The fallout from the Eels loss to the Roosters will be the two match suspension of Bailey Simonsson. For a team on a publicly stated mission of looking for an outside back, this might be a mini crisis on the horizon.
Without putting the boot in, most people would agree that Waqa Blake is playing without any confidence. He is one of the most athletically gifted footballers, but for us to see his best, Waqa needs to feel positive about himself. I don’t believe he is going to find that mindset under pressure in the top grade. Time in NSW Cup could be the best way for him to return to form.
Consequently the Eels are faced with the dilemma of replacing a winger due to suspension and a centre due to form.
Both Sean Russell and Shaun Lane should be available for the Easter Monday clash with the Tigers. Meanwhile Haze Dunster is continuing his path to fitness in NSW Cup.
Shaun Lane
It may be that the return of any or all of those players solves some selection issues. Russell goes to centre where he trained for periods during the preseason and replaces Blake, whilst Dunster comes in on the wing for Simonsson.
The return of Shaun Lane to the back row then allows Matterson to play in the middle, for longer minutes, to cover for Junior.
That’s a lot of changes for one game, something that few coaches like and especially Brad Arthur. However, there will be no say in the change around Simonsson, Lane is returning so that will mean a change, and a solution has to be found with Waqa.
It could also be that Arthur wants to keep Wiremu in the front row and Matto on the edge.
My left field short term solution is Bryce Cartwright.
Carty had a big game against the Panthers
The versatile back rower has spent time at centre and five-eighth during his early NRL career and has filled backline gaps during matches.
At 28 years of age, Cartwright has found consistency and restraint (maturity?) during the early rounds of 2023 and it has me thinking that he could do the job at centre.
If Lane and Matterson are selected as edge forwards next week, that would mean there is every chance that Carty is moved to the bench. Would this be the optimum use of his current form, especially given that he can play 80 minutes?
Defensively, he’d offer a better option than Waqa. From an attack perspective he’s already playing on the edge and I’d argue that Cartwright’s passing game would provide better service for Sivo.
It also takes away the pressure of introducing two new players to the backline, leaving BA with a choice between Russell and Dunster for Simonsson’s wing spot.
When Cartwright was first signed by the Eels I was confident that he’d be a great addition to the team. The Carty Party had arrived. He’s never quite consolidated his place in the Top 17, but maybe, just maybe, Bryce Cartwright’s most valuable contributions are ready to be unleashed.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Well I certainly agree that it’s time to pull the trigger on Waqa Blake but I would be very very surprised if BA does it.
Carty has been wonderful, the best he has played for years but a leap to the centres may be a leap too far , especially for BA.
Although, if it happened at the expense of a change from Waqa, I’m all for it.
What about Asi ? Isn’t he in the top 30 as a centre ? Surely it’s a like for like replacement.
Dunster and Asi have played a couple of games together.
It’s possible for Asi to get a shot, just as I think Sean could be an option. I’m just floating the idea of utilising Carty’s current form rather than seeing him consigned to the bench.
Yep and I’m all for it – just as long as Waqa goes.
If they do pull the pin on Waqa, I’d like to see him absolutely dominate at Cup level. He does have the ability.
Sivo has no idea what Waqa is up to , it’s so out of sync. We have young backs, give them a shot. I fear Arthur will change little though. If Waqa stays it HAS to be the wing.
You can’t put Waqa on the wing. It will subject him to an air raid bombs. The very thing that robbed him of his confidence in the first place.
If he has no confidence why is he in the team ? Will Arthur drop him ? You seem to have the answers where would you put him.
Same place as you I guess. I think sometime in the State Cup may help him.
Form is fleeting. He has the skills. He should be able to get back.
I had the pleasure of meeting him once. He is a really decent man.
Prometheus and John, can vouch for what a lovely bloke he is. The other thing is his athleticism is incredible. Watching him hit top pace at training is quite a sight. However, it’s just not translating to the game days and his confidence just seems so down. If he was confident under the high kick then wing is probably a good option. But as John says it’s the very thing that triggered the lack of confidence. I think he needs that time at Cup to regain his self belief.
The really odd thing to me with Waqa is he has had a number of patches in his career where when the rest of the squad was out of touch, he was routinely one of, if not our best on field. Very frustrating given he would be close to the most naturally gifted athlete in the NRL. Just issues between the ears it seems.
But I totally agree with Carty being a centre option.
On another note, positive news that Russell and Dunster are nearing return, on top of Lane who I was expecting v there Tigs.
Great post and I agree. I recall when Marata filled in at centre last year he did a great job and think Carty will do likewise.
Blake looks out if sorts and I feel for him. His confidence looks shot and perhaps some time away may do him a world of good. I hope he’s OK.
