Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I got what I deserved for having faith in a Parramatta Eels turnaround last week, in the form of two hours of steaming, sweating misery and disgusting football. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here, at least until one good effort gets the hype cycle starting all over again.
The Eels are firmly in “not until you prove it” territory now. Two insipid performances to start the year, injuries everywhere and a Mitchell Moses timeline that looks like he’ll return just in time to be ready for Origin, that is if the stink of his team doesn’t rub off on him on the sidelines and see him lose his spot. It is not a happy place.
Every Bulldogs fan you know has been licking their lips to the point of blisters this week, this is the kind of day they have prayed for over the last decade of Eels dominance where the Blue and Gold have won 14 of the last 18 clashes since 2016. It will take a miracle to make that 15 from 19, but hey, the Roosters managed one last week. They aren’t impossible, but forgive me my pessimism as I get into a very dire preview.
Game Info
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Kick-off: 4:05PM AEDT
Referee: Wyatt Raymond
Bunker: Gerard Sutton
Weather: Warm, possible rain
Broadcast: Nine, Fox League, Kayo
Sixties Speculates (Odds quoted are NSW TAB)
I was half correct last week. I thought both teams would score a lot of points. Unfortunately only the Tigers filled that brief.
You all know that it’s tough to tell people to punt against the Eels, so once again I’m diving into the pick your own total points market.
Look to the total match points to be 53.5 or more for a return of $2.30. Again, I think that’s a conservative pick, as it could easily hit 63.5 or more which is paying $5.50.
Then again, you could keep your powder dry till the Eels win some games.
Happy, responsible punting everyone.
Sixties
Teams
Parramatta Eels
1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Sean Russell 3. Will Penisini 4. Zac Lomax 5. Jordan Samrani 6. Dylan Brown 7. Dean Hawkins 8. Joe Ofahengaue 9. Brendan Hands 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Jack Williams 13. J’maine Hopgood. 14. Ryley Smith 15. Matt Doorey 16. Gideon Kautoga 17. Sam Tuivaiti. 18. Ryan Matterson 19. Joash Papaplii 20. Dan Keir 21. Josh Addo-Carr 22. Joey Lussick.
Jason Ryles has pulled the trigger and named Dean Hawkins to replace Ronald Volkman in the halves. Hawkins is a more traditional halfback than Volkman and will be likely to handle it better when Dylan Brown inevitably hands off control of the game to him, even if Volkman might be the more talented player. Otherwise, the starting 13 is unchanged from the Tigers match.
Ryles is playing funny buggers with Josh Addo-Carr, who is named on the extended bench for his revenge match against Canterbury and return from suspension. It could be Ryles just doesn’t know which of Samrani or Russell to drop for Addo-Carr, or it could be a niggling injury we haven’t been told about, after all Addo-Carr was barely sighted in the trials. It’d be on form for 2025 that a senior player whose leadership and energy we desperately missed while he was out, would then spend more time on the sidelines because of injury.
Also lurking on the extended bench is Ryan Matterson, though whether this is due to his being close to a return to first grade or because we have to name somebody there is anyone’s guess. Poor old Charlie Guymer can’t even make the extended squad.
Canterbury Bulldogs
1. Connor Tracey 2. Blake Wilson 3. Bronson Xerri 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Bailey Hayward 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Josh Curran 11. Sitili Tupouniua 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon. 14. Kurt Mann 15. Harry Hayes 16. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 17. Kurtis Morrin. 18. Jospeh O’Neill 19. Jack Todd 20. Blake Taaffe 21. Luke Smith 22. Jonathan Sua.
A few big outs for the Bulldogs with Matt Burton and Viliame Kikau both going down injured last weekend. Utility Bailey Hayward comes into the halves, he’s played most of his first grade so far in a roaming role off the bench. New recruit Sitili Tupouniua takes Kikau’s place in the back row. Sam Hughes is also out, with Josh Curran elevated from super-sub to starter to cover.
