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The Tip Sheet tackles the Top End for one final time as the Parramatta Eels take on the Canberra Raiders in Darwin in Round 6. They will do so without Zac Lomax after news broke on Wednesday about a fractured foot for Parramatta’s star recruit.
Sixties and Forty20 look at who replaces him and how the Eels can attack the robust Canberra Raiders outfit. There is more on the docket though with the boys previewing a double header at Lidcombe Oval as the Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup also host the Green Machine in their Round 6 clashes.
Gents, really worried about Lanes inclusion in the squad he seems so unfit at the moment.
Had his best game in ages against the dragons but I still think he should be in cup till he shows some decent form.
Anyway I agree re injuries. It really feels like we’re cursed at the moment. Williams and Lomax being out when Moses returns is disappointing.
He has defended well since In and stopped the mass tries leaked in on the edges. I think people must look past lanes meters as the only gauge for success, we’ve improved immensely on his side defensively since his inclusion. He also played well last week.
I also think Lane runs good decoy lines which is valuable. So agree that there are other metrics past metres which are important。
Lane did 40 tackles! I can scarcely recall him doing 40 tackles if ever. Maybe someone knows if or when hes done this before? Lane was destined for the middle rotation but injury has intervened. Easily his best game since 2022 semi against Cows. I won’t be critical of his attack this week if he keeps up tackling. Sure it was weeks late…
Junior said words I hadn’t heard a modern Eels player say “whatever it takes to get the win” this is Junior the rare beast. Seldom seen in these parts
since 2022. But he has been slowly accepting of the new ways and building. I hope it’s a performance that can be rinse and repeated regularly. Just wish Joe could go with Junior – imagine having both starting props folding blokes.
It’s now going to be some time until we get a full strength Eels team.
Pete several players are showing up better than they have in years
There’s something to that
Jason Ryles copped flak early but this sides now shown longer sustained physicality than several teams this year, we also do not collapse at 50-60 mins
Older players (a few) and rookies playing in better form
I think they are starting to believe but also they are settling into their combos & systems a little bit more comfortably
But our Snr players like Kane & paulo playing well is crazy because they haven’t probably not looked like this for multiple years now
Obviously something they are doing is working within some of these players who had gone a bit stale in from for a long time
Our jnrs also look to be thriving under Ryles, not just in the nrl team
The cup team looks the fastest playing cup side from us I’ve remembered seeing
And all his recruits at that level are also playing the lights out
Even older eels like Dunster is looking good again, it started off rough but that’s very good indicators in both grades
The nsw cup team looks amazing if I’m being honest
Maybe only one poor game which we had a fair few injuries
There are definitely, as Ryles calls it, green shoots.
I hear you Carl. But Lane probably saved his skin last week with 40 tackles. I don’t doubt he’s been under review but injury has intervened.
Carl, he wouldn’t be as fit as others as he missed most of the preseason. It will be interesting to see how many minutes he gets in Darwin. I also thought last week was his best for some time. Three years of significant injuries – I’m so over it!
the longer we take to lock down Riley smith and tuivati the more concerned I feel. It’s laughable that they haven’t been secured as they are the “green shoots ryles talks about. Good clubs get these things done instead of letting them drive their value up each week and showcasing themselves to rivals to spark bidding wars.
Agreed Ron
These two are a must.
Agree 100% Ron.
Why does this keep happening and What is the front office doing?
Well Ryley is contracted for next year. So got until November to upgrade him, which I’m certain they will.
Big Sam is obviously different. However, he obviously isn’t getting a lot of attention from other clubs as well. Nothing in mainstream media about it. Either he has agreed to terms already or not that many clubs are interested at the moment. I agree I’d like him secured asap though.
I feel like in today’s world locking them down early does bugger all. If they play a few good games they get on the blower to their manager asking for a release.
I hope so too Ron. Ryley was upgraded to a two year Dev Deal at the start of the season so that he could be selected. You’d think he should be top 30 asap. I believe that they have been looking to lock up Sam.
Lomax severely hurts our chances both with and without the ball I watched him closely last week at the ground and his involvement off the ball was v good and not to mention his courage runs and kicking.
We can definitely get close to them if we are disciplined and limit errors – need our key players to do it again.
