The words I used to describe the Eels first three games were discipline and composure. Strangely, those two qualities went AWOL against the Tigers.
To be honest, my worries started from the moment the starting team was announced.
Winning games without Moses requires our forwards to be dominant. It’s the recognised strength and identity of the Eels. Winning the middle gives space for our spine to do their thing.
Even with Moses, that formula is how Parra plays. In the first three rounds they’ve been patient, keeping the attack tight in the red zone and it’s been successful.
Mitch Moses
All of which makes it difficult to understand the changes to the starting team.
In the first three rounds no opponent could shut down Junior and Matto coming off the bench, including the best defensive team in the competition. Quite simply, the decision to bring them on fresh in the early interchanges has worked a treat.
If a team has a point of difference that’s working, why change it? Dare I say that the impact of the bench had literally become an X factor for our Eels.
People are aware of my support of BA and my trust in his calls, but in this instance I left the game confused about his decision regarding the starting side.
I fully expect the BA haters to jump on this comment, but it’s not my validation of their predictable coach bashing. Brad has earned my support but no one is above criticism. From my way of thinking BA must also look in the mirror after this game.
To put it in perspective, through injury and selection calls, the Eels fielded seven changes to the successful starting team from the week before. That’s a different starting winger, centre, half, five-eighth, prop, second row and lock. Even Arthur’s biggest critic would acknowledge that mass changes aren’t his modus operandi. So why did he do it?
Added to that we had one prop on the bench on a hot day when more than ever our forwards needed to be our strength. Later in the first half and saw RCG, Junior and Matto all sitting on the bench together. I shook my head. It was confusing for me before the game and I am still none the wiser.
Junior Paulo
Junior and Matto became battering rams in a week where the team creativity was already lacking through the absences of Moses and Cartwright. Forwards ran one out and we then shifted wide to Sivo, who unless he has no one in front of him, will meekly surrender in a tackle. Other options might be few, but Maika is ticking very few boxes to justify his inclusion.
We missed Mitch and Bryce and that’s not in anyone’s control. I actually think Junior has been our best player this year, followed by Bryce and Dylan. We lost Bryce and had to ask Dylan to fulfill a different role, an unfamiliar role, so why on earth then would we decide to remove another absolute strength from our opening three games.
Parra looked rudderless and I think the unnecessary changes contributed to what was already going to be a tougher ask.
In recognising that Dylan Brown isn’t a game manager, it must also be stated that he was left stranded far too often. That comes down to the effort or lack thereof from the players. He created five opportunities out of nothing with his running game. Where was the support?
It was frustrating to see Brown stand in the tackle and look for support players, but nobody was pushing up to take the pass.
Dylan is not a halfback. He made errors yesterday. But if his natural game still produces opportunities they will go to waste with the sort of support play that we witnessed yesterday.
Dylan Brown
As an aside, Dylan’s game reminded me off Mitch a few years ago. He went for the tough passes to try to manufacture a big play when what he needed was to bring composure and then look to finish the sets with a kick. Ultimately his unnecessary pass to Harper was off the mark and cost the match.
Let’s not ignore a bigger picture. Brown is stepping up into a different role because of consistently poor roster management. The roster remains incomplete with something like three empty spots and lower grades yet to win a single game between them after four rounds. That’s just not good enough and there seem to be no recruitment solutions on the horizon.
But even with acknowledging the few selection alternatives available to BA, there were 17 players who should have got the job done
The team changes and changed game plan sent a message to the fans that the coaches had no faith in the team from the Manly game winning the next week without Moses.
Before Monday, I was very comfortable with Parra’s capacity to navigate the next couple of months. We had to make one change to our forward pack and rotations with Bryce out. Bring in a second rower and replace like for like on the bench. Instead three changes were made to our starting pack, and it weakened the both the starting team and the bench rotation.
BA has always operated by the philosophy that you don’t weaken one position to fix a hole in another. Again, this call was nothing like his usual methodology.
Matto
This team needs to find its identity without Mitch. If we are going to be a forward dominant team then pick our best pack in their best role. Junior and Matto are devastating from the bench. Why waste them and their enormous talent when you have other players who have proven that they can do the grind work.
I still look at this team and can absolutely see how they can stay on track without Moses. But it will only happen if the Eels stick to a style that suits the team’s strength.
In these coming weeks, it’s up to Arthur and the coaches to walk the walk. If the team has a style and identity that was so evident in the first three rounds, then it’s up to them to get it back on track.
Easter Monday gave doubters reason to doubt, and the players and coaches are the only ones who can change that narrative. The next few rounds could be decisive in determining the fate of the Eels season.
Shelley
Shelley, 🎯. Throughout the game I thought the 2 teams had swapped jerseys. I walked out stunned at the way we threw away 2 points.