Greig played hard last night but needs to work on his fitness. If he can get his fitness up and be able to play for 30 minutes at a time with the intensity he showed in the opening 20 minutes last night it will help our cause immensely.
Gutho needs to stay fullback, fullstop. We need a strike centre and if we have to pay a bit extra so be it. Along with another damaging prop its the position we need to address.
Defensively we were great last night which sounds strange given we lost, but 2 of their tries came when we were down to 12 men.
All in all we are a good team. Add in Lane, Paulo and we win last night. Carry to centre and get some troops back will help.
The issue now is we are 1 from 5. We need to start winning games otherwise we may miss the 8.
I think we can get the roll on from this next round. But we need those troops and we can’t afford poor moments.
We cannot afford to be ambushed against the Tigers. It’s certainly not beyond the realms of possibility that the Tigers turn up for this one.
We have to make a statement.
Exactly true. We need only think back to last Easter
With the attention on Waga, and what he does/doesn’t do where is there any focus on Sivo and what he doesn’t do? Sure, he has scored a few tries but he mostly seems to run around in circles that he ends up leaving his side of the field too much and allows for the opposition to take advantage of his inept playing skills!!!
Problem is also sorted by his being signed again for another two years, and what do we get from that great move???
Colin, I highlighted Sivo’s poor performance in the podcast last night. But how much is playing outside Waqa impacting him? I’m not making excuses but he was given no room a couple of times in the first half.
When he went into touch. The pass should never have been thrown to him.
His kick was diabolical. Should have learnt from his kick earlier in the year.
Sivo is a lovely fellow but seems very slow to learn from past mistakes
I agree with what you say too but why doesn’t he stay on his wing when Blake has his opposite centre marked ,Thank you Sixties
Why would Waqa pass the ball to Simon to watch him run half pace and with no heart
We desperately need a centre like Takairangi who combined with Sivo so well , watching Blake last night and passing to Sivo when Jammed on the sideline was embarrassing when the possibility of him scoring was much greater.
Is there some similarity between Taka and Carty? Both capable of playing back row or centre and both with ball skills.
Really impressed with Carty’s attitude in defence so far this season. He’s improved out of sight and kudos to him for his low key approach and big effort in general.
I’ve got to agree! I have been a harsh critic of Carty’s defence but hasn’t he improved. He should be kept somewhere in the 17.
Has to stay in the 17.
Totally agree Grunta one of the surprise packets this season.
He’s playing the role that he’s been asked to fill. I reckon it’s a sign of him maturing into a senior player.
Not sure that Carty has the lateral movement to play full time in the centres, having said that he would not fall off so many tackles and position himself as poorly as Waqa. The football intelligence difference between a 19 year old centre and the supposedly more seasoned one is light years. Can’t blame Sivo when he gets passe$ the ball with 50 cm to,the sideline when the centre should be taking the tackle, dumb and continuing. Waqa’s performance and lack of confidence is making both Sivo and Drown commit to covering him and it’s not good for the team.
To be honest, the failure to recruit a strike centre since we lost Michael Jennings coupled with the last of a 3 red senior prop is on recruitment, even the Roosters acknowledged that with Lodge for instance, is a failure by the clubs retention and recruitment committee.
I wouldn’t advocate Bryce as a long term solution, as much as I never suggested that Marata should have been when he filled in. But Marata did an effective job for short periods and I think Bryce could too.
The reasoning there is well founded with the history of second rowers and backs for the eels. The problem I see is his speed in lateral movement. Will he be able to cover across when Sivo inevitably rushes in. The other possibility is (and I know this will never happen), if, IF Russell is available moving gutho to centres for the coverage and having russell at fullback. Arthur isn’t afraid to have player makers in the centres.
I think he’d be more likely to consider Russell as a centre as Sean filled that role during opposed sessions over summer.
We very much miss Opacic. He was rock solid and got nowhere near enough credit for his contributions last season. He should have been a re signing priority. Talk of X Factor but what we need is reliability and strong defence. Lets not forget Opacic was also missing from last years GF. It hurt us.
He was the complete professional Anon. No doubt.
Was thinking the exact same thing last night, Carty would make a decent centre, but I’m hopeful Russell will be back for next week but I guess we will see.
I think Russell might get the call up for wing. I only see that as a short term solution, but we do need change.
What about Sam Louizu?. He can play centre and is in the top 30
Yes Blake needs a spell but I would like to refer to another problem we have and that is the form of Sivo. He has been ponderous from the red zone, slow to play the ball, and defensively caught out of position regularly. He is usually pretty good under the high ball. And I know he has received ordinary ball from Blake. I would argue he was mainly ordinary for the past year and a bit. Every now and again we see the old Sivo but that should be a regular occurrence. I realise there is not much we can do about it over the next couple of weeks but even Simonson would be a better option when he comes back.
