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The cardiac Eels were at it again for the third straight game as they blew chances aplenty against the Manly Sea Eagles. The 34-30 loss sees the Blue & Gold slump to 0-3 on the season when they could have easily been 3-0.
It isn’t an easy one for the boys to break down but Sixties and Forty20 have a crack at it. As always, a reminder for anyone listening and commenting – critical discussion is always welcome and we know that everyone is hurting right now. Please keep it civil though.
The team is like a slow motion car crash at the moment. There were plenty of plaudits for Gutho but to be fair, his ‘attempt’ on Garrick for the first Manly try was beyond soft. In fact it was embarrassing. He was also very slow to cover the Simmonson bat back. No doubting his effort though. I thought Moses was the Eels best player even if his goal kicking has gone off the boil. The forwards tried hard but we are just lacking a bit of class in the roster at the moment. We have a couple of decent NRL… Read more »
Spot on Spark.
You were obviously listening to my comments in the pod Spark.
To be fair, haven’t had time to listen yet but will do so
Just listened to the pod sixties. We were definitely on the same page regarding Gutho (for a change ! ) But I disagree with you both regarding the bench. Manly made two changes and scored their second try and we looked gassed. It was only after the second try that BA made the change. The change should have been made when they did. Secondly, whilst goalkicking could have helped, I believe Garrick also missed a couple of easy ones too. If he had nailed all of his, they would have put 40 on us. Also back on Gutho, when Hopgood… Read more »
Manly conceded 30 points so I guess they didn’t deserve to win either.
They didn’t. But they were better than us.
Blake, Simonsson, Hodgson and Murchie are not first graders. Dylan Brown is asleep for good portions of the match. And I hope next week the fans let Matterson know how they feel about him saving a few $$$.
Awesome that Arthur is signed until 2025 too!
That’s a bit too doomsday to be honest.
I hope Matto did not get the idea of doing what BA had done (or did not do) in his last year’s press conference -i.e., avoiding NRL fines when obviously bad calls had been made that costs the team a game.
Likewise, I also hope that BA is not treating the Eels first grade team the same way he treat his old Rhino team
Matto = parsimonious
Lol there is now an actual picture of him in the dictionary beside
Inept. Nothing else to describe our performance. Eagles were actually worse. We made them look good
If anyone is brave enough to watch a replay….Put the Benny Hill music on….. You know…. The sound track at the end of the show
Dylbags plays the ball to the sound of Benny Hill lol
Yes… Lol ….. He is reflective of the whole team at the moment. Something between all the ears is lacking. Our 1% ain’t happening at the moment
You can’t complete so poorly and make the errors that we did and expect to win matches. The fact that we nearly did says something about how Manly played.
Yes. Manly were the better worst team
As in Johnny Cash’s cleanest dirty shirt. He was also wishing Lord that he was stoned, maybe something in that too.
As much as I love this team I really don’t think it is constructed properly and that falls squarely on ba and mark O’Neil. We have had defensive problems and lack on strike re: wingers and centre FOR YEARS. Yet we have still persisted and persisted with waqa at centre. How have we not addressed that issue. Also how do we have Cartwright, maka , Grieg simonsson, waqa as part of our first grade squad at this stage. They are reserve graders at best. Some of those might sneak a bench out if we had a few injuries but the… Read more »
We only have 27 players and an injury list is growing. That’s not an excuse for errors or defensive misses. It’s a fact about options.
The fact we have 27 players and after releasing brown amid the injury/suspension crisis in forwards is proof of the poor construction of this team. We have invested in the wrong juniors/reserve grade players (Hollis, Sam Hughes amongst other) and let decent ones go (Oregon, stefano). Then we have bought band average people (Ogden, Rodwell, Grieg and promoted maka). Where in is the young parra fowards? Nowhere and the fact the club offered these guys two years deals acknowledges that they know they need time to bring up next bunch of parra young talent as hey royally stuffed up the… Read more »
Indeed!
The six day turnaround on top of playing a team off the bye was probably a contributing factor to starting flat. The gaps in the roster need to be filled fast but it’ll be hard to find quality players that will improve the team.