We’ve trained for this (allegedly)
If we ever needed somebody to lift for a week, it’s Junior
Word around the traps is that the Eels aren’t playing the way they’ve trained, which, well, I should bloody hope not because they’ve played like a team thrown together from whoever was sitting in the break room at kickoff. The defence has been comical, keeping lines as jagged as the rocks at the bottom of the cliff I’d prefer to throw myself off than have to watch them try and tackle. If that wasn’t bad enough, Eye Test pointed out this week that the Eels are worst in the NRL for line speed by some distance, meaning they can’t even get up in a disjointed line quickly.
Statistically they are good at nothing and bad at everything. They’ve scored the fewest points and conceded the most, are bottom two for run metres and missed tackles and in the bottom quartile for tackle breaks and line breaks. It is dismal viewing, which tracks with the fan experience of watching the team. How does it all turn around?
There is something deeply wrong inside the club in terms of buy-in to what Jason Ryles has been trying to do. Ryles has made clear moves to try and show that this is unacceptable, dropping players and promoting as much youth as he can get into the team, but the remaining senior players need to either lift or go somewhere else where they’ll actually try. The rot runs deep at the moment, and it seems fairly clear that a Phil Gould style Bulldogs cleanout is on the cards if Ryles is to be able to shape the club he wants.
That all assumes that Ryles knows what he is doing. While the knockdown rebuild has worked for Gould and Ciraldo, both of them have pedigree and performance on the board that Ryles and the Parramatta front office do not. Knocking it all down to rebuild with mud and sticks is just a path to even more misery and a Tigers-like decade of mediocrity. You’d be silly not to have questions about Ryles after the way this team has started, and answering the question of whether it is the players or the coach is the most crucial that the Eels front office will make.
Don’t give me hope
It’d be nice to see our star recruit get some open space to run
So, is there a short term fix here? If there is, it is in the hearts and heads of the senior players. Junior Paulo has to have some good footy left in him, and he more than anybody needs to stand up and lead this team, showing some fire and desire, really digging in and trying to dominate a game. Dylan Brown needs to get over himself and perform, he’s looking for excuses like a teenager putting off math homework. Shaun Lane had a few good moments early last week before running out of puff, if he can turn a leaf as well then suddenly we have a couple of forward leaders out there. Joe Ofahengaue has made a living as a “low ceiling, high floor” kind of player, but that ceiling right now would be bumping the head of a three year old. He needs to find what he had last year.
Sadly, if there is a fix it isn’t coming this week, with this team. A fix would require a new buy-in from players currently sitting in reserve grade like Matterson, Cartwright and Tuilagi, to ease the pressure on the youth brigade in the first grade squad. Too many times youth movements have suffered developmental damage by being thrown in too soon and in too great a volume, look at how many players emerged from the youth crop of the Knights or Tigers during their dark days of the last decade. Hint: it wasn’t nearly as many as it should have been.
Maybe Addo-Carr provides some new energy and Hawkins offers a better attacking structure that gives Lomax more opportunities. Maybe the forwards take advantage of the platform the backs are providing in yardage and provide both more muscle in defence and some opportunities late in the sets in attack. Maybe it was just the ridiculous heat the first two weeks were played in, and at a more regular temperature this weekend things will be better. Maybe pigs will fly.
The Game
Sam’s debut is one of the few bright spots this year.
Even without Burton and Kikau, the Bulldogs should romp this one in. They out-enthused the Eels significantly last year, overcoming a sin bin and a deficit in one of the more predictable comebacks you’ll see. Stephen Crichton destroyed on the edge, and while he won’t be running at a five eighth playing out of position this weekend, he’ll still eat up the defensive lines the Eels have shown in the first two rounds.
Canterbury just want it right now, and Parramatta does not. It’s a sad state of affairs, but we’re looking at being ground out of another contest from the opening whistle if we don’t see attitude improvement and a coherence that the first two rounds give me no faith is coming. The Eels are the worst team in the competition in a canter, and against legitimate contenders, even ones missing two of their best players, it could get ugly.