By the way how many times have we seen a player binned for being offside so early in the game. I would say never. Atkins made Klein look good.
Sec, Sivo had such a strong game last week, it was very disappointing to see how he played last night.
Imagine calling yourself a top club and still having such big problems with your backline. Haven’t addressed these issues since Jennings left. Other teams have figured out waqa is terrible (especially next to sivo who has limited footy iq). We have shifted waqa all over the backline and yet this year we put him back at left centre because there was some delusions that he would improve. The thought that carty would play centre shows how bad the development of backs (outside penisini) has been over the years. The strike rate is so low on parra juniors becoming decent or elite outside backs it’s shocking. Unfortunately waqa will probably retain his spot next week but he shouldn’t. There has to other players that can do a better defensive job and run their lines (the basics that waqa lacks).
Can’t argue with any of these points.
Anon, I believe that Sean Russell can be that person, he was very confident during the preseason and I thought he was a chance of getting a spot at either centre or wing. As I wrote in the post, bringing in both Russell and Dunster is an option. If it’s felt that they aren’t ready for centre/wing, then one gets the wing role and Simonsson returns as a centre.
I would agree Carty to centre is a good idea. Has been tradesman like this year which isn’t his normal model. Defensively he has been sound also. Waqa and Sivo could do with NSW cup, and I don’t necessarily agree that Waqa is holding Maika back, Waqa doesn’t stop him from running kicks back with venom??? What i also don’t understand is why he doesn’t come back on the inside when they are cornered for room, any change of angle at that pace would make him or any player of size very hard to stop close to the line. I could easily make a case for any Junior winger to come in front of him at the moment because he is playing with very little urgency and for all the errors rookies commit at least they are playing to make a future. Maika looks like he is playing
within himself and that’s a lazy look
TB, I thought we saw a very consistent Sivo in the back half of last year, but last night was not acceptable, especially given the quality of the opposition. As far as last night is concerned I am at a loss to explain the kick and his combination with Waqa. The upside with Maika is that when his mindset is right he’s a weapon from close range.
Agree when he came back from injury late last year lighter on his feet running at full noise, try’s this year are ones normal wingers can score. Very disappointing, have to think Carty in centers and Blake on wing is a better option at this time and that is going out on a limb with Waqas form. Best part about this debate is we are well below our best and still competing, but it’s the next 5 weeks that are games we traditionally don’t get up for
Good point about not being at our best, and that competing is all about effort and attitude. I think we saw plenty of that last week and last night
I think Mika hasn’t been the same since he ko’d Tedesco. He seems reluctant to run into the opposition going full tilt. I noticed last week when he scored, he immediately turned to check the Penrith player that had tried to tackle him.
Waqa needs some time and some help to get his confidence back. On his day, he has been damaging but those days are becoming fewer and farther between.
Carty can be a short term fill but the teams needs a centre. It doesn’t need to be an out and out strike centre, rather one who can defend and set up his winger. Tom O was a good example. Not the fastest player ever to play for the Eels but a solid contributor who could be relied on.
Yes, as I’ve clarified Carty is just my short term solution. We need a centre and in retrospect Tom Opacic would have been good to retain. Perhaps Sean Russell gets a shot?
I accept Simmonsons fate. However, I think that the Roosters need to address the habit of Tedesco trying to duck under tackles.
I need to look at the tackle again to be certain.
I’m sure I read somewhere that James is well aware that he props and buckles just before he is tackled and that he believes it’s a problem that he has tried to eradicate it.
This is his eighth concussion so for his continued longevity in the game perhaps he needs to work on it a little more.
Simmonson won’t be the last player that is suspended for tackling Tedesco.
That said, the howling and screaming coming from the media has been completely over the top.
Didn’t expect any less from the media
Can someone find that Tedesco meme from a couple of years back?
No
Nicely succinct Brett
It’s a terrible idea. Sure he could do it in a pinch, but not as a full time role. Russell, Dunster & Cini are clearly better options.
I thought I made it clear that I saw it as a short term solution right now? It says it in the title of the post.
I’m sure you did, and i still don’t like it. Nothing personal. And yeah, he did well on Thursday night, but IMO his best spot is the 13 jersey.
I never really appreciate the knock effect of a perfect storm one area of the team. Case in point the outside backs and the logistics involved.
There is so much that coaches see that we don’t. I guess that’s why they are in such roles.
Yes Cartwright in the interim.
Lane
Brown
Cartwright
Sivo
👍👍👍
Love it! I think Carty in the centres would be great. If Sean Russell is back next week too, he’d be ideal on the wing instead of Bailey. Lane train back too. We should be back on track in the next few weeks.
We have to be focussed this coming week West Coast. Bad memories about last year!
