Rd6: Eels v Raiders GAME DAY thread @ Cbus Stadium 17/4/21

[Joshuatheeel]

Marata’s attack at centre is basically the same as his attack in the middle (straight and hard), it’s good as a middle but doesn’t really offer much to create space on the edges.

Blake comes back in. Adds speed / another attacking option.

But yep he needs to improve defensively or he won’t be there for long.

 

[TheParraboy]

Some stats from the game, source nrl.com

Possession
Parra 54%

Completions
Parra 81%, Raiders 75%

Offloads
Raiders 8-4

Sets
Parra 38 from 47
Raiders 30 from 40

Tackle breaks
Parra 30-20

Line Breaks
Parra 7-4

Missed tackles
Raiders 30-20

Errors
Raiders 14-10

 

[strider]

Smith is also a better defender than Moses. Blake will surprise you people when he defends outside a half he trusts.

Will is a strong defender ... he has pretty good technique on big merkins that run at him (much like mahoney)

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Yes, Greig needs a good pre-season but I thought he went well in his 13 minute playing time. 5 runs for 50 odd metres with 24pcm (NRL.com stats) with 10 tackles, 0 misses. Just a gut feeling but I reckon he’ll be a really good signing.

Wait til he’s properly fit and sheds a few kg.

Definitely has plenty of natural talent

 

[Chipmunk]

This just means they produce a lot of players. You can't keep them all. As for signing Kane Evans, they needed some size in their pack. He's certainly a lot taller than Papali'i and I reckon better at running at a set defence.

I'm questioning their decisions on who their deciding to keep and who their deciding let go. I think they've made some poor decisions on that in the past.

 

[IFR33K]

Smith is also a better defender than Moses. Blake will surprise you people when he defends outside a half he trusts.

Ok mate. The game is there for all to see. The stats are there too. Moses is nowhere near as bad as you’re making out. And Blake is a far worse a defender then you’re giving him credit for. You just don’t want to back track and admit it.

 

[Eelementary]

He’s the reincarnation of Eric Grothe Jr.

Grothe, Jnr. was twice the player imo.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

i was happily surprised .... i thought he'd be blowing harder than a $5 hooker at NRL level .... but I thought he did well

I think we have some serious issues with big body depth ..... our benches have been pretty small this year ... Kaufusi is our only big off the bench (though Papa plays big if he goes back to the bench) .... carty, hipgrave, stone aren't really big barrelling types ..... if we get a big man or 2 injured we would be very small up front .... so I think the Emu could be important this year

We are missing Niukore off the bench.

 

[IFR33K]

Marata’s attack at centre is basically the same as his attack in the middle (straight and hard), it’s good as a middle but doesn’t really offer much to create space on the edges.

Blake comes back in. Adds speed / another attacking option.

But yep he needs to improve defensively or he won’t be there for long.

There’s no doubt Blake can attack better than Marata. That’s not even an argument at this stage. But Blake fails to create much for fergo. Plus his defense is the weak link of the team. It’s up to him if he wants to remain in the team.

 

[IFR33K]

He was very involved in defence. He was also there for his support play, and to provide an alternate kicking option.

I wasn’t talking about defense. Involvement seemed to be less than what Drowns would of been.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I'm questioning their decisions on who their deciding to keep and who their deciding let go. I think they've made some poor decisions on that in the past.

I was amazed they let Shaun Johnson go. Must've been about money.

 

[TheRam]

Our mental strength has never been the issue imo. We always put in.

Composure and the ability to play smart when we are being overpowered is where we struggle. Sometimes we panic and take bad options.

Some would say mental strength when referring to footy encompasses composure and smarts when being overpowered. Otherwise why would mental strength be necessary during a easy breezy game?

Anyway, all that is slowly becoming irrelevant now since we do seem to be getting over our, lets say "our previous weaknesses."

I feel we will still have these moments of "weakness" but they should be fewer and fewer as we go on from here. The boys are getting there. Moses and Mahoney are the key to our success. The team play off of them. When they go well, the team follow.

Oh and "putting in" is not mental strength. You can still sh*t yourself and be putting in.