Andrew, I have no idea about who is available to add to our roster. That’s concerning for me and I hope that our recruitment has some answers.
Manly have players who will punish you if you gift them momentum, just build pressure and they will fold. The first half told me that, but the gifting continued and the pressure came and went in one set cycles. They say you have to hit rock bottom before a revival, that looked like rock bottom to me.
Mate I think rock bottom would be the spoon and losing to Saints / Wests…
Hope you are right BDon. I hope that was it.
By the start of the second half I was confident that we’d get them. Then we had the obstruction call (correct) followed by a missed tackle and that was the end of that momentum.
Even at 14 blot sixties, I could see that if we held the ball and played simple energetic football Manly were for the taking. We worked into attacking field position really well then error or penalty. Manly didn’t so much earn the 14, we did the build up.
As you ask, how do you stop this madness?
I think Anon was right about some of our players not up to a first grade standard but, I feel players like Doorey and Murchie are good bench players. Guaranteed if we had Lane and Matterson we would be 3-0. The players BA bought are exactly what we needed, capable backups, no one knew Lane was going to break his jaw. I was told we are in talks with Brian Kelly, that tells me that BA does see a problem in the centres, and I hope that the club is in pursuit of Sirronen, if we get those two plus… Read more »
What is annoying me at the moment is BA saying he is happy with the effort but defence is all about attitude and effort, so with 80 points against in the 3 weeks to me the attitude is not right and the effort is not good enough.
Fair challenge.
To be fair last night would have been exhausting heat and a recipe for a high score. That said, the 2 weeks before hand exhausting our starting middles was self-inflicted with poor use of the bench.
Mick, based on the previous week I suspected that it would be a high scoring match and either a narrow win or loss and called it that way in the preview podcast. I believed that we could win the game and tried to remain positive, but when you complete sets as we did a loss is deserved.
Gaz, I can’t disagree about defence over the last two weeks.
You mean for the last 5 years there Sixties
I think I set some sort of record for half watching a game of footy with my face planted in my hands moaning “Nooooo!” Geez that was painful to watch. The positives for me were BA using the bench, and I thought it proved he could trust them (at least as much as some other starters), our ability to stay in the fight and bounce back, and I think Cartwright has improved in leaps and bounds. He had a solid, seemingly error free game. I also thought Doorey was very good when out there too. I just can’t get my… Read more »
Mick, I screamed a couple of colourful words before each “No” as I watched the errors unfold. I agree about some selections but in looking at the form and availability of options, there may not be an answer.
Who was the genius who signed Simmonson for 3 years?
He’s a centre – not a winger. Should have been swapped with Waqa.
The sad thing is: it was probably Waqa’s best game in 3 years..He actually passed to Sivo for a try and didn’t crowd him into touch lol
That is true. Credit where it is due.
The last 3 weeks the teams with passion and heart won the game. We are a bunch of headless chooks. We are not connected. Last week against Sharks we were told “Effort was good” Players hear that and then accept 36 missed tackles as “Good” Garrick try should have been stopped. Simmonson bat back cost a try. Olakuatu took an intercept because we didn’t have any interest in taking it. Our players on back foot. Reg try should have been a try!! Poor attitude to Defence. Dumb penalties and poor errors. I didn’t get why Hopgood was subbed off –… Read more »
NB: Obvious exceptions are Penisini and Dylbags in junior development both outstanding NRL players.
Pete, I’m on board with a lot of this and said so in the podcast.
I’ve only seen the game now, and tbh it was so frustrating watching.
I hoped this season we would improve our defence out wide and begin to own the ruck more. We have shown glimpses but last night there was some poor reads in defence- and I feel BA either is too loyal to some players or doesn’t have faith in others to come in and do the job.
If our defence improves we have the chance to be top 4.
We can win next week, and sincerely hope we get on track soon.
Unfortunately Milo, we only have 27 on the roster with a number either injured (Lane, Russell), suspended (though
Matto is now done with his suspension) or not ready (Haze, Daejarn). And now Doorey and Murchie look like being added to the list. Further, based on the first two weeks, those who are eligible for a call up aren’t giving reason for that to happen.
