Parramatta Eels 34
Cronulla Sharks 22
Well didn’t we need that? When I woke up on Friday the sun was shining a little brighter, the birds were singing a pleasant tune, the guy next to me on the bus smelled a little nicer and the instant coffee from the machine at work tasted just that touch less bitter. It wasn’t perfect, but the Sharks played a tough game of footy and the Eels held out and got over the top of them. This was a game that we won, not one that they lost, and while our 2024 chances remain firmly in “miracle” territory, I was game enough to check the NRL ladder for the first time in two months after the win, so that is progress.
While the kicking game of Moses and some plus efforts from some underperforming players papered over the cracks a bit, there were still hints of what ailed the Eels in 2024. They couldn’t defend errors, the defence got especially flakey right when we expected it to and they conceded some fairly ugly tries. That length of the field effort finished by Will Kennedy is going to replace Nathan Cleary’s last second, 2 point field goal as the go-to “yeah, but they lost the game” highlight we’ll be seeing for years to come.
But mostly, the bad centres around where this effort has been in the last few months? I don’t like or rate Phil Gould, but his point on “why does the halfback returning make the forwards put in more?” is a good one. There is only so much extra gas that a good kicking game will put into the tank; the forwards ran harder, made fewer errors and generally looked more aggressive against a good Cronulla pack, and that has little to do with Moses. If they’d played like that against Manly, Brisbane or The, Brad Arthur still has a job.
A win won’t bring the X-Factor section back, but I wanted to elaborate on that last point. I usually shut down the Brad Arthur job speculation with a simple question; “who would you replace him with?”. When the answer to that was possibly Wayne Bennett, it was worth the move, especially when Brad couldn’t motivate the pack. When the answer to that is “Jason Ryles perhaps, I don’t know, Josh Hannay, what’s this about Anthony Seibold?”, maybe you stick with Arthur until his halfback returns and see what happens. Those guys will still be on the coaching market in September, trust me.
An old football trope is that you don’t sack a coach without a replacement ready to go. If sacking Arthur was a last ditch attempt to lure Wayne Bennett, well that didn’t go so well. Given South Sydney had already sacked a coach this year, three teams made coaching changes before the start of the season and another four the season before that, the market isn’t exactly brimming with exciting candidates. Now recruitment and retention is essentially stalled until we take our choice from a deck without a lot of aces in it. Let’s hope we draw well.
Maybe we should rename this section “The Downer” for the rest of the year, since that’s all rather downcast for a post-game grades after we beat one of the form teams in the comp. Let’s get on with the celebration!
Welcome back, Mitch. You da MVP.
Clint Gutherson
1 – Fullback
The King was immense, and while the comeback of Mitchell Moses drew most of the headlines, the difference our captain made to the side cannot be underestimated. Given how well the Sharks were completing he worked hard on kick returns, took tough yardage runs and was a key link in the attack. Every kickoff gave me a scare that he’d done his leg again, but it was nice to see him moving fairly freely after a few weeks of clearly being busted.
Maika Sivo
2 – Left Wing
He’s got a long way to go to get out of the doghouse, but his absolute burial of Will Kennedy on that try was a welcome bouquet of flowers and apology card on the doorstep of Parramatta fans. Watching the replay it was interesting to finally hear a commentary team giving it to him for his lacklustre return game, and his defensive positioning and decision making still left plenty of room for improvement. Still, every time he leaves a fullback shaped divot in the CommBank turf my heart can’t help but go aflutter.
Will Penisini
19 – Right Centre
Another major beneficiary of the Mitchell Moses effect, Penisini’s defensive prowess magically returned, while he found more space to show his attacking skills. It was a welcome return to form. More plays like that first try, please.
Sean Russell
4 – Left Centre
Despite notching two of the easier try assists you’ll see as he shovelled the ball to Maika Sivo, Russell didn’t have the happiest game. He’s missing a lot of tackles for a centre, and his defensive combination with Sivo isn’t up to scratch. I’m not giving up on him, but If Zac Lomax walked through that door tomorrow (and given Sivo is a protected species), Russell would be the guy to make way.
Bailey Simonsson
5 – Right Wing
Big Bad Bailey Simonsson continues to get through a mountain of work, and while I’d like to see him be able to ice those (admittedly difficult) chances, he remains our form outside back. His manager must have finally started taking his calls again, as this week we got our first “look at all the clubs interested in Simonsson” article. I don’t know if I “four way bidding war” want to keep Simonsson, but I’d certainly like to see him stay.
Dylan Brown
6 – Five Eighth
It must have been sweet relief for Dylan Brown to relinquish the primary playmaking duties and go back to what he does best; picking his spots. The try to seal the match was a classic piece of Brown work that he has almost scored a dozen times over this year, but the extra attention defences have to afford Mitch means just that touch more room for Dyl.
