Accountability. Let’s discuss what we’ve learned about that to this point in the season.
Firstly, our club.
The Eels players and coaches have mostly held themselves accountable for improving and developing as a team after what was a horror start to the season.
Things are far from perfect. The last two weeks have made for a mixture of pleasing yet decidedly frustrating watching for Eels fans. The ultimate aim for any team is to win so when the team does not do that, we should never be satisfied.
However, I can see the growth in the team while also acknowledging our weaknesses.
New young stars are part of the growth at the Eels
The basic stats from the game against the Dogs are interesting.
The Dogs had 60% of the footy. This translated to having the ball for 11 minutes more than the Eels and 81 more runs with the ball. Most telling, they had 52 sets in possession, completing a whopping 47 of them. In contrast the Eels completed 25 of 37 sets. More on that later.
Let’s compare our loss to the Dogs with our round one loss to the Storm.
In that game, the Eels and the Storm split possession 50/50, although the stats fell 60%-40% to the Storm in the first half.
The Storm had 42 sets of six, 10 fewer than the Dogs. The Storm had 186 runs as compared to the Dogs 232. We all clearly remember the half time score 46-6.
My point is obvious; the Eels players and coaches have already made significant strides this year. The improvement is there in both the eye test and in the stats. Whether every single player is being held to account might be a question best answered in the next team list, especially if selection options are available for Jason Ryles.
The veteran and the rookie – Junior and Joash
Now to the accountability of club administrators when it comes to the roster.
Here’s my take on this.
It is hard to buy rep class players. If they have them, clubs do anything to keep them. Finding such talent available on the open market is rare and it’s becoming tougher to secure them.
What is apparent from the experience of the Bulldogs is to have players in the squad who are reliable; who will hold the ball and make those all important tackles under fatigue.
The unheralded Ryley Smith has been a revelation
Melbourne had far less ball against the Eels than what the Bulldogs did, but when they had possession their quality (and the Eels poor teamwork) steered the team to victory, much like Cleary’s quality beat the Eels two weeks ago.
The Dogs beat Parra because they were given possession and field position. Their players are disciplined but not brilliant. It’s not that they don’t have some star players, most notably Crichton, but they mostly have a squad of players who can be relied upon to get their basics right – like set completions or turning up in defence set after set. Teams have to beat the Bulldogs. They can’t expect them to beat themselves.
Parra currently has a talented generation of juniors coming into a team with real class players like Mitch Moses and Zac Lomax. But in the meantime, recruitment needs to focus on players who can be relied upon to consistently perform their role. It needs to be players who will not beat themselves or detract from the team’s capacity to compete in every game.
Momax
I like what I’m currently seeing in terms of roster building, the 2025 recruits are adding value, and I can only hope that my faith in Eels administration continues to be justified.
Now to NRL accountability.
I find it both ludicrous and infuriating that Dylan Brown would be suspended for the accidental collision with the referee, whilst Luai was not.
And don’t get me started on the lucky dip that is the six agains. When it comes to rules, interpretations and match review charges, I have no faith at all in the NRL. To be blunt, to me it’s as if things are made up on the run, and as such, it’s not what we should see from a professional organisation.
What can I do as a fan to change things? From an NRL perspective probably nothing. In fact, there’s probably nothing that our Eels can do. It’s obvious that they consider it to be a waste of time to challenge the charge against Dylan Brown. Parra’s history of doing so has been bleak.
So, as an Eels supporter sitting in the stands I will continue to be frustrated with the NRL, and I will continue to see the good in our team, but none of us can or should ignore the weaknesses.
My hope for our next game, in fact every game remaining this year, is for the Eels to not beat themselves, with the accountability of individual players getting the basics right being paramount.
Depending on player availability, it could be an interesting team list Tuesday next week.
Shelley
The Bulldogs are really a moneyball team and a good one at that. It’s their Chief of Admistration that’s doing the heavy listing with signings. In the end the ones first who caught the bus will ultimately be the first off. Can they win the big one – I am not so sure. Then again with Parra already out of the equation – who really cares. The best way to send the NRL a message is to stop watching the game. I tell you truthfully – I love the game – win or lose it’s my game. And every year I turn up for the Eels. But, I have to say the referees are and have been determining the winner for many games over the past few years. It’s either their interpretation or their blindness compounded by a bunker that supports their mistakes. The bunker has become the joker because we can’t be certain they will actually get it right. For instance I have watched with frustration concerning the obstruction rules being applied and at times you are left wondering – what the hell. Then this year what was previously an obstruction is play on.
What is the best way to send a message to V’Landy? Stop watching the other games. Just watch the Eels game and switch off the others. If everyone did this the broadcasters will be wailing. The administrators and the referees have ruined the game. Don’t watch the other games will send a big message. As for the Eels well – I have seen worse times. The bench this week was not right it was never going to work. Is Cartwright playing that bad he cannot get a run? It was not a bench that could impact the game and that’s on the coach. Shelly wrote about accountability – then Ryles should explain to the fans his thinking. Joash no doubt looks the goods but is he really ready for this. It is starting to look like JA and BA all over again. Give him time in the reggies focusing on the best position for him. Meanwhile back at the ranch let’s try to get a few more wins. They will come if only we can hold onto the ball.
