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The Eels have punched in a comfortable 30-20 win in Round 22, just as well all expected. Wait, what? Yep, the 2024 Parramatta Eels have not only backed up a gutsy effort against the Storm but showed a legitimate return to form this week to stun the Warriors in Auckland.
Sixties and Forty20 celebrate a cracking team effort headlined by excellent performances from the entire spine. So what was different this week? How did the Eels absorb so much early pressure and convert it into points? The boys walk through the crucial victory and how Parramatta pulled off a wild upset.
Well done lads, great team effort,
Amazing result.
I had them 13 plus. Lost the bet with 4 seconds to go but i was supremely confident last night. All the talk about pulling this squad apart is really frustrating. Injuries are the reason we sit where we are right now and the exposure some of the fringe players are getting right now will bear fruit if we can have a clear run with healthy footballers next season.
What a performance for this year 👏 the boys are playing for their future spots in Jason Ryles team. Effort has been great last two weeks. Gutho proving all doubters wrong 🔥 Brown & Asi also played brilliant. 9/10 Asi kicks. 10/10 Browns effort & ball running.
Showed that last week wasn’t a one off effort from the boys for Gutho.
Agree Muz
Great result.
First half was great.
Just glad the boys held on. They really needed a win after all the negatives circulating.
Asi was kicking well.
Gutho 5/5 that’s almost never happened. He hasn’t been able to kick because of his knee. So hopefully his knee is getting better.
Im pretty sure every game Gutho runs over 220m we win. He’s been putting in 100% all year.
I’m pleased for Baz and the boys. They deserved a win.
It may well let us avoid the wooden spoon.
Spot on it seems like every time guthos meters are right up there the eels win. He has lifted immensely since the media started to criticise him. I predicted that might happen before the storm game. He has been playing at 110% effort. You never criticise the king 👑
That Hands moment was specifically mentioned in the podcast as I noted the difference made by winning moments in games like that one, in contrast to losing moments in defeats, a feature that has plagued our season this year.
The other moment from Hands was that tackle for the drop out. Real effort play for a massive outcome.
Hands played really well. I didn’t pay close attention to how baz did the bench rotation but it seemed like hands had more energy. I wonder if the cooler conditions also suited our bigger forwards better, they didn’t look as exhausted.
Energy and effort werent hard to see. Cameo moment, Brendan Hands covers an error in Warriors 20 which this year saw no cover and opponents doing length of field tries, then next set he takes ball runner back into in-goal to force turnover. Dylan Brown was everywhere, Thurston-like, the number of times you think who was in that tackle and the No 6 climbs to his feet and dusts himself off. And ive never seen a more provable obstruction than on Brown in Warriors first try.
Bdon true. Hands played really well. He is actually a very good player and young, he can only get better if he keeps working hard. Browns efforts were huge. He turned up 100%. No #6 turns up everywhere in defence like brown. I don’t care if we are second last, then providing that kind of effort gives us fans huge amounts of happiness. Gutho has been unreal as well ever since people / media criticised him as captain. Hands forcing the player in goal was a huge effort play.
As I noted in the podcast and above Muz, in this game we won moments that we’ve previously been losing. And Hands provided at least two of them with the scramble for a loose ball in the Warriors quarter and that tackle to force a drop out.
I woke up with strange expression on my face, my wife thought I was having a stroke. Turned out I was just smiling.
Well done boys. Great result.
Classic Joseph.
nice comment
Two weeks in a row without overlap tries down the wing (I’m not counting the obstruction that took Brown out of the defence or the one last week with Tago wrongly in the bin).
Brendan Hands has been in my top 3 players this year. 45 tackles in 59 minutes is a job well done.
We won this game with defence and making fewer mistakes than them.
It’s a shame to lose Talagi but Lomax will take his place.
Bring on next week at home against the Panthers!
We definitely defended outstandingly, but we also reduced the pressure on our defence with fewer coach killer errors. It’s been interesting seeing the criticism of Parra’s fitness. My take has been that a big factor has been the killer errors that they find week in and week out.
Errors are often caused by fatigue. If you are gassed and you get a good hit the first thing you do is drop or fumble the ball. Happens time and time again.
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all”
Patton said this Vince Lombardi knew this.
You make an error and defend it if you are fit. If you are Not fit you cannot get there to cover the mistake.
Fitness is an issue otherwise we wouldn’t fade out of games so often.
We held the ball and didn’t do much stupid things in our own half. We tried to complete sets and get to the kick. We only started to offload more once we earned the right to. As you said Hands has been playing really well, it’s hard to believe he was stuck behind lussick with how he has been playing lately. If we can play this patient next week and not cough up the ball stupidly in our own half, we could possibly stand & fight the panthers. We also didn’t play sideways, this has been a huge issue previously I thought. Look at the lines Asi & Blaize Ran. We need to do that again. Panthers will not fall for simple shifts for the wingers to score in the corner of every set play. I thought the boys running those lines was unexpected and almost like they had gotten new coaching or advice from someone before the game. Because they played completely different. Then again, it’s the eels… we never know what we are going to get! We are so unpredictable, don’t be surprised if we beat the panthers, or at least compete with them.