Mitchell Moses
7 – Halfback
The path down the short side was overgrown after the Eels failed to use it for the last two months, but Mitchell Moses got the mower and clippers out and carved a way through to the part of the field home to his most fertile attacking forays. Those raids, the cohesive attacking moves (such as the one for Sivo’s first try), we missed them all, but from the moment Mitch put his first clearing kick exactly one inch short of the fullback being able to stretch a leg back to the in goal to retrieve it, we knew exactly what we had missed was back.
RCG
8 – Front Row
Easily Reg’s best game in a long time, and that’s despite being throttled in one tackle like a pre-teen running at his two older brothers. Reg gave as good as he got but in volume and relentlessness rather than single moments of brilliance, and it was his efforts that were most responsible for the Parramatta pack matching it with the Sharks forwards for the full 80.
Brendan Hands
9 – Hooker
Brendan Hands got through a mountain of defensive work, and was caught with tired legs on one Sharks try as a result. I like Barrett’s faith in Hands, but 80 is tough for him. If only there was a young hooker coming through that could use 20-30 minutes a game to blood his first grade career…
Junior Paulo
10 – Interchange
I know Junior Paulo doesn’t read the grades (or else that one time I met him he’d probably have throttled me) but I can’t help but feel he took my savaging of his play last week personal. That try was all power and heart, accounting for half of the 8 tackle breaks he notched up on the night. Give me this every week, please!
Bryce Cartwright
12 – Second Row
Good numbers game for Carty, but with the big efforts from Reg and Junior and the revitalisation of Middle Shaun Lane, I feel he was a touch overshadowed. Still, if your quiet game is a B+, how good are you going?
Kelma Tuilagi
11 – Second Row
A busy 80 minutes for Kelma Tuilagi, and mercifully that 80 minutes included no handling errors. When he doesn’t make those backbreaking mistakes I can sit back and really appreciate the skill and hard running he shows. A few more efforts like this and kids will be showing up to the stadium in blue headgear.
Joe Ofahengaue
13 – Lock
I don’t think J’maine Hopgood was watching on in Queensland camp worrying about his spot, but Joe O as a starting lock did a good job, if one remarkably similar to his starting prop performances. He’s reliable, handles the toughest exchanges of the game and comes back for more, every team needs guys like Joe O.
Blaize Talagi
18 – Interchange
One great fear all Eels fans would share is that a remarkable turnaround in season 2024 might see Trent Barrett promoted from interim to head coach going forward. I would put forward Trent’s “we’ve got a plan for Blaize” talk during the week as exhibit C (with his stints at Manly and Canterbury as exhibits A and B) in my argument against this, as “we won’t play him” does not count as an acceptable plan. That his post-match excuse was “oh, he was busted up last week, we didn’t want to use him if we didn’t need to” is exhibit D. There’s a place for guys who aren’t right to play, and it isn’t in the 14 jersey on match day when the opposition have a four forward bench. He’s lucky he got away with it.
Makahesi Makatoa
16 – Interchange
Makahesi Makatoa brings consistency, but he doesn’t reach the peaks of his elite teammates and this game was a great example of that. His tackling and running were strong enough overall, but his lacklustre kick chase was a big reason for “that” Sharks try.
Wiremu Greig
17 – Prop
While we continue to wait for the breakout spell of football from Wiremu Greig, this was certainly a step in the right direction after some average bench appearances. His best moments have been truly great, the stuff elite impact props are made of, here’s hoping he gets a consistent run and some injury luck to become that player.
Shaun Lane
15 – Interchange
Trent Barrett has made two notable changes to the side: the promotion of Brendan Hands and the moving of Shaun Lane to the middle. Both are working a treat, as Lane started to show a bit more power to his runs, got away some offloads and generally looked like a first grade footballer again. There’s still room for improvement, but I’m glad he’s on the comeback trail. As an aside, I don’t think it’s a great look for the coach and captain to be giggling at in-jokes in the press conference like teenagers tittering in the back seat of the car, even when it comes at the expense of Shaun Lane.
It’s nice to not hate football again. The rest of 2024 will be tough, but our record with Mitchell Moses this year is now 3-1, with that one loss coming at Penrith. Unfortunately, our record without him is 1-7, leaving our finals chances in the hands of some very questionable Ladder Predictor choices and Mitch’s continued health and lack of rep selection. I always cheer hard for the Blues, but damn do we need that 3-0 Sweep this year. Heck, I’ll take 2-1 as long as we win the first two games and Madge sees no need to make changes in game three.
Next week presents a whole new test: a Bulldogs side that is among the best defensive teams in the league, leaving me frantically editing previous columns where I deride Cameron Ciraldo as a myth. We busted them open fairly easily in round one, but they’ve improved since and we are exactly the kind of shaky side that they’ll be licking their lips at taking on. If we can’t win it then we can drop these hopes of a stunning turnaround as quickly as they sprouted.
