Last Saturday I experienced competing/clashing emotions. I was proud that our team had a red hot crack against the Knights. Their effort levels were everything that supporters could ask for.
But simultaneously I felt immense frustration about the execution in attack and the defensive errors.
When I apply logic to my thinking, I know we had extremely inexperienced playmakers, who struggle defensively, and made errors that young play makers typically make.
If Moses played I feel we win that game. I also know injury has impacted us significantly.
However, with 54% possession, and the Knights completing at 72%, the Eels had more than enough opportunities to win that game. Our inexperienced playmakers simply couldn’t take advantage of those stats.
Logically, that risk of inexperienced halves was ever present going into the season.
Consider the list of halves in the full time squad – Moses, Pezet, Volkman, Papalii, Talataina, Fletcher. Coming into 2026, outside of Moses, the combined total of NRL experience of the other five halves was 38 games, with Pezet the most experienced at 18 games and Talataina and Fletcher yet to debut.
Volkman
There is also a lack of experience in the rest of the spine, with only Tallyn Da Silva (31) having more than 30 NRL games coming into 2026.
For the last couple of years, all Eels stakeholder have known that Moses would almost certainly be selected for Origin, and therefore miss games. The inevitable has occurred again in 2026 and the only experienced player in the spine is currently absent.
The point is, Moses aside, “young and inexperienced” accurately described the Eels playmakers and indeed the entire spine, from round one, not just in the Knights game.
What about the players surrounding the spine?
It’s undeniable that the Eels injury toll has been the absolute worst in the NRL. Collectively, to this point in the season, the Eels roster has missed 100 games through injury. With the long term injuries, that number will continue to grow. The next worst team sits 18 games behind the Eels in terms of absences.
Table of collective games missed through injury to Round 13, credit NRL Physio & Rowan Waight
Conversely, the Panthers are the least impacted, sitting on just 22 games missed through injury. Let that sit with you for a moment. It’s almost five times less than the Eels. In the near future it might get close to six times.
Let’s take the Panthers last weekend. They were actually without their star half Nathan Cleary so they fielded two playmakers who have some defensive issues.
Coming into the team to replace Cleary was Jack Cogger (93 NRL games prior to 2026 and a premiership winner). Beside him was Liam Martin to help him defensively. Martin allowed Cogger to primarily focus on his attacking role. Go back to when Moses first came to Parra, and he had Manu Mau next to him to help him defensively.
Entering 2026, Martin had a resume which boasted 152 NRL games, four premierships, state and country representation. That’s terrific support for a back up half.
On the other Panthers edge was Blaize Talagi (42 NRL games prior to this season) supported by a 16 game New Zealand international in Isaiah Papalii (178 NRL games coming into 2026).
In contrast the Eels entered this season with Kautoga and Tuilagi as the likely back row pairing. Two immensely talented attacking players, but both have defensive concerns. Furthermore, prior to 2026, Gideon had a grand total of 18 NRL games and Kelma had 72 games across five seasons and was yet to fully cement a starting spot.
Gideon Kautoga
It was inevitable that the edge defence let the team down. The type of errors also seemed to be decision making. In other words, a lack of communication and trust.
Let’s be clear about why the Eels like both of their back rowers. Against the Knights, Kautoga and Tuilagi were wreaking havoc on the Newcastle defence.
However, at the 75th minute mark I looked at the NRL app and saw the four edge players had missed over half our missed tackles, 23 between them. This defensive liability was exposed by the Knights and was always going to attacked.
I wrote this piece a few days post game to try and think more logically as I am naturally disappointed with results. There is so much discussion and noise about our club, the club I love and passionately support and much of it surrounds recruitment/ retention.
Is it the fault of the roster that inexperience stands alongside inexperience in the Eels team, or is it the injury toll? To be fair, it’s probably both. You can’t have a collective absence of 100 games and not be impacted, but likewise, you can’t hide inexperience and lack of top of the roster talent.
Injury toll or not, relative newcomers like the halves, and even Gideon, are only going to reach their potential with quality, experienced players to learn from and to play alongside.
Let me be clear once more, there are genuine strengths to the Eels edge and those strength lie in their attacking potential.
Furthermore, when looking individually at each of these four players I can see what they bring to a top 30. But it’s about applying logic to the combinations, and the challenges they would inevitably face.
And given the level of inexperience outside of Moses, there were always going to be multiple games this season with similarly inexperienced combinations.
Mitch Moses
So we can’t ignore the ridiculous injury toll, but the Eels still have to make recruitment decisions that will improve our prospects.
What I’d like to see, is not just top of the roster recruits, or adding a collection of whoever is available for the sake of it – see Bulldogs.
Rather, I want to see a squad that complements each other. If we are going to go with young spine players, apart from Moses, then we need strong defensive players around them.
If the club elevates Lorenzo Talataina to the 5/8 role next year, who will help him defensively just like Angus Crichton has helped Sam Walker the last few years?
I would hope that this is not seen as me personally attacking players or staff. I have no doubt everyone is working hard to be better.
We have to trust that the same questions are being asked internally. When I look at our roster we have a couple of years in which we can make changes via players coming off contract.
