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The Eels fell painfully short of the finals in the NRLW but it was still a massively successful season. The Tip Sheet looks at the mega strides made under Steve Georgallis as Sixties and Forty20 break down their season.
It is a quiet week in Parradise in general but incoming star back Zac Lomax has earned selection in the NRLPA Team Of The Year while he is tipped to be joined by Mitchell Moses in the upcoming Kangaroos squad.
The show reviews the week of games that was and then casts an eye ahead to the NRL and NRLW Grand Final Qualifiers as they tip who is set for a date in the big dance. Josh Addo-Carr is looking at a 4-game suspension for his antics while Kalyn Ponga is copping it from the press for choosing to prioritise the Knights over the Roos – is he wrong though?
Awesome to see Ryles & co have ensured locking up Guymer, Pryke, Richie Peninsni on longer deals.
Nice to see they are solidifying our developing players futures. I know we lost Blaize and Matt Arthur, but these players offer better first grade potential in my opinion for what we are looking for over the next 2 years.
I think Guymer & Luca Moretti will carry the torch so to speak and be forwards who hopefully help us offset the loss of RCG and the decline from Jnr from recent years as he has aged.
Luca & Guymer have made visible impact when they come on the field off the bench. Really looking forward to 2025 after these boys get a new & different looking off season. đŞ
We still need tuivati locked in and then to focus on athletic young backrower (some of which we have in juniors). But this is a great start.
true Ron, some believe Guymer could become a good back rower. I thought he looked great coming off the bench in the middle though. I think sixities said he used to be a centre. Is thatâs the case, he probably has an advantage to develop defensively as a back rower. He seems to have fast moving legs and intensity. Seems faster than Tualagi. Might be a good defensive forward in a couple of seasons. We have to think long term. If Ryles is to make a great team during his contract, he will need to bet & stick to some younger players who he thinks he can mould into proper high level defensive players. My feeling is he will see Pryke, Guymer, morettti as his potentially best forwards in a couple of years and bet heavily on developing them. Our ageing forward pack will only look worst over next 2 seasons if paulo, lane, carty, matto canât wind back the clock to turn up consistently or ship them off. Paulo & lane have significantly declined over last two seasons. We really need these young forwards to lift and fill their roles or we will really struggle to break into it & remain in the top 8. The only older forwards I have faith in defensively is matto & Joe oâ. Those men and our younger pathways Boys, and hopgood are the only forwards weâve got who I think can keep up with the speed of todays game in defence. Our defence is why we stink, and ageing power forwards is a large part of it. You look at penriths ânobodyâ young forwards and bench players. They have young legs, can run & tackle all night. We severely lack this. Guymer looks like a potential Liam Martin type player. Really hoping he can stay injury free. My feeling is him and Luca will be our near best forwards (or there abouts) for us inside of 2 years.
Iâm not as high on moretti as you are – he is decent but heâs not anything more than a bench option. Tuivati is important to plan for post junior – still need a power in middle. And we still need athletic backrower (hamoule, keon, Eli katoa etc types that are younger). Fortunately we have some good backrowers in juniors.
As to hooker, zaidus mataguia just left dogs for manly. I donât understand how we let him go to dogs in first place as I always rated him. Shame manly have picked him up. We need to snag a gun your hooker from another club asap.
Ron weâve had limited punch off the bench compared to other teams where you can see this significantly impacts the game.
Even for NSW, Leniu isnât a starting prop or an elite prop. What he does come on is give intense hard running minutes which created a visible effect on the game. Luca and Charlie Guymer are probably the only young impact bench forwards we have. Both come on, and you can see the intensity and impact.
You might not âbe highâ on him, but consider not all our props need to be Jnr paulo (whoâs on $900k +) or RCG (who was allegedly on 700k +). Luca is probably on one of the smallest salaries on our squad, and you could argue this year offered more intensity off the bench than paulo did whoâs on almost a million which is ridiculous as you know.