Every game is must win from here, but especially this one. If only to shut up every Bulldogs fan in our lives. Can you imagine how salty they will be if they lose to a side coached by Trent Barrett? Trolleys will be floating on Parramatta River from the Bulldog tears for days afterwards. Let’s do it.
Until then, stay slippery, Eels fans.
Gol
Stats and images provided by NRL / Eels media
As they say, “opinions are like butt holes…”, so here is mine.
Last week I thought some of the grades were a bit harsh – but still fair. While the performance was obviously better this week, I think the grades on a few starters are a bit generous..
Yep, Sivo running 20m and bowling over Kennedy was nice, but did you see how exhausted he was after? Here is the stat that makes me say, Sivo doesn’t get a pass. From minute 42 to 73, the Eels made 68 runs. Sivo made…. 0! Zero, none, nada. Not one hit up. He basically runs of it is in the attacking 20 or if the ball gets kicked to him. That isn’t a team player .
Agree re Sivo, Brett. He doesn’t put in enough at all. Will be glad to see the back of him (with all due respect) and a new face on the left wing.
That matches the eye test well – he’s very soft under fatigue. There was a set (I think in first half) where we had all momentum and we pinned Cronulla within their 40 . they kicked to sivo, he caught it on his 30/40 and only made 10 metres with his slow jog back and surrender instead of running and getting to halfway – it was so weak and at the game you could see the forwards were filthy at him after they just busted their backside to contain Cronulla and get, what they thought, was easy field position.
Also agree, he looked out of breath, can’t be from tackling, the stats suggest 2 Tackles with 1 Miss
Yeah I thought this weeks grades were probably over generous too but that’s ok.
I thought Moses was absolutely terrific.
Even though he scored a good try, I thought Brown went missing a few too many times in defence. He missed a crucial tackle when Atkinson scored.
Yes Sivo has no place in this team. Drop him and bring up a centre or winger to replace and bring Matt Arthur into team at 14. Think Hands to hooker has changed the dynamic of team, Lussick was awful at ball distribution and lack of runs and a hand break on forwards imo. Lastly Barrett needs a consistent and outstanding run of results (prelim final at least) to get coaching job as previous history is poor, but maybe he has learnt from BAs mistakes. Only time will tell.
One of your best (most accurate) Gol. Good stuff.
Particularly feel the same way about the Bulldogs game……can’t handle Bulldogs fans gloating and getting one over us. It’s bad enough they might make the 8 while we languish at the bottom of the ladder.
R&R need to lock up Bailey to state the bleedingly obvious. I just hope his form this year isn’t just a classic “contract year” effort.
Re Bailey, I think its a genuine playing well. You can see how he has improved since he started. He seems to have knocked the errors out of his game if you compare last season to this one
Bailey is definitely fighting for his own contract extension or upgrades
The fact he keeps playing so hard even when he can hardly walk
Although he is playing good – he may dip next year if he gets a solid contract
Much like players like Matto etc dip significantly after contract upgrades
Bailey is also fighting for a centre spot next year due to lomax coming
– this also highlights the importance of DEPTH at a club
Now all the sudden we have competition coming in for centre positions – it creates competition for starting spots
Parra Imo would be better off focusing on Bailey over Sean russel
Russel used to be a try scoring machine coming through and pretty fast + evasive
They’ve now bulked him up into a big human but he’s no longer dangerous looking in the attack in my view
He’s a solid player for his age Russell – but it makes you wonder
What other clubs would actually want him?
Bailey would get significantly more interest on the open market than Say Russell would
Suggesting Bailey is a higher value / more impressive back line asset to a NRL team at this moment
Lets hope the Eels try to keep him in our club
He isn’t old either – Bailey should have a good few years left of being a quality back if he can stay healthy
Russel is a solid young player – don’t mean to talk bad about him…
It just looks like at the present Moment Bailey is playing significantly good
If the Roosters, NQLD, and dragons are interested in him?