We cannot waste the opportunity to get it right the next few years. In my job in upper management I speak to my my middle managers when things go awry and the first question I ask is for them to objectively consider what they thought would happen when they did (insert decision and/or action).
The Eels need to surround their young players, who could develop into really strong first graders, with the right type of experienced players. They need to guide them in how games are won and how to deal with adversity. It all adds up to helping the young talented players to mature and achieve their potential.
High effort performances should always be applauded but fans deserve to see changes in the composition of the squad moving forward.
Parra Proud
Shelley
That’s why I am enthusiastic around the recruitment of Jayd’n Sua, but much less so around the seemingly inevitable acquisition of Moses Suli.
What’s the phrase that sums up our R&R team. Failing to recruit is basically recruiting to fail.
Yea it’s boring to repeat that they are possibly the worst front office in the NRL, since the GF we haven’t recruited anyone basically that’s the equal of who has moved on, every week we look to have a poorer line up than the opposition, and the Titans game underlined exactly where we sit .
Accountability is an issue, and until that is rectified, nothing much will change, understandably there is a focus this year to upgrade the signings, why this year, we have one rep level player and yep that’s a recipe in itself for what we see.
Have t9 cross all extremities to hope we get some travti9n is signings, not projects, not OK players, actual difference makers and experienced forwards to assist our young rep.
In junior footy you see teams that try hard and are enthusiastic, but they lose and often that is determined by demographics and profile, as a club we recruited this roster which relies on enthusiasm, and effort, think about that.
Well expressed Shelley. Respectfully and objectively. Some of our better defenders also must look at the stat sheet and wonder why the numbers are making them look not so better. A random thought..DeBelin seems to fit the bill you describe..experienced, played Origin etc etc.but in such a licorice all sorts year these aspects get a bit lost.
Our Football department are out of their depth. Across all 17 rosters, the Eels are clearly the weakest. Most other rosters can rely on a class player to save them during tough games, whether its a Staggs who saved Broncos this year himself if the guns arent firing.
We have one gun who isnt firing and we have no other to support him. Unfortunately if they dont go in the market aggressively for 2-3 elites and pay overs, lets just say we are adding to our cutlery next year
Mataele has surprised me with his games this year strong defensive game and can bend the line
it’s a shame that more than likely he’ll be picked up by another club
Thanks Shelley!
You and i are largely in agreement. I like the way you worded the question around middle management questionable decisions.
And thanks for the injury table.
My guess is that if we had the same number of injuries that say … the Dolphins … have had we’d be sitting in the top 6 or maybe just outside.
There’s been a lot of wingeing this week around TCT about the roster. I don’t think it is anywhere near justified. Some people are being very blind. 3 more wins over the 13 rounds played and none of us would be being disappointed. We’d be on ot about the top 6.
I do also agree with you on the defensive issues. Under BA oppositions just went round our outside edges. That seems largely fixed. Now they come at us thr4ough the middle of the field and ruck. And are often pretty effective.
If J’maine, Matt D, Bailey and now Junior were on the park my guess is we’d be travelling pretty well. If we had of played (and I know this is a bit of a banned subject on TCT) our cards a little differently around Zac L, then where would we be ?
We’d be leading the if buts and maybes ladder. Sure we could have more wins with less injuries. But we also could have the same amount of wins as most the wins we do have are full of good fortune. I believe we are what our record says we are (especially our defensive record)
Some poignant and accurate comments Shelley. Well done.
I agree wholeheartedly and have mentioned before we need some harder type heads in the team – its a no brainer. We cannot add more inexperienced players – balance has to have some exp forwards with a couple in the backs (centre would be good).
I go back to when we got some players in the S League era – albeit a lot of but Pay / McCracken and co led our younger forwards of Cayless / Hindy and Vella and Ryan later on.
I’d be looking at Leniu for a start as well as some hard headed non-islander types (not being discriminatory) to balance it all. We need some good workers around the pack besides Hopgood / Doorey and co as those two have had some tough injuries now.
Kelma just needs to be moved on and Gideon unfortunately deserves the same fate unless he completely flips his attitude around the off the ball things.
23 missed tackles from three players is just unacceptable but unfortunately this is how our squad was built there our first choice backrowers so this is exactly what our coaches wanted.
How has this area not been a key focus in training and if it has these players just are simply never going to get it.
Aswell as a high focus on recruitment this club needs to completely transform there pre season we shouldn’t touch a football till February because conditioning and defence has been so sub standard it’s not funny. It runs through the club there wouldn’t be three players at the club who can hold the heads up high in the defence side of the game
Agree – the team is set up to fail with those backrowers. Sua will help but is Katonga shouldn’t have a mortgage on the other backrower spot. Give it to Jack Williams for defence and make Katonga start is Reggies until he learns the value of defence and communication + ball security. Tualagi needs to be let go after this year. His deficiencies are too big to persist with
Look we have all these fabulous juniors, then they either fall over or leave? I understand not all will be superstars, but we do tend to coddle them, Sanders doing ok at Raiders, you can only learn the craft in first grade, by playing first grade. If as a player you’ve been in the system, juniors, flegg, nsw cup etc and your 19, 20 ,21 and your not ready, something isn’t working. This year due to injuries and inconsistency, in my mind, is a perfect time to blood younger guys * I know there are restrictions)