I don’t know when it will get better, or if it will get better, but I know it isn’t likely to be this week. Brace yourself Parramatta fans, it could be a long Sunday afternoon.
Prediction: Bulldogs 42 d Eels 10
Man of the Match: Stephen Crichton
Gol
Everyone is entitled to a view. Peter Sterling is impressed by Ryles, and points out that he has inherited a mess. There is no quick fix. I agree with Sterlo. I think your suggestion above that we should start asking questions about Ryles after 3 games is premature.
* after 2 games … typo, sorry.
When even TCT is getting brutally but refreshingly honest, you know the Eels are in trouble. It’s certainly the right question to ask, if coach vs players. If the players have bought in to JR, either the entire squad is not up to the ask or the ask is ridiculous? OR they players have not bought in to what JR has asked, in which case the coach is right and ditch them all or the players are right and what was asked of them is ridiculous. Note whichever way anybody goes, Gol’s question is fundamentally the right one to ask. Even if it’s only been two rounds.
“Just be patient” as Sterlo says. Geez we’ve only been waiting 40 years.
Those accountable for this debacle should be immediately sacked, including Mr Mark O’Neill. It’s a business being run by incompetent staff. Just embarrassing. Look at our roster! Not the players fault! Why does this madness continue. Ryles is not to blame at all. If we are destined for a rebuild – then start with the front office!!!
Agreed … the management team should be held accountable. The current mess is a function of the last few years, not the last few weeks or months.
The clubs current results are a reflection of years of poor roster management, signing old or historically inconsistent players on long term contracts on overs, or letting go of quality players and replacing them with players with 1/2 of the ability at times.
Until there’s a big reset / clean out in the forward pack, it looks like we will struggle. We don’t get the run meters from our forwards like other clubs.
You can’t win games against good teams if your forward pack gets dominated or offers no physicality.
We’ve had 2 weeks of what could only be described loosely as ‘defence’ where they look like they’ve never trained or played together. Defence is basic, move up in a straight line and slide with the attack. They’re doing neither. What is happening there and can someone explain it?
Look whilst we have had a fair amount of success over the years, the Eels are well known in the NRL as having a soft underbelly.
Even going back years and years it was known that if you apply pressure to the eels we fold like a pack of cards.
Personally, I’m sick of it.
Previously we talked about rebuilds and redirections but retained the same coaching staff so I don’t know how we could ever talk about new directions.
Apparently Ryles has changed quite a lot of things in the football system and it’s going to take a while for players who were used to playing to certain standards and ways to change.
Some will adapt, some wont but all this ridiculous talk about him being a failure after two games is absolute lunacy!
Personally, I think we are better off without certain players who have enjoyed a soft ride over the years just pissing off and finding some other chumps that will pay them and I don’t care if we don’t win a game all season, as long as we build some solid foundations for the years to come.
Ryles knows what he’s doing. He’s been in systems that are successful and he would have had a heart attack when he walked into our mess of a football department.
We have some really good kids coming through and you can bet one of Ryles mantras is …’if they are good enough, they are old enough ‘
Look forward to young 19 year Olds playing NRL and it will be an exciting time !
Well said.
I just hate being told to “be patient”, particularly by a club legend who’s being paid by the club.
We’ve friggin been patient for 40 years!! I’d be more patient if those in the front office were working at another club and not ours.
(Sixties: I’ve edited this comment Josh. It was a minor personal comment but if we don’t draw a line on minor comments it opens the door for personal abuse.)
Ryles really needed all hands on deck to start the season and losing Moses a week before rd 1 for 7 weeks was a hammer blow to the team. Top that off with brown drawing out his contract saga into the start of the season. For a club in a rebuild this is just a shocker. Our three highest paid players are either injured (Moses) or running around dragging there feet. Brown is playing with minimal interest and no intensity what so ever and paulo has got to be nearly the most overpaid player in the game right now. Throw that in with half a dozen players in the squad that realistically know they are at the twilight of there careers and will be lucky to get another nrl contract after this season and it’s a recipe for disaster. This squad still needs a lot of reshaping still and will take time but Moses being on the field is key to this.