I was talking to my brother after the game we are both in different camps re BA I believe his time is up my brother supports him. My brother said the changes were potentially a sign that he took the game lightly or is possibly starting to feel the pressure.
The game was a worry on so many levels I’m not writing things off yet I said before the season we would finish 9th or lower I stand by that I just don’t think the players or staff have the next level in them.
Similar to you, I like BA as person and as a coach in some respects. I think he’s decent and has done a solid job in less than ideal circs (ranging from 1) salary cap drama to 2) the underfunding and lack of resourcing that led to spoon to the and 3) current inability of the rnr committee to do give him any meaningful assets to address chronic deficiencies). But I also think this year we need to see some semblance of development from the team in terms of performance and attention to detail instead of the adhoc performances we see year to year and nebulous notions of “we tried hard but we lost” being throw around. If that development is not there by end of this year (say for example in defence) there has to be a change in my opinion.
Whether that is a change in head coach or a meaningful overhaul of the recruitment and retention committee/strategy (esp booting MON) or certain “senior” players being moved on we shall find out. But it’s difficult because I think these qs should have been identified and answered after last year. Instead we sat on our hands (as usual) and took the soft option of apportioning blame to injuries, suspension etc instead of looking at our style of play and how it has not got us where we want to go. And to make matters more difficult, I don’t think there’s any other coach on market that would do better if BA is moved on at end of year (in fact they would probs do worse unless they are called Wayne Bennett). More questions than answers at this point but we will get some answers (from the teams next tranche of perfomances) sooner or later
I’ve always backed ba but last week has changed my mind. If he doesn’t go back to junior on the bench I will no longer support him I’ve got a bad feeling some players have it over.
According to the NRL site, BA has doubled down and named Junior and Matto as starters again this week. Hopgood starts this week.
Well in fairness he’s named Junior as a starter every week and then moved him to the bench except against the tigers.
I can see why Matto may start, put him next to Blaize to help him. Will and Matto will be very helpful defensively for Blaize. Will is usually very good defensively, just had a bad game.
Junior has been named to start each week. Rd1-3 he was moved to the bench so we will have to wait and see.
Spot on, Shelley, you always replace like for like. I did a bit of coaching, in league and other team sports, and if a half was missing, you bought up the reserve grade half. If a second rower was out, you bought up a second rower.
To do otherwise disrupts and weakens the team.
Sivo hasn’t the same since he flattened Tedesco. Maybe the team psychologist needs to start earning their dollars.
We don’t have a 2nd string halfback in our top 30. DB is the closest thing we’ve got.
So questions asked, let see if answers are forthcoming.
Good read Shelley.
I support BA warts and all. But he’s been sold a hospital pass on Recruitment. We cannot sack BA and leave the mess of Recruitment in power.
Look at Tigers with Shane Richardson- players know they will get punted if they don’t perform. He doesn’t put up with under performance.
Knights – Peter Parr he was a big reason Ponga pulled his finger out. Still have work to do but underperformed will be punted.
Storm – Frank Panesi also knows football and moves players that don’t fit the standards I.e. NAS being shopped
We lack the person that can do the hard conversations and crunch underperormers (Sivo et al) and Allow BA to just coach! BA is forced to mother the players because we lack that hard-nosed Football manager that actually knows what he’s doing.
We need to spend $1M and get a decent HOF. Because we are a mockery in the front office!
MON has to go!
I hesitated to write this post but I do try and be honest. I don’t want BA sacked and he has made many good calls but his decisions against the Tigers seemed strange. We all have bad days and make bad decisions.
My view on recruitment is different. We have had a depth problem out wide for a few years and nothing has been done to fix it. Harper replaced Blake, depth was still not fixed. I don’t want to wait any longer for the magical X factor, I just want 1-2 more outside backs who can tackle and be good reliable first grade players, someone like a Tom Opacic type player.
The immediate solution had to come through recruitment because the top prospects coming through the older juniors are spine players and forwards. Watching NSW Cup and Flegg highlights this. If I can see that the person in charge off recruitment should have also seen the need and if he cannot see and fix it someone who can should replace him.
BA showed he is willing to give young kids a chance, he gave spots to Sean, Will and Blaize. If there was another kid there he would give him a go. In my opinion the problem is not BA.
Agree. Look at Richardson at the Tigers. It’s not Benji he was there last year and the players had No accountability. This year Richardson is renowned moving on players that underperformed. That’s why Tigers are winning.
To be fair, I think the club was banking on Will Penisini and Arthur Miller-Stephen to fill the role of back-up winger, but unfortunately they are out for the season. We need to be scouting other club’s lower grades to replace these guys ASAP for the remainder of this season.
