After that game I needed a long, calming walk. Unfortunately it was bedtime and the kids were going feral so instead I got to stew on it all evening until I was so angry that only watching videos of trucks hitting low bridges could cheer me up. Good old 11foot8 bridge, you’ll never hurt me.

This Easter Monday contest was a pitch for V’landy-ball, a game that was technically close and exciting, but not for traditional reasons. It will look great on paper at the end of the year; golden point, sell out crowd, a heap of lead changes, probably rated its backside off, but the biggest moments weren’t earned by the players but determined by the referee. That’s not the rugby league I love.

I wouldn’t be surprised if half of the Frenzal Rhomb back catalogue was named for referee Peter Gough (if you don’t know, don’t look them up at work. Or around kids). He was in everything; a string of late penalties, golden point decided by strictly enforcing offside on a field goal for the first time in two decades, an Eels comeback driven by a sin binning, the Tigers making their own comeback in the first half off the back of the most blatant strip since Justin Timberlake at the Superbowl, the game staying close at halftime because of whatever that call on Jack Williams was. Both sides had some good scramble defence and showed some real ticker, but in the end the brilliance (or not) of either team wasn’t what made this contest, it was the man with the whistle. 

The few times players got to shine, there was great footy to be seen. Apa Twidle and Bailey Simonsson had some incredible finishes, and that leap from Tavana for his try wasn’t half bad either, I suppose. The break that led to Moses’ late penalty goal was vintage Mitch, and credit to the Tigers for getting just enough of him to stop it. Of course, there was also that stretch in the first half with three knock ons and a couple of scrums in the space of five minutes, plus a dropped kickoff. A gripping contest this was, but a classic it certainly was not.

It is hard to be too hopeful for the Eels after walking away from this one with another horror injury toll, but a few of the aspects we have been critical of in the first month showed signs of improvement. The starters reversed the trend of recent weeks by dominating early and establishing a 10-0 lead before the bench coming in coincided with the defence falling apart (that wasn’t necessarily the bench players’ fault, but it is a fact). None of the Tigers tries can be attributed to horrific individual defensive efforts, and some of the scramble defence was top tier. The pack overall were still outgained by far too much, but most of that occurred in the middle period of the game where nothing went right. I’m still concerned, but I think we can call this week an improvement defensively.

It was especially notable because so many combinations were blown out by injury. If Heamasi Makasini is the next Jonah Lomu then Mitchell Moses is the next Ray Price or Nathan Hindmarsh, because he stopped the rookie time and again in one on one situations. Charlie Guymer has filled in at centre back to back weeks and held his own, Joash largely got his positioning right at the back, Apa Twidle was good defensively both at wing (where he has rarely played) and fullback, and in the end the Tigers could not capitalise on a defensive line with a solitary healthy player (Twidle) in the backs at the end of the second half.

In terms of gutsiness, this effort deserved so much more than a heartbreaking golden point loss, but in terms of execution it isn’t a surprise the Blue and Gold were on the wrong end of the scoreboard. The Eels were poor in key moments, the Tigers offloaded at will and there were some basic mistakes that proved incredibly costly. It was nice to see that the Eels had a bit more resolve to their goal line defence, but it was never going to improve enough in a single week to handle the repeat sets gifted to the Tigers by mistakes and ill discipline, and their rush at the end of the first half proved that.

It hurt to lose this one, but it hurts to lose so many players to injury that much more. Teamlist Tuesday is going to be a sight, but before that we need to dish out some grades. On we go.

 

 

 

Solid without being spectacular, Joash was decent defensively (I thought he may have been able to stop Tavana but it wasn’t a horrific miss) and did some real grind work in attack. He needs to learn when to just take a tackle or submit to get a quick play the ball; he stepped and juked his way into a corner and was dominated by defenders a few times here. 

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This just sucks. Bailey had been doing all the right things in getting back on track after a rough 2025 and was one of our best all year, but now a long stint on the sidelines and in rehab awaits. The discourse on the sin binning hasn’t been great, if you haven’t realised that in 2026 the injury is what gets punished, not the action, then you haven’t paid enough attention. Any Tigers fan crying “poor us” after this game is a worthless sook incapable of joy, go back and watch that Jack Williams call and thank your lucky stars instead of whinging.

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Brian Kelly is going to inherit the nickname “polar” from Daniel Alvaro, because there is no in-between in his performances. He made some great defensive and attacking plays, but he also dropped a kickoff cold. Polar missed too many tackles and lacked effectiveness in yardage, but there were enough plays that made me go “damn (positive)” for me to forgive the “damn (negative)”, just.

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It was a really good effort from Rusty to exploit the rushing defence with that step and pass for Simonsson’s try, a sign of how clever a footballer he is. Unfortunately he then rushed out of the line to put on a hit for no real benefit, knocked himself out and gave away a penalty for the trouble. Leave the inspirational big hits to the forwards, mate.

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Addo-Carr was clearly troubled by the technically legal but very cheap shot he copped to the ribs in the first half, lacking zing in his yardage carries from that moment. It probably contributed to his being out leaped by a rookie soon after, though he sort of got one back of his own next time round. I don’t know how serious his injury is, but needle him up like a Russian weightlifter and get him back out there, because we can’t afford another injury to the backs.

