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The Instant Reaction podcast goes up-tempo this week as Sixties and Forty20 do a rapid fire breakdown of Parramatta’s 42-26 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 12.
It was a case of the same issues cripply the Blue & Gold with errors and sloppy ruck defence elevating their opposition. Parramatta fought back to make the game somewhat interesting but the Bunnies were never seriously threatened. The biggest question to come out of this game only tangentially involved Parramatta as confusion over what kind of hip drop tackles warrant sin-binning continues to reign.
There was good news in the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg with both teams securing important wins. The Cup continued their huge midseason resurgence with an 8-point win this evening while the Flegg secured a huge Top 4 scalp with their commanding 26-8 victory earlier today.
Ok now that Barrett has had the week to look at the lay of the land can we please move Dylan Brown back to 5/8 ???
He was never ever ever a halfback.
Also, I know that Blaize Tagali has some upside but stop trying to make him into a fullback – he’s a centre /5/8
I know we have injuries but what is this clubs fascination in putting players in completely unfamiliar positions????
Talagi looks great at fullback, not sure what you’re seeing
Just has issues in defence and the high ball that stuff will come in time but in attack he is a showing he is a fullback
Why do you fellas think our players now make so many errors?
We drop the ball and give away to many penalties in bad spots.
Do you think it’s just the players down on confidence?
Or in a bad mental space and possibly feeling the pressure.
Ps it was good to see baz give hands a run, we started to get line breaks and score points with him on the field it looked like.
You know I honestly believe that the team is just not fit enough. Lack of physical fitness shows in how they drop off.
They are 2022 fit but not 2024 fit – there is a difference.
Whoever we get as coach we need to look seriously our strength and conditioning program.
Agree, fitness has been a huge issue since coming back from the world cup all of 2023 and now 2024. It’s obvious how fatigued we get which leads to poor decisions, errors and poor/lazy defence.
I like what Barrett said “we struggled to get Lane involved in games this year” So he put him in the middle…
We look so much better with Hands than Lussick
100% agree, and also looked better using lane in the middle.
Baz also gave them permission to move the ball around.
Ba didn’t let them do that until tackle 4-5.
We looked more dangerous in attack at times but they’ll need time to be able to play like that and not make as many errors.
I predicted (because I’ve met baz) he won’t keep running the failed 80 mins 1 hooker lussick tactic.
We honestly already lost before hands came on – but looked dangerous and started scoring once hands came on.
There was positive signs there in that team even tho we lost last night.
The problem was we had a terrible start + stupid errors and low completion rate early made it near impossible.
Let’s at least be happy Baz did things differently than BA.
I feel like without the errors and extremely poor start eels would of won that game.
Agree. The blind side looked good on occasions.
Cardinal. Wasn’t a great performance. The players were definitely emotional and it showed with the opening 20 minutes. Some great analysis from 40s, ball handling and defensive contact on our line was poor.
Sixties stance was to prove that ba didn’t lose the dressing sheds, Sixties almost joyed to say that we were beaten by a last place South’s.
Talagi was poor. I think he goes. , Hands was good, Asi out. Need a few players from nsw cup. Gymer , Arthur and The second rower who played for the dogs.
How do you possibly think that the sound of my misery is anything like joy? I was supportive of Barrett making no changes this week when previously I’ve called for change. I expected tonight’s result, but I wanted to be wrong.
Talagi was great again, he missed one floater at the end. I must’ve watched a different game.
We definitely must have watched different game. Yes he missed a kick at the end but he was out of position for two of their tries and missed at least two tackles that led to tries. That’s 4 or so tries that he was directly/involved with.
He looks great with the ball but his positioning at the back especially on the line is dire.
Not his fault as I maintain he’s not a fullback and has played minimal time there.
His defence generally is way below NRL standard.
So yeah he’s got some stuff to work on, what 19 year old doesn’t ? And he wasn’t out of position, he had to cover gaps in the line left by teammates. Or would you rather him stay behind the line and let the opposition stroll through wide open gaps untouched ?
You’re thinking the same as me Cardinal – Matt Doorey’s got to be given a run in the top grade
Doorey is not the answer, he gets hurt far too often. Not injured, hurt. Barely gets into contact without laying down and having a cry.
Damn you are a little hard on Doorey – at least he has a go !
Oh he’s talented, but watch him, he stays down every 2nd tackle. He’s talented but soft.
Three big lessons from this game.
#1 3 short dropouts, 3 tries against us within 6 tackles. We should have given them up after the 22 GF.
#2 Give it to Sivo is still our most effective attacking strategy. 3 tries, including the Russell assist. He has been starved of ball all year, and I think that explains his poor form.
#3 We need a creative playmaker. Cartwrights setup of the Sivo try was the best halfback play of the year to date.
Barrett has to fix the defensive problems around the ruck and on the try line, or we won’t win another game this year.
Carty played well and he has a lot of X factor to create something out of nothing – what’s missing from our team is more of this.
We actually have a avg roster heavily dependent on 3 players (moses, gutho, hopgood)
Honestly if the eels didn’t have those 3 blokes, I’d be willing to bet we are likely a guaranteed spoon team in 24’.
There was some positive take aways I don’t know anyone addressed properly on the podcast.
Hands made a absolutely significant impact on our teams offence one he came on.
If we didn’t have dumb errors from players and stupid penalties.