Banking on rookies to fill spots as next man up after years of chronic issues in outside back depth says more than enough about their so called “plans”. Wholly inadequate as Shelley points out. Especially when those fellas got injured a few months before season started. the coaches/head of football have had ample time before and after those injuries and it’s the same limp response. No agility and no real urgency to do anything. It’s a continual slow walk into a predictable issue. Think of that advert where they can’t avoid the car crash and they get out to plead with eachother to stop but then have to get back in to continue head on.
Have to agree.
Recruitment has been a slow moving train wreck for several seasons.
We are not Penrith we don’t have a production line of players.
We have bungled coaching appointments in Reserve grade year after year. We are dead last and with Ron Massey cup players in the backs. We had an experienced forward pack that couldn’t get the job done. We may as well go back to Wenty running the cup team.
MON has to go or I’m getting to the stage of cancelling my family memberships.
Agree with this 100%.
The pathways program was strong back in the late 90’s early 2000’2, when we just couldn’t keep them – or keep the right one’s often. Now our Pathways program seems disjointed and year on year seem to be going backwards as the neighbouring junior rugby league goes from strength to strength.
So with pathways seeming to be broken and getting worse, the Eels need to be good in recruitment.
Essentially the last 4 signings from the club have been – a washed up injury prone hooker who hadn’t played in a year and was never going to work out. A fringe winger from Canberra who was signed like he was marquee player. A fringe backrower from Manly and a centre who – if anyone has watched any NSW Cup since 2018, knows is slow and a defensive liability. The plan was they would all be in our starting 17 at the moment…
At what point does the finger get pointed at the Head of Football Operations? – who wasn’t qualified for the job when he was given it and is yet to prove himself.
There are a number of issues that this loss has raised, number 1 is the lack of a back-up halfback. It was clear last season that Brown is not a halfback and that Sanders is nowhere near ready to throw to the lions in the NRL squad. You could also argue that Asi is not a halfback either. Secondly, we are desperately short of wingers. We purchased a centre in the offseason and if reports are correct we are pursuing another centre. How can we be a premiership threat if the players are not feeling the pressure to perform from the lower grades?
I have to agree with you about the change to the starting / bench lineup. To me this all looks like BA panicked and goes against everything he has set up so far this season. If we don’t get back to our previous style of play, we are doomed. We can’t wait for Moses to return to save the day. In fact even with Moses, we would have only just got over the line on Monday which may have only masked the real issues.
Its all well and good to say BA should have stuck with the forward formula that “worked” the first few weeks as the Eels went 2-1, and had Gutho kicked the late penalty, the Eels would be 3-1 and it would have “worked” again.
In reality – The Eels did get a little lucky in the Manly game when Moretti was clearly cooked, and had Jake T taken two more steps, Manly walk right up our middle, score a try and we would have spent the last week listening to people whinge about forward rotations.
So he changes things.
He had the big three in RCG, Paulo and Matto on to start. In the game i watched, the Tigers were spanking our forwards for the first 10 minutes of the game even with the power three on the field. So it could have been worse had they not all been on.
The Eels have hardly been so dominant that they could just keep rolling out the same game plan. If you use the same game plan against Penrith as you do against Manly, and repeat again against the Tigers, a totally different side again, it becomes pretty easy to prep for.
The Eels should be able to win the forward battle against any team, regardless of who starts and who comes off the bench. Is Paulo better than Hopgood? Yes. Is he that much better that where they start should impact the result? no.
RCG played 59 minutes. Hopgood 55, Matto 54 and Paulo 52. So RCG basically got 5 minutes more than the rest (and he was the best of the 4), who were all within one set of six of each other. That would seem like a pretty well controlled rotation to me.
The bigger issue continues to be – that they created a strategy to attack through the forwards, and yet have skimped on the ball player who feeds the forwards the ball. The Eels need an NRL hooker, not a NSW Cup or Super League hooker.
You are way off don’t change the rotation which WAS working
I don’t believe Junior needs to start off the bench to run hard. His dummy and jink were back last week when the previous three weeks he’s been running straight through brick walls. Put the passing away Junior until you are getting through the advantage line consistently.
An organised defensive backline and Parra win.
It’s been years and no solution.
Doesn’t matter who the players are, week on week the tries all pile on because of the same weakness.
Draw your own conclusions.
You are a unbiased BA fan that’s fair I get that but I think even the most painted on BA fan would conciede if the year turns out like last he simply has to go.
For me we have issues across the board the club consistently under performs as soon as the chips are down injuries suspension they crumble instead of digging deep and stepping up they capitulate this is a culture issue is that BA is it the management who knows. In the end we are the team with the longest drought and we are no closer to winning if moving on a coach or a few players gets us closer to a premiership I’m all for it.
I hope BA and the senior players Gutho Reg Junior etc get us there but I’m not confident of that.
Absolutely spot on, Shelley. Well said.