It’s a double header at a waterlogged Eric Tweedale Stadium today.
The Raiders are well placed in both the NSW Cup and Flegg are couple of wins above the Erls so it promises to be a big test for Parra as they look to continue their mid season surges.
I’ll kick things off by covering the Flegg then Forty will take over for Cup. You’ll appreciate the improved call when it shifts to him!
Sixties
Jersey Flegg Team List
| 1 | Zach Hunter |
| 2 | Mohamed Alameddine |
| 3 | Antioch Faitala-Mariner |
| 4 | Araz Nanva |
| 5 | Beau Newlands |
| 6 | Apa Twidle |
| 7 | Matthew Hunter |
| 8 | Sam Tuivati |
| 9 | Ryley Smith |
| 10 | Teancum Brown |
| 11 | Jock Brazel |
| 12 | Will Latu |
| 13 | Saxon Pryke |
| Interchange | |
| 15 | Yehya Ayache |
| 16 | Dom De Stradis |
| 17 | Tyrese Lokeni |
| 19 | Damascus Neemia |
| 18 | Raf De Stradis |
Match Updates
Eels kick off.
Raiders complete a solid first set and the Eels field the kick around their 40. Six again this set and Parra pepper the Raiders line. A shift left and then back right. Twidle finds Dom De Stradis running a great line. He busts through defenders and scores about ten in from the sideline. Conversion unsuccessful
Eels 4 lead Raiders nil after 4 minutes
Both teams exchange sets and the Raiders change the sequence by getting a penalty just into Parra’s half. They’re into the quarter but run an obstruction play. Parra penalty.
Twidle kick at the end of the set and the chase is superb trapping the fullback one metre out. Newlands field the end of set kick on halfway but two tackles later the ball is lost.
You’re kidding! The Raiders throw a loose pass which the Eels claim but are called offside. There’s a cry from near me for the footy gods to intervene and they do as the Raiders lose the ball ten out.
Parra complete the set and get the kick into the Raiders quarter. Parra’s forwards muscle up and restrict the Raiders yardage. The teams are exchanging sets and Parra are keeping the ascendancy in territory and the Raiders make a play the ball error short of halfway.
Oh no. Parra turn it over early and the Raiders break away through the middle. Penalty now. And six again! Great defence but the Raiders force a line drop out.
The Eels kick doesn’t go ten metres. The Raiders try an early kick on a left side shift. Trap and scrap from Mariner and Parra hold on!
Sam Tuivaiti on now after starting from the bench. These errors have to stop as Parra again turn it over on a play the ball.
Another Raiders penalty!
Now that was some play and incredible hands from the Raiders. They shift right and somehow a pass going behind the centre is reeled in and followed by an amazing pass to the winger who gets the acrobatic out down in the corner.
Conversion successful.
Raiders 6 lead Eels 4 with ten left first half.
Parra need to stop inviting the Raiders into their quarter.
It’s now the Raiders who make a red zone error after the kick off. Some slow play the balls ignored by the ref. Parra force a line drop out. Twidle fields it around the quarter but drops it in contact.
Raiders now rucking it out and make another error 30 out.
Hallelujah- the ref blows a penalty in front of the sticks. Parra look like they are contemplating a tap but sanity prevails and they take the two to level it a six all.
Penalty goal Apa Twidle.
Eels 6 Raiders 6 with four minutes in the half.
Nasty!!! That looks like a hip drop tackle on Latu(?). Raiders player has been binned.
Parra get the penalty and surge into the quarter with Tuivaiti hard to bring down. A left shift has split the Raiders but the ball goes loose in contact.
The Raiders complete the set and halftime sounds as Hunter fields their kick. Brazel heads straight to the ref for clarification about some of his calls. It’s a long discussion and the Eels Captain looks annoyed as he leads the team back into the sheds.
Half time Eels 6 Raiders 6
Second half
Hopefully we use our left edge more this half.
Parra receive the kick off and complete the set with a kick to the Raiders quarter. Raiders advance the ball over halfway and make a play the ball error on about the 4th tackle.
Lots of left side work this set. They get into the red zone and Riley Smith threads a grubber into the in goal. Line drop out.
Sharp attack here from Parra as they spread from the left edge back to the right and Will Latu surges through defenders to score about 12 metres wide of the post.
Bad conversion attempt from Twidle. Hope it’s not costly.
Eels 10 lead Raiders 6 with about 6 minutes gone.
Eels straight into attack mode. They spread left and Newlands breaks away. The defence converges around the 30 metre line and he finds De Stradis on the inside but he gets hit and slides towards touch and loses the ball.
Raiders error now and a huge charge from Pryke gets the play inside the ten metre line. Six again but Parra go an early grubber. Luckily they force the line drop out.
The ball goes into touch after the drop out and apparently it’s off the Raiders contesting it so it’s ruled knock on. Parra scrum around the 20 metre line. Twidle heads left, draws the Raiders winger and feeds the pass to Alameddine who surges to the corner for the try.
Twidle conversion from the sideline!!!
Eels 16 lead Raiders 6 with 20 to go.
Great set after points. Twidle is hit after kicking and it’s a Parra penalty. Two drop outs forced by Parra now and the Raiders kick out on the full on the second. This time the Eels last tackle kick goes dead. Seven tackle set coming.
Bog tackle from De Stradis in this set. Hunter fields the bomb but now Parra drop it a couple of tackles later. Ooph- huge hit from Ryley Smith in front of the posts. Line drop out now.
Newlands attempts a spectacular catch off the drop out but can’t control it. Huge defence from Parra this set. Desperation stuff. Last tackle kick grubbers to the Eels left corner. The Raiders get it back and score.
