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An impressive second half rally from the Parramatta Eels saw the Blue & Gold prevail 36-20 over the Manly Sea Eagles in Round 21. Spearheaded by the imperious form of Dylan Brown and assisted superbly by Jake Arthur, Parramatta all but booked their place in the 2022 finals series.
Sixties and Forty20 are obviously chuffed by the win and rip into the game immediately after full time to share their thoughts on the good and bad from 4 Pines Park tonight. To make it even better, the Flegg cashed in on a critical win with a 38-8 victory of their own to kindle their push to finals footy.
Ahhh how sweet it is to win like that, and at Brooky. Great tune in fellas and i was stoked about this win….well done to all and great work DB and JA. Well done to our entire team and also the coaching staff, we outplayed and out coached them, and they do not need a new oval!!
Cheers Milo. They took us on a ride last night, but ultimately seven tries to three is very comprehensive.
Listened to the podcast last night and appreciate your efforts. I really enjoyed that game and a very good win away considering that Manly’s season was pretty much on the line. I thought our inexperienced halves did very well against a vastly more experienced halves pairing. Gutho stepped up, Matto, Jnr and RCG were excellent and Tom O has been impressive these last two weeks. It wasn’t perfect but the team showed real heart and determination. Very happy for the win and will enjoy watching the replay, at least once!
Trapped, it was the way that they held their nerve and stayed composed when it wasn’t quite going right which impressed. The weekend feels sunnier when it kicks off with an Eels win.
I stand suitably chastised. I honestly thought that the team wouldn’t win another game, yet have downed both the Panthers and Manly. Well done!
Jake was solid and his assist for Penisini was world class.
The best player on the park by a country mile was Shaun Lane.
Like the Panthers game, it was one of those that every bounce favoured us, as it did in the Panthers game – as opposed to the Broncos game which gave us the opposite.
I still remain concerned by our edge defence and the time that the bounce doesn’t go our way.
Well done to the team. A great win.
Spark, they worked so hard on their systems for this game. They do every week, but their prep was just so good this week. You could see the adjustment in action in the second half and the composure throughout the game. Things fell better for us this week compared to the Broncos game which was insane. Still, it didn’t all go our way. Those Manly kicks and offloads had a couple of similar favourable bounces for them as ours did for us. We got lucky with the call on Penisini jostling with Harper but equally the call on Matto and the forward pass call on Lane (esp in the angle from the drone) were tough on us.
That was an enjoyable win, and certainly one to savour.
I honestly thought the way Manly dominated in the early part of the 2nd half that we had all but capitulated in effort. So happy to be proved wrong.
Good to see Jake Arthur get through and do the job as it needed to be done – the kick for Penisini was magic, but I got to give Waqa the dues for pulling that ball down – plus the finish! – as that pass could easily have sailed over the sideline. But, when the team cohesion is on song, the odds of this type of play coming good go up dramatically.
Lane was outstanding, as was Gutho (the King has risen again), and Dylan Brown a treat to watch.
Papalii was surprisingly quiet – but given what he has done this year week in week out he has earned a quite game or two.
Chris, the fact that Jake has the faith in himself to go with two key plays should be a message to some about his footy nous and his ticker.
Papa seemed to be quiet, but then his stats tell a different story. I think it was just that Lane had so many big moments.
Great podcast guys.
All those imbeciles that have been so anti Parra and anti Jake. Should just have a look at themselves and realise what an irrational, miserable, dumb and negative bunch they are.
Nobody said Jake was an immortal. What we did say is he’s the next inline half and deserves his chance. Nothing to do with his father. That argument is just plain dumb. His 2 try assists has shown having Jake in the squad has paid dividends. Well done to BA and Jake.
I know those negative imbeciles will just bide their time to say what they desperately want to say. Because they are not supporters.
Boys played well hard to pick best players.
Middles laid the platform. Dipped a little when they were off.
Gutho first time over 200m this year. These are the numbers he needs every week and what we have been crying out for.
Dylbags great game.
Lane has been great last few months. That edge with Opacic looks very tight defencively. That left edge in attack has options that are now lethal.
Saab try shouldn’t have happened. The ball should have been locked up.
We didn’t compete in the air for the Kola try.
We also had a couple of tries disallowed…
Our right edge improved in second half. But we need to get that right.
Well done
Go Eels!!
Gee mate, you don’t hold back. Sure Jake did well but the big test for the team is whether the wide defense can hold up against Souths. Seems like we’ve never gotten that right and Manly found plenty of space there every time they shifted.
Having him in the squad all year was the right decision.
Hmm. Going there immediately after a good win, one that followed up a great win over the Panthers?
Just enjoy it. Everyone knows that Souths have been our Kryptonite and that our right side has to get it done better.
Terrific observations Pete. The right side needs to keep working hard and Saab should never have scored that try.
The moment I was most pleased with Gutho was when he was in the clear. With players streaming through in support, the Manly fullback was looking to either knock down a pass or cover the support players. In that moment Gutho simply accelerated on his line and he was no chance of being tackled.
As far as Jake was concerned, I just didn’t get the negativity, let alone the hate. There has been no basis for it, and I’m so pleased that he simply did what we knew he would.
Brissy i was wondering where you got to , couldn’t agree with you more buddy
I’m not Brissy.