We defended better, but let’s be serious, the Warriors didn’t really throw much at us in the first 70 minutes. When they did in the last ten we conceded three tries, should’ve been four.
Brett I think the eels clocked off at the end like you see most teams do when the other team more or less cannot win. Most teams will click off in the last 10 minutes if there’s a 20 + lead. NZ did try throw a lot at us earlier but we were up in their faces in defence, and made important tackles. We were also down a player at the end hence scoring tries on that edge. The boys earned that victory by good kicking, good defence, and less errors in our half which usually leads to unnecessary pressure placed against ourselves. They only started scoring once we clocked off, and were a player down due to a sin bin. The team was a lot more disciplined tonight, they only let Nz in once they lost a player to a sun bin and more or less dropped their intensity because Nz could not win. Nz failed in their attacking plays all game because we were up in their faces and made important tackles. I don’t buy into the idea the warriors only tried towards the end, they only got space & opportunities once the game was over and eels were a man down more or less.
I’m not saying we didn’t deserve to win, we absolutely did, and the Warriors tried, and we certainly frustrated them, but I think the difference between this week and last week was the quality of the opposition.
Don’t worry, I’m enjoying the win, but I’m also realistic at where we are still.
True mate a big difference in opposition, but we still played with a lot better discipline. We didn’t knock the ball on like idiots in attacking sets. We didn’t actually beat ourselves like usual. I feel like that really goes along way. We literally handed Melbourne several tries, impossible to win like that. We didn’t do that last night, I personally believe we stood a chance to make it close with Melbourne too If we didn’t hand them easy tries of make poor errors. We can’t just hand teams tries or drop the ball in attacking sets, I’m glad we didn’t see that last night. I’m with you tho, we are far from world beaters. But improved efforts and improved performance is enough is all we can ask for atm with this heavily injured & limited depth roster I guess. They Boys are showing they still care, they could easily give up. I feel like it’s a good sign.
100% agree but nice to get a win , but seriously that squad 25/26 , all year older zero money in salary cap and an incompetent pair in mcelduff and sarantinos not to mention recruitment ,seriously until theyre gone its futility, ZERO football knowledge at the top destroyed many a club .
I think it’s worth commenting that results have improved since Brad left. We’ve had no more of those terrible sevond half collapses and some teams with some very inexprrienced players have been competitive before last Friday’s very good win. There could be several factors invluding Brad’s departure lifting some individuals out of their comfort zone but certainly Trent Barrett has not harmed his reputation.
I think that’s a stretch, Noel. TB lost a heap of games with Moses available and a pretty strong team being named. It’s only the 2nd win since he took over. I think the more likely scenario is the players are on notice now that JR has been named and there’s been media speculation about players being told they can look elsewhere. And the Warriors were dismal as well, they’re so hot and cold this year and the Eels happened to get them when they were very cold. Shaun Johnson had his best year last year but has fallen off the cliff again this year.
I thought Gutherson showed that he isn’t moving from fullback anytime soon. Blaize also seemed to be signing the team song with vigour. Hopefully he has some nostalgia and backflips.
Gutho provides both the tangible and the intangible.
Gutho is still our best fullback, it would have taken years for Blaize to even come close in fullback (if he ever did reach guthos overall level ).
It could be a blessing in disguise for us keeping gutho there next year still, or if we got Ryan Pap in future due to Blaize being gone. Gutho is an electric eel.
It’s hard to imagine Blaize having close to the heart gutho has. Especially if he quits on the team who looked after him and his family at the first opportunity he gets because times are tough.
We are extremely lucky to have gutho and moses in our side. It would be great to see both of them as our captains. No Jnr. We don’t need a prop who’s captain who barely runs hard anymore is not good enough to be a starting prop now, as harsh as it sounds. Your captains should start on the field and lead by example 💯% I no longer see that from Jnr unfortunately..
You have to be delighted for those 17 young men. Several whom I’d just about written off came up with thoroughly committed professional diiplays. I thought it was easily DJ Asi’s best performance for the club and underlined his potential value to reserve strength going forward. It will be a cheerful flight back from Aukland this morning.
As we discussed, easily DJ’s best for the Eels
Are we in the twilight zone ????
Where did that come from ???
There were lots of great contributions but my special shout out is for young Asi.
It was far and away the best game I’ve seen from the young man, I mean miles better than he’s ever produced in an Eels jersey.
Thank goodness we were 30 points up because we well and truly collapsed in the last 10 and if the warriors had somehow managed to get the win, it would have been an injustice.
We still have a good footy side even with Judas leaving the building.
The framework is strong and solid.