 

[lucablight]

Grothe, Jnr. was twice the player imo.

I’d say they’re pretty comparable. Both great metre eaters, both exposed frequently in defence and both prone to brain explosions. Both received winger of the year on one occasion each but Fergo played 9 origins whereas Jr played 3.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Ok mate. The game is there for all to see. The stats are there too. Moses is nowhere near as bad as you’re making out. And Blake is a far worse a defender then you’re giving him credit for. You just don’t want to back track and admit it.

I've seen plenty of bad misses from Blake as well as from Moses. In most cases they were due to the situations they found themselves in. In the case of Waqa Blake he likes to use his speed and jam against numbers instead of hoping the cover catches up. He also protects his three defender (Moses prior to this year) this way by forcing the attack to play before the line.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I wasn’t talking about defense. Involvement seemed to be less than what Drowns would of been.

That's how teams play when they have a backup half on the field. They don't pretend the backup player is identical to the starter he's replaced. They adjust. That's because backups are generally in the team for their defence. Their attacking responsibilities are distributed to other players.

 

[lingard]

As good as Niukore is, he has his limitations - he will continue to get exposed by faster, more agile centres.

That's not a knock on Marata, but it's reality.

Well, you know, funny thing, but the combination of Whighton and Croker were very conspicuous in their absence last night. I shudder to think what Wighton might have done to Waqa Blake.

 

[lingard]

Smith is also a better defender than Moses. Blake will surprise you people when he defends outside a half he trusts.

Bullshit.

 

[Gronk]

Even fergo seems to be playing better without Blake there. I know he had an average game last week, but he’s scoring tries again. I’d be disappointed if Blake comes back into the team.

I think we miss the fast feet in the centre and as much as Marata is great in D, we lose that step and swerve at pace that a good centre provides.

Fergo isn’t scoring tries off Marata passes, so unless you can prove me otherwise, it’s more about Fergo being on his game rather the absence of Waqa.

Yes Waqu makes bad reads but like Gagai yesterday in the Bunnies game, fast feet brings a hell of a lot to a team.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Some would say mental strength when referring to footy encompasses composure and smarts when being overpowered. Otherwise why would mental strength be necessary during a easy breezy game?

Anyway, all that is slowly becoming irrelevant now since we do seem to be getting over our, lets say "our previous weaknesses."

I feel we will still have these moments of "weakness" but they should be fewer and fewer as we go on from here. The boys are getting there. Moses and Mahoney are the key to our success. The team play off of them. When they go well, the team follow.

Oh and "putting in" is not mental strength. You can still sh*t yourself and be putting in.

I’m commenting on the definition of ‘mental strength’ that others have been using over the last few days to criticise our record in Canberra. They were critical of our effort rather than our smarts and as a result said that we are “mentally weak”.

I don’t agree with that analysis and believe our weaknesses are in our composure and decision making. Call that a different form of “mental weakness” if you like but hopefully it’s becoming clear to most that our effort isn’t the issue.

 

[TheRam]

Lane I think is our engine/worker. A great defender. I like him starting.
And even though this won't be popular I like Matto at lock and Papali'i out wide. Balance wise I reckon this is best. Brown would be injected at 20th min for RCG.
I don't think N.Browns form is like previous seasons. I also feel his 2nd stint is quite a drop off from first. Bringing him and Niakuore on once defense has been softened would work well....

11.Lane
12.Papali
13. Matterson

14 Smith
15 Brown
16 Niakuore
17 Kafusi

What a great problem to have.

We have the equal best pack and bench in the NRL when fully fit. The Storm is the other one. That is why if we play our best game and the storm play their best game, I think we are the best two teams in the comp. The problem is for Parra that Moses in particular doesn't play his best game consistently enough and Mahoney doesn't always engage the markers like say Harry does.

I believe we can beat the panthers if we brought our best game. We have a better forward pack and bench then them and that is where the battle is won. But Moses needs to do what Cleary does every week to nullify their momentum and options and Mahoney needs to run and bring our players on behind the ruck.

I don't know if we can do this, but it makes it interesting to see if we can.