Iâm not high on Luca as a possibly new prime RCG or paulo, he makes a visible clear impact off the bench. High effort, young fast moving legs, and takes up minimal cap space compared to most of our ageing forwards.
Guymer also came on remember and offered nice leg speed & intensity off the bench. Other good teams have young no name type young forwards who they can utilise for impact or depth in the forwards. Look how many of Riffâs no name young forwards run like bulls for them, not world beaters or origin players, just fast moving legs and youthful impact, with low cost đ˛ contracts.
I think you would probably agree after what we saw this year and last, if we had less of the ageing forwards on big bucks and younger faster better bang for buck forwards in our top 30 all the sudden we are not so susceptible to injuries to one or two key forwards derailing our season.
I would rather a mix of 5 Charlie Guymers, Luca Morettis, than 1 or 2 Sean lanes or Jnr Paulos. And in terms of cap space – it would cost a similar amount of money in terms of cap space.
I do agree Tuivati might end up becoming a top prop in future. But it could be 5+ years away. Guymer & Morreti are between 20 and 24. Sam is 19 I think?
I still feel like Guymer & Morreti are closer to being regular first grade options and realistically our eels need to have solid seasons 25â-26â to help Ryles recruit post Gutho, Paulo, etc error.
If we have two shit seasons good marquee players wonât want to come to us for reasonable money. And we should have significantly more cap space opening up over coming seasons as gutho + paulo either leave or have contracts significantly reduced.
I also agree regarding hooker options. I wondered if Knights Brailey could be a good starting hooker with hands playing 14. Hands played had a significant impact on our games when he was playing with Josh Hodgson starting.
I think Ryles will play a possible 2 hooker strategy like roosters & Melbourne often like to do it. I do believe our club will recruit another good young hooker for the cup squad anyhow with Matt Arthur leaving.
Yes Muz, Moretti is a bit like Marata in the sense that BA seemed to have Niukore on a 5 year apprenticeship, he never quite reached regular first grader like he has at the Warriors, and we never got to see a week in/ week out player. OK, donât rush them but also getting solid first grade minutes builds ability and confidence. I rate Moretti but he needs time on the park to show his level. Another general problem I have with our players, when you tank like we have, there are things happening on the field that distort the quality of skill and effort, it rubs off on everyone, so itâs hard for emerging players to have that text book rise to NRL. I reckon, for example,Hopgood and Matterson lost any X- factor in their game because of dysfunctional team dynamics, and theyâre SOO level players.
Just Saw Broncos “have parted ways” with Walters.
Good time to do it in the middle of finals before off-season starts. So as to avoid a lame-duck coach under pressure all year before being sacked by round 10.
they are showing parra how itâs supposed not to be done, not wait until later when seasons already in the toilet. Interesting if Baz ends up head coach at broncos for a while (lol), the fans will be mad. Wonder if his Nepo son will follow him. Itâs a similar situation to ba & parra, many fans believe the sons have gotten a leg up because father being coach and that he is blocking other better talented players. Interesting to see if itâs speculation or reality. Baz wonât leave Walters in if he takes over I believe.
It was handled extremely well. Walters given the option step down. On the eve on finals.
Gives an off-season for the new coach. I think this will be the blueprint of how to sack a coach going forward. The round 10 sacking almost kills off two years at once.
They must have someone planned.
Imagine Bennet comes out of the blue and backflips on Rabbits lol.
I feel sorry for Barrett who will most likely get punted by the incoming coach as they usually choose their own staff.
Yeah maybe the signing of baz was to use him as a possible stop gap for them until they can seal a new head coachs signing for the future. Bris msy have seen baz actually did well for parra considering the circumstances, I think our win rate improved under baz, with much more reserve graders in the starting 17. Also I think we didnât cop as many blow our losses by as big of a margin? Maybe bris saw this as a sign Baz could possibly fill in at Bris successfully and thingâs probably wouldnât get much worse. Sucks for bad if he gets used up and spay out like this though.
