EEL v Panthers Analysis...

[True EEL]

For those interested, my thoughts are:

- I was perplexed as to why SK started the game with MK at 9 over McGuire?
My only reasoning was that MK plays a less expansive game (ie. higher percentage game) than McGuire and would be better suited to the early going in the wet. For mine, this move set us back immediately as MK had possibly his worst game i can remember. I used to have huge wraps on this guy; they are now dwindling by the outing. McGuire was again impressive when he got time on the field.

- The Ryan Morgan Experiment.
Surely this has been tested and failed, and does not warrant further repetition to come to that conclusion. The kid tries hard and has decent speed and strength, but simply CANNOT read the defence. If Etu was indeed dropped for the defensive lapses V Warriors - I may not be the coach, but SK got the wrong man. Morgan was the worst offender fo the two in poor reads last week and was diabolical last night. He simply took no one on several occasions and made Hicks look bad as he - like Etu - was forced to come in time and time again to try and shut down the overlap. Morgan took one bomb in an excellent and spectacular fashion on our line and made 1 very good run with the ball. Other than that - he is not First Grade NRL right now. Joel reddy, where are you?

- Newspapers/Media.
Simple. Too much press/media. Too much back-slapping and big heads after 1 win. Same old bad habits. Very disappointing. Every day the articles grew and grew about how good we were v Warriors - and every day my confidence for a win plummeted. Result was almost expected.

- Error rate/Energy levels.
Was simply atrocious, even in wet conditions. Energy, enthusiasm, fire, spark = terrible and not good enough to win an NRL game.

- Fowards.
Beaten by people much more hungry and ready for success. I thought Fui looked slow, out of puff and had his worst game for a long time - and I love Fui. Lasalo needs to improve or return to Wenty. Allgood tried hard but was hammered. He was originally a Penrith junior and they welcomed him accordingly. Hindmarsh may have made 51 tackles, but was otherwise sub-par.

- Halves.
Again disappointing as a pair/combination. Robson was pedestrian after a good game last week. This sadly, is usually his pattern. Mortimer though IMHO was our best player and I have defended/expanded on his performance in the Mortimer thread. No penetration overall from the halves, but difficult behind such a beaten pack.

- Hicks/Fats.
Tried hard, but were a couple of paces off NRL. They should improve with time and should be given the opportunity to do so.

 

[cv8z]

For those interested, my thoughts are:

- I was perplexed as to why SK started the game with MK at 9 over McGuire?
My only reasoning was that MK plays a less expansive game (ie. higher percentage game) than McGuire and would be better suited to the early going in the wet. For mine, this move set us back immediately as MK had possibly his worst game i can remember. I used to have huge wraps on this guy; they are now dwindling by the outing. McGuire was again impressive when he got time on the field.

- The Ryan Morgan Experiment.
Surely this has been tested and failed, and does not warrant further repetition to come to that conclusion. The kid tries hard and has decent speed and strength, but simply CANNOT read the defence. If Etu was indeed dropped for the defensive lapses V Warriors - I may not be the coach, but SK got the wrong man. Morgan was the worst offender fo the two in poor reads last week and was diabolical last night. He simply took no one on several occasions and made Hicks look bad as he - like Etu - was forced to come in time and time again to try and shut down the overlap. Morgan took one bomb in an excellent and spectacular fashion on our line and made 1 very good run with the ball. Other than that - he is not First Grade NRL right now. Joel reddy, where are you?

- Newspapers/Media.
Simple. Too much press/media. Too much back-slapping and big heads after 1 win. Same old bad habits. Very disappointing. Every day the articles grew and grew about how good we were v Warriors - and every day my confidence for a win plummeted. Result was almost expected.

- Error rate/Energy levels.
Was simply atrocious, even in wet conditions. Energy, enthusiasm, fire, spark = terrible and not good enough to win an NRL game.

