Not really looking forward to this one to be honest. Writing the preview or watching the game, I’m not feeling the Parramatta Eels after the embarrassment of last week. Traditionally only two results are possible here: a bounceback upset for the ages, or a hiding. There is no gradual improvement in the Eels, any many of their most embarrassing losses have been followed with unlikely wins that get fans hopes up and keep us all on the ride.
Brookvale has always been a fortress, but the Sea Eagles have been particularly strong in both of their showings there this year, including a win over Penrith. They’re healthy and they’re motivated, this being the first game after longtime Manly larrikin Terry Hill passed away unexpectedly. The Eels are coming off their coach calling them a part-time team, which on the Brad Arthur scale of insults is taking a white glove off and slapping them each across the face three times and calling for pistols at dawn. They’re bruised, hobbled and for most of the last month, a bad football team.
It’s Manly and Parra. Again. Hooray, I guess. Let’s preview it.
Game Info
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Venue: Brookvale Oval, Brookvale
Kick-off: 8:00PM AEST
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Bunker: Ashley Klien
Weather: Cool, slight chance of rain
Broadcast: Nine, Fox League, Kayo
Sixties Speculates (Odds quoted are NSW TAB)
Happy, responsible punting.
Sixties
Teams
Parramatta Eels
1. Clint Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Will Penisini 4. Morgan Harper 5. Bailey Simonsson 6. Ethan Sanders 7. Dylan Brown 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Joey Lussick 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Ryan Matterson 13. J’maine Hopgood.14. Brendan Hands 15. Makahesi Makatoa 16. Joe Ofahengaue 17. Kelma Tuilagi.
18. Sean Russell 19. Luca Moretti.
Sean Russell wasn’t good last week, bombing a try that had every bloke who ever played junior footy saying “I could’ve scored that” (and I could’ve!) but he probably didn’t deserve to be one of only two axings from the squad. Maika Sivo hasn’t set Cup alight but earns his recall, while butterfingers Luca Moretti is back in Cup until he learns to hold onto his first carry. Brendan Hands replaces him on the bench.
Go hard, would you?
That is all entree to the main course, which is the debut of Ethan Sanders, timed perfectly to the announcement that he’s leaving the club in 2025. I’m all for piling on the recruitment and retention committee, but this loss was inevitable given our starting halves are both a) rep players and b) signed until 2028 and the heat death of the universe, respectively. While stashing him in Cup or on the bench for years would be nice, look at our Cup side and roster. Does this look like a club that can pay $400K to a backup half?
Anyway, Sanders is another who has struggled at Cup level this year (to be fair, they all have), but he’s a traditional game manager type and the most direct replacement to Mitchell Moses in the squad. He’s almost certainly not ready, but we’re kind of out of choices here, so he is thrown to the wolves. If he can distribute, kick and direct the team around, it’ll free up Dylan Brown to offer some of that all too rare attacking spark to the 2024 Eels.
The other change is Makahesi Makatoa coming in for Bryce Cartwright, via Ryan Matterson moving to the edge. Carty forced himself back early and was clearly not right, and while I fear a bit for Matterson’s edge defence against a Manly side that spreads the ball early, Makatoa is the very definition of “does a job” and while he won’t make any gamebreaking plays, he should quietly rack up the yards and tackles.
Sea Eagles
1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Tommy Talau 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Corey Waddell 13. Jake Trbojevic. 14. Karl Lawton 15. Ethan Bullemor 16. Matt Lodge 17. Nathan Brown.
18. Aaron Woods 19. Jake Arthur
Almost all hands on deck for Manly this week, with Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab and Matt Lodge making returns in the last couple of weeks. I’d say the target is Corey Waddell in the back row given his career thus far, but he nearly won the Sea Eagles the first match between these sides by doing a David Fifita impression, and every nuffy forward we’ve played in the last month has had a career game, so get on him for man of the match.
