What a mixed bag I witnessed from the stands last Friday night. From the praiseworthy to the deeply concerning, the balance unfortunately fell into debit and the result was another loss. Firstly, it’s important to praise the resilience, pride and…
From The Stands – Leadership
To win a championship, you’ve got to have a nucleus of five or six real tough, hard competitors. To win anything, the team’s got to think tough and that infiltrates into the individual. You’ve got to have a tough leader.…
From The Stands – Victory Song
A couple of years ago, the Eels players changed the team’s victory song. The words were written to represent their identity. The victory song has special meaning as they own it. In this new age of fan connectivity, vision is…
From The Stands – Integrity and Other Musings
Match Officials Before launching into the following criticism of referees, it’s important to acknowledge that it’s often a thankless task. Without match officials there would be no game. They should be respected and, in the case of young referees in…
From The Stands – Negativity Ends Here
“ You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out…
From The Stands – Making Sense Of It All: An Examination In Three Parts
Indulge me if you will. There’s much to say, plenty to criticise, and maybe not a whole lot solved. I’ll be sharing the thoughts of three generations of my family and it’s not just relating to the Eels’ latest loss.…
From The Stands – Fulfil Your Role, Step Up To Responsibilities
“They were rolling us 60-70m through the middle and kicking it to where they wanted to. It’s frustrating.” If you don’t control the ruck, if your forwards lose the battle in the middle of the field, you will inevitably give…
From The Stands – The Jewel In The Crown And The Hidden Gem
From the stands there was something a little special about last Sunday. I’ve been a part of bigger crowds at ANZ, and I’ve seen the Eels play better matches, but in terms of a regular season game that Tiger’s clash…
From The Stands – Identity
Welcome back Parra. I’m not sure why my Eels ever left, and I really have no idea how they turned it around in one week, but that team I had the pleasure of watching at ANZ on Sunday was my…
From The Stands – Unity & Belief, On Field & Off
A thought. Is there a sense that there are too many individuals, in and around the Parramatta club, pulling in different directions? Players, coaches, supporters- all of us need to change, and do so quickly. We need to become a…