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The Tip Sheet previews a massive weekend against the Canterbury Bulldogs as Jason Ryles and the Parramatta Eels hunt for a breakthrough win in 2025. Sixties and Forty20 bring you all the key match-ups and roster changes from the Jersey Flegg, NSW Cup and NRL including a look at how the Eels could switch things up ahead of kickoff.
A panthers team – without Cleary and edwards, Blaize on debut, After losing fisher Harris and Luia – is still showing more fight than we did when we went down to Melbourne. What an indictment on those who pull on our jersey
Night and day difference. We can’t move the ball like those teams either or we would drop the ball every set trying. The difference is these teams have been elite level coached and trained for years, where’s our team has relied on Mitchel Moses long kicking game and without it we have never been competitive. But to be fair – of these teams are light years above every other side. Storm & panthers look like they are in a league of their own.
100% Ron, but can I digress…when is Harry Grant going to be nailed for milking and his bag of cheap niggling tricks? Munster was the same but has now grown up.
True I hate how he does that Bdon
So true BDon. I used to like Grant, but no more. He now performs right out of the Cam Smith playbook, harassing the ref included. Needs a few sin bin stints.
Ron I should also add – this current panthers era side is possibly one of the best teams in history. Probably unfair comparing us to them.
I’m not talking about their skill. It’s the attitude, desire, desperation and commitment (all things within a players control) that I rarely see from our mob. Our senior leaders are happy to talk about it but their actions have never consistently matched their talk. Even if our good years we would go on 6 game losing runs getting pumped by 40 by top teams. Even in our good years we would lose to bad teams. People always said parra had a soft mentality and played down to opposition level. But what we have seen this year is beyond the pale in terms of commitment and desire (ie the basics).
I agree their attitude and mentality is completely different. It’s unfortunate but Jason will need to do a huge clean out if he is going to attempt to change that culture we have. The only one of our forwards who would get a bench spot for either of those sides playing is probably Jack Williams. It’s all on the club for poor roster management. Look how many young forwards & outside backs are on these teams. Most of Our forwards are years past being able to play football like these teams in terms of work rate. It’s a young man’s game now and it’s probably why our rookies are standing out.
Parramatta have unfortunately lacked a ruthlessness for a long time. I would kill for a Parra side to be as relentless as Penrith.
Hopefully Ryles over the next 18-24 months can install that in the crop he molds and develops as he tries to lift the standards up.
Your right about our good years and still falling in a heap especially under Arthur.
We copped 50+ floggings in 2019 & 2021.
In 2020 we got walloped 38-0 at home to the Bunnies 3 weeks from the finals
And we made a GF in 2022 but still suffered 3 humiliating losses that showed to me we weren’t premiership material.
A top 4 side losing to the bottom side on the ladder twice in one year including getting flogged 34-4 by the Bulldogs who were stone motherless last in mid June was the most embarrassing day i have ever felt at a game being amongst the Bulldogs fans.
You could argue Parra haven’t had a ruthlessness since Ray Price retired in 1986. He wanted that Premiership and nothing would stand in his way of it. He demanded that his players show the same attitude. Sadly, we are the complete opposite to that now. Who was demanding on Sunday that the players show the effort required to win that game? Instead we gave up because we could find a way over the tryline.
Eels supporter since 1964 and am blown away by current events seeing Penrith tonight was how the game should be played we are not in the ball park come on eels show some guts
Panthers were so admirable against the Storm. Switched on the whole time. They never ever gave up. Eels can learn from them. I hope that we will. Starting on Sunday against the Bulldogs
Either team a worthy winner. That second penalty which didn’t find the line may have been the difference between win or loss for the Panthers, the Storm’s strike rate on opportunity grabbing was so impressive (and bloody annoying when you think about….)
5 tries each, goal kicking the difference…a missing Cleary factor?
The one thing that I have noticed when watching both games is how one out we have been in attack.
You go through as many highlights of past games for the last 40 years and you will see that most tries are made from players being around the ball.
One of my old coaches back in the day Wally Watsford used to continually talk about always being around the ball and I’m sure it was a mantra to others on this site who played at whatever level.
Whenever the Eels are successful, there are players waiting for an off load, waiting for a second phase pass, just being there to create confusion in the defensive line.
Now go back and have a look at the highlights of our first two games.
Just one out running and being tackled. No second phase play is possible because there is no one anywhere near the ballplayer!
Absolutely no short passes at the line, just predicable one out runs that become easy meat for a set defence.
This is obviously caused by a lack of leadership in the halves. We have our main man Moses off injuries and Brown off with the fairies.
