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

Gary Gutful

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51,723
What I would do:

11. Papali'i
12. Matterson

17. Lane

That's not a slight on Lane - I think he's doing a great job.

But having someone of Lane's size, and speed, coming off the bench, to run at a tired pack, would be a great sight to see.
I like that.
 
Messages
12,134
The thing I love about Mahoney is that he puts 100% effort into the 1%er plays - diving on loose balls, not stopping play until the ref blows his whistle, etc.

That, and he is a demon defender, with an astute kicking game, crisp passing game, and a little terrier when he runs the ball.
i love players like reed and gutho that may not be the biggest or fastest or most talented out there but make up for it by just working their guts out for 80 minutes
 

hindy111

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Messages
58,487
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
 

strider

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Messages
78,603
Smith tried his absolute best to fu*k up with those two kicks which easily could have led to Raiders trys. If they would have hit the lead our usual panic may have set in. We will never know but what is painfully obvious is Will Smith believes he is a far better player than he is. Rankin for mine every time.
I don't think the kicks were good - but they were hardly the disaster being talked about here

Infact Mahoney's terrible kick that went dead after getting 6 again was the worst kick of the night .... but thats barely getting a mention

As for Will's .... his first was on the 3rd into the corner - and had canberra coming off their line .... I don't think it was a good kick, too early in the tackle count, but it got them down their end coming out of that rapana corner again - which I believe was a tactic of ours ...... so not great on the 3rd, but hardly terrible

His second was with seconds remaining in the first half .... if it hadn't been kicked by the raiders and got into the ingoal, who knows what might have happened ..... again - down the right end of the field .... i think it was worth a short
 

strider

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78,603
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.
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
 

IFR33K

Coach
Messages
17,002
I thought Marata was very, very, very good - but he did get beaten for pace, and agility, a few times, which is one thing you'd expect, given he is a forward.

But the best thing about Marata is that he hits, and sticks; Waqa will make good initial contact, and then often fall off, leaving Ferguson to come in and help complete the tackle.


There’s yet to be a centre that hasn’t been beaten. Blake just has no clue and either the coach is content with his performances or can’t fix his flaws.
 

Obscene Assassin

First Grade
Messages
6,083
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

There's a Twitter account that tracks how many plays a player is involved in (runs and tackles) whilst they're on the field. Raymond Stone and Keegan Hipgrave have featured in their few games as being very involved whilst on the field. I reckon this week we'll see Wiremu Greig near the top, he seemed to want to do a lot whilst on the field.
 

yy_cheng

Coach
Messages
18,003
What I would do:

11. Papali'i
12. Matterson

17. Lane

That's not a slight on Lane - I think he's doing a great job.

But having someone of Lane's size, and speed, coming off the bench, to run at a tired pack, would be a great sight to see.
That's what I would do but ba will be loyal to lane
 

yy_cheng

Coach
Messages
18,003
I thought Marata was very, very, very good - but he did get beaten for pace, and agility, a few times, which is one thing you'd expect, given he is a forward.

But the best thing about Marata is that he hits, and sticks; Waqa will make good initial contact, and then often fall off, leaving Ferguson to come in and help complete the tackle.
How many have the combo of f & m let in compared to f&b

He might get beaten for pace and agility but the cover gets them

But when Blake gets beaten by tackling air or playing handies, the cover can't get them
 

Pazza

First Grade
Messages
8,492
I think this time marata has spent at centre has really resurrected the idea of him playing as an edge forward. He was trending towards playing in the middle but there is so much more to his game that just being a battering ram.
 

Joshuatheeel

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
19,581
Was Greig that unfit? It is hard for forwards to get up to speed with the NRL.
In NSW cup he plays long mins. But a lot of these guys would have had minimal footy last season. It will hurt bigger guys a lot more.
I do not see him playing a lot of NRL this season. Most likely will spend his time in NSW cup with the odd bench spot. Pending on injuries and form but he isn't in our best 17. He could leap frog Stone and Hipgrave.
I'd say he will have a big off-season and 2022 is when we will see more of him.

I wouldn’t say unfit, just combination of never playing NRL before (along with playing against one of the better sides) and not doing an eels off season which I suspect is a bit more challenging then a cowboys one.....

I am sure the club is working to get his fitness up...
 

Poupou Escobar

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Messages
84,148
I also like the fact will smith’s involvement was limited. Apart from the stupid kicks, I don’t recall him out there. And he played 80 minutes.
He was very involved in defence. He was also there for his support play, and to provide an alternate kicking option.
 

strider

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78,603
There's a Twitter account that tracks how many plays a player is involved in (runs and tackles) whilst they're on the field. Raymond Stone and Keegan Hipgrave have featured in their few games as being very involved whilst on the field. I reckon this week we'll see Wiremu Greig near the top, he seemed to want to do a lot whilst on the field.
Yeah he was clearly told to give it a good crack ... i was pleased he got to go on and get some decent minutes

Re hipgrave n stone ... i reckon u need a worker on the bench like them, but only one ... 2 bigger bodies help alot

I forgot marata will likely come back to the bench and be a bit of middle impact .... but the emu can be good big merkin depth
 

Poupou Escobar

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Messages
84,148
Marata was also awesome. Made many trampling runs, he’s another that by far has outplayed the player he’s replaced. If anyone still thinks Marata is only defending better then waqa because he’s got Drown inside him has rocks in their head. Last night Marata had will smith inside him, and the edge still remained composed and got the job done.
Smith is also a better defender than Moses. Blake will surprise you people when he defends outside a half he trusts.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
84,148
Smith tried his absolute best to fu*k up with those two kicks which easily could have led to Raiders trys. If they would have hit the lead our usual panic may have set in. We will never know but what is painfully obvious is Will Smith believes he is a far better player than he is. Rankin for mine every time.
Rankin is a poor defender. We would've been carved up on his side.
 

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