It is a rapid fire turnaround for both the Eels and The Tip Sheet this week as the Monday game flows straight into Team List Tuesday. Sixties and Forty20 scramble to get everything ready for Round 15 as Parramatta head back home to host the Raiders on Saturday night. Under 19s Origin squads are starting to filter through as well and the Eels have representation in both the men and women’s showcase matches.
The State of Origin squads for Game 2 have been locked in and the boys review the changes for both NSW and QLD as the code heads to Melbourne. From there it is the latest happenings in the competition as injuries, signings and everything in between take shape heading past the halfway point of the season.
For line recruitment priorities are:
1. Standard setting elite middle (eg Yeo, pending age)
2. A rep quality outside back (Farnworth)
3. Another 2 genuine, experienced first grade middle (Paseka, Leniu as examples – not sure if Paseka is off contract, but he’s a good quality middle that will do a job and add some go forward )
4. A full top 30 to start the foreseeable seasons – this nonsense of keeping space to be opportunistic to me is dumb. A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. We can’t keep battling on with a lack of options every year when the team is struck with injury and/or form issues.
Personally I wouldn’t go near Burton. With all due respect (and I know the origin selection implies otherwise) but he’s not quite a centre, not quite a 5/8. We need specialists, not utilities. While hes a good player, the teams capabilities won’t lift to their potential with people who aren’t experts in their roles.