The current suspension of NSWRL senior competitions has been an understandable, and unavoidable, consequence of the current COVID lockdowns impacting Sydney. At this stage, the intent is to resume competitions such as the Knock On Effect NSW Cup and the Jersey…
Bumpers Up – July 6, 2021: Damned Angry Edition
“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” After last weekend, I can’t help but channel the famous Howard Beale character to express my rage. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, your usually affable correspondent is on…
From The Stands – A Running Dummy Half Is Gold, Baby. Gold!
I really missed being in the stands watching the Eels take on the Panthers. Though they are our western Sydney rivals, the Panthers are a very good football team and I was looking forward to watching them live to see…
Post Game Grades – Round 16 at Penrith
Parramatta Eels 12 Penrith Panthers 13 Every game of football has the good with the bad; but this game seems to slice that closer to 50/50 more than most. Obviously starting with The Good (like I do every…
The Spotlight – The Gloom For Maroons (Or The Cane Toad Calamity)
What separates a successful representative team from the not-so-successful? With early discussions raising the prospect of the current NSW Origin team having the potential to rank as the best of all time, it seems like a reasonable question to ponder.…
Bumpers Up – June 25, 2021: Debuts And Acknowledgements
How do you feel about stand-alone Origin weekends? When it’s a full representative weekend, I really enjoy it. Women’s Origin on Friday night, Pacific nations tests on Saturday, Origin on Sunday – my footy fix is satisfied. The missing…
Stats That Matta – June 22, 2021: Eels Defeat Bulldogs
Sunday June 20th, 2021 Bankwest Stadium EELS 36 defeat BULLDOGS 10 Half time: Eels 6 – 10 Attendance: 17,276 Eels Scorers: Tries: S. Russell 2, R. Matterson, M. Moses, S. Lane, Reagan Campbell-Gillard Goals: Conversions: M. Moses 6 from 6…
From The Stands – June 21, 2021: Honesty and Leadership
My full weekend of footy viewing culminated in taking up my usual spot in the Bankwest Stadium stands, watching our beloved Eels notch up another win. I loved our victory against the Bulldogs because of the leadership on display prior…
Post Game Grades – Round 15 vs Bulldogs
Parramatta Eels 36 Canterbury Bulldogs 10 Well, the second half, really. I bet those at the southern end of Bankwest thought they would be in the prime seats for a spectacle when Matterson went over after only 7…
Bumpers Up – June 16, 2021: Rants, Debuts, Expansion
What a week! The announcement of Parra’s inclusion in the 2021 NRLW Premiership was soon followed by an eventful win over the Tigers, including that “moment” between Gutho and Moses. Now we have a couple of unexpected team list inclusions…