The Eels have the week off in all three grades leaving fans with little to worry about for at least a few days. Still, The Tip Sheet marches on as Sixties and Forty20 sift through all the latest happenings for the Blue & Gold and the wider NRL – including the looming fixture that is Origin I. The boys look at how some returning Eels fared in the NSW Cup ahead of the upcoming match against the Knights while there is drama aplenty in terms of representative selections with both NSW and QLD going against the grain on several fronts.
Iongi
Fox
Penasini
Samarani
Russell
Joash
Moses
For mine.
Thanks for an interesting team list Tuesday discussion fellas, interesting as always.
A few points coming out of it:
Willie P – interesting someone has mentioned him moving to the back row. When I saw him earlier this year I mentioned to the family that he looked as if he had beefed up. I then said I thought he could make a decent back rower, particularly with an off season working on defence. I understand the point you make about us having a lot of players covering that position but I also think Will could make a good fist if it.
Papalii – where to play when Iongi comes back. I thought he did well off the bench earlier this year and can cover several roles. His enthusiasm is something the team needs at the moment.
Hooker role – interested that you were starting to discuss using just one “hooker” with the possibility of the new bloke covering if needed. I think I still prefer the Smith/TDS combination. While either can realistically play the full 80, having two very different hookers to use in the game is an advantage I think we need to stick with for a while.
Isaako – agree he is the type of player that would add value. However, I can’t get over the way he backflipped on us a few years back. Brings up too many trust issues again for me. Perfect for the Storm.
Recruitment – a real bug bear for all. Agree that as a bottom half team we have to bite the bulllet and pay overs for a decent player. Farnsworth would be ideal but I can’t ever see him moving south. But the targeting of a player of that quality is a must. With Matto very unlikely to be renewed by us there should be a bit of fat in the cap to use on such a player. It would also help Moses. A better quality player or two around him will take some of the pressure off. He’s trying too hard at the moment and that just never works.