Before a miriad of injuries and suspensions to the forwards over the past 2-3 weeks, Cartwright was playing off the bench in nswcup. I honestly doubt we perform any better in the last 2 weeks if Cartwright was in the topside, I don’t think he would be able to do the tough stuff. Would he be able to have the dogs throw 40 tackles at him or get in the grind with the panthers? I don’t think that’s his game.
Apologies Zero, I watched another game last night. Gutho and the Dragons (sounds like a heavy metal band) picked up on your very last point. The Sharks had all the running, ball and field position in the second half and overpowered St G putting 24 unanswered point on them. Completions/errors are the key to winning, I’d say 95% of the time, occasionally you get a team bucking the trend and that’s usually because the other mob also had the yips.
A sidebar, I watched another game recently with the Warriors…even til halftime then the Warriors went up 10 gears straight from the start of the second half..it was so obvious an AFL follower would have noticed it. I think the Sharks copied that strategy last night.
If I didn’t watch all this other NRL I’d have to do the washing up or vacuuming.
I don’t think there is any strategy to it, i think it is systematic of the decline in quality of players that the NRL is looking more like NSW Cup – where a team can look like premiers in the first half and get run over in the second – and vice versa. its happening too often.
On the players and coaches: I fundamentally agree. its hard to argue that there hasn’t been improvement – at least in defence. Spacing, line movement, all better. That individuals like Russel and Tualagi, who for the first 2 months looked like they had never played rugby league before, now look semi competent, is credit to the coaches.
But when it comes to accountability being applied across the whole playing group, time will tell. You think it is happening, then Penisini walks back into the line up no questions asked and you have to wonder.
Admin. I don’t completely agree with your Bulldog analogy. Yes they brought in utility guys and dependable guys. They also bought Kikau, Crichton, Burton, JAC who were all rep players and even Mahoney was possibly a Harry Grant injury away from playing Origin. The Eels roster is broken and the pathways have been badly damaged. You can’t keep them all, but you have to keep the right one’s because as you say, it is hard to sign rep level players as clubs lock them up. The Eels have failed on that front. Failed badly. And other than punting B.A, no one else has been held accountable. I am truly not sure how anyone could see it any other way.
Look at the roster and count how many players are in their prime (vs back end of career or rookies). Players in their prime are Moses, Lomax….. Brown (leaving), Penisini, Russell, Simmonson (their prime’s aren’t turning out to be great) maybe Williams, that’s about it and that isn’t good enough.
The Eels have waited 30 years for a generational half back, we finally have one, and now he seems destined to play in his prime without the talent, also in their prime, around him to bring fans a Premiership.
Agree completely on the NRL. The Brown suspension is a flat out joke and the Six Again is destroying the integrity of the contest. Annesley has failed at every step of Administration he has been involved in (especially as the Titans CEO), while PVL is supposed to be the Chair of ARLC, which means not involved in on field rule changes etc., yet he is.
Hearing Moses is out for 3-5 weeks. This is becoming ridiculous the eels need to sit him down and have a serious chat about his rep future. Mitch was available for 8 games last year then wiped out. His missed more than half of this year and now is unavailable again. We can’t be paying a 1.25m a Season player to sit in the coaches box for most of the year. If he runs out for Australia at the end of the year and gets injured the club have the right to be filthy. I’m all for players playing rep footy but his body clearly cant handle it. His had two major injuries out of origin and now this.
Thanks BA. I get you. Money ball team – they signed a lot of players that filled a variety of positions. Next year they will have a better team.
Parra won’t unless we pay overs. We do have apparently some very good juniors coming through and that hated word patience comes to mind. Dylbags leaving didn’t help and his form has never been the same since that drunken incident. But to reveal his leaving at the start of the season didn’t help. We have a very young team and again the form of the experienced players was very poor. They are just starting to get it together. Our season for the semis is over. I was hoping for a 2009 but it’s too late. Our ball handling and competition rate is also very concerning and has cost the team some wins. What should Ryles do? He either turns back to the more experienced players or give the up coming juniors a go and blood them in the top grade.
It would be nice if we could understand his thinking. And let’s not forget injuries have hurt us. I live too far away to watch the game live more so the lower grades and so any first view reports on the players from the reggies that can step up – Araz Pensini Apa Lynn and so on.
The six-agains for the Bulldogs (v Eels) game were diabolical. Reasons most puzzling, no accountability for ref, bordering on unfair. Oh yes, Parra got one on the first tackle in their own half. Whoopee! Been saying it for many, many years, we have some refs who ref accordingly to who they expect to win.