This is a clear indication the eels should not let him go
The roosters are good at picking backs generally
If they are interested in Bailey – it probably means parra needs to try everything to keep him
We often let good players go and keep the average ones
Let’s hope our admin is re-thinking their bargain hunting mentality
We need to keep & attract quality players
If we are to ever win another premiership in our life time! Lol
Hi muz Russell to my memory had an early run of scoring on the left sivo must have been injured or something .my point being any half good winger could score these tries sivo urgency in everything else is pathetic .mate we all want the one thing and that’s Parramatta winning. I’d keep Hands rotate with Arthur and bring in Guymer for makatao. And I love your Barrett story and having a beer even it’s the 5th time good on you mate go parra
Yeah I agree mate, as many have mentioned Including 60’s etc
Sivo doesn’t do enough hard running or defending on avg per game
He might be getting old or just past it now for what the eels need to progress
Tries always go in on his wing every game (with ease too) 🙁
And 100% agree with what you are saying Tanky
Let’s see if hands can keep playing good and even Matt Arthur gets some time as he’s brilliant
Yes Trent Barrett is a gentleman, very down to earth
If you had met him outside of work in his natural environment
He would have all the time in the world for you and very down to earth for a high profile person and former star player
People give him crap but let’s see what he can do with Moses & gutho in
Baz never coached a truely strong team like ours before when it’s at full strength
There’s a change our new coach might build upon what’s already there and bring us some good games this year
Just like BA, Trent is a good person and a family man
If you met him you would be proud to have him as part of our coaching staff
Keep in mind his old bulldogs team never got any better until they had a full club roster clean out
There’s a change baz isn’t a bad coach – he might even be able to help us a little more
Plus in his own words in interviews recently – baz has credited BA for learning a lot from him
Let’s hope he’s developed and can help our club moving forward this year
Baz’s approach to the game may even possibly suit us a little bit better at the moment
Since it’s clear our forward pack isn’t able to dominate teams any more for 80 mins
His got them offloading and spreading ball a little wider to give more meters to our backs as you saw in last 2 weeks
This is taking some pressure off or forwards, which may result in some better defensive efforts in the middle of the field
Let’s hope moses & gutho stay healthy and we should win a lot more games
I’m wondering if the plan for Blaize was to cover for Gutho and Moses. Coming back from prolonged absence, anything could have happened really. It would have been silly not to provide cover for them. The fact that both players played like they were never out shows that we didn’t need Blaize in this game. Next week I expect him to play fullback for NSW Cup side. That would also open the door to promote Matt Arthur.
Regarding the coaching, I’m of the belief that if Barrett can get us to the finals from here, it means he has learnt from previous mistakes, and therefore would be worthy of being in contention for the Head Coach role. We’ll see how that pans out but it’s pretty clear we won’t be getting a top notch coach. Funny, but that’s exactly what most fans had warned about.
Baz said post match Blaize still had a gash on his head and he wanted him to recover if possible
And only bring him on in the game if he needed to
He said they didn’t absolutely need to use him this game and they decided since Team was going ok they would give his head gash a little more time to recover
Baz isn’t overly stubborn and knows the value of Blaize – he will look to use him as much as he can most likely, for both the club’s interests keeping him + future value he can add to the squad
Yep, agreed.
Thanks, Gol. Always enjoy the read.
I felt that Hands was the difference as well. The play is so much faster with him there compared to the previous hooker. This enabled the forwards to actually go foward. The return of Mitch with the change in 9 I think was the perfect storm. I believe, rightly or wrongly that Blaize was on the bench to cover either #7 or #1 should either of them not pull up great for first game back from injury, which to be honest I don’t mind. Sivo is still not worthy of a chant for mine, he’s a winger, tries should be coming aplenty from him, it’s the MIA defensively that has most of us ready to drive him to the airport for that super league stint.
Hands made a significant contribution, as we was last week, this week, and last year whenever he came on.
We seem to score more points, look faster from the play the ball to ball service delivery.
He also ads elements of deception to our attack which lussick does not unfortunately.
Imagine if we get Matt Arthur mixing in with hands sharing the load?
I feel like our team could significantly benefit.
Especially long term – as they can both only get better you would suspect, due to them both being young players.
That’s how I saw it with Hands.
Good clean service all night and a tackle count out of the Hindmarsh closet.
Sivo just needs to be used properly.
The two tries a game could easily be four if he was given half a sniff of the ball.
Tough school so critical of the leading try scorer in the league even though a week ago we were serious contenders for the wooden spoon.
I’d have, wrongly, cut Simmonsen last year because he created weaknesses in defence that led to way too many lost games, but he’s worked it out himself and we are a little less fragile on the right side.
Sivo needs to be coached to that understanding.
Thanks for the grades Col and a more positive game to comment on. It was good to see the attitude change in a lot of the players and it has surprised me and everyone else that no one has stepped up and driven the team the way Mitch and Gutho has in their absence.
Not sure what is going to happen in the future though if we think of blooding Matt A then Talagi has to be in Cup. Trying to blood both at roughly the same time will be a juggle as there will only be maybe one spot on the bench. We’ll see how TB goes about it and will give a good indication of his plans for the future and how good or bad he could be. I for one hope he does an outstanding job cause that will hopefully mean we play finals. Fingers crossed.
II think Hands deserved an A on the ratings and I saw the hesitancy of not wanting to compliment a non BA decision on the new coach. The reality of the changes to both the players and the interchange usage was a revelation.
Maybe wrong but a perception.
If Arthur comes on to the bench, then the balance is much better. i.e. Hands basically gives cover to the halves. Which means that young Tulagi can get on with his apprenticeship in Cup.
Tuilagi the forward was somewhat of a revelation as an 80 minute edge. If Hopwood and Martto are available next game we will have Greig and Makatoa dropping off. That’s about as strong as we are going to get.