Watching sg ball and flegg there is 6-8 genuine prospects amongst this group. Mix these guys in with half a dozen targeted nrl experienced recruits and we can really build.
We need forwards with a bit of mongrel to get rid of our soft underbelly. What has really impressed me is the Warriors forwards, most unknown to me, but they run and hit hard and get a real roll on. That is the type of forwards and mentality we need. Unfortunately most of our current NRL forwards are soft and that has been the most disappointing factor so far in our mediocre games. Are they missing BA and not bought into Ryles vision or are they simply past their use by date? Only time will tell I guess.
Some interesting points in this post + in comments which are mostly pretty spot on.
Before BA was even sacked i commented on here that I personally felt our roster had been severely mismanaged, and that THIS was the core problem at our club, the ROOT cause, and the blow outs and inconsistency’s that increased over time (even in 2022 gf year) it was obvious that the start of a decline had probably already begun even during that year.
A lot of people thought simply sacking ba would somehow turn a whole bunch of players who are years past their best back into prime versions of themselves, which just isn’t the case – the games only gotten faster, whilst our forwards slowed down with aged at the same time.
The severe roster mismanagement comments I made were negatively perceived by many, many were simply blamed BA or Trent barrets coaching ability instead. It’s not as simple as that. Multiple factors af play.
For a club to thrive you have decision makers and leaders in all different levels of the organisation who help you make good decisions, as well as helping you avoid making BAD decisions (which is probably the most important part). Avoiding the bad decisions is where we fell short. We have a heap of players on our roster who quite literally declined massively after signing big long contacts. And are still here years later.
I personally feel that the parramatta eels (NRL) has severely gone downhill slowly by surely since Bernie Gurr left us. A lot of the good signings and long term decisions we made under him lead to quality years under his time. We’ve somehow gone from having forward packs every year that are stacked with nsw & INTL rep star players, or the odd Daly M forward Ice papalii, to now having a forward pack which only possibly 1-2 of the forwards would be walk up starts at other NRL clubs in their starting 17.
This could be a coincidence or a direct correlation. Maybe a bit of both? But I believe Burnie knew what success looked like, and we didn’t make too many stupid decisions while he was with us that I can remember that destroyed our roster balance, etc.
Fans who watch us and expect a miracle to happen and can’t understand why we’ve struggled in recent times. They don’t all understand we’ve got millions of cap invested in players who in all fairness probably puts us into the bottom 2-4 forward packs in the game now, some even say now we are last in forward packs behind the tigers! Imagine somebody telling you that 3 years ago? You would never believe it.
Definitely not saying Jim, Mark & Co aren’t work it’s hard. Maybe it’s far more complex than Burnie leaving us. Why? Because Even the roosters who can sign every player they decide have struggled in recent years, and clubs results DO fluctuate over time.
But my gut feeling here and general analysis is that out club only really started to make those poor long term roster decisions again after Bernie left us, we started to swap gun players with players who barely lasted 1 season with us, meanwhile the good ones we let go of are still stars at other clubs, and the players we prioritised to keep long term are 2-3 years past it, or left us already.
I hope our beloved club can turn it around and make better long term decisions with Jason Ryles helping us. He seems to be correct so far in his signings & upgrades, so far they’ve all been quality parramatta eels players and shown pride in their jerseys for us. One POSITIVE with jason Ryles so far: all the players he’s signed or upgraded are our start performers.
I understand coaches always need to accept and take responsibility. But I hope Jason isn’t solely blamed in future if he gets thrown under the bus like BA was if things continue to go south. This club will struggle until about 4-5 forwards leave this club unless they can start showing up and competing again at 100%. Parramatta historically does really poor whenever we’ve had weak forward packs, especially when we’ve had middle forwards who lose the battle each week.