We could of kept riding the momentum and won that game.
We looked closer to how a eels team can play during some parts of that game.
Even tho we lost due to a bad start and errors.
At times we looked more dangerous that ba has had us looking with him keeping lussick on the field.
Lane also looked better in the middle.
Baz made some positive changes and gives us something to work off in my eyes.
I felt like without stupid errors and penalties.
We could of gotten over south’s.
Let’s at least be happy for the positive:
Baz isn’t blindly using lane and lussick like BA even tho both of them have been atrocious for us thei year.
With gutho and moses back – and lussick & lane being used differently.
We might actually start to become a decent attacking team again.
Kelma also drops the ball too much and I can see why manly let him go.
Very sad times at the eels in terms of their confidence levels & so many errors in their game.
Is the errors issue a confidence thing? Fitness?
It’s honestly sad to see our first grade team drop balls so easily and have virtually no goal line defence.
Let’s hope baz can keep adjusting them and make them at least scores more points – because we are so far gone defensively I can’t see that changing anytime soon…
Baz isn’t stubborn and is prepared to make changes.
We are still unfit that won’t change this year. Looking at the intensity of the Panthers and Roosters and then watching Rabbits v Eels huge gulf in salary cap and fitness….
Agree about the ex-Manly players
Gutho is the only one we need.
Harper doesn’t seem to be able to put a game together, and Kelma probably had his worst game.
When Moses and Gutho come back, I’d like to see Brown have a stint at number 9 and work out whether Gutho or Talagi make a better 6.
Has anyone got the answers why our errors / completion rate is so bad?
It’s honestly so poor it’s hard to imagine a first grade NRL team can barely compete a set without dropping the ball?
It’s hard for me to believe it’s just fitness or having a bad day, it’s been every week?
It’s got to be fitness. Fatigue leads directly to loss of concentration.
Every other side have issues with hamstrings and they are blaming the fact that the game has sped up so much and the training has gone up another gear to match.
Either the Eels have found a magic cure in the management of hamstrings or they are about 2 or 3 clicks below the required level in aerobic fitness and thus behind everyone else.
I’m willing to bet the Eels haven’t found a magic cure to manage hamstring injuries.
There was never going to be anything to take out of this game, win or lose besides some individual observations.
Lane looked better in the middle, Sivo resemble a winger, Blaize looked better under the high ball and Hands is a better option than Lussick which isn’t saying much.
I’m expecting Doory to be the only new face in next weeks team, Barrett will wait for Moses and Gutho to return before throwing Matt Arthur and Charlie to the wolves.
At least Sixties got joy out of the loss, I swear I heard several champagne bottles popping in the background and if you listen carefully you can hear Sweet Caroline playing when Sixties was talking 😀
Thanks for the podcast gents.
Joseph, I don’t know why anyone is thinking I had any joy. If there are any preconceived ideas about how I’m feeling let me be explicit. I don’t ever want the Eels to lose any match. I was distressed that we were beaten by the team that sat dead last on the table, which made it impossible to find any positives. Like others I spoke about how it was Sivo’s best game of the season and Lane is better suited to the middle (he has been used there in the past). And I defended Baz with his decision to not drop any players and suggested that maybe the Sharks game is not the right game to make any debuts.
The only joy that I had in the recording was when I was discussing the lower grade results.
You rock, Sixties.
Sixties, I never thought that at all, I was making light of Cardinal’s comments. I know how much you hurt after each and every loss.
I’m sorry if my comments came across as being literal.
2 errors and a penalty conceded at the 9 minute mark, plus completions 2 out of first 7. Souths game plan was to play through the ruck, get to kick and plug us into our 20 with line speed, simple football which we obliged by the error/completion count. Got them started and warmed up, and on song, the team running last. We did not get inside their 40, let alone 20, til near the 30 minute mark. The total error/penalty count 23 us, 12 them. The last 50 minutes of the game was 20 all, even though South’s stats remained far superior to ours (except run metres), so there was a bit of something there that may be Moses and Gutho can work on. We are getting nailed by red zone grubbers and high balls. May be watch some video of teams that dont.
True and good points
The highlight for me was $10 pints of Guinness.
The result was pretty much as expected. The team (excluding other valid comments re form etc) has no belief. Restoring that belief will be the primary task of the new coach.
$10 pints of Guinness??? Excellent!
Guys just an idea I’ve been brewing for a few weeks now that I think could be beneficial. How about moving hoppy to prop next to RCG to start the games. Last night with carty going in the middle a heap it’s shown me that he could go to lock. Simplify hoppy and do all the tough work which we are desperate for in the middle. Doorey and guymer coming through to first grade along with Matto also back means our backrow stocks could take the hit
With hoppy probably in origin this week it’s not realistic for next week but maybe a lineup looking a bit like this could have some positive impact.
1. Gutho
2. Cini
3. Penisini
4. Talagi
5. Simmonson
6. Brown
7. Moses
8. RCG
9. Hands
10. Hopgood
11. Doorey
12. Matterson
13. Cartwright
14. Arthur
15. Joe O/woody
16. Paulo
17. Guymer
Carty is super creative and seems to be able to bring something out of nothing
It would of our team great if he had option to play ball a little like last night
He absolutely tore up south’s when he ran along throwing dummies then set up the try
That was unbelievable
Don’t be surprised if Carty gets a call up for SOO as a Smokey this series