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A lot happened afterwards that wasn’t just Pezet’s fault, but that stupid early kick that went dead is the exact moment you can pinpoint the momentum of the game changing. Even if it was on, there was absolutely no need for it when we had already found success in good ball by just running shape. His defence is a massive concern, his misses and ineffective tackles (9) nearly outweighed his makes (13), and that’s before we consider his decision making. It sounds like he’ll miss at least a week with his hamstring, but if we can win in his absence I wouldn’t be rushing to bring him back even with an injury crisis. 

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It wasn’t a traditional A for Moses, who earned this one as much for his impressive defence as for anything he did with the ball. Makasini spent the pre-season bodying defenders but Moses handled him time and again, not just making the tackles but really stopping the momentum and slowing the play. His kicking kept the Eels in the game, as usual, and while he still looked a bit hobbled he was running more often, rewarded with that break at the end of the game. Credit to him for not giving Peter Gough a Liverpool kiss at any point, if I’d have been Eels captain today you’d have seen the first interchange in NRL history where the police dragged a player off the field instead of a trainer.

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Look, except for “that” moment he had a very good game, probably the best of our forwards, but “that” is always the problem with Jack. He can put up huge attacking and defensive numbers, but there is always a dropped ball, or a horrible defensive read, or in this case a fumble of a soft floating kick under no pressure. Does a high workrate make up for individual mistakes that cost us wins? That’s the million dollar question when his contract comes up at the end of next year.

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That is a lot of missed tackles (9 missed, 37 made, 75% effectiveness) but much like Reed Mahoney I don’t think many, if any of Ryley’s misses are really costing us, they are just the price of leading the line speed. He made a decent fist of filling in at five eighth and was his usual terrier self in pressuring kickers. Please don’t be injured mate, we really can’t wear it.

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Nice for the big man to get a meaty early on in an effort that was just pure power. Junior was run first here and it paid off, especially when many runs were taken in tough yardage sets. He’s not chewing metres like we really need just yet, but this was a big step forward for a man I’ve been pretty harsh on to start 2026.

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Kelma was a one dimensional battering ram here, with the instructions to the Specials K clearly being run hard and straight as they threw one pass between them. For a battering ram, two errors is two too many, and while his yardage totals were solid the lack of extracurriculars (no tackle breaks, no offloads) isn’t enough for a man in the side for his running.

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Unlike his back row partner, Kautoga had some offloads and tackle breaks but he also couldn’t shut down an offload himself and gave away a couple of penalties. If he is going to defend like that we need to see some creativity, and both Specials K were given a lesson in what an attacking threat looks like by the Tigers K-man, Kai Pearce-Paul. What we got looked like the K-Mart versions.

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The Eels are asking a lot of Dylan Walker in recent weeks and he is delivering, equally adept at yardage as he is playmaking and tricky short passes at the line. I am reluctantly on board with his current role, even if it diminishes his individual impact moments, because frankly without him I don’t see how this pack makes any yardage at all.

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Can we install something in Tallyn’s wrist tape that shocks him every time he overcalls Mitchell Moses? 500 volts should be plenty. That short side play to a banged up Addo-Carr when the Tigers were down to 12 men was a killer, and the second time that set he got too tricky for his own good and went short side. Da Silva needs to get the hero out of his game and play the numbers first, second and third. The moments will come, but he’s trying to manufacture them right now.

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Big Sam came on at a tough time and he tried hard to reverse momentum, but we needed some set changing charges and he just didn’t have that impact. He wasn’t bad, but we’re starting to expect more from our bright young big bopper. Ten carries for 67 metres with 27 of those post contact and none from kick returns shows just how hard a slog it was for him, usually running after a couple of slow, ineffective runs from the outside backs into a fired up Tigers line, but the best impact players change the game with a few hard runs in those moments. Sam’s not quite there yet.

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I know he’s played some junior footy in the backs, but I am shocked that Charlie Guymer is the forward that has managed to fill a hole in the backline not once now, but twice. I still have nightmares about Tuilagi and Volkman filling in out wide, but Guymer has done a solid job when required and topped it off with plenty of tough yards as well. A solid celebration of a well deserved contract extension.

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Menace Moretti did not have a happy game, barely effective in his running and average defensively. He might still be paying for an interrupted pre-season, but the drop from what Matt Doorey was delivering to his performances is significant.

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A debut for the ages, this one. I can’t tell you how Apa managed to score with his first touch, that was a class finishing effort for a guy who isn’t even a winger. Two tries and a break in three touches is the stuff dreams are made of, then he shifts to fullback and is rock solid there too. I’d love to get some Lotto numbers from his mum as well, the instinct that told her she needs to ignore her son’s advice and fly over for his 19th man debut has to have some insight into the future. 

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A high price has been paid for the privilege of heartbreak on Easter Monday, and the desperate Titans will smell blood in the water this weekend. We’ll undoubtedly get the best they can offer despite a 1-4 start to the year, and it will take a big effort from the few healthy Eels we have left to even up the ledger at 3-3 come Sunday.

The Parramatta injury crisis has officially hit “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” territory, and I’m sure if you weren’t already sick of the discourse surrounding it, you will be by the end of the week. Yes, our roster should be better in terms of depth, and no, there is no amount of depth that can be built up in an NRL team to cover injuries to ten members of the top squad. All we can do is survive until that ten becomes (hopefully) five or so in a few weeks.

Next week will be a huge test of Jason Ryles’ club wide system, and how well interchangeable parts can quickly come together. If the defence can hold together and Mitchell Moses is healthy, we’re always a chance. It’s dark, but there is still hope for season 2026 yet.

Until then, stay slippery, Eels fans.

Gol

Stats and images provided by NRL / Eels media