Well said. Watching tigers win this game makes me feel totally deflated. Whilst I’m sure we will win a game this year, I am not sure when it’s going to come. Those that have contributed to this mess should walk away now. That includes Jim and Mark Oneill. No corporation would accept this kind of conduct. The fans and the NRL deserve better.
Josh I thought with what Joffa offered last year and Matto towards the end + Hopgood returning we would be ok
So far none of them have lined up and we probably have so far the worst forward pack in the NRL
The tigers, dragons, bulldogs all look miles ahead of us and no senior eels look close to previous seasons so far anyhow
We need a turn of luck and something that happen or we will be in deep trouble this season
Muz, you are forgetting the Dolphins legacy who were chasing anyone and everyone. Paulo, Matterson, RCG and Stone. The fans were demanding we do not lose them particularly the first three and so to seal the deal they signed them long term. It is unfortunate that Vlandy changed the nature of the game with the six again. We were caught between a rock and a hard place and got stuck with champion players from the previous era. We have to be patient as these contracts will do down. In the meantime let’s hope those in charge identify those young ones coming through.
Things will get better. What we don’t want is a revolving door of coaches.
zero other sides like Storm panthers etc lost lot of their best players and forwards during those times too
But they didn’t sell out a lot of their best players with futures ahead of them
Storm basically lost their forward pack of rep level leaders to the dolphins dor example
There’s unfortunately no excuses good enough for us that we should be willing to accept
We went from a grand final to the worst side possible in the comp in 3 years, and just missed a wooden spoon only 2 years post coming 2nd in the premiership
Not only this – we lost most of the best players who were champions in lower grades, we don’t typically make this long term decisions
Our club won’t win a premiership until we are stop making excuses and start executing better long term decisions
Sorry if isn’t written properly half asleep. You get the message.
Majority of our long term decisions typically fall short in recent times, and our results are reflecting the biggest downfall from a club in the last 5 years.
That means we are obviously not victims of the dolphins, we are victims of our own decisions or lack there of, in some areas.
Well articulated. The interview a while back with Bernie Gurr was a real eye opener. Irrespective of who replaced him as a club we were always going to be less than what we were. Without doubt in my mind the best league administrator in a long long time. The way he was able to break complex things into simple components and show how they all fit together was so good to hear.
Namrebo, I too listened to 60’s and Gurr’s podcast last time and you can tell the bloke is a true professional and understands the game to the highest levels as well as how to run the organisation.
It could be a coincidence but all the long term poor decisions we’ve made started to take place soon after he left.
I hate to say this but we need someone like NAS and as grubby as he is he would provide impetus. We haven’t had an underbelly since Ray Price. To blame the coach this early is a sad excuse. The hot game times haven’t helped but then again the Storm and Tigers played in the same heat. Without Moses the team lacks direction and Paulo is not leading the way. As for Brown he is lost in his contract saga. They should drop the two and let them stew in Reggies. Put in their place two blokes who want to be there. It cannot be any worse. As for tomorrow – if they turn up they are a chance. If they turn it up then wholesale sackings is the answer but only for the short term. Ryles can’t play for them. They have to play for themselves and each other. They do this then they are showing pride and even if they lose at least we know they tried.
Our middles have a pretty basic job to do from a strategic perspective. Run hard with the ball, maintain a good line speed and tackle hard in defence. Anything else is cream on top. They are inept at the basics at present and given that’s where the “seniority” of the playing group largely sits, it’s no wonder the rest of the team is a shambles.
It’s infuriating, and at present I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Agree all signs point towards the dogs flogging us.
Let’s examine the team for a quick look
We have Matterson who hasn’t played a decent game in about 3 years and Lane whos best game was over 2 years ago taking up ridiculous money.
Both probably wouldn’t have been resigned under Ryles.