O
Jim that’s me when my kids eat my cheezels during the game…!
27 on the roster is party our own fault for letting Brown go without replacing him and complied of course by Matto selfishly taking the suspension
Bit of adverisity to start the season lads. 2 big wins against the panthers and chooks will have us back. Am i angry? Absolutely. I had my 2 year old watching the game with him saying “go parra” and then he dropped his first “F” bomb after repeating me. Our edge back rowers will hopefully stiffen up the communication and defence and give our halves some confidence due to deception and the line running lane and matto offer. Until then just freaking try and complete some sets and grind away, trying to be too pretty at the moment which we… Read more »
Surely BA has to pull the trigger with Waqa! He really does not offer much in defence and his attacking ability just keeps diminishing. I haven’t seen Zac Cini in Reggie’s this year but he performed well in the trials, he can’t possibly be worse than Waqa at the moment. Put him on the wing even and give Simonsom a shot in the centres. Matto’s return can’t come soon enough with Doorey and Murchie likely to be out for the Panthers. Jirah certainly hasn’t lived up to the expectation I had based on the pre season training reports. The prospects… Read more »
How can brad pull the trigger, Zac Cini couldn’t even make it in the Tigers spoon system.
Brad is also a joke when it comes to identifying and bringing through players and as you can see, our nsw cup isn’t exactly putting pressure on guys like waqa and Simmonson or any other players for that matter.
Let’s be …… serious jirah moma is absolutely rubbish, Murchie has no fire , doorey is going ok but small and injury prone, hopo going well and can only get better, Hodgson looks pedestrian,, as for our recruitment the above says it all , who on earh thought jirah m was a first grader he skinny legs with no purpose , as for our regulars , effort there but not good enough, particularly brown !! We let NB go , that’s leave with us with 27, I have zero confidence in this management as I believe it’s about profits, not… Read more »
Hodgson looks like he’s been asked to just hand the ball around right now, but has come up with a few errors. He certainly looks competent at the basic role and if we had managed to ice those 3 games you might be happy to say he’s still a bit rusty from long lay off,and needs a bit more time. Unfortunately, we lack good back up for him, he”s out there in a key role in a team fumbling it’s execution. Opposition forwards are running at him, the same as Mahoney.
That was an honest report on last night , well done. Couple of points 1. The right wing stands inside what coaches call the tram line , 10 metres inside sideline , and we get exploited every week by moves wide. Sivo seems to have corrected that. Why has that been an issue for the past 4 years, seems obvious given how we leak tries down that side consistently, should be addressed . 2. The glaringly obvious weakness in the team , is the need for an experienced prop/middle and a strike centre or at least an experienced centre. Yes,… Read more »
they are 0-3 but i think its a bit early to ride them off yet its not like they are being flogged
couple of tweeks in their game i think they’ll come good
i think doorey murchie have been really good
once they get a few boys back like lane matto you will see a big turn around
On the plus side, Barretts input is working, our attack 30 points is a good indicator, Campell Gillards try was not off a forward pass. I believe our transistion from attack to defence is abysmal, mainly due to our inability to follow a game plan. Our defence coach needs to step up.
While we all prefer to be talking about a win, the instant reaction podcasts do help with a loss. I think you said it all in regards what went right and what went oh so wrong.
And the interesting stat is that currently Parra have both the best attack and the worst defence. Pretty much sums up the season so far.
I must admit I did enjoy Hodgson’s try. Mainly for his look of utter surprise and the look of total bewilderment from the Manly players.