Will be interesting to see the final team list.
Ryles used our DH well last week.
agree 60’s, the eels are well conditioned it looks like. When was the last time we seen a parra team be the general strong finishing side in games? Several times this year we look to be fighting and fit until 80 mins. The last time we came back from a 12+ loss in second half I believe since around 2021 was last week. AND, the 50-60 minute mark collapse of 2024 is gone. The Boys look better conditioned now for a 80 minute game of Rugby league. Let’s hope it can hold up & help them in un Darwin. 🤞
Yeah Muz. A few people were concerned about fitness after Round one, but it had everything to do with possession and momentum. And even in that game Parra were better in the second half than in the first.
Milo, you are spot on with off the ball work. We need more players to take on similar attitudes
Controlling possession, as you say, will be crucial here, otherwise you just end up gassed quicker. In that first half last week i reckon we would have dominated St G if we had controlled possession better, there were really good signs of improved application.
Smith and Walker will be key again.
Whichever team keeps the mistakes to a minimum in Darwin will go a long way towards the win.
Rumours of Joey manu coming back to nrl. I hope warriors get him. Would help them at fullback. We don’t need him – hogs the ball at 6 or fullback and has slowed down massively in terms of speed and agility. Best to spend money elsewhere and back young half.
Back to Roosters surely?
Panthers lost last night. If roosters lose to broncos..
And Eels beat Canberra? We will be off the bottom and roosters & panthers will be on the bottom below us. 😂
How funny does the table look. It’s almost the opposite table to a few years ago.
Who would have thought roosters & panthers would be stuck at the bottom by round 6 in 2025.
I actually think we looked last week better than the panthers did yesterday, probably better or similar to the chooks as well.
Muz, the Panthers are looking lost. Too many fringe players now in their top 17. The players that left last year were the tipping point.
panthers are almost unbelievable. It just shows you how fast your ship can sink if you lose too many key players.
It actually reminds me of parra post 22’. You simply cannot replace some players and your side never looks the same again once they leave
We now have Ryley smith, Williams, Lomax to name a few, but I feel like weve missed Redd, Marata & Ice, Tom opacic
If we are being realistic this year is the only season since then you can probably confidently say we’ve gotten players to a similar ability to replace them in those positions
Panthers losing Fisher Harris and Laui might be the end of them, all it takes now is probably a Cleary or Yeo long term injury this season and they might be near guaranteed to miss the top 8
Panthers might of over used their hand here getting on the fact they’ve been great at turning jnrs into good players, but have just taken it a step too far
That panthers side looks diabolical – if we had our starting half like they do, we would be probably mid range up the ladder by now
Anyone see Blaize & Penrith last night?
Boy am I glad Jason Ryles got iongi and no offence we didn’t get stuck with him instead at fullback.
The difference in speed and virtually all effort areas is night & day.
It’s got to be said , Blaise joins a long conga line of our juniors that certain people on this site pumped up to be the next immortal!
BAs boys to name a few …
We were going to sell the club for his signature and the Panthers realised very early on that he was all reputation and bugger all substance.
The cold reality is that the Panthers pumped his and his family’s tyres telling them that he will take the 6 there and will be the next big thing so he threw any allegiance to the Eels in the bin especially after the crap that his family spewed about regarding their love of the Eels.
Now reports are leaking that there is massive regret and the road wasn’t paved with gold after all.
If we ever entertain taking him back we may as well fold the club.
I say stuff him and the horse he rode in on.
He is a very ordinary reserve grader.
Spark maybe I should have some more empathy
But I wouldn’t want us to take him back + Jason Ryles is not soft
The chances are Jason (like Storm) doesn’t take back traitors
The kid isn’t good enough to be our cup fullback either, Joash Papalii I know is playing 6 in cup atm
But he runs rings around Blaize at fb, Volkman is also a far superior 5/8 in the cup team to what blaize can offer at this stage
Muz, I went back through Google and it was against the Tigers 2017 when Gutherson blew his knee. He returned round 7 2018 against Manly which was our first win of the season. Actually the following week became back to back wins and they won six for the year. Interesting enough they lost three games by two point and if they had won just two it would have elevated them to eleventh and Manly would have collected the wooden spoon.