- Fowards.
Beaten by people much more hungry and ready for success. I thought Fui looked slow, out of puff and had his worst game for a long time - and I love Fui. Lasalo needs to improve or return to Wenty. Allgood tried hard but was hammered. He was originally a Penrith junior and they welcomed him accordingly. Hindmarsh may have made 51 tackles, but was otherwise sub-par.

- Halves.
Again disappointing as a pair/combination. Robson was pedestrian after a good game last week. This sadly, is usually his pattern. Mortimer though IMHO was our best player and I have defended/expanded on his performance in the Mortimer thread. No penetration overall from the halves, but difficult behind such a beaten pack.

- Hicks/Fats.
Tried hard, but were a couple of paces off NRL. They should improve with time and should be given the opportunity to do so.

He has a niggling injury

 

[True EEL]

He has a niggling injury

cheers, that sheds a little more light on the situation. he didn't really seem as if he was being held back by something though? :?

 

[Curleel]

Good summary, True Eel
1) Morgan was the main culprit last week in the tries scored on Etu's side vs Warriors and again last night seems to have come up empty handed a few times in defence. Needs a year at Wenty to work on defence but has potential for the future - is still young, he was onlyNYC last year.
2) Much too much media, when I say Hindy, Hayne, and Timmy M all on the Footy show the night before a big game, I also began to realise we were gone. Need a curfew if we are serious this year
3) As disappointing as it is, our best centres this year are Joel and Whatuira but both are not just off the pace with fitness yet. No real other options at the moment with Filiga and Loko just not there yet

 

[True EEL]

Good summary, True Eel
1) Morgan was the main culprit last week in the tries scored on Etu's side vs Warriors and again last night seems to have come up empty handed a few times in defence. Needs a year at Wenty to work on defence but has potential for the future - is still young, he was onlyNYC last year.
2) Much too much media, when I say Hindy, Hayne, and Timmy M all on the Footy show the night before a big game, I also began to realise we were gone. Need a curfew if we are serious this year
3) As disappointing as it is, our best centres this year are Joel and Whatuira but both are not just off the pace with fitness yet. No real other options at the moment with Filiga and Loko just not there yet

cheers Curleel,

nice to see you share my concerns, couldn't agree more with what you said, especially about the three of them on the footy show, before a friday night game, and the Chilli skit and all the endless newspaper articles, it was ridiculous and it was just 1 win.....??? i was hoping under SK though that the big-head syndrome would be under control......they basically promised as much in half of the 1300 media articles through the week :x

i think ultimately the three-quarters next week will/should/hopefully be:

1. Hayne
2. Burt
3. Whatuira
4. Reddy
5. Hicks

unless walker makes a return. Also, does anyone know was Etu dropped or injured?

 

[mrpwnd]

unless walker makes a return. Also, does anyone know was Etu dropped or injured?

I remember reading somewhere it was due to a niggling injury, but don't quote me on it.

 

[True EEL]

I remember reading somewhere it was due to a niggling injury, but don't quote me on it.

cheers, i just hadn't heard anything.
although he contributed to the Morgan-inspired poor defence down that side v Warriors, i actually thought Etu went ok and played with energy, so maybe if he is fit he will challaenge or reclaim the other wing spot.....

its funny how much crap Burt cops on this site and he would nearly be first picked at the moment. rock soild professional.

 

[murraymob]

Bit tough on Hindmarsh that he even has to make 51 tackles.How many of them kept the score line closer than it would have been if he was not there

 

[True EEL]

Bit tough on Hindmarsh that he even has to make 51 tackles.How many of them kept the score line closer than it would have been if he was not there

problem is when Hindmarsh makes that many tackles - its usually in that type of insipd, inept team performance....?!

he usually doesn't, or doesn't need to make that many tackles if the team performs to a decent standard and controls possession, so its more of a symptom of a bad performance IMHO

 

[mrpwnd]

cheers, i just hadn't heard anything.
although he contributed to the Morgan-inspired poor defence down that side v Warriors, i actually thought Etu went ok and played with energy, so maybe if he is fit he will challaenge or reclaim the other wing spot.....

its funny how much crap Burt cops on this site and he would nearly be first picked at the moment. rock soild professional.