Conversion from the touch line is a beauty.
Eels 16 lead Raiders 12 with nine minutes remaining.
Great defensive set from Parra then terrific set on possession with a kick to the corner to finish. Another great defensive set and Eels penalty for a high tackle on Hunter.
Oh no. Eels miss a chance to score off a kick but fumble the ball. Seven tackle set. Eels hold on but the ref rules a late hit on the kicker. Penalty in front for Canberra. They shift left and score in the corner. This kicker doesn’t miss.
It’s another pearler.
Raiders 18 Eels 16 with two minutes left.
Raiders get to their kick and Hunter spills it. Thirty seconds to go so that’s the game. Parra easily the better team but a couple of moments are costly.
Raiders 18 defeat Eels 16
NSW Cup Team List
| 1 | Zac Cini |
| 2 | Lorenzo Mulitalo |
| 3 | Jake Tago |
| 4 | Morgan Harper |
| 5 | Isaac Lumelume |
| 6 | Joshua Lynn |
| 7 | Ethan Sanders |
| 8 | Wiremu Greig |
| 9 | Joey Lussick |
| 10 | Makahesi Makatoa |
| 11 | Dan Keir |
| 12 | Matt Doorey |
| 13 | Luca Moretti |
| Interchange | |
| 15 | Meni Luke |
| 16 | Charlie Guymer |
| 17 | Brock Parker |
| 17 | Reece Alderton |
Match Updates
First Half
Tough conditions in this game, the team that holds onto the ball better will more than likely win.
Even as I type that out, both sides have produced errors in the opening exchanges. In fact, errors might be greater than completions for both the Eels and Raiders after 5 minutes. Ugly stuff.
The Raiders finally work through a set as they focus play around the middle corridor. The set is completed with a bomb hoisted towards Zac Cini and the Parramatta custodian reels it in securely. Unfortunately the home can not get to their kick in reply as Luca Moretti has the ball slip from his hands as he tries to get up and play it.
A penalty for a crusher tackle puts Canberra firmly on the front foot but an errant pass from dummy half leads to a turn over. Real slog of a game thus far.
A relieving penalty follows as the Raiders are caught infringing inside 10m which sees Ethan Sanders find touch near halfway. Keir takes the opening run as the Eels then work left with Wiremu Greig. Left again as Cini trucks it down the left. Makatoa centres the ball before Moretti has a charge up the guts. He offloads back to Lussick who is swiftly wrapped up to bring up the last where Lynn tries to thread a grubber kick that ends up knocked on by the visitors.
Simple play from the scrum win as Sanders uses Harper. Moretti runs and offloads to Makatoa on the second tackle but Makahesi ends up losing it in a heavy tackle.
Oh dear. Huge swing towards Canberra as Cini gets stripped of the ball inside his own red zone on a kick return. Canberra are poised to take the lead here only for former Eel Peter Taateo to immediately cough possession back up. Wild stuff in this game.
Gee that is a brutal call! Parramatta look to play positive footy in the challenging conditions as their forwards link up through the ruck. Think it was Makatoa passing to Moretti there and it has Luca halfway through the front line before the referee signals a forward pass. Don’t know about that call.
Now Cini delivers a massive counterblow as he gobbles up a grubber kick on his goal line before beating a handful of chasers to make a 60m bust. He ends up getting run down but it is a huge individual effort. The Eels then kick early to the left of the field and the Raiders scramble somehow to bat the ball over the sideline, or rather ingoals it seems.
The drop out goes no where near the 10m mark but under the new rules it is deemed a contestable ball – joke of a rule really – as the Eels play the ball 10m out. Doorey and Lussick go close down the left sideline but Harper loses the ball running it from dummy half on the next play.
To their credit, the Eels are continuing to pursue positive play. They open up the Raiders through the middle with another interchange of passes between the big men and it looks like Dan Keir is the one to burst into the open. The play then swings left to Lumelume as he looks to scorch down the left sideline but he is pushed into touch.
Cini then shows a clean set of hands to defuse a swirling bomb from the visitors before time is called off for an injury to Lorenzo Mulitalo. He is clutching at his ankle here, hopefully he is alright. The incident now goes on report, presumably for a hip drop. Penalty to Parra but they only get a couple of plays to their name before Alderton grasses the pill. This one might be too pure for even the purists.
A crucial error it proves to be as well as the Raiders find space with a big cutout pass down their left edge from their halback Cook to the winger Stuart. Cini has the winger covered but the Raiders have two players back inside in support and two passes later the man who started it in Cook crosses for the opening try. Cini is incensed in the wake of it as he protests to the touch judge, looks like he felt that pass went forwards, but it is in the books now.
Try scored by the Canberra Raiders. Conversion successful.
Raiders lead 6-0
35min gone
A strong set follows as the Raiders rumble through the middle. The Eels do well to hold on in the end and it leads to Cini taking another testing kick with heavy pressure from Albert Hopoate. He has done very well thus far.
Harper earns a penalty following a crusher tackle as the Eels get to work through the middle with Guymer and Alderton before the touch judge spies a forward pass during a right edge shift. It was the pass from dummy half and it was the right call.
Another error and another try. James Schiller explodes through the front line as he beats Alderton and Guymer before fending off Lussick in cover to score from halfway. What a gut-punch on the stroke of half time as the Eels are caught lacking for a moment and made to pay full price. Huge lead for the Raiders now given the conditions.
Try scored by the Raiders. Conversion successful.
Raiders lead 12-0
39min gone
The Raiders ending up taking their sweet time for the conversion and it leads to the half time siren sounding as the Eels go into the sheds two scores down.
