After returning to the winners list with a last up victory over the Roosters, the Eels face fellow finals contenders the Panthers at Kellyville today.
I’m expecting the Eels to maintain their form though they continue to be plagued by missing personnel.
The action kicks off at 1pm.
| 1 | Cooper Fuller |
| 2 | Mohamed Alameddine |
| 3 | Corey Leigh |
| 4 | Will Lewis |
| 5 | Dom Farrugia |
| 6 | Lorenzo Talataina |
| 7 | Josh Lynn |
| 8 | Damascus Neemia |
| 9 | Jack Hudson |
| 10 | Ryda Talagi |
| 11 | Domenico De Stradis |
| 12 | Jezaiah Funa-Iuta |
| 19 | Raff De Stradis |
| Interchange | |
| 14 | Patrick Spence |
| 15 | Max Popo |
| 17 | Elijah Shane Tapau |
| 16 | Ieti Samuelu |
| 18 | Trace Beattie |
| 19 | |
First Half
Eels kick off and the Panthers complete the set with a kick. Fuller drops the ball and then he and others switch off as the Panthers chaser picks up the ball with the ref calling play on. Play advances to the ten metre line before the tackle is complete. The Panthers work towards the posts and it’s a simple dart from there for a try between the sticks.
Conversion successful.
Panthers 6 lead Eels nil after two minutes.
Fuller takes the clearing kick from the Panthers as they complete the set after points. Six again for Parra as they advance the ball to the red zone. Last tackle kick by line finds space in the in goal and the half chased his own kick to score out on the left edge.
Conversion by Lynn
Eels 6 Panthers 6 after 7 minutes.
Eels penalty early after the kick off. Awkward play from Lorenzo as he puts Neemia under pressure with a cramped pass and the Eels get no use of the ball or territory from the penalty.
The Eels defend the set and work back to Penrith’s quarter. A high ball on the last to Farrugia’s corner and the young winger looks to have come down with it but is held up.
Another good defensive set provides Parra with a good attacking opportunity. It comes on the left as Fuller sweeps into the line and feeds Alameddine with a perfect pass. He looks like he could score in the corner but finds Fuller with a return pass and the fullback crosses.
Lynn converts
Eels 12 lead Panthers 6 after 16 minutes
Great Moses-like kick by Lynn completes the set after points but the Panthers do well to get to a kick on halfway. Alameddine fields it. A short side play sees Talataina break the line but he’s tripped up by the cover. Right now on the Panthers quarter but Leigh’s grubber kick goes dead. Seven tackle set. Now six again. What a catch from Lewis as he fields a high ball a metre out. Great yardage work from Alameddine with two runs this set. The last tackle kick goes deep into the quarter as the Eels traverse close to 100 metres.
Trouble now as the Panthers last tackle kick draws another error from Fuller. Scrum on the quarter line.
Great defensive set is ended with Lewis fielding the ball in goal and racing for a quick tap. He runs then passes to Talataina who cops a high shot. Penalty Parra. They get to the quarter and set up for a set play but the ball from Lynn goes nowhere. Great work from the ref now as he correctly finds an incorrect play the ball from the Riff.
Sloppy work again from Parra in the red zone as a ball from Talataina to Funa-Iuta goes down.
High shot penalty against Parra. Riff into the red zone. Another penalty. The Riff explore both sides of the ruck but the Eels stand firm. Left on the last and a dab behind the line sees only Panthers chasing and the weight of the kick is perfect. Try time.
Conversion misses.
Eels 12 lead Panthers 10 after 32 minutes
Incredible post contact metres from the Riff this set. The last tackle kick is fumbled by Parra in front of the sticks. The Panthers are breaking tackles at will on the Eels left and they focus there this set. It comes up trumps as they again bust the line for a try as the five eighth brings the ball back around under the posts for the easy conversion.
Panthers 16 lead Eels 12 after 37 minutes.
It’s all falling apart now. The Eels defend the next set but Alameddine drops the ball in yardage and the ball is quickly sent to the Panthers winger who scoots 30 metres to score in the final seconds of the half.
Conversion unsuccessful.
Half time Panthers 20 lead Eels 12
Second Half
Parra complete their first set then force an error from the Riff in yardage.
This is self destruct mode from Parra as they again mess up their execution on the quarter line then immediately give away a penalty. Now they pay the price as the Eels right side again cracks and the Panthers score out wide.
The conversion is horrific
Panthers 24 lead Eels 12 after 47 minutes
Liddiard cracks the defence and kicks ahead. Fortune favours the Eels as the bounce goes back over the chasers head and the next chaser knocks on.
Parra complete a seven tackle set as Lynn kicks into the in goal but an ordinary chase allows Liddiard to get into the field of play. The Panthers get to their kick and Parra replies in kind but then give away an early tackle penalty.
Another penalty for a high tackle as the Riff continue to eviscerate Parra’s right. Six again. Eels defend well and Panthers knock on last tackle. Dear lord it’s a lost ball first tackle. You know where the Panthers will head this set – yes it’s a shift left to Parra’s right and a try in the corner.
Conversion misses.
Panthers 28 lead Eels 12 after 56 minutes.
Farrugia flies to take a superb catch on the Eels next set. Comedy capers now as the pass to Samuelu goes to his ankles and the knock on follows. Now a penalty. The Panthers mess up with an early tackle kick that Parra haul in. They advance towards Penrith’s quarter but you know the error is coming as they fail to complete yet another set. Self destruct mode is in full swing as Penrith work play close to Parra’s posts. They run it on the last as Liddiard evades two or three defenders then flicks a miraculous pass to a support for the try between this sticks. They won’t miss this conversion.