They are both as soft as warm butter and they are against young lions who are just grinding them into the ground.
The pace of the game has left junior , Offa and Lussick behind.
We dont have a right winger of NRL standard
Penisini would have to be the most overhyped centre in the competition. Deathly slow and can’t pass.
Wouldn’t make most teams in the competition but eels fans make out like he’s going to play SOO. – HE WON’T!
Brown has checked out.
Moses is injured.
Iongi has 2 NRL games to his credit.
Is it any wonder that we are getting pummeled?.
Yep agree with all this. Poor Ryles didn’t stand a chance. Then have a look at some of our ex players now at other clubs and killing it!
If you are going to say “be patient” – then be accountable at the same time. If Ryles is to be given a fresh start, then he should be starting his tenure with competent support around him.
Mediocrity will not see the eels win a comp.
Surely the NRL will get to a point off concern about how we are doing.
Spark, people get a bit confused at times about opinion and fact, so I read your post twice because it pains me to think our team is such a mess…have to agree, there’s not much opinion there, strong on fact. I’m living in hope for Penisini, his first year in NRL suggested a great future direction for him, without going into forensic detail, one glaring problem is that not only does he find the jumper grab his only option, he doesn’t do it well either but I keep telling myself if he was in the Storm system his first year would have been just the beginning for a future SOO candidate.C’mon Will, you can do it.
Yes we were all excited when Will arrived on the scene.
I thought last season he was just carrying too much weight and his fitness suffered.
He looks to have lost some weight in the off season but it hasn’t helped him.
I just can’t get over the fact that as a schoolboy union player he has a very ordinary pass. It’s the one thing union backs possess and that’s an excellent pass.
You comment about the storm system is right.
If there is one player that is crying out for coaching in basic skills like positioning and passing, it’s Will Penisini.
I reckon our team will be unrecognisable next year as the great purge continues and that’s a good thing.
We desperately need to get rid of some of our senior players who have been on the Eels meal ticket for far too long.
Look at the Raiders, young dynamic skillful kids.
Find them and play them !
Will P struggles guys largely because of a speed disadvantage and then players beside him not doing their jobs makes it look even worse.
What most people don’t realise is we have the slowest team besides maybe The Fox, Moses & Brown.
So other clubs can attack our edges and beat defenders very easily.
This won’t change a lot it look like until there’s some big roster changes over the next two seasons.
And Muz, slow line speed (supported by stats) allowing too much space..and Will ends up jumper grabbing. I’m sticking with the theory he showed in the right circumstances he can play.
The fact that Sam Tuivati is running around in first grade without at least 2026 locked is again potentially another complete failure in R&R. If he continues to play solid and show potential his there for the taking. He has Moses for a manager who will just shop his client off to the highest bidder any chance he gets.
We can’t keep every kid but Tuavati has been by far our biggest forward prospect coming thru the last 3 years and we might be lucky to get 6 months of first grade out of him.
We are development club for Isaac Moses bank account we’ve just given him another fat pay day
Love the Titans forward pack. Big , strong , mobile and aggressive. Big Tino what a player he is. We’ve got big Shaun though so all’s well. Maybe try Will P on the wing ,a Brian To’o type.
If I was a cynic I’d suggest Dylan is angling for an early release. His effort in attack over the first 3 weeks is virtually non existent.
I didnt see Sparky or Sparkette on the injury list. Please tell me they are fit.
Ive heard Bolt and Blitz have been given permission to negotiate elsewhere.
Having watched that game – can Dylan Brown just leave now? He is pathetic.
Much better defensive display.
The first time I’ve seen a flat defensive line on a good kick chase since 2021.
Despite Williams and Hopgood missing the tackle for Fifitas try and a couple of errors they were pretty good.
Lane and Kautoga took ages to get involved dumb errors. Lane while better still lacks effort.
Brown playing a shadow of last year – must we persist?
Lomax was outstanding. If only the forwards had that fight. Samrani was solid except a few mistakes.