Half Time
Canberra Raider 12 lead the Parramatta Eels 0
Second Half
Absolutely manic stuff to start the second half. Following a Canberra error, the Eels get a chance to attack the goal line immediately whence they look certain to score after a crossfield kick sees Mulitalo and Cini with space to operate in. Lorenzo gets it all wrong though with a lollipop pass to Cini that is intercepted forcing Zac to save the day with the chase day effort. The Eels go on to survive a bomb to their ingoals for a 20m restart only to drop the ball shortly afterwards. Like I said, manic stuff.
Thankfully the Raiders can’t capitalise and end up hoofing the ball dead on the last.
Sanders gets a result at the end of the set with his bomb as it is dropped by the Raiders. Must score scenario now for the home team as they set the scrum 10m out. Doorey takes the opening charge as the Eels play right to Alderton on tackle two. Set restart is called as Guymer crashes onto the ball before the referee blows a penalty against Lussick for a double movement as he tries to sneak over from dummy half. Lussick is blowing up but the call has been made.
The outside backs combine in the next set to lift the Eels out of their own half as Lumelume, Harper and Cini combine across multiple tackles culminating in Lumelume earning a penalty for dangerous contact.
Cini and Keir work together early in the next set before Alderton has another drop to see the big chance fade away. The Eels get another attacking look shortly afterwards as Sanders digs into the line and tries to play to Doorey but it would be a tough catch in normal conditions, let alone the greasy backdrop of today and the backrower grasses the ball.
As with their first two tries, the Raiders pillage points on the back of a Parramatta error with their halfback Cook emulating their first try by setting up and finishing the play down their left. Eels now faced with a mountain to ascend if they are to climb back into this one.
Try scored by the Canberra Raiders. Conversion successful.
Raiders lead 18-0
57min gone
A cacophony of errors from the Eels sees them unable to convert a series of chances inside Canerra’s half – something that has been true all game as they have struggled mightily with the conditions.
More points for the Raiders now as they tack on to their lead with under 10min to play. Hint of a forward pass from dummy half but they punch it up the guts and make two passes through their forwards to find a gap on Parra’s goal line.
Try scored by the Canberra Raiders. Conversion successful.
Raiders lead 24-0
73min gone
Too easy for Canberra again as they use hands to their right edge. Lumelume jams in to try and kill the play but ricochets off the Canberra centre who is rerouted back infield and still scores.
Try scored by the Canberra Raiders. Conversion successful.
Raiders lead 30-0
79min gone
Full Time
Canberra Raiders 30 defeat the Parramatta Eels 0
Given that MA is not named for the KOE Cup. Does this mean we may see him make his debut off the bench next week?
Potentially… but feel the club are letting him have a break after Origin the other night, perhaps?
John, I spoke to Boods and he was rested. How awful do we look without him! My concern is that he’ll be started off the bench in NSW Cup with Lussick back in this grade.
it’s embarrassing this game
Maybe
this is an awful start from the boys. 2nd half needs to be best
Joey Lussick or Boods
I know who I’d prefer.
Do our coaches and recruitment base selections on talent and capacity or pay scale? We shall find out next week.
Tough choice Kenny, one wouldn’t get a game in any other NRL squad and the other has represented his state in 19’s, has been a standout in Cup and could possibly be best hooker prospect in the clubs history. It’s a tough choice.
Joseph I feel bad talking badly about Lussick because he has been a handy back up on and off over the years – but I 100% agree with you
I believe the eels have a fundamental issue not only with lussick but for a overall strategy I’ll share my view
They value older players always seemingly over younger ones that are more so green
A good example is Hands being the best hooker we’ve had since Mahoney
Not only this year, but last year too – remember he was better than Hodgson?
Whenever we’ve had Josh and lussick on the field the eels score less points
And it happens in every game – there’s a huge sample size of evidence we’ve all seen
Now the same thing is happening with Boods Matt Arthur
He is evidently ready to play #14 for the eels and combine with hands to provide our team a much needed injection of youth and beautiful service
Now hands and Boods are clearly the better hookers here for our attack – with no disrespect to lussick
Then you’ve got Matt Doorey who’s been playing better than Shaun lane all year
Matt us young and running lines brilliantly in cup and 60’s pointed out helped them rescue the season
Guymer is also young and not getting a run – most people agree he should be ready to blood in nrl
Then we’ve got Luca Moretti who’s had some rough form but played good most of the times since he debuted
Except dropping balls / errors this year
But people like Lane who have no upside now only on a decline with age etc
Get a free run even with errors galore
We historically in recent years especially hold bias to use old players even out of form and leave many of our our juniors seeing no clear path to nrl
And even if you make it – if you make errors you get dropped
Even if people like Lane or sivo can be dramatically out of form and cost us games get the ok no matter what
I love my eels but This doesn’t happen like this as much at other good teams
Now a lot of people are wondering why we lose jnrs a lot or they don’t progress
I have mentioned on here a few times before I had a discussion with a young player who played SG ball, NSW cup etc in a few different clubs, roosters NSW cup
I asked him his thoughts about parra and if he would of gone there
He told me that him and some of his friends believed the eels are notoriously tight and difficult to get good contracts with
And don’t have as good of pathways to reach nrl as some other clubs
Plus the narrative was you can’t win a comp there either & he said most of them wanted to try join clubs who had won the comp in the last 10 years
So since he told me this I was paying closer attention – and I can kind of see it now more since he mentioned it
Chevy Stuart, Ethan Sttange, and now Ethan sanders (soon) for example
Canberra not only picked them guys up from Sydney from Sydney clubs which is a good play in itself
But what he’s done is (and I read comments about this from Chevy too)
Is they sold them a vision and a CLEAR path to play NRL
The two best young players, and from Sydney
Chose Canberra over Sydney clubs because Canberra gave them clear pathways to play nrl and build around them
They also sold them a solid vision – Chevy mentioned they did
Now Ethan sanders also must of gotten sold that vision as well
And no doubt it goes something like this:
“We’ve gotten the two of best players from your age grades, we are going to build a team around them, we want you to be part of it, you will be the next half back”
Something like that you would expect
Now the problem with the Eels is as Gus said it we have a extremely short term view and strategy
We play old dogs and limit new players chances because we don’t want to go backwards to go forwards
Lachy Galvin is another gun half who saw no future to nrl with us apparently and left
Now I’m not saying we all know what’s best and we are smarter than the club
We obviously don’t have any idea what goes on in the day to day
But there’s a common theme here and even with Matt Arthur
It’s honestly criminal he isn’t already part of our NRL squad building him up for 25-27’ and beyond?