I’m not seeing anyone capable of replacing Sivo at present and as JAC will not be playing, it will take some speed out of the Dog’s backline.
Try and be a little more positive GOL, its like you haven’t got over us winning again. almost a non believer.
My man of match Moses then gutho and a very very close hands
I thought Joe O went ok and was more deserving of a B than Makatoa.
Joe O played good and done his job well it seemed like mate agree
Moses & gutho in there turned them from looking in poor form to almost perfect in 2 game
As 60’s said in the podcast before the game – he said they looked completely different with Moses & gutho barking orders at them
Moses leads our attack like a 4 star general
Tks Gol, the Bulldogs killed off Newcastle with their defence, they weren’t flaky out wide and strong in the middle, the only chink I saw was when the Knights got quick play the balls and pressured through the ruck, but the Dogs scrambled well too. An interesting challenge coming up.
I thought Hands deserved B+/A-,he took Hopgoods workload moreso than others, and provided spark from dummy half. I think we also saw what ‘engaging the markers’ means.
I used to love Maika but I wonder what happened to his game in the last few years? His hit ups are hard to watch. Compare this with Simonsson, or even Russell. I find myself screaming at him “Run Maika! Run!” What happened? Where is the lethargy and lack of urgency coming from? And the slow, ponderous play the ball. Gee whiz. Yes, two tries including a great streamroll of Kennedy but I’d love to see some venom in the hit ups. Surely he can put his mind to it. His lackadaisical runs just defies belief. With his physique, imagine if he had the sheer will and application of To’o, Willie Carne or Michael Hancock – i.e. fight like hell for every inch. But a great win
C- is a big harsh for Joe O if C is a pass grade. I thought he was one of our better forwards and had an impressive opening stint.
Ah shit, image wasn’t updated. He actually got a B
I agree with you totally I thought joe o was very good also and I also thought hands was a definite A
It’s time to get over the sacking of BA. I have been impressed with Barrett. I am not saying he should be our coach but credit where it is due Gol. He selected the right team ( like Madge with the Blues), he had a great game plan and the players responded. Your critisism of the presser is not warranted. It was great to see a coach who has a grin and a sense of humour. I am very confident that the Lane aside was an in-house joke not meant to demean him. Lighten up Gol.
Personally I thought Gutho was MOM.
I agree. It was so nice to see Coach & Captain having a relaxed, more open conversation and a laugh post-game…okay not every week, sure, but what we got the last 12 months or so from previous coach – we all know the idioms off by heart ‘chase the collision, front load the effort, shot ourselves in the foot, the effort was there, we are not far-off’ etc.
Previous Coach – who I very much wished would succeed – had heaps of opportunities to make the minor changes Barrett has already made and didn’t. The decision is made, it was the correct decision but poorly handled – no one could argue that.
Let’s move forward and enjoy the new voice, enthusiasm of these returned stars and hopefully a run of solid performances and a few wins would be nice too.
As for the next coach, well, Gol has that part right Hannay, Ryles and so on are not exactly worth risking it all for…and Maguires Blues team has put doubt in my mind regarding his abilities.
IMHO If Barrett can get a 50% plus win ratio for the rest of the year, he should have the job – that’s better than our last season & a half under previous coach. I like Trent, there I said it – given there are no experienced premiership winning coaches available outside Maguire.
Steele good points and I agree mate
Like most of us, we appreciate & supported BA for most the years
But changes simply never got made that are clear as day would help us
Baz has hands in again, lane finally off second row where he’s failed literally in every game this year
And he hooked lussick (unlsss his injured and we don’t know)
Lussick and lane could drop balls or play like park footy players and ba would never hook them for some reason
Already baz had made those tough decisions – which looked to help us instantly
We must not take for granted that win over sharks either
If he had played lussick 9 and lane at second row ?
Going off mwny games of evidence in poor ball delivery, errors, and poor results
You know there’s a high probability that Eels could of likely lost that Game on Thursday night
Or at the bare minimum – it would been a far closer game
Going off the evidence of many previous games even when Hodgson was in the team
Our points scoring and attack all would always significantly improve when hands got on the field
Let’s hope Hands can keep it up
And hopefully baz keeps making the right calls
If he keeps on doing this + keeps our winning percentage high?