The middle battle will be interesting in this one, with Matt Lodge and Nathan Brown on the bench potentially going any which way for the Eels. Brown is cooked but still has an occasional effort in him. His first revenge game in round 3 wasn’t much chop, but if he’s got some downhill running by the time he hits the field you know he’ll go hard. Lodge is coming off an ACL but a long time ago in a different game was an elite prop. We’ll see what he’s still got, maybe it’s better to have broken old men coming off the bench instead of a young stud like Oryn Keeley or Samuela Fainu, both of whom have crushed the Eels multi-million dollar front rowers in recent weeks.
Not About the Footy
Is he still even a captain? I can’t tell. Go hard, big man.
I doubt this is a game that will be won through whiteboards and training drills. Brad Arthur’s serve last week was followed up with all the right bleatings from the players; “we deserved it”, “we’ve let him down”, “not good enough” but frankly I’ve heard all that before and it hasn’t stopped me from watching another 40-point drubbing the following week. The primary currency of rugby league is on field actions, and if the Eels haven’t given up on the coach like they say, there’s one place to show it.
A lot is running against them. One week of recovery might not be enough for the kind of game that is measured in how many kilograms of sweat each player lost, while key players in RCG and Clint Gutherson are playing busted and several more (Lussick, Matterson, Lane) are playing like busteds. There’ll be players tapping their gauge in the vague hope there is more left in the tank, and with a bye coming up next week there is a real fear this is a “just get through it” game for a side that can’t let any more wins slip away from them (or more likely in this case, can’t let their points differential take another 30+ hit).
About the Footy
Manly are going to come at this fired out of a cannon. They had a hot start in round 3 and couldn’t hold on, but that was against a much better, much closer to full strength Eels team. Parramatta has usually started fairly well, it’s the middle of the game where they are being ripped apart, but if the Sea Eagles start hot then we might be able to catch the 8:30 movie (is that still a thing? I haven’t watched free to air in a decade).
That hot start will likely come from the confidence to test the edges early and often. Look at those two backlines. Reuben Garrick ran around Morgan Harper in round 3 like he was a drill cone, and Maika Sivo isn’t any more agile. Jason Saab and Tolutau Koula will be given early ball and asked to just do something, and do something they probably will. That’s before the danger Tom Trbojevic poses to a side, especially on lazy inside defenders with heavy legs, like say, guys recovering from a game played in a 32 degree sweatbox might have.
Luke Brooks has cooled from his hot start to the year, but this is a game he will relish. He’s got “half break” speed and agility, always looking like he could break the line but rarely actually getting through. Against our defence, he’ll get at least one or two clean breaks. One mercy is that the sharp ruck play of Api Koroisau and Jeremy Marshall-King that crushed us in a couple of recent losses is unlikely to be matched by Lachlan Croker. Still, the men he’ll pass to tight on the ruck like Olakau’atu and Paseka will cause plenty of damage against arm tackles, while Jake Trbojevic does a lot of good work sizing up numbers and distributing that goes under appreciated but will lead to opportunities the outside backs will ice against our edge defenders.
Manly has also been a fairly ordinary defensive side this year. The Eels attack has been a bit of a shambles, unable to convert pressure into points in an unfortunate reprise of years gone by, and the beautiful running lines that picked apart slow edge defence on the goal have disappeared, probably because the hard runs that preceded them are also MIA. Still, a bit more structure from an actual halfback, Dylan Brown playing his natural style and some improvement in players like Matterson, Lane and Paulo, and there’ll be points to be found if pressure can be maintained. If there is one thing Parramatta is good at, it’s getting into position for points, but after leaning on the Dolphins for 30 minutes and only getting a couple of tries and somehow more fatigue than our opposition to show from it, I’m not hopeful.
Game
The one man I can guarantee will turn up this week.