Whatâs interesting at bris is there is clear nepotism going on. Some argued this was happening at parts, some disagreed. But whatâs interesting is that Bris probably has two legitimate nrl level hookers who are flat out getting a game. This might of came into consideration for Brisbanes decision making process.
I still believe something strange was happening under ba. Like Walters he seemed to have personal favourites like Walters and gave people favoured game time that itâs clear was not always the right decision. And statistics wise also was obvious.
Walters son is no offence not a good proper starting first grade player for a supposedly elite club. He would be lucky to get first choice game time at any other club. Much like baâs kids. Iâm not suggesting they wonât âget thereâ in future, but itâs been sometimes questionable when you see coaches kids getting strong preference when thereâs countless other players who are stuck in reserve grade for other clubs who are far superior to them and canât get a run.
Another strange one for us was the return of lussick and blocking of Brendan Hands. There was clear personal favouritism or something going on there. Hands has been a better hooker in every game he had played for us and was overlooked for lussick.
The same thing happens up at Brisbane and itâs not only with Walters son. Players are apparently divided and unhappy because many of them believe theyâve been treated unfairly or the coach has had no idea in terms of team selections. Coach Walters would be hard pressed to ever get a first grade gig ever again you would expect⌠and it will be interesting to see what happens with Billy.
You could near guarantee Baz wonât pick him as first choice if he becomes coach. Baz (even if he isnât the best coach), does usually pick the best teams. He doesnât get stuck on blind loyalty like some coaches such as Walters seemed to do.
Pete did you see Eels might be chasing Ado car ??
Also signed Hawkins officially. Good signs from Ryles. If he pulls JAC off, this will be the first time in almost a decade that we have had a legitimate proper back up #7 and legitimate speed all across the backline..
Some say JAC is a risk, but weâve got Russsel & sivo as our wingers who literally cannot defend. It canât get any worst (defensively) than them. I canât see how JAC chasing moses kicks and icing finishes from brown & moses cut out passes would be a bad idea. We currently suck on the wings. Jac even declined & older is a massive upgrade. Imagine Lomax + Jac as eels 2 & 5? Thatâs an immense upgrade surely
Sorry muz but addo car is a huge no from me can’t cop him at all.his character is surely not needed .comes across as a complete dickhead
True Tanky he surely has a lot of red flags. I just wonder if in terms of trade off (pros vs cons)? Itâs worth it. We have the worst wingers defensively and probably with kick returns in the comp in 24â.
We have russel on one wing, sivo on the other. I canât see us being a top 8 team as our wingers.
I know Fox isnât a great defender but is still better than both of them. His off field issues tho are alarming. Itâs a risk, 100%! But Ryles used to coach him.. Iâll trust his decision whatever that may be. Interesting to see if they roll the dice. Wilson deal has gone quiet. Maybe itâs out the door?
If he does come muz I’d still back while he’s in a Parramatta shirt
Hawkins has been great in reserve grade and got his NRL debut. Great signing first genuine back up half.
JAC – he’s still a try scorer and better than anything we have. He doesn’t really inspire the ‘culture’ of a decent club. Could be OK if on a very tight contract with strict conditions.
Paul Alomoti remains off contract at Panthers. Plays centre on Left edge. He could be worth something especially if Panthers win again. He would tighten up our left edge defensively.
Looks like Ryles is pro active. Doesn’t sit back and wait.
True Pete mate JAC definitely isnât the culture fit we are looking for that they have stated they want to work on. But as you said, better than any wingers we have.
Mate I didnât know Alamoti is off contract, he defends decently over there. He is only 20 I think as well. He defends better than Russel, tago etc. but thatâs obviously inside the tightest defensive system in the game.
Ryles is more active for backs than ba was over 10 years it seems. Hawkins was NSW cup halfback of the year. We have not have a proper NRL backup half back for honestly as long as i remember.
The only issue I see if that if we end up with russel and sivo on our wings again next season (due to injuries), or no other quality backs who can fill at 2 & 5 than Lomax – then our results wonât be much different.