This is the state of origin under 19’s captain
And probably the best dummy half in reserve grade
The parra eels are fumbling the bag so to speak
Maybe They have sore memories because of Jake Arthur situation?
I can understand that
But I do believe Boods looks a lot more capable and ready than Jake Arthur was
Jake was never the captain of a state of origin side
I don’t remember him unless I’m wrong ever playing in the SOO team either
Matt is a more promising hooker than Reed Mahoney was at 19 if I recall correctly?
I don’t understand how the club can keep making these decisions
I don’t know if they know things we don’t like –
are they going to make a play on a big signing dummy half instead?
Maybe they don’t want to sign him incase new coach doesn’t want him?
Are they doing their stupid stuff again penny pinching line not having a top 30 squad ?
Honestly we will never know
But in all seriousness if the club doesn’t start making big changes
The club is honestly be in a major crisis
With one bad injury ending their season to say moses or gutho
We could be getting a wooden spoon or ending the season bottom 2
The club should be making emergency signings right now to fill the roster even if it’s just upgrading some talent from within
Or stealing some other good outside back cup players off other clubs to fill our roster
It’s honestly a joke
They have no back up half back they trust to run the NRL team
No back up centres or wingers who can actually play even to even a bare basic average stranded in first grade
Then after sacking BA the ceo I believe it was
Mentioned he believed we already have the roster to win a comp
Honestly if you start unpacking it all and paying close attention
It starts to become deeply concerning
I get a feeling we need a Miracle
We need the coach to perform extremely well
And absolutely top luck with limited injuries next year and some more key signings and upgrades
If any of that even slightly falls short
We could be in for more tough times
Muz, I’m hopeful the club is in a holding pattern until the coach is announced. I hope the new coach has the cahoonas to tell the board, you look after the price of chips and I’ll look after the football.
There is nothing wrong with experience, it’s the balance we get wrong. A mix of youth and experience is the ideal and I feel we have both but not in the same team Youth brings energy, add the likes of Moretti, Gymer, Doorey and Arthur and we don’t look so aged in the forwards. Joe O and Hopgood still have years ahead of them.
Our backs need a lot of work, man what I would do to give Gutho a new set of legs. The new coach has some tough decisions to make, It’s becoming sad to watch Gutho pushing through a game, he looks like he’s cracking himself with whip trying to get his body to keep up with his head. I wouldn’t be surprised if he calls it day at the end of the season on medical grounds. I have my doubts of him finishing this season.
Penisini, Lomax, Moses and Brown would start in any NRL side, Blaize with another offseason should be good to go at fullback which leaves wingers and depth to sort out.
We could be back in finals contention next season if we could just fill this damn roster.
We’ve run out of time to sign elite outside backs for next season unless we get Lomax lucky. But we could at least snag a couple of competent outside backs to fill the void for next season.
Spot on Joe I agree, we have good experienced players
Just need to strike the right Mix of youth and old to progress so the young funds gain experience while adding some new energy and speed into the team as youthful players tend to do
Joe o & Hopegood have some good years ahead like you said
And in my opinion they have both become very dedicated eels, not only good players as we can all see
But dedicated and hard working, seemingly passionate parra eels players
And as a fan that’s all I like to see
I don’t care if we lose some games
But when you see the passion and dedication there
It still makes you proud to watch them play
It’s been my personal vision since watching his first game as a Eel
Hopegood would or should become the parramatta eels captain one day
Also good points there regarding gutho
Hope he’s ok mate but unfortunately he looks like his body is hurting and breaking down
All the years of carrying out side on his back so to speak, has taken its toll on his knees it looks like
I agree mate we have a top 8 team if they get it right – mix in those young talents, maybe sign another younger 2 or 3 forwards, let go of at least 2 old forwards on big dollars
Then add in some slick NSW cup outside backs who can defend well in nsw cup (steal them from other clubs)
Stack out top 30 with a little more depth
And with some luck this gets our team back up into the 8 again
Will P, Lomax, Simmonson if he stays, these are high quality backs
Blaize ad you mentioned one or two more pre seasons and the kid could be one of our best players possibly
There is a lot to work with there
I’m not pessimistic about our quality of players
It’s the balance & depth like you mentioned
Will P near the try line is as good of a centre as anyone
We have loads of strike
It’s just as 60’s says we are not prepared for injuries from a roster depth point of view
So we are always skating on thing ice 🧊
Or he might not be the best prospect in the clubs history, the BS thing is is that he now has that pressure because his Dad used a club to set his two sons up to do what he could not do and that is play NRL, one son failed, now its extra pressure on the young fella, image the management of a club giving 11 years to a bloke to use their club as a passion project for his two sons to achieve what he could not, no wonder we are coming last atm, and these dead shits are going to pick the next coach, FMD.