True spark, Asi played wonderfully over in Nz. We have seen him play some decent games on and off over the last few seasons. He played well during a game we heath Penrith last year as well. Good to see the young man playing with confidence.
P.S we are in the twilight zone it seems like mate imagine if we beat Penrith next week?
That would be so parramatta 😁
Yes, A different style of play and mindset could do wonders for some players that seem out of form. I’m ok with 2025. Ryles has a solid squad to work with and if he get everyone to do their job then at definitely a team that should be well in the hunt for the eight.
Shaun a new feel and different playing style even if it’s only a change in mindset and preparation could do the team wonders for 25’. As you mentioned, we do still have some solid players in the squad.
Simmonson & lomax added to our Backline playing next year and Moses back in, all the sudden if you don’t have too many injuries and the younger forwards continue to progress, it’s possibly a top 8 side. I still think our Achilles heel is depth.. we only need moses, gutho, or brown out and we will struggle to win games, hopefully Ryles has some aces up his sleeve in terms of potential signings for us coming up.. 🤞
Excellent Joseph!
DJ has talent. The problem is that it only emerges a few games a season. If he can find consistency then he becomes a great backup half. But so happy for him, the team and we the long suffering fans.
I’m sure it was Sixties who pointed out that the salary cap may mean wholesale changes etc will be limited. Even if Lomax is the only real addition there is still a decent team there. A mindset change is what some players may need to get back to their best. And while Barrett has copped a tough call on his future, last night showed he is still trying to get the best out of what he has and I like what I’m seeing.
The no obstruction call was ridiculous. Seen plenty of tries denied for far less.
This year is a write off (though I hope for a few more wins) but last night showed that 2025 could have some promise.
Call me cynical but I reckon we’d get called for an obstruction if we ran that play. As Gutho suggested, did Dylan have to hit the turf to get an obstruction call?
It was an obstruction every day of the week. Unfortunately that’s what happens to the lower teams on a consistent basis.
And probably sin binned as well.
Is it my wishful thinking or did Asi show a bit of toe in scoring his try. I have never thought that he was quick so have I been selling him short. Or was it a mirage that he showed some pace.
The obstruction call that didn’t come was not line ball at all. It bordered on a professional foul.
I thought that the forwards were really good last night. Joe O has been model of consistency all season. The stand out player for me was Dyl. He really put in last night on the back of a good showing by the forwards.
Gutho had a great captains knock. Good all round performance by the Eels.
Let’s spend the rest of the season knocking over some good teams.
Question. Who kicks for goals next year? Mitch or Lomax?
Kicks for goals? Mitch or Lomax? Or, if he finds himself in the team, BJ Asi? He’s deadly.
Great win, boys. sixties why do you think they pulled that effort out for last night n not earlier ?
I personally think it’s because their future depends on it.
sixties what do you make of soni luke from the Penrith panthers. I think his. great dummy half so question is if ur JR do you sign him ( soni luke)
Soni Luke is the number 5 hooker for Penrith ! What does that tell you
The rev…
It’s 100% because they finally now have to turn up or risk losing their jobs.
I’ve been saying this for a long time, watch how they all start turning up weekly effort wise as soon as a new coach is announced.
Too many players in our team have been let to be comfortable and pay no price for giving absolutely poor efforts, because they know they would not get dropped.
Flanno dropped his X factor fullback last week to cup because he didn’t defend at fullback properly the week before.
This week he played and was one of the best players who helped them beat storm at melb for first time in like 25 years or something.
Our club only usually drops young players to cup and leaves in players for weeks on end who just should not have been in the team.
Players like lane or sivo were done last year, and it took another season and a new coach before something was finally done about it.
I’m not pretending to know everything, but the players are finally turning up now because they are playing for their futures.
Watch them now possibly even beat Penrith, or come close.
Because they have to turn up with 100% effort now playing for their futures.
It’s sad but true. They got lazy under BA & baz and way too comfortable.
Watch them play decent now all rest of season because many of them are playing for themselves (their future jobs)
I’ll be surprised if we don’t see them turn up giving 100% effort every game now to finish the year. They hardly turned up all year until the fear of a new coach sacking them came into play. That’s what it looks like. 😁
Sixties any chance you could run a quick a summary on what halfbacks/Fullback/Hookers we have coming through? I just can’t see Mitch saying, he doesn’t seem like a stayer in times of turbulence. Perhaps Josh Lynne could merge in the 18 months? Not sure
Charlo, it’s a good exercise to see what we have but don’t pay any heed to what that dope Hooper is saying.
You will notice that he’s the only one raving on about this, like he has some inside information.
The fact is he’s running his own agenda and has absolutely no idea what’s happening.
They give it to Brent Read on 360 but he talks more sense in an afternoon than Hooper has in a lifetime.
The club isn’t saying anything because they dont want to give any validation to the clown.
Good times are coming!
I just finished the second half of the pod..
Great reference to the smoked eel at the game. 🤣