The parra eels are like a bucket with holes in it. And all the points get leaked around sivo and russel.
Unless that gets fixed, 2025 Could be disappointing. If we got Wilson or JAC on one wing, Lomax or simmonson on the other, then obviously you would expect our leaking tries out side issue to slow down. Sivo and russel are the easiest wingers to score tries on in the whole nrl I would think.
Your idea about Alomoti isnât a bad idea at centre. He has a good kick chase too and can tackle it seems watching his game last night. We need players who can tackle. Points are not the issue, we have the worst defence in the league or not far off wests tigers.
Pete did u see young J Papaliâi from the dogs is apparently close to signing with us, another potential high quality young back who has speed, played NSW u/19âs etc
Itâs amazing how people covered up for our clubs past failings for refusing to sign any fast young quality backs and saying itâs because they couldnât get them
Now suddenly Ryles has them swooping in on prime young talent from all different clubs and all of them either have pace, or havd proved themselves elite at NSW club level
Mark OâNeil and co (Iâm still suspicious of) but just going off his activity and decision making, Ryles & co are showing us life in the player markets us parra fans have not seen in many years
Jack Williams too whoâs coming from the sharks (is being reported) if we can get him not dropping balls, thatâs a forward with good leg speed and high tempo
I know itâs early days but this is the most activity we have seen at parramatta for too many years.. and itâs not just chasing more forwards & settling on C level backs
Really good signs.
We just need another hooker now like Brailey and another utility maybe and I reckon we are a new outfit for 25â
Ba never invested heavily into backs which is why we relied on his power game, but it doesnât seem to work as effectively now. Letâs hope this new approach to having more backs depth can change our outcomes â
Yeah Muz,
Good to see proactive signings into areas of need. Instead of being one injury away from catastrophe. We’ll actually have key positions covered with back ups.
I guess as you say more to come in November.
I’d be surprised if Jack Williams doesn’t start.
For sure RE Jack, to be fair jacks got a strong forward pack there at sharks to compete with. The sharks have been remarkably stronger than us the past 2 seasons if we are being honest. Jacks probably better than most of our forwards if we can maybe be under less pressure at a new club, and if we can coach him to hold the ball better.
Iâm going to be a pessimist and an optimist here.
1). If it only takes new coachs and focus on new young backs to get our team firing again, Iâll be legit angry at Ba & co for holding us back, Iâm still convinced our edge defence issues are largely just us having a speed disadvantage out there and lesser quality backs that almost every other team – the issues neen glaringly obvious, forwards were not ever our issue.
2). Iâm confident and optimistic the parramatta eels will show signs of being a completely different Side next year. Dylan brown and mitchel moses are elite players. If they both played at storm, roosters, panthers, or even v sharks maybe? Then they would probably be playing in a grand final. They are THAT GOOD, when surrounded by good players.
Iâm still convinced the parramatta eels are a great unbelievably good team. We just had severe roster mismanagement, maybe a post GF depression, and some players losing their desire. Like what we saw with broncos this years fall from grace.
As you said, canât wait until December. I bet he will sign either a high quality hooker or a strong utility, one more middle or edge forward, and one more young gun forward. He seems to be playing the long game, a high ceiling NSW or young QLD cup cup forward. If he can snag another elite cup level player (forward), then he is obviously thinking in terms of 2-3 years.
Not aiming for instant success. Probably why weâve always failed. We never get on young players enough, always holding too many ageing players that blocked pathways. This isnât a stab at previous coaches either, this stigma of parra being a retirement home is a very old reputation.
Letâs hope for a brighter future, I donât care if we are not âperfectâ next year, my feeling is season #2 is when we will see closer to the final product, especially with all these young players who will improve tremendously over just 1-2 seasons with us.
Very informative and tct thankyou,still worried about r and r and defence has it changed?isHaze Dunster still registered and if so howâs he going could be the differentce next year.
Cheers Lenard. Haze is still with us. Returned for the very end of the season.