Opinion Theres a lot to like.

[blue & white blood]

It's a bad situation for the back up players right now. If you aren't in the top 17 you can't even play your way into form anywhere.

You're absolutely correct, in the case of our young players because of our situation they have been chucked in the deep end and expected to perform in the big league before they could finish their apprenticeships through no fault of their own, and all we do is bagg them if they make a mistake, I mean it's O.K for a young guy like flannigan at the roosters who gets thrown into a star studded team but our poor guys are playing in a side which is made up a few veterns & Young Apprentices. I now It's been done to death But I still blame that Hassler, Dib & Castle for this whole mess & the current board are not much better.

 

[doggieaaron]

Laf will wanna stop giving away dumb penalties if he wants to stay in 1st grade fmd just dumb

 

[SLushY]

One of my favourites was Ogden, he has always shown a lot of grunt and heart in his runs and tackles and this game wasn’t anything different
I’d assume the only problem is that we have to many “big name” or big contracted players so he doesn’t get a shot or maybe just his fitness is shit

 

[Alan79]

You're absolutely correct, in the case of our young players because of our situation they have been chucked in the deep end and expected to perform in the big league before they could finish their apprenticeships through no fault of their own, and all we do is bagg them if they make a mistake, I mean it's O.K for a young guy like flannigan at the roosters who gets thrown into a star studded team but our poor guys are playing in a side which is made up a few veterns & Young Apprentices. I now It's been done to death But I still blame that Hassler, Dib & Castle for this whole mess & the current board are not much better.

It remains to be seen how the current board perform. I think we recruited well with very limited cap space since they started. Britt, Katoa and Stimson might not be coups. But DWZ, Cogger, Meaney and CHN were decent signings on a tight budget. Thompson and Cotric will both be great for us too. A few more good players can make a huge difference. And hopefully Barrett can turn us into a better attacking unit. The pickings this year are pretty slim, but I have hopes that we'll have some luck and pick up quality in a key position or two.

 

[blue & white blood]

It remains to be seen how the current board perform. I think we recruited well with very limited cap space since they started. Britt, Katoa and Stimson might not be coups. But DWZ, Cogger, Meaney and CHN were decent signings on a tight budget. Thompson and Cotric will both be great for us too. A few more good players can make a huge difference. And hopefully Barrett can turn us into a better attacking unit. The pickings this year are pretty slim, but I have hopes that we'll have some luck and pick up quality in a key position or two.

Yes, Lets hope this board & Barret can turn things around, Like the rest of us, I'm hoping they buy a few more players of substance, Maybe Trent Barret can bring a few with him from Penrith, and the good news is we now have a viable Sponsor to grace our famous beloved Blue & White Jersey

 

[Matthew G]

Lets not be stupid here, small improvements to see us show abit of pride however we still need to bin most of this squad as soon as the season ends regardless of what happens between now and the end of the season.

 

[Spoonman84]

The first 30 mins was diabolical and we got physically dominated and dug a hole too deep to fix. From there on they dug in but our pack had no answers to big Junior Paulo. We just have way too much school boy errors from senior players that cost us week after week until these players get moved on or fix the errors we will be dead in the water. Lewis might have tried hard with his lack of execution simply isn’t good enough he can’t pass a football at a first grade level and it ruins so many attacking opportunities for us. We have way too many players that get praised for trying hard and that’s why we are where we are.

 

[flamebouyant]

Non positives
Dumb shit. Thats what cost us the game today.
Couple of little breaks and 3rd week in a row where we havent backed up.
Were still gaining what appears to be half the metres than our oppostion for sets. I suppose when the ref keeps fucking you leaves you without much of a chance to close the gap.

Positives
Mostly boys against men out there again today.
I thought Parra defended their line extremely well.
Meany and Jacko with short kicks today for repeat sets, wheres that been all year? Bigger picture with coaching.
3rd week in a row where weve scored more tries, should have been 4 against a finals team.
We lost by 2, before the game I thought it would be 12+

On paper Parramatta has a far superìor roster, yet be beat them in almost every single facet of the game. In fact your negative facts are factually incorrect also. Running metres bulldogs 1731-1612. Average set metres, bulldohs 41.2 - 40.3. Post contact metres were one of the few areas they came out on top, but when you look at their feared pack with Paulo, RCG, Lane, Brown etc etc, theres was 20 m in it, bulldogs 677 - 697.
We also won forced drop outs 4 - 2, tackle breaks
20 - 17, line breaks 4 - 2, kick return metres 199 - 189, we even had quicker play the balls, 3.41 - 3.67 sec.
Add to all of this that we were disallowed a try that was a fucked decision, and we should have won!!! Yeah im pissed we lost, but that was one hell of an effort against a far superior team with very few injury concerns like ours. Well done boys!!

 

[flamebouyant]

A lot of us on this forum have bagged Lewis and quite honestly I was one, but I must say we have to give credit for the effort , the kid tries hard and with him rather than Wakem we seem to keep the score a lot closer even when we lose, and the games we have won including the last rounds of last year, it was with Lewis at halfback. Today I saw a big improvement in his game that showed he does have the capabilities he just needs to develop the skills and once again his defense is outstanding . Wakem has not provided us with anything better than what lewis is doing, anyway it must be very frustrating for all 3 of our young halves to have the other 2 breathing down their back ,it puts a lot of pressure on their game. and by constant rotation does not give them a chance to gel & develop combinations and Visa Versa for the rest of the team, Anyway Congratulations to the boys for their great effort today we were not disgraced by any means. .