I’m not hopeful sums it up well. This feels like a game of footy to endure rather than enjoy. For all the pre-season camps, legend pep-talks and carrying a rope around the woods for hours, this looks like the same old, tired football team we saw last year. This team has clearly loved Brad Arthur, and maybe they still do; by full time we’ll have our answer and Brad probably knows whether he needs to update his LinkedIn profile.
Even with a good effort it is going to be a tough ask to come away from Brookvale with a win. Manly have plenty to play for and a strategy that is kryptonite to the genuine 2020 football the Eels deliver. Three good tackles driving a defence into their own half mean nothing when on the fourth their fast men can just run around your meant-to-be-fast men. 80 minutes is a long time to hold out Trbojevic, Garrick, Saab, Koula (and I suppose Talau as well), and the tired legs of the Eels outside backs and edge defenders will not have faced a challenge like it this year.
While Brad Arthur doesn’t deserve the players packing it in on him, after a decade of coaching sometimes things get stale. I hope it isn’t the end for Brad, he’s done plenty of good for the club and developed a mountain of talent, particularly in the forwards, and I wished that these next two years would be the coming together of all of that rather than the fracturing of it. If his coaching career is on the line this week, he couldn’t ask for a much tougher assignment. Let’s hope the players dig deep for him.
Go you Eels!
Prediction: Manly 36 d Parramatta 14
Man of the Match: Reuben Garrick
Gol
Thanks Gol, tbh I think your score could be close to the mark. I have little faith in parts of our team and am sick of saying that we l lack a true forward leader and lack consistency.
Feel we will start well but will we keep this up for 80? No confidence here – bet responsibly
Or don’t bet as the case may be for me Milo!
Agreed
I’ve not had a bet on footy since the guy from channel footy tab 10 days! What was his name?
Croucher?
I don’t think this will be the annihilation that others have been saying it will be. After last week’s (lack of) effort, I’m confident the players will put in this week. Whether that is enough to jag a win, I doubt it really. The goal should be for the players to come together as a team and to take the game to Manly as best they can. We can regroup during the bye week. I know we need the win, but let’s face it, our season is pretty much done unless we go on a winning streak we have not seen since 2009.
On the flip side, another drubbing will spell the end of another so-so era at Parra. We are used to this, so it would be no surprise to see the club continue to fall to rock bottom and then attempt to pick up again. As I said before however, I don’t really see this happening, at the moment anyway.
Longfin, I saw what I needed to see at training during the week. However, I have no idea whether it will mean that it translates to match day. I do agree that we’ll see some improvement.
Tks Gol. SBS on Demand is good free to air watching. Recommend Blue Lights.
You get that feeling this game might tell us a lot about our weekly football hit for the rest of 2024, but I suppose when Moses returns and if the rest of the roster is miraculously fit, we might see a valiant tilt at 8th spot, which for the past few years has gone to a team on 50% wins. You never know…
Correct BDon, you never know. I’ll also check out that program
Thanks Gol !
I feel your pain and concerns about tonight’s game, and while last weeks loss was very disappointing, I think it would have been a tough assignment for any non QLD side. The sweltering heatwave gos a long way to partially excusing some of our dropped ball errors, and poor defensive play.
Riddled with injuries, we battle on, against a full strength Manly squad that will be eager to stick it to us, especially after the last game when they feel they were robbed ..
My concern is that BA seems happy to leave Dylan Brown at half back !!! Doesn’t he see that while Dylan is doing a great job at No.7 he is not able to offer his usual attacking & backline defensive spark that he can from No.6 . At 6 he slides in defence, or runs the ball, or feeds our outside backs.. at No.7 it’s a lot more difficult.. Why play both Ethan Sanders & Dylan out of their usual positions???
The mind boggles…..
Pete, Dylan will still play the same defensive role. The main issue is around changing sides rather than changing roles. Dylan has been asked to be the dominant half. He always has to be with a young player making his debut.
It is said 7 is the most important position, we have two tonight, we have a 6 playing 7 and a 7 wearing a 6 jumper playing 7. Makes sense to me, what’s there to get? We can’t lose.