Anon, have you considered Matt is his own man who is working tirelessly to live his own dream?
Thanks for the feed Forty’s, I don’t know how you do it.
Disappointing day for the boys.
The recruitment team who have been responsible for assembling the top 2 squads are now responsible for recruiting a new coach to take the club into a new direction. Seems an anomaly that the person most responsible for the roster is also leading the team to the final coach decision.
Just get the selection of the coach over with, start getting some new talent into the club ( speed is a necessity) and make sure you keep our decent juniors, that’s what good administrations do, not sure we are heading in that direction.
Don’t say it like this b & g mate, it sounds kinda dire when you say it like that 😅
This was probably the worst performance from the Cup team this year. Very disappointing. Actually the standard was poor even from the Raiders. The first thirty minutes felt like it lasted 3 hours, and the cold conditions made it feel even worse. The Jersey Flegg were very unlucky in what was an entertaining game
Matt Arthur dearly missed. Hope this SOO u/19’s opportunity had helped build his credibility & case for thr eels #14 jeresy 💙💛
Thanks for call,shame sbout scores ,but from where teams started year ,can,t say have not improved, do the young winger and middle, newlannds and brown, look ,likely, going up grade .talking nsw cup next year , cheers again for coverage, good 👍
Probably worth signing the Raiders halves in cup for next year.
People saying we are waiting for a new coach for signing. But looks like we have been waiting since 2022…
It’s being reported Today;
Eels execs do not want another coach that is influenced by “player power” moving forward
.
This echoes a lot of what us here have mentioned, our players and team need a strong discipline coach not coach who’s going to be too emotionally connected to them.
Having say with Trent barret before and had a long conversation with him and his family in a casual setting before.
I can tell you from experience, him and his family are absolutely nice people. Trent I’ll say it here: is an absolute gentleman.
If you met this bloke and chatted with him, you would want to work with him or play for him, a really professional and calm bloke, humble and treats you with high respect. Not remotely up himself, a class bloke.
Now this I think unfortunately be part of our problem.
Baz (and I haven’t met BA but from what I’ve seen) are terrific blokes and at least baz seems like your mate in the first 2 minutes.
The club may of seem loyalty from BA to certain players and the emotional connection he had with some players.
And apparently the Eels player’s endorsement of baz has helped them made a decision against him as our coach.
So obviously they also believe something there needs to change,
If you look at Bellamy or Bennet let’s say they will 100% made hard decisions on any player regardless of the player’s success in the past.
This has made a lot of former champ players dislike them after their careers due to being dropped etc.
But the nrl is a business- it’s cut throat, brutal.
It’s performance based 100%.
And so I’m obviously a fan of baz and Ba as people.
But maybe us fans need to see this as a positive sign the club is activity trying to change things and the culture.
And obviously most of us want a new coach and not the old assistant.
But I’ll take this as a positive sign from our leaders that some things need to change.
I do believe BA & Players loyalty to him might have been why some players just simply didn’t ever get dropped.
And our club’s performances may of paid the price for such loyalty to some individuals.
This is not a knock on our coaches or players – but plain and simply lussick, lane, sivo, would have been fired or dropped to reserve grade a long time ago.
Where’s players like Moretti or hands if they made a mistake or two get dropped.
It was like young players can’t make errors but the old players can let in tries, drop as many balls as they like, even lose games for us, and guaranteed a starting spot weekly.
I understand this was partly a depth issue – but also a loyalty problem.
Maybe our club has been to loyal to people who’s best times as a player has came and gone?
Either way.
I hope Baz gets another new job or an assistant type role with us or something.
Just glad he isn’t going to be our head coach.
NRL players respond best when there’s no guaranteed spots for them.
There has to be hard decision makers who will make them lose their spots if they get comfortable or keep stuffing up.
There seems to be a much needed new discipline in our club and someone who can teach them to fight.
The dolphins this year and last you can see never give up.
That’s all I want to see from our eels.
That fight we once had and the tenacity to stop dropping heads when something goes wrong.
It looks like our players (some) are mentally defeated before the game ends.
I hope a new coach and some extra personnel can help lift our spirits.
Im happy to see our club is moving away from what the players want.
Ultimately I don’t think our players want the hardest going coach possible.
But maybe that’s what we truly need.
Our roster in key playing positions is STILL extremely strong!
We do have a massive amount of potential there.
Trent barret as much as I like him…
I do not believe he will be hard core enough to bring the dog out of them so to speak and sack all these blokes who have been endorsing him,
Imagine a few players endorsing him? Then he had to sack those same players in a few months?
It’s a conflict of interest.
And the club is probably also identifying this and there needs to be no mateship there influencing hard decisions.
There needs to be hard business like decisions being made. IMO.
Muz where was it reported about not wanting a player influenced coach ???
I tell you Muz, I’m personally all with the board on this one.
The NRL is a cut throat business and in my opinion the players have been taking our coaches for a ride for far too long.
Ive said it a couple of times but I honestly believe that the days of the coach having beers with the players as mates is coming to an end.
Not just in the NRL but in coaching worldwide.
At the end of the day the players dont give a toss about the coaches and are there for the paycheck and premierships.
As Clint Eastwood says ” treat them as cattle”
Once a coach becomes mates with the players he just loses all authority.
If the board is seeking a coach that is apart from the players then I applaud the board 100 % .
That would also weigh heavily against coaches like Hannay and Barrett and perhaps look good for Ryles and Young.
I love Todd Payten as a coach. Todd understands it and if the players are not tough enough to play for him then… Go to the Eels !