I think wakeham has been rushed along due to our lowly position. The kids at least another year off.

 

[flamebouyant]

Lets not be stupid here, small improvements to see us show abit of pride however we still need to bin most of this squad as soon as the season ends regardless of what happens between now and the end of the season.

Small improvements? I think we have improved massively over the past few weeks, and when you compare our efforts to other sides with better rosters, like the broncos, titans, cowboys etc, i think we are definitely on the improve. A few astute signings and we are going to push for the 8 without doubt.

 

[flamebouyant]

The first 30 mins was diabolical and we got physically dominated and dug a hole too deep to fix. From there on they dug in but our pack had no answers to big Junior Paulo. We just have way too much school boy errors from senior players that cost us week after week until these players get moved on or fix the errors we will be dead in the water. Lewis might have tried hard with his lack of execution simply isn’t good enough he can’t pass a football at a first grade level and it ruins so many attacking opportunities for us. We have way too many players that get praised for trying hard and that’s why we are where we are.

Im not trying to ick an argument with you mate, but we were hardly diabolical! If our trycwas correctly awarded the game takes on a whole new path. The dropped ball from Lafai and DWZ absolutely rediculous play the ball cist us 2 tries, but otherwise we were solid in the first half. You said Paulo dominated us, but overall the Eels only posted 20m more in post contact metres. He did run for 226m, but about 50 of those were one carry from a drop out.

 

[flamebouyant]

Laf will wanna stop giving away dumb penalties if he wants to stay in 1st grade fmd just dumb

Yeah he was very disapointing yesterday.

 

[flamebouyant]

One of my favourites was Ogden, he has always shown a lot of grunt and heart in his runs and tackles and this game wasn’t anything different
I’d assume the only problem is that we have to many “big name” or big contracted players so he doesn’t get a shot or maybe just his fitness is shit

One of his best games in a long time. He rushed up and smashed a parramatta player, dislodging the ball if icremember correctly? He also ran hard.

 

[Matthew G]

Small improvements? I think we have improved massively over the past few weeks, and when you compare our efforts to other sides with better rosters, like the broncos, titans, cowboys etc, i think we are definitely on the improve. A few astute signings and we are going to push for the 8 without doubt.

Mate dont be fooled, this happens EVERY year, there is effort towards the end and we pick a few wins up making us look half decent then we get shown how bad we are the season next. People playing for their contracts thats all, atleast 7/8 need to go and a fair few new signings in key positions needed ie fullback, 9 and halfback

 

[Kelpie03]

I know that Lewis has his limitations, but with the likelihood of Tolman not been resigned and hopefully Napa been shopped around successfully, we are going to be short of forwards next year. While many want Lewis gone, I agree with those who want him tried at 13, where his 2 strengths can be best utilised his tackling and his long kicks.

 

[Spoonman84]

Im not trying to ick an argument with you mate, but we were hardly diabolical! If our trycwas correctly awarded the game takes on a whole new path. The dropped ball from Lafai and DWZ absolutely rediculous play the ball cist us 2 tries, but otherwise we were solid in the first half. You said Paulo dominated us, but overall the Eels only posted 20m more in post contact metres. He did run for 226m, but about 50 of those were one carry from a drop out.

We weren’t solid we down 18 nil and Parra ran riot. Paulo was off loading at will and absolutely dominated us I could be wrong but we didn’t score a point when he was on. You have your opinion and that’s cool but that first 30 cost us the game and was terrible we did well to get back onto it after that.

 

[habs]

We need to be setting ourselves higher standards. We have some substandard players on big contracts: Jackson, Tolman, Napa and DWZ. Lafai and Montoya were both bog average. Meaney looks really slow compared to last year. Lewis tries hard but is no halfback. The list goes on. Yeah sure sometimes the stars align. But that’s the same for every plodder team over the years.

 

[Moey]

Our defense has always been good and when its on song like it was yesterday AFTER Eels got to an 18-0 lead we can trouble anyone.
Ib 2021, Add to that Barrett, some new players, more juniors, no JMk, Lewis, Holland, Tolman etc and we have a positive future.
As shit as Georgallis is as a coach and we should be 3-0 with him, we have shown signs of improvement but also seen a massive spring in the step of players. A few tweaks of this team, better usage of the bench and if he stops the forward based play then we should get off the bottom of the ladder.

 

[GA45]

A lot of us on this forum have bagged Lewis and quite honestly I was one, but I must say we have to give credit for the effort , the kid tries hard and with him rather than Wakem we seem to keep the score a lot closer even when we lose, and the games we have won including the last rounds of last year, it was with Lewis at halfback. Today I saw a big improvement in his game that showed he does have the capabilities he just needs to develop the skills and once again his defense is outstanding .

You mean the skills to pass it to another player on the chest instead of 4 feet behind the player. Guy has ticker but is fucking useless as a halfback trying to guide a team around.

 

[B-Train]

How were the bench rotations better? Tolman and Napa played 60 plus minutes when being completely ineffective and out on their feet while Ogden tore up and only played 28 while Thompson played less than 50?

But I agree that since firing Pay the effort has been better and the team looks more competent. Hopefully the youngsters are prioritised in the next few games because that's what this season should be about.

I worry that Georgallis will keep playing Tolman and Napa huge minutes as he's trying to get results for his next job but the club need to advise him the minutes need to be better distributed so we can develop the players who actually have a future at the club.