Then what more can us eels fans ask for
It’s also very refreshing not hearing:
“Win the collision” or “ effort was there” evert post game presser
I don’t think our team can win anymore only using that mindset
We need to stop relying on paulo & RCG to win the middle to win games
Sure they need to perform & hold their own
But before – unless they won the arm wrestle we would lose
Where’s the other night – and the week before
A lot of our yardage now is coming from the back 5
This will significantly help our middle defence in the 2nd half if they keep doing it
If you look at top teams like the panthers this is also what they do
The back 5 get lots of meters every game which keeps their middles more fresh & tight in defence
Barrett used to be in the Penrith coaching staff
He has given them the green light to off load and shift early in our own end even on early tackle count
This results in the ball shifting to our centres etc more often
That risk taking / free flowing style of play had been previously limited compared to the last 2 weeks games
People will say nothing has changed or just 2 players so far shifted around
But you need to pay attention to how we are getting the ball out of our own end now
It’s no longer one out hit ups and our props doing majority of the work
We also rarely ever offloaded previously in our own half especially in early sets
In last 2 weeks the boys have evidently been given the OK to do this
Because now our offloads etc have gone through the roof
Even in the south’s game they played a much more free flowing game of football compared to previous weeks
Let’s hope the boys stay healthy and baz’s game plans helps us
Steele I think you’re point is well made “Let’s move forward and enjoy the new voice, enthusiasm of these returned stars and hopefully a run of solid performances and a few wins would be nice too”.
But enough of the BA bashing please. We have been hearing it for 11years. Can’t we just respect what he has given the club.
By the way, one swallow does not make a summer.
100% agree mate, people need to back off coach Barrett
He has been picking solid teams for us and made small adjustments in our game plan which you can see (so far) even during the south’s loss – is working
The yardage is now seemingly being more distributed to our outside backs via off loads and early spreads
Which is taking some of the load off paulo & RCG etc
Take away the stupid errors in the south’s game – I think we would of won that game too
So long as baz keeps our boys playing hard and picking good players
He will be doing best job he can do as far as I’m concerned
Also Baz is a calm headed bloke
His not even going to be in press conferences attacking refs or getting fines like Ricky Stuart
He was simply being himself and gutho holds very strong relationships with both baz & BA and you can see that, they look like mates
From the moment Trent Barrett has taken over, I have been nothing but impressed. So happy with his immediate changes of lane and Llussick.
Carrying blaze was surely cover for Simonson, Moses ,gutho and Penisini under injury cloud.
My opinion of Barrett in his previous head coach roles was that he was overly emotional. It sometimes happens to young coaches. It happened to Siebold at Brisbane.
In my opinion, he should have the inside running. Surely it is his position to lose.
I, for one am hoping its third time lucky for Trent.
Can I just make note of the absolute” A grade” Cronulla supporter sitting behind me with his big mouth for the first 20 minutes of the game!
How sweet my drive back to Eleebana was!!
He said at post game presser Blaize only didn’t come on because he didn’t have to during that game
And also his recovering from a head gash – he said Blaize is a good looking fellah
He needed to try let him recover his head gash for another week if he didn’t need to come on, lol
Tend to agree mate, so far baz has made good decisions
I predicted before baz’s first game as coach “look for him to remove lussick fast”
Because I knew he would
Let’s hope they all keep up the good work like shown against the sharks
+ pray our 2 most important players don’t get injured again
Always an entertaining read.
I was happy to see Woody have a good game.
I’m looking forward to Guymer and Arthur’s debut in the near future.
Joe O is still 28, Woody is 24, Hopgood is 25, add Gymer and Arthur to the mix and suddenly our forwards don’t look so aged. Matt Doorey should be playing a role at some stage and he’s only 23.
One win on the back of Moses and Gutho’s return doesn’t make a coaching career but Baz must be a chance. I’m not a fan of the “failed coach” route but it’s not like there’s an elite coach waiting in the wings. Hannay and Ryles are both unproven and a risk. Pardon the pun but surely Barrett is in the box seat, it should be his job to lose.
Sarentinos during a presser said the club is looking for a coach who has worked in a successful environment, Penrith tick some of those boxes 😀 and he was highly regarded there.
His tenor with Manly was a disaster but past reports show he was given no resources to support him, he famously brought in his own outdoor furniture to sit on and hired chairs for the players at his own expense, he also had Bin Chicken Cherry to deal with.
He was led like a lamb to slaughter by Gould to the Dogs and used as an excuse for Gould’s failures at the time.
I just want this coaching bullshit sorted, I never considered Barrett as an option but the more I think about other alternatives then why not? The playing group are comfortable with him and he would make the smoothest transition into the role.
Who knows, the club may have had their new coach under their noses the whole time. I hope the club gives Trent time to prove his worth before making a decision, I wouldn’t be surprised if the playing group is rallying behind him just quietly.
I did hear an unconfirmed report that Baz slapped Sivo before Thursday’s game, I’m hearing he plans to slap him twice before the next game.
Joseph, last week was tough for the playing group. Very tough. Fortunately, there was/is a strong rapport between the assistant coaches/staff and the squad. Murf has been a constant for the entire time that BA has been there. NRL Manager, Sults, has been there almost as long. That helps in such times. The players have responded well to Baz’s personality since he joined the club.
