I love my Eels but the truth was ten weeks ago I was looking forward to the season ending. I could see our team was trying, but it felt like a long path full of speed humps and stop signs.…
From The Stands – August 20, 2025: Parra Needs A Killer Instinct
“They wanted it more!” I normally despise using these words, but from the outset on Saturday night that sporting cliche was certainly true for the Rabbitohs. From the stands, they absolutely looked like they wanted it more. One team wanting…
From The Stands – August 6, 2025: Stay The Course
Recently, I wrote about my fears that our Eels team would not be equipped to compete as they should for the remainder of the season. I didn’t agree with Jason Ryles’ decision to leave Dylan Brown on the sideline and…
From The Stands – July 16, 2025: Are Eels Matches Now Trial Games?
From The Stands has been a feature of The Cumberland Throw since 2018. That makes this year the eighth season of my column and my opinions. In all of those years, I don’t think I’ve submitted a column like this…
From The Stands – June 27, 2025: The New Parra Football Identity
Sunday night football is never going to sell well to people. We were one of just 8000 people to make the journey to CommBank last Sunday and we are so glad we did. Let me also point out that whilst…
From The Stands – June 12, 2025: Accountability
Accountability. Let’s discuss what we’ve learned about that to this point in the season. Firstly, our club. The Eels players and coaches have mostly held themselves accountable for improving and developing as a team after what was a horror start…
From The Stands – May 26, 2025: Celebrate What’s Building At Parra, Ignore Those That Reject It
I really love beating Manly. That is it. Thank you to our players for making this Blue and Gold supporter happy. Rivalry is what makes our game great. Watching that game last Friday was exactly what I needed. The team…
From The Stands – May 12, 2025: Please Don’t Expect Blind Patience
Last Thursday night at CommBank Stadium was a surreal experience, but not in a good way. It was flat, so very flat and so unlike our normal home game experience. As much as the Eels tried to activate supporters, there…
From The Stands – April 23, 2025: Team First
A week is like a lifetime in footy. It can take you from the depths of frustration, anger and despair to unbridled joy and renewed belief. And it was exactly that kind of ride that we were taken on following…
From The Stands – April 9, 2025: A Game Of Patience?
When you build a team you have a choice to make. Do you opt for the short term option – build it rapidly and get quick results that are built on weak foundations that could disintegrate under pressure? Do you…