I’m sure they will be after last years debacle. Last year I made the trek from Perth with the family to watch the game. Ruined the holiday. Won’t be doing that this year!
So it was your fault!
Yep. Easter Monday, magic round and the grand final. I haven’t seen them win live since pre Covid!
Cant see it happening. People were calling for this to occur last season during our backs crisis and BA chose to move Dylan to center and bring in Jake. Could this happen again? Wouldnt surprise.
It won’t happen as BA hasn’t wavered from his intention of letting Jake develop in Cup
Good topic sixties, needs attention. I’d give Carty a run in the centres while Russell and Dunster get sorted. Only on the logic that we just need to find a better option. Carty has been going well but once he’s selected in the centres, opposition coaches will test him and ive still got this vague memory of the Sharks game where they ran in identical tries with Carty in the corridor where centres lurk.The Tigers are not the Sharks, so maybe it’s a lower risk gambit, and just on the Tigers, they will lift but last year Jackson Hastings carried them that day.
Very true BDon. I only see it as a short term solution. And as for Tigers, you’re right about Hastings.
I’d be loathe to move Carty from the edge forward role. He is finally playing exactly as BA wants him to. Move him to centre and we run the risk that he will think he has to make things happen every time he gets the ball. Mind you, BA will know his state of mind and if he thinks it will work, then I would back that decision.
Just a suggestion for the solution to our backline issues. I think he’s been ultra consistent
I like the idea! I think Russell is an absolute must when he is good to go, he was looking very good in the trials. Add Russell and Lane in our current side and it’s looking a lot stronger! But I love the idea of a ball playing centre who is going to feed Sivo good ball much like Lyon and Takairangi.
Cheers Iron Mike. I reckon the NSW Cup result/performance might have a bearing on this and I should have referenced that on the post. A couple of big performances by outside backs could add food for thought for BA. Pity it’s in Wollongong.
Now that Carty has settled he would do a better job than big Marata did for us over the last couple of years. He is totally playing with coincidence and he does read attackers better than Waqa when defending. I’m not against it.
Just short term like Marata. But yeah, I’m thinking defence is a big part
i reckon one more chance for wonger, ifhe is going to be dropped then it should have happened before the roosters game. the roosters game he produced his best game of the season, minimal mistakes, ran hard into the line. so why drop him now right when he is getting back confidence and is on the up. i don’t think we shld use carty at centre unless desperate, I’m sure he could do it as a stop gap, but we shld be confident that we can get the right guy out of cini, aji, dunster, russel.
btw i think simmonson is going to be very hard to leave out after his suspension, he’s wholehearted and has speed
i plan on going to the nsw cup game in the gong today and will pay particular attention to our backs, I’m hoping to see matt komo ripping it up
What were your takes from the match Matt?
Hi Sixties – look it’s a def option but I would be reluctant to move him while Junior is out. I know Lane is back and maybe BA may do this for a week, but if fit I’d use Russell and give him a go. He deserved the chance before injury.
My main issue is the continual defensive issues out wide and they seem to be the same….something the coaches have to sort asap.
Carty has been v good thus far. Hope he can continue
I think he should hold his spot in the 17 Milo.
Personally id change simmonsons n waqa n sivo. Sivo’s runs lack power n aggressiveness. He has not got the IQ of semi radradra. Semi was smart when he played sivo has no idea.
Waqa n simmonsons need time in reserve grade.
Cartwright should be coming of the bench when other pack’s get tired. He can really open up the game around the 25 minute mark.
Dunster n Russell n cini should be the new back 3 in the backline give them time to see what they can do….
Rev, Semi was one of the best, and is carving up in Union, but he had his share of confusing moments. Eg not hitting the ball away when the Panthers beat us in a last second kick to his corner, and trying to pick up a Broncos kick after the siren instead of kicking it over the sideline, eventually fumbling the ball and allowing a long range try. He also let Rapana get on his outside every time we played the Raiders. That doesn’t take away his brilliance in attack but he was fallible.
As for those changes, I think that Dunster and Russell are a genuine chance, but I doubt BA would consider a third change.
I never thought I’d want Cartwright I’m the team but he has done well this season Waqa looks well past it but BA has shown he sticks solid with players unless it’s a personal issue waqa will play every game unless he’s injured
I reckon Cartwright would offer something in the short term a combo with Lanevand asivo could be interesting
Yes, BA has a history of sticking solid, and it’s also a matter of considering the alternatives. I’ve made this Carty suggestion but I’m not sure that it would be on BA’s radar at all. But given his use of Marata out wide, I’m hoping it might have crossed his mind.
I’d bring both Russel and Dunster in. Waqa and Simmo can go to NSW CUP.
It might happen. I also wouldn’t rule out Simonsson as a centre when he returns.