https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/0caa821da35f4e92ba441f95ed17cf30
EELS
Ladder: 3rd (9-0-3, +112)
What’s gone right: The Eels forward pack has established itself as one of the best in the competition on the back of Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard’s go-forward up front. The addition of Isaiah Papali’i to a back row that boasts Nathan Brown and Ryan Matterson makes the Eels one of the most formidable packs on paper in the competition. However it is the red hot form of hooker Reed Mahoney that has ignited the Eels out of the ruck at dummyhalf and has them running over the top of most teams. If the Eels backline can keep creating try-scoring opportunities, the Eels have the forward pack to match it with the Panthers and the Storm in the hunt for an elusive premiership.
What’s gone wrong: No shows in losses to the Dragons, Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs. The Eels have only lost three games all season, but ironically two of them were against teams they were expected to beat. The Round 5, 26-12 loss to the Dragons came out of nowhere, while the 28-6 loss to an in form Manly side exposed some weakness that just won’t go away. The Eels are a team that appears to read their own press when things are going well and Brad Arthur needs to keep them grounded given they faded in the back half of last season and are regarded as flat track bullies. On paper the Eels have the team to match it with the very best, but until they believe they can beat the Storm, Panthers and Rabbitohs consistently they won’t be able to get it done in the pressure cooker of finals footy.
The star: Isaiah Papalii is most experts’ tip for buy of the year at the midway point of the season after joining the club from the Warriors. Papali’i is in the midst of a breakout season after dominating on the edge in the absence of Ryan Matterson who has been dealing with concussion issues for most of the year. Papali’i’s aggression in defence and hard-running style has created plenty of go-forward for the Eels backline stars to shine. Brad Arthur rates Papali’i as one of the best players to coach during his career and that says a lot about the impact he has had on his side.
Needs to lift: Mitchell Moses. It is not that Moses has had a bad season by any stretch, but he still has a tendency to go missing in crucial games and the Eels can’t afford him to not be front and centre, especially against the top four sides. Moses has a monster pack in front of him and some devastating outside backs in Clint Gutherson, Maika Sivo and Blake Ferguson so there are no excuses going into the second half of the season. If the Eels are to win the premiership Moses needs to be the best player in his team most weeks.
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