Our defence is appalling, we simply allow too many metres in the middle. We are soft. We have zero resilience, we simply do not compete unless it’s on our own terms, and quite BA either doesn’t see it or doesn’t know how to fix it. 2014 – 13th best defence 2015 – 10th best defence 2016 – 4th best defence 2017 – 8th best defence 2018 – 13th best defence 2019 – 7th best defence 2020 – 3rd best defence 2021 – 3rd best defence 2022 – 10th best defence Aside from 2020/2021 where it could be argued that the… Read more »
Very much agree Brett – and what compounds our lack of line speed/slow play the ball is that our backline are not good at rucking the ball out. So we have forwards working hard in middle but conceding a lot of metres as tired and ba asks for long minutes due to not trusting his bench. But when we get the ball our wingers and centres get dominated so the forwards have to come back early in set to run the ball and make some metres. We just get softer and softer in the middle over the duration of the… Read more »
Your comments deserve to be put up in lights with one correction. Yes, our defence is abysmal – no other word for it. Maybe embarrassing? Ok let’s go with that. Does BA see it – yes he does. He’s not stupid, stubborn as a wart , but not stupid. Can he fix it – no. We have had soft suspect defence for years and his only response is effort. There is a technical aspect to defending as well, which he absolutely refuses to address. The club needs to put its foot down and tell BA that they are employing a… Read more »
Sorry Spark but I’m sure you know they just extended Arthur. They won’t be telling him anything. We have a defence man in Steve Antonelly.,a souths man.
Just read up on Antonelli, he probably would have been better as NSW cup coach because of his experience there and pathways experience. We could have saved money by not employing the 2 Nathan’s and splashed out on a genuine defence specialist.
Yes you are right. Can’t help but think his hire was a BA special..a man that will tow the line.
Yeah I was just being whimsical.
Antonelli is the defence man and it’s time BA put a rocket up him.
Yeah it was, although he redeemed himself with the later effort on Tuipulotu, and he has saved us on countless occasions through the years, so I’ll give Gutho the benefit.
You are right but that first effort still grates me !!
Cry baby
…’last time we brutalised…’ Junior Paulo on Matt Ballin 8 weeks, Kane Evans on Brad Parker 2 weeks, to me both legal hits but ruled dangerous or excessive. Nathan Brown early days gave it a shot but they changed his style for longevity. Get your point Brett, it’s not a DNA factor with us.
True BDon.
Teams know if they can hold or get over our middles. Our edges crumble.
Our back 5 had 3 hit ups.
I know it’s easy to say, but we’ve just got to not fear repercussions. We need a Steve Matai or a Tariq Sims type player
Ray Higgs at Cumberland on a Sunday afternoon. I didn’t get him to start with, but when you saw him fold blokes in half for a few weeks, the penny dropped. That Tom Gilbert at the Dolphins has got a bit of Higgs about him.
We don’t have the players to brutalise other sides. Even with Lane and Matterson available I would question our ability to sustain the level of defensive effort required. Retaining possession with a high completion rate and not giving the opposition cheap ball will of course help. Why you would play a compressed defence with a guy like Turbo in the opposition is a question that needs to be answered (but won’t be). Channel 9 commentary summed it up perfectly when it described our right side defence as a ‘freeway’. As clever as Hodgson’s try was his ‘sprint’ to the line… Read more »
Your question abt defence and brutal, for me was when we had Pay / Smith / Dymock and McCracken; we had some old heads with youth. We needed a Klemmer type guy for me and a centre.
Our defence out wide has been an issue for several seasons and the ruck too.
Dean Pay was an assassin, albeit quiet and understated.
Can’t remember the the year but we were playing some pommy side midweek and traveling average all of a sudden Dean pay did a huge hit and it turned all around bit hazy on exact details
Cry baby
Worst Parramatta season starts since 1970:
1987 lost first 3 finished 7th
1991 lost first 7 finished 15th
1994 draw loss loss (no golden point) finished 12th
2012 lost first 4 finished last
2018 lost first 6 finished last
2023 lost first 3…
Won the comp ???
Another spoon for brad arthur
Just watching Dolphins. 3rd game together and are well drilled and everyone knows their role. They put their body on the line for their team. Simple game plan that works; tackle hard and run hard.
How long will that last though. They have no injuries in key positions and the season has barely started. All it took to rattle Parra is for guys like Shaun Lane and Matterson to not be playing.
Just shows what top line coaches put together in a short space of time. Others coach for years and their team looks like a rabble. Funny, isn’t it. !!
Mind you – Bennett is the best coach of the modern era.
He’s a winner.