Panthers 32 lead Eels 12 after 65 minutes.
i’m not sure what the completion rate would be but it can’t be good, especially since the 25th minute.
Parra defend the set after points and this time get to their kick which Liddiard drops and it’s picked up by an offside player. Eels penalty. Spence is held up over the line early in the set. Parra run it on the last and complete the set but lose over 30 metres in the play as they throw desperation pass after desperation pass. It’s arguably worse than an incomplete set. This allows Penrith to get to the red zone and a kick to the sticks finds the tall Liddiard who reels in the catch almost unopposed to score.
Conversion thrown over
Panthers 40 lead Eels 12 after 70 minutes.
Parra kick short and the Panthers fumble. Parra finish the set by forcing a drop out. Panthers go long. Another drop out as Parra build pressure. They have played predominately right towards Farrugia’s wing these last few sets, expecting him to beat multiple defenders. Now they go left and create an overlap for Alameddine to stroll over in the corner.
Conversion unsuccessful
Panthers 40 lead Eels 16 after 35 minutes.
Eels make an error inside the 20 after the kick off. The Panthers throw up a last tackle chip kick into the in goal and give away the penalty for a tackle in the air. Parra complete the set by trying to run it. They are all at sea doing so and Lynn stabs a kick that rebounds off the Panthers for an Eels scrum. Parra attacks the left and the dropped ball comes early in the set. Penrith finish the game in possession.
Full time Penrith 40 defeat Eels 16
Quick comment. This was a very disappointing performance. The Eels are missing a host of personnel but were competitive until the completions fell to pieces and the errors took hold. The scoreline could have been much worse.
Sixties
The moment eels bench came on, Panthers started dominating. Too many errors from the team. Defensively Popo, Samueala, De Stradis & Shane-Tapau missed way too many tackles.
That was awful defence from Lynn for the second half try. Lot of errors around Lorenzo today as well in attack.
I know Popo is coming back from injury but jeez his effort in defence along with Samuela has been poor.
If Samuela is in the team next week then WTF is Rankin doing. 2 dropped balls in space of 5minutes. Then in one set 2 non existent efforts in defence by not keeping his legs moving to allow a break and than a try.
Absolute woeful performance by everyone today in Jersey Flegg. I do not care about injuries but their season is dropping off completely.
Taking the 3 starting middles off at the same time has been an issue. Lost control of the ruck and an OK Penrith side took advantage marching down the middle.
Add the amount of dropped ball, it’s been a show of poor decisions. Not the first game where changes made a specific time has worked against them.
Once the middle was lost, momentum difficult to regain
Samuela deserves to be dropped. Was awful today. Missed his assigned in defence so many times due to a lack of effort. Whether it be being behind the defensive line rather than adjacent or just not keeping his legs moving from offloads or marker.
Interesting to see how else will be dropped. Unfortunately we are struggling to find centres that are able to handle bigger boys. Leigh makes great reads but stuggles to make the tackles.
Popo will be better for the run. Many players had an off game. However, when one or two players have an off game you can see the ripple affect it has on the full team.
We have lost centres to injury. Popo is much better than that but is also young and back from injury. It’s a mark of the Eels situation that he’s been thrown in under these circumstances. It was a case of too many errors from too many players. Same as the capitulation vs Dragons. They completed at over 80% in last week’s win with most of the errors coming late after the match was wrapped up. This week the rate must surely be around 60%. If higher it’s only because of early match completions and penalties
Yep Popo will be better for the run. Did not come off after he came on around the 20th minute. He is a gun so not worried about him. Tbf Palau, Kaktoi, Mariner and whoever else has been used at centre have had poor games as well in defence.
Funny enough our best centre pairing would be Lewis and De Stradis who are both backrowers.
Our best flegg team on the park we can compete with any of the sides potentially take it out but with players like nanva, twiddle, Pryke, Lokeni, hunter they have all been quite strong in cup and you would rather them be there. There best forward in T brown not playing aswell and they are battling. Unfortunately the sg ball guys are struggling abit to adapt to the next step and our next depth players are not up to the level. Talataina has had some off moments lately but I think his a bit of a victim to the players around him. There’s five or six players in the team who are massively missing the assignments week in week out and it’s really showing
Talataina is such an instinct player and he has had great flashes since being elevated. At the same time, he and his supports haven’t quite found a cohesion in attack. A preseason together would have been beneficial but instead he’s joining the side mid season.
We do struggle with wingers that are solid but lack real speed, several times early in the game there was room out wide but neither winger has the speed to exploit space. Good carriers of the ball but gee we could do with some toe in both Flegg and Cup.
Disappointed today with the outcome and the fall in control once the middles changed, no cause for real concern as they are short due to players moving up and injuries .Talatina has real speed and energy, passing sometimes a little quick but he a real player as the game slows down for him with experience.
Yer definitely struggling in the backs thru the flegg and cup grades. I don’t really see any of the guys at the club currently pushing into the higher grades in the next 2-3 years. Think the club had high hopes on Alamadine but he really isn’t pushing on at the moment. Might have to raid a young talent from another club in the backs
I’m not sure why API Twiddell didn’t play fullback considering he’s not in cup, with injurys and SG Ball players suddenly called up and not training in pre season with Jersey flegg players makes combination more difficult. Jersey Flegg players made way too many mistakes against quality side.