The Eels have had nine days to rest, fatigue from the Cowboys game won't be a factor. What may cause them issues is the emotional build up this week. Parramatta's going nuts and the media are feeding the frenzy. The second issue is they probably think they need to start at 100kmh and Arthur will be pulling hard on the "they are out to get us" string trying to amp them up. If they try too hard to bash us like South's did last week, once the initial adrenaline wears off, they might be gassed. It takes a lot of energy to smash people and if the Panthers move the ball in the early stages they can waste a lot of energy trying to dominate. We just need to ride it out like we did against South's. Their forwards are bigger and stronger, but they aren't as fit. Hold them early, then turn the screws.
Kenny to start will be a good plan he was very physical against South's. We don't need Api to cop the early barrage, the game's won over 80 minutes not the first 20. We need to sap their energy like we do every week. I know others want him to start, but I thought it worked well last week. Mitchell really tackled well and when Api came on we were able to up the ante and South's had nothing.
Without a doubt, Brown's job and other Eels players when he isn't on, will be to chase Cleary to reduce his time to kick. I agree with Iamback, kick early so they aren't ready for it. It will just add to their workload and exhaust the forwards. Position the blockers well and let Luai kick every so often so they aren't 100% sure if it will be Cleary. From the halfway mark, Luai's kicks are OK, he can't do big bombs but if he finds the grass Parramatta will be using gas to get up the field.
To tire out their forwards we have to stop Moses having too much time on his kicks. If he is allowed too, he can kick the ball further than any other player besides Burton. His long kicks negate our defensive domination because they get good field position without having to ruck the ball forward. In the first loss this year, we had them pinned relentlessly in their own 30m zone and he just kept producing massive kicks to take away the advantage we created.
We can also help reduce his effectiveness by running plenty of traffic at him too. Kik's must seek him out every chance he gets and run as hard as possible.
The last thing we have to do is stop the offloads. They killed the Cowboys with offloads and Lane looked like Dally Messenger and Churchill rolled into one. Luckily, Martin, Crichton, Kikau and Tago are physically up to the challenge, they just have to do the work and concentrate for the full 80 minutes.