Fine, I’m just returning the whimsy .😏
Check out the Dolphins doco on Stan – Great viewing. Let me put a question out there – If the roles were reversed, and BA was coach of the Dolphins would he have relegated MILF to the bench and promoted the young fella? NOT A CHANCE. He would have played MILF and given him chances and chances and encouragement. MILF just needs to stop destroying the Colonel and get fit, doesn’t need loving. Shows you the difference between the coaches. Benny doesn’t suffer fools too long and whilst he’s happy to give a player a decent chance, he won’t be… Read more »
Cannot disagree Spark.
Bennett would have delt with Waqa and either improved him or dropped him 3 years ago. Matterson would not have taken the suspension. He wouldn’t have spent over $600k on front rowers and would have balanced player roster….
I am shattered. It is only 3 losses in a row by 4 points difference per game, but I am struggling to take it all in. The lack of attention to detail, the cheap possession turnovers, the same issues that plagues us in the last few years…I am struggling because we have lost Papali’i, Mahoney, Niukore, Kaufusi and Stone in the forwards and our star representative backrower Matterson decided to take 3 weeks instead of a fine, to start the season. With whom does the buck stop? I could not imagine a player coached by Bennett, Bellamy, or even Cleary… Read more »
😂 Had lunch with a mate a month or so ago who works in player management and he gave me his opinion. He reckons that BA is a bloody good coach (which I disagreed with) He says that he’s well respected and well liked by the players they speak to. BUT he says that it’s well known that the Eels have a soft underbelly and have had for years. He reckons that it’s because they are just not fit – at least not premiership fit. Didn’t think much of Trent Elkin. They think they are cutting edge but the players… Read more »
Just a thought, how did the Roosters go when they made a decision that they would not negotiate deals directly with Isaac Moses, sure Sualii appears to be managed by his team, but overall their recruitment doesn’t seem to stall. Would MON be brave enough to issue a directive about IsaacMoses given the current non decision.
Comes down to how big a club we are, and how mush the retention guys want to step up.
Mitch Moses means way more to us than Joseph Sualli’i does to the Chooks. Besides, I’ve never bought into the Nick Politis myth. He’s a pragmatist.
The Roosters haven’t blacklisted Isaac. They just played a little hardball back. We can’t alienate player mangers for one simple reason – we need to make the Eels an attractive destination. The Roosters don’t need player managers completely on side to do that as they have an attractive sell. At the end of the day, players just want to win premierships and at the Roosters they achieve that. I would say if you conducted a straw poll on players and asked them this question – ‘If you were off contract and the Roosters offered you a contract at reduced money… Read more »
Hope Browny kicks arse. His treatment here might indicate why old hardheads won’t sign with us. That boils down to a lack of respect for the people in charge.
N Brown was not handled well and it’s sad. We have a real problem with our recruitment and retention of players and coaches. Yes he was busted and dropped in form. But, he got busted because he played that way for us! He was plucked from reserve grade to play the GF but was ineffective. The writing was already on the wall. We’ve had too many bungles; Gutho, Matto, ICE, Moses…At least Moses negotiations are quiet in the media. But, it’s causing a big distraction every week. It’ll probably be announced heading the eve of next game creating a further… Read more »
Brad Arthur is a major part of my “people in charge”. He’s the bloke these players deal with day to day. It seems they would rather deal with someone else.
Makatoa played one of his best games in the NRL. He brought a lot of energy as soon as he got on the field.
I struggle with the commentary around the game. Next day DT headlines suggested the Eels were smashed by Manly. Hello 6 tries all.
Also Ennis has gone back to his anti Eels mode that existed prior to joining the Eels as a consultant.
Is there any suggestion with regard to Sean Russell. Is there any suggestion at this point when he may return.
The time to have negotiated for Momerovski would have been when they were negotiating for Brown.
Given it did not happen then I would not hold much faith in a deal there.
True John, Makatoa was his best. Greig also needs more time on the field.
Injuries and suspensions have made it tougher….but no excuses I guess.
Also… why was Sivo charged? All I saw was he got his hand caught in the long haired wingers hair..