Yeah I think spark there has to be some type of good balance some coaches maintain between being a respected leader but also gets consistency out of them and a free of losing your job if you slack off especially after contract extensions etc.
I think BA did good with a lot of players but we have been known as inconsistent for a few years and it’s not BA, but many of our players only seem to turn up against say (Penrith) or something.
It doesn’t all fall back on coaches but maybe some coaches are able to get more consistent efforts out of some individuals, as the fellas on the podcast has mentioned before too there has to be depth so players feel like they are competing for spots (it’s not guaranteed).
Dylan brown for example at storm or Penrith would be near Daly M #6 of the year almost every year there.
Because they would set a huge standard & KPI’s for him to force him to run the ball more and force a new standard out of him.
It’s not to say our team was run poorly, I just don’t think that kid is even touching the surface on his actual potential.
Look what Shaun Johnson did last year at the wahs with a new coach who held Penrith standards did for him.
He become probably the best player in the whole competition after being flagged as needing to retire 1 year earlier.
These types of players (kiwis, islanders, etc)
Are notoriously elite athletes with insane abilities but can require more discipline and structure to rein them in.
Look at Brandon smith at roosters another Kiwi.
They obviously are more laid back there VS Melbourne.
The blokes form fell off a cliff, his missing meetings, apparently has publicly mentioned gambling addictions and dept, he’s acting like a fool.
Down in Melbourne they had that bloke so dialled in I believe he got player of the year 1 year and hooker of the year? From memory.
Now he’s being let go of and roosters want to pay our part of his salary to get rid of him.
So I’m my opinion I see our eels as having insane potential in some of our players.
Dylan brown could be one of the best players in the NRL.
Blaize could be a super star, and obviously there’s others.
But for whatever reason the standard & habit has been set in our club somehow that inconsistency is expected.
You also don’t need to play good every week, you also won’t get dropped because there’s no back up players competing for positions, then we basically give up and that’s ok it seems like.
Sometimes a new leader can shift a organisations culture.
This is why I believe Ryles for example is a decent pick.
He doesn’t need to be the best coach.
Our club desperately needs new standards set and a no BS policy towards inconsistency and only turning up for serious teams then playing completely different the following weeks after.
We look like a champion team 1 week, can flog top of the ladder sides.
Then lose and look like a wooden spoon side 1 game later.
This is a habit and culture that’s somehow formed in the team and this is the pattern.
It’s the incredibly hard for coaches to fix this once it sets in – historically in other clubs you would have noticed it.
This is why i believe some of our old forwards need to go, the salary’s they are on are large.
And the hardest people to change into a new culture are the older players who are set in their ways habit wise.
Hannay has been suggested by hopgood and seems buddy buddy with him.
So there’s a chance the eels may scratch his name out too.
The best coaches in the nrl are respected by the teams, but by no means are they soft and loyal o under performers.
Where’s we really have been the last few years, and I believe that’s the problem.
We are holding on to past glory so to speak with some snr players who simply can’t defend anymore once they are tired.
That, or the games simply shifted and become too fast for their body & playing style.
I remember back when I played as a hooker or back in the second half you were told to chance your hand against forwards when they got tired.
This sums up our performances in a bit shell – the backs simply dart around our forwards in the middle and score length of the field tries each game..
We aren’t fit enough to beat Canterbury with 12 players on the field and a million penalties.
Maybe some of the boys need to lay off the kfc, lol.
Todd pattern is a very ordinary coach. He fluked one year in 2022 and, with the cattle at his disposal, has otherwise underperformed massively. He has tried to be a hard line coach without consistent success. He is overhyped and will lose the cows dressing room sooner or later (there are already rumours he has at different points across his tenure and it shows in their pathetic defence and inconsistent performances). We need a level headed coach. Someone with good people skills but also tactically savvy. I prefer Hannay to ryles but I’m more interest in the coaching unit that each one will bring. The sum might be greater than the individual parts.
Ron, I disagree about Payten but definitely agree that the coaching staff as a whole is most important thing.
As long as they are on the same page, but damn we need to toughen up.
Someone like Hannay as HC and Brian McDermott as assistant.. that sounds great.
Agree mate .from reading if McDermott was involved 100%our defense would improve but as an assistant to hannay
I’m hannay as well mate .something about ryles I can’t put my finger on but if he got it naturally back him
Again Muz, you speak a lot of sense. I was thinking the coaches that can command a great deal of respect and also have a light touch is reserved for those with a great reputation like a Bennett.
We have had a procession of ‘Mates’ as coaches along the years and maybe , just maybe that has contributed to the soft underbelly that we are known for ?
I’m happy for the board to go in the opposite direction.
If Tigers win (currently leading 6-Nil) by more than 8 points. We will be last place.
And like Canberra .. have a look at the young kids they have coming through.
All 18 and 19 year Olds.
They are going to be great in the future.
I hope the penny drops at the Eels that it’s a young man’s game now.
We are an old slow side.
There is definitely much to address.
Fellas they keep on saying eels are last… do they have to keep mentioning it? Haha
spark those Boys are young, imagine them in 2 years?
Meanwhile we have the retirement home
It’s hard to imagine we were in a grand final only 2 years ago
And we used to consider only making the top 8 not top 4 a semi failure
Now we are directly dead last
The clubs legends all came out after they kept letting go of some of our key star players …. Remember?