Iongi was solid.
Junior was better bu still struggled
Joe O is offering nothing in this company.
Sam Tuivaiti was good.
Doorey ran with energy.
Hawkins was solid interesting he was talking at half time.
Smith good service
Pete a lot of our players did their jobs really good today and should be proud.
Parra fans don’t care if we show integrity and heart and fight all game and just fall short.
We just want to see the team do the jersey proud and today I think a lot of eels showed that physicality and heart.
We must also consider that Dylan brown is offering us about 1/4 of what we’ve gotten from him in attack in the past too.
If our mistakes in our own end stops and guys like Dylan brown offered a threat in attack our team would have won today.
The errors and no effective attack cost us the game.
I said it before the season started and I will say it again – Zac Lomax should be co captain in this team behind Mitch Moses.
That was an origin level performance from him and he is absolutely an elite player who just ran his all time run meters record.
Jnr paulo also played very well for us today so hats off to Jnr, we’ve desperately missed that physicality he provided for us today.
Agree Muz
Joe O and Brown offered more last year. Joe is off contract and will most likely end the year in reserves if he lacks intent.
Junior tried hard but just wonder how good he will be 2025 and 2026?
I’m happy we kept them tryless from 31st minute and they went for the 2 points to close out the game. That was the highlight of the year so far.
Pete it was a very good performance. In the past we would have won games like today very easily even with a much worse defence simply because our attack had been more refined and Brown was a deadly ball runner but he has become a passanger. It’s unfortunate but that’s the impression. The boys did themselves proud, stop the stupid errors and soft starts to games, we win.
Did anyone notice tuivaiti chase down that kick made the 1st tackle very impressive. I can’t honestly remember another prop doing that probably has happened but I can’t remember he’s a keeper
That was amazing tanky. So good to see Sam Tuivaiti out there doing himself proud.
That was great to see mate. A LOT of positive things today.. just piss off the stupid errors early in games + straighten attack, and we might of jagged a win.
Apparently not signed surely that gets done..I’m a parra supporter for 59 years the thing that frustrates me the most is that parramatta are sitting on an absolute gold mine.loyal supporter base 2nd to none stadium .juniors .if we could jag a title any time soon we would be nearly the biggest brand in the country all codes
Tuivaiti was good .
We need to sign him another Isaac Moses client. MON?
I think why they don’t play like they train is because no one is leading and barking orders to make this play or that play.
In training, maybe the coaches are roving around telling them to execute this play or that.
Guth would’ve done that in the past but wo Moses, we don’t have that voice.
Dyl probably cant even remember the plays so he’s not the one. Iongi seems introverted and shy and why it probably won’t be him.
The one who could would be Lomax but he’s stuck on one side of the field.
And like Mike Tyson said (paraphrasing), you can have all the plans in the world but once you get punched in the face (getting dominated in footy), all plans go out the window and you go back to what you are used to.
You need a player who can rise about that and keep everyone on the plan
Why didn’t Toupinua get sent to the bin professional foul deliberately offside and tackled Samrani? Did anyone see that I missed it myself but if anyone saw it…
Pete there was some questionable calls and things that didn’t get picked up,
Crichton milked a penalty. We also saw loads of high tackles / neck & face tackle go unseen.
The captains from every team has been milling penalties from us each game.
I want to see the coach instruct our players be extra cautious tackling oppositions captains – they seem to milk the penalty’s and always get rewarded, Harry Grant also does this against us every time and the ref clowns on his whistle like a puppy dog.
We honestly just need to somehow stop the slow starts and errors early in games, if we can do that I think we will start to get a few wins. We’ve started soft and made errors early in every game and started on our back foot massively.
Pete, I think the advantage denied by the offside play was probably minimal, we got a better advantage from the penalty, relief from dangerous field position of the Dogs and 30mtr gain from the line kick. I don’t think it was a cynical intentional breach.
Ok thanks BDon