fact that JA has been selected again has all the hallmarks of blind arrogance and cannot be justified at any level, the kid is being rediculed and he doesn’t deserve it.
Just like he doesn’t deserve being in the 17.
I thought they had you in a room , call security someone !
Anyone that uses Anon has a sign off is not worth the time of day…your comment seems to be one from somewhere that does not want to be identified.
Well wtf is a poppa , smurf , so your real name is poppa smurf , im chippy not that it matters !
60’s, let it be known that someone has been using my name whilst posting on here.
The same thing has happened on the other site.
Notwithstanding that the Elephant in the room and my comments re Nathan Brown are mine.