Maybe they were right
But obviously the club doesn’t listen to people who anyone who’s got a clue
This is why I am hesitant to have much hope of significant breakthroughs to occur while our leadership & executives we have now are still in power
The past grand final may of been due to a decent team but a lot of luck and good timing of form at end of year
We didn’t even look like we deserved to be there on grand final day
Obviously love our team but it is what it is
The club then rested on that as their success and signed worst players and expected the same results to continue
It would be like winning a car race, then selling the car and downgrading
And wondering why you no longer can compete
It’s too much common sense for them though, they have no idea evidently or just extremely focused on the balance sheet and counting pennies to get bonuses from their higher ups in the Eels organisation
Allegedly MON etc get bonuses for spending less / not over spending on the roster 😂
So they get bonuses for saving the club money on signings
What a hack? He just signs tomato cans and gets a bonus (allegedly!)
In all fairness tho, most organisations give bonuses to manages who can help them meet KPI’s inside or below desired budget
Parramatta would of given it a real go in 2021 except for that controversial final against Penrith that was probably our best chance
Yeah true we looked solid then
And you are spot on that ending was rubbish
We looked solid as hell that year I thought at times like a champ side
We had an awesome roster then mate too
That was a solid team too to bottom
Our players we have now were younger then and all better players at the time
We would’ve beaten Penrith if Mahoney was playing or if Stone wasn’t our dummy half.
Clubs need luck with injury, the more depth in the squad, the luckier you get.
Our window was 2021 and 2022. Then our window was slammed shut and batton downed by the HOF. Those players left and nothing coming in behind. It’s just mismanagement and incompetence.
Exactly mate very sloppy
True Pete we had a awesome team looking back at it.
21-22’ years as you said.
Our Achilles heel has always been depth looking back at it.
Like when Ray stone played hooker than game I think one of you mentioned in the finals.
But overall we had strong teams during teams in that period.
Even with Waqa blake leaving…
Ppl thought he was bad? But who replaced him?
Harper?
He’s stuck in reserve grade atm.
Our issue seems to be we clear our players and don’t replace them.
It’s a strange phenomenon.
Maybe a dogs supporter has infuriated our board or HOF’ position. Haha
Infiltrated* sorry 😅
I think the Bulldogs are running our recruitment and retention.
On SEN radio they are spreading rumours or mentioning The Cheese Brandon smith to Eels?
He is a good player but it’s hard to imagine his reputation on bad discipline and off field issues is going to help our team lift?
Then again – if Jason Ryles became our coach.
He might have a truck up his sleeve about knowing how to use him and what discipline the cheese correctly by his time in Melbourne.
I personally would be happy just seeing Hands & Matt Arthur taking over the hooking role sharing the load.
To me the cheese might not ever be the same player again since leaving Melbourne.
They tried to change his game at roosters and used him differently.
Do you think they are talking crap or there’s a possibility they’ll go after him?
Trick up his sleeve* sorry 👍
Pete good point, maybe the bulldogs are running the recruitment & retention for the eels like you said. Haha
Apparently the leagues club is opening a soup palace to make use of all the accumulated spoons ,i would leave room for extensions .
Jacks bar n grill and Soup? I wish I could laugh but I can’t.
If the club wants fan engagement put MON in a dunk tank and charge $5 per throw. They would raise thousands.
Higgsy, this is funny but sad at the same time 🤣
In all seriousness tho…
As much as it hurts a bottom 2 finish may lead to more people being sacked in the club, not just players or BA, but people we won’t name on leadership or executive positions.
Only when some of the people are gone whose thinking has gotten us into this mess, will we be more likely to turn a corner.
I do not believe the eels will do a 180 and completely change all of their ways of doing things if it’s the same people making the decisions.
But I’m being hopeful I’m wrong, and that they will be forced to address their own approach (that’s lead us to failure)
Just like in NRL teams, if We keep all the same people in key admin & executive positions.
Maybe with the pressure of them losing their own jobs from this years failures, the eels leadership will be forced to take more drastic measures.
We can only hope 🤞 🙏 better times ahead.
I would love to see a new coach announcement soon.
Wayne Bennet is already signing & lining up players for his next year Bunnies team.
Let’s get the ball moving, the sooner a new coach can start making recruiting moves for next season the better. 🫡
It’s hilarious that the blokes that lead the “BA must be sacked and it should have happened years ago” brigade are now banging on about the lack of quality coaching replacements, the shortcomings of the Board and O’Neill in particular, and even a few comments now that no coach will be successful under the current regime, the disgraceful R&R etc – ummm, so why were you solely blaming BA for the calamity that is unfolding? The hypocrisy and doubles standards of some are incredible!!!
Gdsy stubby, so just quickly mate.
1). I never solely blamed BA but like most analysts, former players, and most educated football fans heavily questioned his persistence on lane, lussick, sivo, and refusal at times to give out young blokes a crack. I like BA, but we all have our own opinions on team selections.
2). Myself and most others believe the new coach if they get the right one will be possibly more successful (we are dead last and had near worst defence in nrl 2 years running). I believe this can be improved even under the current club leadership.
3). To clarify mate I believe if we get the right coach then we can be successful even under the clowns you mentioned running the show.
What I guess I’m trying to say – is our success will be restrained in terms of being a real top level threat.
Our new coach may get us back into the top 8 again with a new & better defensive system over time.
But I can’t see us winning the comp so to speak with our current CEO & head of football etc.
I just can’t see us winning the comp under them, if the ceo was competent,
We would have had Wayne Bennet way before bunnies sacked JD.
And we would not be still talking about the head of football, etc,
Why?
Because they’d be already gone / sacked.
We have a good roster in many spots, just need those edge defences cleaned up and some fresh legs in the middle, if the new coach at least can do this, It will be a much needed improvement to where we are now.