My tip: The Eels by 6. MVP Dylan Brown
Wow! Full marks for positivity mate.
Optimistic about a response tonight talk is cheap need to bring it out on field put your bodies on the line no arm grabbing move up as one and have each others backs tonight possible Sanders does start at 7 and Dylan 6 or swap during the game if necessary worth 4 points with win with Bye next
With the bye it would be a huge result if they can get it.
Are you saying we’ll be lucky to win the bye? If so I agree.
Gol, you could be a comedy writer, that was a hilarious read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sarcasm at its finest.
Why did the club play Cartwright if he’s not ready? What medical staff does that? It’s not the players choice, that’s what medical staffs are there for. He’s probably done more damage now. Can any part of our club make a right decision at the moment? We’ll see Moses run on with a cast in two weeks if we get lapped tonight.
I’m not looking forward to this game either. I’m obviously hoping we win but if we lose, we lose with dignity.
The least likely scenario is always the best bet when punting on a Parra game. Eels to win 13+
Joseph, I think they are being cautious with Moses. I’m tipping round 10 or 11.
I hope you’re right Sixties, I’m tipping Mitch runs on with a moon boot if we lose tonight 😃
I have been a Parra.fan since early 70’s;yes we had a very bad game last week , in today’s game you cannot win without the ball . 2 or 3 mistakes cost us valuable possession eg.butter fingers Moretti & Asi kick out the back giving 7 tackles and that was game set & match , looking at recent results almost every team has big losses eg south’s and dragons yesterday. Our season is not going as we would have hoped but is not over till the fat l day sings .so do not give up on our team
Pretty sad when people on here will be happy jagging 8th spot. Aren’t we a POWERHOUSE club. Dropping a promising forward who spilt one ball and a winger who has a dig is really getting the message through to those who did pack it in. It’s dead set laughable.
Don’t kid yourself, we are not a powerhouse club by any measure, haven’t been for most of our history.
Your quick on the uptake ever hear of tongue in cheek.
Congratulations to Ethan!
I just hope Ethan is allowed to play his natural game.
He’s a natural 7 and has played there and trained there. I just hope Dylan plays his natural 6 and Ethan steers the side. Using the Kiss principle.
Go Ethan!!
Parra should bounce back.
It seems we have two chances tonight – fat and buckleys. You know what I don’t either are going to turn up tonight. Manly have the speed to put on 50 points and that my friend is the end of our season. However, I am tipping a blockbuster game from the Eels with a win. I always do and we know how reliable that can be. Just the same it’s the underdogs tonight. The ghost of Terry Hill will be at the other teams he played for. Manly will have to find another motivator. How about they do it for Schulster!
Tear up Sivo’s contract immediately, he just threw his teammates under the proverbial bus. That was simply unforgivable. BA needs to calm him out, publicly.
I never want to see sivo pull on a part jersey again. Give him the reserve grade treatment Bellamy gave olam last year. Biggest cat in the league.
Tear up his contract, don’t even play him in reserve grade
And move on lane while we are at it. Need some one with actual line speed and energy. He is so slow of the line and so bad defending shifts of other teams. Always gets stuck in the chair and can’t move side to side
Lane got caught in two minds, ended up flat footed when Jake T went clean through the line and DCE went over. Next man defending was Sanders but it looked to me like Lane should have been active and pushing across, the gap wasn’t all that big and the play really hadn’t cleared the ruck which suggests the edge second rower should have been on duty.
Yea and his general lack of urgency is frustrating . Lane Morgan Harper and sivo is one of, if not the worst, left edge in the comp
Unbelievable. A brain explosion of epic proportions. Except Sivo doesn’t have a brain, does he. Undo scoring 3 tries in the corner with one elbow. I am stunned. The other players did not deserve that ending. ONE STUPID ACTION just killed off the game for us. I am in shock
He’s never had effort. He’s never had brains. But we have him a fat contract extension because she was a glorified Nathan Merritt who could put the ball in the corner. That simply doesn’t cut it anymore.