Notice there’s a lot of angst towards sivo and rightly so ,working with some Fijian lads they suggested he is closer to 40 than 30 years old and birth certificates don’t start till there 2 years old , he’s probably a lot older than we are led to believe and his efforts suggest likewise
I don’t believe that to be true Ivan. The truth is that in terms of his work in yardage, we had one good season out of Maika – he has always offered much more in the red zone than he does elsewhere on the field. Effort areas have never been high. Incredibly, Maika is topping the try scorers list so far this year.
I got a big peice of miaka for top try scorer at $34.
Dont listen to the hate maika truck!!!
My son and I had a laugh when we saw the top try scorers list during the game. Maika is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a riddle as a man much wiser than I once quoted.
Maika is only 39, his best years are ahead of him.
Noa Nadurku was officially 53 when he retired, the Figian lads I know said he retired too young.
Sixties, it is extremely frustrating. As you’ve mentioned, we’ve gotten one good year out of Sivo. So that would suggest that at least he is capable of it and he is aware of what the team would want from him. I just don’t get it. What is holding him back from putting some more vigour into his hit ups? I just find it so baffling and frustrating.
Thanks Gol,
Arguably one of our best performances in a couple of years.
A few underperforming players lifted and the return of Mitch and Gutho was seamless.
Thank God Dylan is not playing halfback. He tried extremly hard but he’s not a 7.
Hands was crisp and 50 tackles.
Can’t remember the last Gutho had 20+ carries for almost 300m? Something that is vital if you look at the top teams. Guthos involvement and quick play the balls were great.
Paulo try was a blast from the past. 40min is enough for him these days.
The bench rotation was good except for Blaize- I’d say he could replace Sivo. Blaize high level of involvement would dwarf Sivos involvement.
It’s clear Baz is willing to try things and isn’t stubborn or rigid in his thinking. Along with tacking the shackles off the attack. It’s like the pressure was off.
Just need to back it up.
Pete, Baz and Murf have been the attack coaches. There has only been one field session since BA was moved on. They only had a caps run this week. I said last week and again this week that I didn’t want people to judge Baz harshly as a head coach because of the limited prep time to get the players heads around what transpired. The only major differences this week were the inclusion of Gutho and Moses, and the injury to Lussick. Obviously, any interchange decisions would now be Baz’s call.
Thanks Sixties,
We also had the longest off season in years. So it’s just so perplexing that we have been so poor. Especially just after half time. Up to the 48th minute we are OK without Moses but after 49th minute we drop off a cliff?
The biggest contrast was how clubs with up to 10 players out still winning. Nights winning without Ponga etc
All things considered, I would have assumed the defensive coach would be sacked as it’s been the bane of all for so long.
Baz seems to handle the media very well. I’m pleased he got that win.
*Knights – this week first loss without Ponga.
Gol
The coach has gone mate, let it go.
It doesn’t matta who he’s replaced by, he needed to go. 10 years and nothing. A new voice was well overdue.
Ba did contribute some good things, especially during tough times. But ppl need to let it go, most successful clubs also would of moved BA on. It doesn’t mean we hate BA, it’s just the business of NRL. Coaches get moved on all the time.
Could not agree more Muz,
One day when Parra’s story get’s retold, BA has every right to be put in the high esteem that he deserves.
His time had come and i believe regardless what he does from hereon, he will always bleed “blue and gold”.
100% mate, BA deserves all of our respect.
And in the history of the club looking back in future.
BA going to be one coach the true eels fans will remember as a man who steered the ship during significantly difficult times.
Even good coaches often shift into different clubs and what not, it’s common.
You never know, BA’s career may progress into a less serious role in his own future – I wish him all the best (pretty sure all of us do)
But people need to move on.
The NRL coaching industry is notoriously cut throat, stressful and brutal.
It may even benefit BA and his family by him taking a break or coaching somewhere else.
I have heard some inside info (could be rumours, who knows)..
That some of the parra admins + parra sponsors weren’t confident in the direction the team was heading in.
Every eels post had #sackBA comment on it going on for many weeks.
Aland our major sponsor & the eels are parting ways in 25’ after being there for years.
Us fans don’t know the true story of what goes on in the club.
If there was a mix between some loyal sponsors being hesitant, eels admins all feeling uncertain over BA.
And a board of directors and advisors all agreeing behind closed doors it could be time to move on.
Then like most clubs – they simply swing the axe.
People must also consider many of our large corporate sponsors are often headed or owned by massive fans of the clubs that they sponsor.
I personally know people who worked high up in L.A
(Lending association) who’s a eels sponsor.
The owner of it is a massive parra eels fan.
People don’t consider the ramifications of these sponsorships deals and corporate partners influence sometime on clubs decisions.
If people paying millions of dollars to the club yearly aren’t happy with the club’s decisions,
They simply can pull the club on sponsorships or want to pay less per year.
Although I do not agree with all of this.
– the parra eels is a business.
And if the coach no longer has the support of the board, our sponsors, and possibly major players managers.
The eels have to weigh things up and they did decide to take action.
We must move on – all we can do now is support whoever our coach is.