Sorry, Muz, this wasn’t an attack on you so apologies if you took it as such. It was a broader comment relating to your talk of keeping the same administrators in place or needing to make drastic changes. A section of fans wanted BA gone and seemingly blamed him for everything, clearly that was not the case. The same people have now moved their target since the “low hanging fruit” that was BA is gone. They’ve flip flopped between the players were good enough and it was BA’s coaching as the issue, to now saying the players aren’t good enough. Likewise it was “BA’s team, he put it together” to now the R&R committee are useless and need to go, or BA had the biggest say in recruitment to now O’Neill is totally out of his depth and has failed to deliver the new coach (whoever that may be) a decent squad and wouldn’t be able to get them who they need to succeed. I just can’t stop laughing at some of the stupidity I’ve read on sites around this narrative – there’s dead set some blokes that twist things so much they could get a gig as a world famous contortionist.
No worries Stubby mate,
I see what you mean and agree with you
Blaming is a silly strategy that mostly causes divide & no real resolution
What I would love to see if the fan base harping on the fact we only sign rejects
and we refuse to invest heavily in outside backs
It’s my view that even if these two principal areas are worked on
Our club can do a 180 quickly
We’ve got some incredible players there – we just leak too many tried out wide + our forwards can’t play a full 80 mins anymore
This can be solved I hope with a new coach hopefully having a much influence to get them to move in this direction
Also the issue on R & R and everyone blaming day MON or BA
These individuals especially head of football etc are working under the people who run the club
Ultimately if the eels leadership was truly unhappy with their signings
… and letting go of players they’ve been doing the last 3 years
They would of been sacked already
There’s obviously people higher up who are approving of this bargain hunting & tight fisted approach
If they were truly against it and disagreed with their decision making process
This would of stopped long ago and certain leaders would of been sacked
The fact they said they believe we have the roster to win a comp now was very interesting to hear
I don’t know if they were gaslighting or legitimately clueless?
I think our CEO said that to the media in a interview
I don’t know how he believed that’s possible without a full roster
Muz, the 5 man R&R committee model is beyond ridiculous. The head coach should say to the HOF I want player A and if you can’t get him I’d still be happy with B or C. It’s then the job of the HOF to deliver. For those that said this is BA’s squad, do they seriously think BA wanted the 2024 recruits to be Harper and Tualagi? Not a hope in hell that’s the case, but that’s the narrative some idiots run with just as an example. What O’Neill has delivered hasn’t been A, B or C – it’s been Q thru Z. Ohh and then there’s the empty spots still in the Top 30 as well. BA’s time may well have been up, but there’s a few other heads that should have rolled before his IMHO.
Yeah I see what you mean mate.
Theres glaring issues there and as you mentioned we always get the worst options
IMO Harper & Tualagi aren’t Bad signings for depth
But we need actual ready to roll quality players who can compete for spots on the first grade team
People who come in and stand out, and knock on the door or some for other players positions so to speak
I’m pro – eels jnr building
But I’m also not sure if they are managing Sean Russel correctly
They’ve made him into another big player who now has lost his once very good speed and elusiveness near the try line
Our clubs put another 10kgs on him
And I don’t like fans saying it’s the players fault
Our dieticians, personal trainers & S & C coaches + playing coaches have a significant influence over players weight and fitness
Sean russel was once a try machine coming up and was never big and bulky
He now in my opinion does not look like he truly belongs in a NRL starting team
Sivos fitness is also absolutely shocking and he is huge
Gutho is getting slower and older
We only have 1 legitimately fast back and it’s Bailey S who’s off contract
Cooper Cronk was talking the other night saying in todays game the halves need a few fast backs around them and a fullback who can accelerate fast to beat the edges in attack
I’m not saying gutho is our problem
But we legitimately do not have the personnel to do this style of attacking play
Actually ….
We seem to be able to do it when Young Blaize is playing
So that’s a positive
I’m disappointed they’ve made Sean russel into this bulked up big & slower back now
We’ve had a power obsessed strategy for a long time
Because it did work
What we are seeing now – even in the QLD team
Their backs and even forwards are smaller
They can lose the meters battle for long periods of time
But the sheer speed and fitness of the smaller dater players
Just means they can score points rapidly as soon as the opponents are tired
We can all speculate out eels execs next move
But I’m hoping that if they do decide to go with Josh Hannay (let’s say)
That he at least can drum into them Billy slater & the sharks tactics
And convince the leaders in our club to change their approach to R & R
People have also got to remember Billy took over a losing QLD team
He removed all the slow old and fat players …
Even if they were champions
He Turned it into a Melbourne storm type team
Where you’ve got a nice mix electric fast & strong defending backs who defend well and get in your face
Then a combo of dangerous gummy halves who can attack + kick
Then the mobile forwards who can run you down and defend all night
I’ll use that as a example of playing sides
Qld moved into speed focused backs and mobile forwards
It’s been hugely successful, much like his club at Melbourne where he played & learned from the best
If change is happening, I would 100% support our new coach having the faith to go into this direction
It might not work perfectly the first year or two
But could you imagine brown + moses having fast accelerating outside backs all around them?
We would be a insanely dangerous football side to contain
I would love to see that
I just read today apparently Wayne Bennet has been telling Ben Hornby how to run the bunnies team since a few weeks ago – giving him pointers.
E.G He told Ben to run Koloatangi in the middle, result?
His been in best form all year, and they haven’t lost a game since Wayne started giving Hornby advice it appears.
This is obviously the power of a top level coach.
It annoys me deeply that we didn’t even go after him months ago when he was free.
We were asleep 💤
Now I’m hearing Hopgood is out for the season and needs surgery.
The good news keeps coming.