Hopefully Dean Hawkins can bring the team together to play an offensive cohesive game plan.
Unfortunately Ryles has let go the two blokes who put in the most effort the last few years and is now selecting players who put in minimal effort or impact. Unusual strategy but as Big Jim says — just be patient !.Being in my 80’s patience is determined day by day. Basically our roster at present has been poorly developed.
Great listen fellas… I loved Craig’s line about the match last week… ‘the scoreline flattered both teams!’ 😂
This season (and as mentioned in most of the comments), will be about the right attitude and mentality, as the skills, abilities and experience of some players isn’t quite up to NRL standard.
The roster rebuild will take some time but once we start getting some more NRL experience back i.e., Josh Addo-Carr, Ryan Matterson, Bailey Simonsson, and of course Mitch things will turn around.
As for this game, I can’t see a win, but you never know, it’s often who wants it more, with these games. The team’s been taking plenty of flak recently, so I expected them to come out firing on Sunday!
We have to go back to the Ray Price days to rediscover that unflinching ruthlessness. We are too friendly with the opposition. Ryles should wipe that from their playbook. We are our boys laughing with the opposition. That’s about losing not winning
Some constructive criticism here…
I’m no doubt the only one who has this opinion, but I’ll give it anyway.
I’m not a fan of the video format at all and would easily prefer to read an article. There seems to be a lot back patting and a lot of jargon before any footy is mentioned. It seems like a feel good exercise amongst collaborators on TCT and reaching the point of borderline cringeworthy.
Sorry, just my opinion.
Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone has one.
Yes John Eel and I just showed you mine!
Completely disagree Grunta – video and interaction with the chat is the way forward. There’s a reason all other popular content creators have shifted to that medium.
If you like articles, well TCT does both
We will agree to disagree.
I want facts, not waffle.
Also, why do we have to fill our email address in every time we post.
Frustrating
Grunta, I prefer to read articles than listen, mainly because my day fits better that way and also because a couple of years back I found myself floating at the roof of an ambulance and I now have little attention span, but that’s just me…looking a gift horse in the eye and seeking individual taste perfection from a free,entertaining and overall good quality service…I’ll leave that to you. Your football comments are free, entertaining and good quality.
Happy to see how we pan out this season – Ryles knows what he’s doing and retention will be key again. I doubt we will see all the current forwards with experience kept within a year or two.
We need some key recruits here.
Penrith have had 5-6 yrs and have developed well and mostly within! Whereas it seems we’ve lost some key kids from our juniors i.e SG ball teams and throw in player options and player managers and here we are!
For me does the club go after a massive signing at 5/8 or do we look elsewhere and see how those few kids in juniors come through?
Key recruitment needed – for me a key prop and second row. And maybe hooker with experience of Hands doesn’t come on. R Smith will be good.
Milo if you look at Ethan Sanders what did he gain by leaving. I read yesterday that the Raiders are tipped to extend their half!
Was it better for Sanders to stay and learn off Dylan and Mitch or jump at the Raiders offer for a possible NRL spot.
It appears Bailey has also signed at the Raiders. We will look better once Mitch is back but will it be enough?
John, no doubt Sanders knew he’d get a shot earlier down there than here. And he will. He’s v young – i am personality happy the DB saga is done and Ryles can move on and plan ahead. Good riddance for me.
I’ve been peeved with some of our senior forwards since we lost the GF and no need to guess who.
John I also forget when Sanders left where post or pre Arthur but for me he did the right thing as he is young and probably also saw a hard forward pack and Ricky whether we like him or not will be there for a few more years etc. our club was not as stable last yr.
Jack Williams is the front row replacing joe, matto in the second row , jac in for Russel, and what I’m hearing Riley will start, not sure about bench rotation, cheers Ray
Ray, you mean Matterson? He’s not there mate and there appears to be issues / injury, something going on with Matto and injury etc
God, what a depressing 👂 … In the nicest way. When the best we can hope for is a narrow win playing a home against a depleted Dogs team, it speaks volumes.
It’s hard to see anything other than a comfortable Bulldogs win, even without some stars. With Brown, Penisini and (let’s be honest) two players that trained to be middles playing in the back row, we are stating down the barrel of another heavy defeat.
The dogs are all heart and while I don’t think we’ll play we had as we have in the first two rounds, it’s hard to see us scraping and fighting for 80 minutes. I can’t understand how Addo Carr and Matterson weren’t immediate inclusions – it just doesn’t make any sense to play mind games when you’re coming on a couple of dogshit performances.
Sam Tuivati might be showing promise, but until Ryles can trust him to play 25+ minutes off the bench, we are better off with someone like Matto in the middle.