And so long as Baz keeps lussick out of #9 every week.
And keeps playing lane in the middle.
Then I believe majority of eels fans will support him.
And it could help us win more games.
If lussick & lane go back into their spots as we seen earlier this year.
Results (will most likely sink) and Baz willl be under pressure to be sacked before the year ends.
It’s going to be a very interesting season moving forward, let’s hope baz keeps backing himself and making those tough decisions on who is in our starting side.
So far – he’s going ok.
The Sivo question looks academic now with Simmonsen having an uncertain future.
The big question will be who goes where?
Best of luck for a full recovery Bailey.
You win the most improved award.
Gentlemen, some media is reporting BAZ has been added to the Eels short list as a potential head coach next year.
What’s your thoughts? Do you we just need to see how things pan out this year first?
It seems like the Eels may have added him to the possible coach list after two games.
It sounds like a good incentive to make baz perform this year to his max potential.
Which in turn may help us perform – if he is effective as a coach during the remainder of the year for us.
“Previously the assistant coach at the Parramatta Eels, he (Taylor) was appointed as head coach in May 2006 for the remainder of the season after Brian Smith left the club following the announcement of his sacking for season 2007. When Taylor took over as Parramatta coach, the club had only won 2 of its first 8 games. Taylor then guided Parramatta on a 9-game winning streak as the club finished in 8th place on the table and qualified for the finals. Parramatta were eliminated in the first week of the finals losing to minor premiers Melbourne 12–6.”
He could win every game and still not get the job.
Yeah, it definitely doesn’t guarantee him a job.
It’s also a different administration compared to back then.
My thoughts are previous Baz teams were soft.
Is that because he had bad rosters?
Not having resources from those clubs?
Baz apparently had to take his own chairs and outdoor furniture for training because manly wouldn’t provide sufficient resources.
Bulldogs had a shocking roster – it’s taken them a completely new roster for things to change.
The new coach from Penrith barely made any improvements first year.
Even with a LOT of new recruits.
Only now with a significantly boosted roster & clean out of old players.
Have the bulldogs really improved.
We don’t know yet if Baz can keep our team turning up each week.
BA was good at getting the most out of our forwards (in the past)
A telling tail will be if the Eels can play for 80 mins each week.
after watching the last 2 eels games + replays.
They have began shifting the ball early a lot more and giving the back 5 more metres.
Offloads in our own end + early shifts.
This is a riskier brand of football but may be a solution to our forwards being so tired in the second half.
Baz used to be part of Panthers system and they also utilised this strategy for years.
In the last two games, baz had gotten them doing this more than before.
Try to find BA coached games with lots of offloads and early shifts in our own end.
They almost do not exist.
In 2 weeks this has happened both games – a more free flowing game plan.
This is obviously higher risk which is why BA probably didn’t like them doing it.
Let’s see if it was just a coincidence or if they’ve adjusted their approach slightly to spread the load during the hard sets to put outside backs.
A strong Win over bulldogs this week…
And I think a lot of Fans could become new Trent Barrett fans (for now)
The hard part will be how he performs under pressure – we know BA dealt with pressure well.
Can Baz do the same? Can he bring them up out of slumps?
Time will tell.
Let’s hope our mighty eels stay healthy & win us a late ticket into the top 8 this year. 🙏
If the news reports circulating today are correct the Eels need to recruit a backline player to replace Bailey. He has probably been the most consistent player in the backline. Blaize will be part of any solution in the backline reshuffle without a doubt.
However R&R can’t afford to wait until a new coach is signed to move on this issue. Baz is more than capable of advising R&R on what we need.
The season is on the edge of slipping away so they need to move quickly on this.
Gday John, Bailey has probably been our best & most consistent effort playing back this year?
If he’s gone for 24’, this could be a significant loss for the team.
If nobody can replace his efforts & weekly performance?
We could be in for potential trouble.
I feel like Bailey had been so reliable and a high effort player for the backline.
Very hard to replace that kind of player.
Do you think baz will deploy blaize at centre?
Or push him to the wing and use Russel at centre due to having more experience?
Good question Muz. As much as I like Russell he is not playing at his best. Maybe Centre is not his spot, better on the wing. Less to think about in defence.
We will know tomorrow I guess. Happy with Baz so far.
Blaize has already had a bit of a rest from playing – hopefully he comes back in fresh with with his defence dialed in a bit from training.
With russel his transformed from a lean looking fast winger to a filled out centre more or less in 1 season.
He hasn’t looked to be playing great (or just not as effective as his new roles) yet.
I’m not a fan of how big and heavy our eels team is now especially in 24’.
The games gotten faster and we are known as one of the slowest teams.
Look at brilliant backs who are doing best in the game now, they are electric and fast.
Besides Bailey, we don’t really have a quick backline.
Also very big heavy forwards who struggle getting back on side often after tackling.
Let’s hope they address this