Yep, and it was a secondary action, not like it occurred in the process of making the tackle, first came the tackle, then came the elbow, and if I remember correctly he sort of half arsed a first attempt then made sure with a second go. Just so inept and dumb. He also got badly caught in no man’s land on the short blind for the Saab break/Turbo try which got them rolling.
Stupid by Sivo but seriously not worth the bin – Luai didn’t get the bin for knocking Simonsson out and didn’t get suspended afterwards. Will Sivo be so lucky? Reserve grade until he can learn to not give stupid penalties away.
On a plus side Sanders played a good game and didn’t seem overawed by the occasion. Has to be in the team until Moses back and improved team performance. The team still has to learn to play more than 60 mins tho, this is NRL not NFL.
Stuff me if the tackle on lane wasn’t an immediate send off I don’t know what is.
The players got called out last week.
What did BA get in return?
0/4 conversions (This is alarming)
Penalties and errors as usual
32 points conceded
Poor defence and missed tackles as usual
2 sin bins
1 forward ran over 100M
BA’s called this an improvement????
BA said he didn’t ask for a response? (After last week?) The players were a bit sheepish around training? No accountability that means!
BA basically called the players Cowardly in their approach at training. BA didn’t have the tough conversations with them. He let them just sit.
BA’s NOT going to speak to Sivo about the elbow BA said “He knows” . BA is a coward coach if he doesn’t have a tough conversation with Sivo.
BA seems too soft (sheepish) on the players and that creates Lack of accountability. BAs created a soft comfortable playing group that doesn’t respect him and it shows in defence.
Pete, I’m with your general intention here,but we played with 12 for final 20 minutes, OK poor discipline, but here’s another fact, from the point that DCE moaned about penalties to Sutton at around the 20 minute mark, penalties went against us 8-2, some real fantasy ones like Dylan Brown not marking correctly and Hopgood holding down blown after about 2 seconds when Manly should have been blown off the park for ruck infringements all night. The Dylan Brown one was crucial as Manly were in their own half, looking half shot and their dummy half actually threw the ball forward. I thought there were some signs of good effort, eg. Our line speed improved but still too many poor moments of concentration and discipline.
We did get some dodgy calls as expected at Brookvale.
Turbo was offside when tackled by Penesini – shouldn’t been sin bin was penalty to us. Olakuatu should have been sent off dangerous throw.
But, we should have been better. 1 forward ran over 100m. 0/4 conversions, missed tackles, errors….
After being called out by BA and the media. I thought that the forwards were limp. Lane was pathetic. Sivo is dumb and will be suspended again. No respect for BA if IMHO.
I guess we were lucky it wasn’t 50+
I can no longer be happy unless we win.
It’s all about winning.
Ethan Sanders was great in his debut.
Sanders was the logical choice 4 weeks ago.
Our season is slipping away and not because we lost last night. Where was that commitment and desire against the Tigers and Dolphins?
Boy, Sivo could clear a stadium when he brain farts.
At least the team had a dig last night. We needed some luck to go our way but as often the case, the rub of the green went to the home side. The penalty that led to a Manly try for not being square in the ruck was a joke. If you can lift and drive a player with force, head first into the turf and not get sent off, then that will do me. And Sivo took away any chance regardless of luck. Fans are accusing Sivo of not having a brain, it takes a lot thought to score a hatrick and still come out the villan.
Sanders had s great debut, he is an NRL player in the making. Just our luck to develop a player in a position we least need, why couldn’t he be a high flying rocket ship winger.
Extremely frustrating seeing Lane lack any urgency. People blaming it on match fitness. Well guess what. We are @ round 6 now. There’s no excuse. The club should ask for the money back on his funded Europe trip cause it did absolutely nothing but leave him in a meditated state on the field.