The thing is we have lost with Gutherson in the team so he is not a magic talisman. We broke that duck since 2017 last week and there will be many more wins in his absence.
That’s amazing zero, it also illustrates how important and impactful gutho was for us
I knew coming into this year (well I thought) we hadn’t won a game without gutho since around 2017
I was optimistic but had also in the back of my mind that most senior parra eels have almost lost without gutho
And that mental block / monkey on the back would probably be an issue
The win last week was a milestone, Brad for the most part did a good job for us, but even he was unable to help us win without gutho
We actually broke that long standing poor record and did it against him, while he was playing the lights out, which is even more impressive
I personally feel obviously expect the usual roller coaster of the NRL season, BUT… I have a feeling the teams conference will drastically rise from winning without Gutho for the first time since 2017
To think that this stat was not weighing on some players back of mind is silly, there’s players who absolutely would of felt low on confidence without gutho this year considering they had never won games without him
Geez Spark you’re on the angry pills here. Don’t get stuck into BA’s boys. Matty Arthur was selected as the NSW 19s captain last year and was chased by Knights so that was far more than a supporter site like this praising him. And Jake needs to move from Manly – he’s smashing Cup and leads the comp in many metrics.
As for giving young players a wrap, it’s simply acknowledging what they’ve done to that point. We always say that predicting future NRL success for young players is an inexact science. I’ve seen far too many players who’ve smashed it in pathways who can’t adjust to the work required, the commitment needed, or the resilience that’s essential.
Now to Blaize. The Panthers didn’t sign him blind. They had nearly an entire season of watching him before they made that call. Blaize has a future. And his best attribute was always his capacity to put bad moments behind him and try again. Many of the best players in the game can do that – they don’t let a bad moment bother them. They get straight back into the next play.
However, it was all horror last night so that capacity didn’t help his cause – he built error on error in trying to force plays. His problem was also being situated alongside similarly inexperienced players.
His biggest issue right now is that he has defensive inadequacies and he will be targeted by opposition teams – as he was last year. And again, Penrith saw all of that last year but still came in with the big offer.
To back you up sixities but also take into consideration some fans who aren’t always keep on MA or JA
They were very early in their journeys with us, and most people don’t remember even Mitch Moses or gutho who are top 1% elite NRL talents honestly looked diabolical at times early in their careers
Ja is manly captain, doing good at cup, ma will also do well but might just take them both a few years before potentially getting full time nrl gigs, which is totally normal
I liked what 60’s told me on the phone spark – and that JA was only ever on the bench for us regularly that season more or less even when getting Mininal mins …
Because Moses was carrying an injury, could hardly train during the week, eels had to carry a 14 who could possibly cover in halves as needed
I think most fans didn’t understand that and saw only nepotism – which is understandable if people had no idea about Moses being fragile at times during a season
I think the issue is (like blaize) nearly all of us expect kids to jump up into first grade and just kill it, but it’s almost never the case
Kids like blaize in my view probably will end up being a player but are possibly 2-4 years off that, same as MA & JA, in 2-4 seasons they possibly end up NRL regulars
Most of the good players in our team and even LOMAX for example only achieved his break out year in 2024
And Zac is age 25 – and he debuted in the NRL in 2018 – so Zac has officially over 5 years of solid NRL experience and was considered “below average” by many fans and even some commentators who did not rate his performances
Fast forward to 2025 and Zac Lomax is a walk up start to origin. Even in a team coming last, and was the games best outside back of the 2024 NRL season, and best outside back of the 24’ representative season too from what I saw
So I think the gap between our expectations and reality often cause us issues in our judgement, most young players need a lot of time
Only maybe 1/20 NRL rookie comes in and immediately is a star, it’s not common and more often takes them 2-5 years to fully solidify themselves as a top tier first grader
Muz for me your comment abt Talagi is spot on here. I honestly feel the kid came up too soon and was thrown in andwas playing in various positions etc. He will be a good NRL player imo – he needs time and tbh he’s gone to a club who’ve won four GF! Pressure is on.
I feel give him time and also he’s not ours anymore!