But it has exposed how little those people know about NRL. And if Jake wasn’t around the squad as some said he shouldn’t be. We would have been in a much worse position with Moses being out last night.
The season isn’t over and He’s still got some improvement in him. But judging by our Sixties and Ennis comments he’s certainly putting in the work and extra’s.
It was great to see JA have a really good game. I hope this will be his driver, and that he ignores all the crap that has come his way. At 19 years old he is still very much learning the game.
Absolutely true. Nobody says he should be replacing the current halves. He is 19 and on his journey to become an NRL player – at his stage of development he is ready to step up when needed. Which will then have him well prepared for when he’s ready to push for a spot on a regular basis.
I too was a bit down during that period where the intensity dropped off and Saab was running riot down the right side. But the adjustment was made at half time in both in attitude and defence and the points came.
Gutho ran like he hasn’t run in a long time and was tremendous. Laney has gone up another level recently and his combination with Gutho was something else. Brown stepped up big time and I’m starting to run out of superlatives. And with Gutho and Brown being so dominant it made Jake’s job so much easier. His confidence grew in the second half and the kick for Will’s try was very well executed. I’m please for him that he is in the headlines for the right reasons.
There is still improvement to be made (notably RCG needs to be first try scorer more often). But still a bloody good win. BA said that his plan was to peak in the latter part of the season. Maybe, just maybe, it is coming together.
The quest for the top 4 is entirely within their own hands. They don’t have to rely on other results, just winning their own matches will get them there because they play teams they are competing against for a spot.
Exactly. A top four finish is in their hands now.
Well done to firstly the coach. The tactics in the first half of basically keeping JA as a 5th tackle kicker only and having Brown and Gutho take control was good, it allowed JA to relax into the game. The right side defence was typically ordinary in the first half. The second half showed massive improvement in the right side defence and the two try assists from JA were good for his confidence, the pass was a bit of a specy but the kick to Penisini was world class.
Brown, Gutho, Lane were our best, RCG, Junior were very good. As bad as the booing is towards JA, the urgency of some to proclaim him the next big thing that has shut all the negativity is an overcompensation. He did a job in the second half, he was shielded in the first, I remain unconvinced of his abilities, however he seems like a terrific young man and his interview was great as he looked in awe of JT and showed great respect.
Anonymous, that interview was exactly who he is. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him numerous times over the years and what you saw there was what I see every time.
Has Jake ever been declared the next big thing? He’s been praised for his achievements, and backed as the next in line in the halves after Mitch and Dylan. The emphasis has been on his young age. I personally rated Jake as a standout from preseason and stand by that. He was. But I also said he was unlikely to get a spot as yet.
And if you watched the Fox coverage last night, Ennis spoke about the training dedication of Jake and Will. PS – their other Rouse Hill mates in Shaun Russell and Samuel Loizou are often out there with them as last off the training paddock.
Shaun Russell, I feel for that young man. Started with great play and showed great potential, unlucky injury, how does he find a spot back in the NRL?
Each season presents opportunities. Haze Dunster himself is another that can consider himself most unlucky. Sean’s job is to be ready for when that chance comes along again.
Tks for that, as you say the weekend lifts.My wife put down her knitting and watched the game, even the post match stuff..a great sign. I don’t disagree with those who say the game isn’t stats, but I can tell you the stats pick the winner about 90% of the time. 90% completions and 6 errors will will win most games and I couldn’t believe Manly won the penalties 4-3, Sutton let numerous ruck infringements go which showed up in our slow play the ball speed. Actually I don’t mind this as long as it’s both ways, but geez there was some blatant stuff.Are we now refereeing for the finals? I think so. The one percenters, good and not so good, could be worth an essay in that game, on balance positive with Ice once again, late under fatigue grabbing possession.Strange however, and not a criticism,our 2 best players watched a short guy leap for a try, and one of them pulls off one percenters all the time.Rugby League does that.
Great thoughts BDon.
Savouring a great win at Brookvale. I think it was said our highest score at Brookvale.
I must admit to being amazed by that stat Pete. Maybe the big losses have me thinking that there must be a big win mixed in too!
Great takes BDon. Almost worthy of a post! Would you like a special assignment for that?
Sixties, I had some health ‘issues’last year and I”m only good for short grabs these days, you’d receive the post in the off season. I “m in awe of how you guys pull your thoughts together so quickly, I can exist vicariously through that. I”ll just add that I expressed recently that RL is a game, no make that a world, of extremes. The one percenters can be 0.1% and make a difference. Grand final winners build it in to their DNA, so I watch ours, and we’ve been patchy. Take Niukore for example, last night he was 100% focussed, and applied himself to post contact metres. I hope we can further improve in these effort plays.
Cheers mate. There are some occasions when I wish I’d noted something that I missed in the Instant Reactions, but that’s something that I like about doing it. It will never be perfect, and quite often Forty picks up something that I haven’t.
Marata was a very good example To use. He just got his job done and done well.
A great team effort from 1 to 17.Well done to Jake but the most pleasing part for me was seeing glimpses of Marata getting back to his best and boy do we need him when Reg and Junes go off.Great podcast once again boys.
Thanks Gianni. It was an encouraging glimpse of Marata getting back to his best wasn’t it!