In fairness to Blaize and I’m not a fan. But he was given 4 different positions in 5 games with us. He didn’t get the time in cup in the desired position before being elevated. His career was mis management 101. We have a tendency in putting too much pressure on our talented young players, pumping up expectations and then get disappointed when they are human lol.
On the Arthur’s both good players. I think a lot of the gossip was jealousy about the perceptions of early access they got to pre-seasons and training
sessions and perceptions of fairness. I think rumours of nepotism most likely came from that. I didn’t buy into the theory of nepotism and thought Jake was treated badly by fans.
Agreed- blaize was woefully mismanaged by us and was thrown in far too early. He’s still a year off being ready for nrl.
Fellas I think you are spot on, it’s unfortunate, Blaize could be a good player in the future somewhere.
But it really just looks like he needs more time in cup, and better management of his career.
Jumping to panthers to fill the big boots of one of the best 5/8’s in the game in hindsight is not realistically a good career move.
He could not defend comprehensively at parra and was a stand out bad tackler, in a side full of people missing tackles non stop.
So to me the worst defender in the team of worst defenders, should of been an indicator for his management & parents to maybe hold his career back until he grows in cup or something rather than jump straight into first grade and fail basically & destroy your confidence.
The kid (and his managers, parents, etc), all look to have drank the kool aid so to speak.
He is not doubt a talent but probably 2 years in cup away from learning to defend etc close to what a first grader is supposed to do – he has been poorly advised and managed, some kids never recover their confidence after being pushed too early like him.
Muz, Farnsworth and Averillo totally outpointed Tago and Talagi. In fact, defensively, the Dolphins looked more top 4 than bottom. Talagi ran up against a very on song Herbie F. Talagi had the elite No.7 on the inside but looked well covered most of the night.
I couldn’t work out why they didn’t run at Talagi all night.
Money for jam.
The Panthers just couldn’t hide him.
Unless things really turn bad for them in the injuries department, I doubt they will play him again this year in the top grade.
I said it when he signed that any thoughts that he could just waltz straight into the 6 was fantasy.
They have so many better players at the club.
Anyway not our problem, just don’t take him back !.
Spark i personally feel bad speaking negatively about former parra jnrs
But the kid used us as a spring board to leap frog to parras biggest enemy’s / local opposition club
He showed zero loyalty and probably was influenced by boods & co who exited or asked to be released not long after ba left
He needs 2-3 seasons at cup, and no chance he offers more to even parras cup team than our current halves & fullbacks
The kid may actually be a good player but it could be 2-4 years away, he isn’t ready
Bdon admittedly, dolphins played pretty well, They attacked and defended good
The only issue is panthers made them look probably twice as good but feeding them confidence
If dolphins got held out and didn’t score in first half they probably would of made errors or gotten desperate and fed the panthers easy scoring chances
The issue is panthers even lost to roosters this year, first time In something like 4 years, it’s a completely different team, panthers are letting in something like 2 X more points per game on avg so far
The panthers will be below us if we win this weekend, if roosters win too, panthers will be dead last
This is a diabolical start for them and I just be honest; I’ve never been happier as a parramatta supporter. Haha
See Matto is getting shopped to super league?
– https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/parramatta-eels-forward-offered-to-super-league-clubs
It’s funny everyone including me tries to ignore the rumours, but 9/10 they turn out to be true. Matto is obviously not part of our plans moving forward. But I hope he can leave us on a good note & play well for us.
Hope it works out for all concerned here.
That would be a good result. Jack Gibson would have done that after his suspension debacle. He wouldn’t have played again! I would prefer a fit Matto playing NSW level. But he only did that come contract time.
We need the cash $650k – Liam Martin or Crighton are on about the same Money as Matto?
Pete I don’t mind whatever what happens next year. But I really hope Matto can come back and play well for us to finish off the season. He looked great at cup last week. He was one of our best off the bench to close our season last year. I hope Matto can come back strong.
Yeah Muz, I’d love to see Matto killing it. He’s got everything physically. I’m just not sure he has the mental strength or want. He’s a big unit that should be folding blokes or rampaging through defensive lines. But, unfortunately it seldom happens..Hopefully he can…
Those people picking the Eels for the wooden spoon this year. Are they watching the Dragons carve up the Titans?