Agreed on Etu...As a debutant he was always going to struggle in defense, it's an aspect of everyones game that is never as good from the start.

I'd wait until Etu gets some better ball service before I make any opinions about his attacking prowess, he made some good powerful runs against the warriors though, not sure how he goes as a finisher, Parra usually prefers to use Burt for that IMO.

 

[True EEL]

Agreed on Etu...As a debutant he was always going to struggle in defense, it's an aspect of everyones game that is never as good from the start.

I'd wait until Etu gets some better ball service before I make any opinions about his attacking prowess, he made some good powerful runs against the warriors though, not sure how he goes as a finisher, Parra usually prefers to use Burt for that IMO.

wasn't actually Etu's debut, but near enough and i get what you mean, and agree

and no, he didn't exactly get any attacking opportunities with the ball, but he was strong rucking the ball out of our own half, he looked promising

 

[hindy111]

ROry Brien could plug a hole in centre-He will do a fine job -Ive seen him play a few times now and he wont be flash but he wont let you down

 

[True EEL]

ROry Brien could plug a hole in centre-He will do a fine job -Ive seen him play a few times now and he wont be flash but he wont let you down

only problem i have with that is....if we bring someone else new into the backs, we need them to be someone flash, we need a strike-weapon in the outside backs that isn't named J. Hayne

 

[Chipmunk]

For those interested, my thoughts are:

- I was perplexed as to why SK started the game with MK at 9 over McGuire?
My only reasoning was that MK plays a less expansive game (ie. higher percentage game) than McGuire and would be better suited to the early going in the wet. For mine, this move set us back immediately as MK had possibly his worst game i can remember. I used to have huge wraps on this guy; they are now dwindling by the outing. McGuire was again impressive when he got time on the field.

- The Ryan Morgan Experiment.
Surely this has been tested and failed, and does not warrant further repetition to come to that conclusion. The kid tries hard and has decent speed and strength, but simply CANNOT read the defence. If Etu was indeed dropped for the defensive lapses V Warriors - I may not be the coach, but SK got the wrong man. Morgan was the worst offender fo the two in poor reads last week and was diabolical last night. He simply took no one on several occasions and made Hicks look bad as he - like Etu - was forced to come in time and time again to try and shut down the overlap. Morgan took one bomb in an excellent and spectacular fashion on our line and made 1 very good run with the ball. Other than that - he is not First Grade NRL right now. Joel reddy, where are you?

- Newspapers/Media.
Simple. Too much press/media. Too much back-slapping and big heads after 1 win. Same old bad habits. Very disappointing. Every day the articles grew and grew about how good we were v Warriors - and every day my confidence for a win plummeted. Result was almost expected.

- Error rate/Energy levels.
Was simply atrocious, even in wet conditions. Energy, enthusiasm, fire, spark = terrible and not good enough to win an NRL game.

- Fowards.
Beaten by people much more hungry and ready for success. I thought Fui looked slow, out of puff and had his worst game for a long time - and I love Fui. Lasalo needs to improve or return to Wenty. Allgood tried hard but was hammered. He was originally a Penrith junior and they welcomed him accordingly. Hindmarsh may have made 51 tackles, but was otherwise sub-par.

- Halves.
Again disappointing as a pair/combination. Robson was pedestrian after a good game last week. This sadly, is usually his pattern. Mortimer though IMHO was our best player and I have defended/expanded on his performance in the Mortimer thread. No penetration overall from the halves, but difficult behind such a beaten pack.

- Hicks/Fats.
Tried hard, but were a couple of paces off NRL. They should improve with time and should be given the opportunity to do so.

Given someone elses post that McGuire was carrying an injury then that makes sense why he didnt start, but unfortunately Ive seen Keating play worse games, he is dreadful and has no place in the NRL. If McGuire is OK next week I would have him back starting and Mitchell coming off the bench. Keating provides nothing. Im still completely blown away by him being re-signed....an abysmal decision.

Fully agree on Morgan...just not ready yet. Needs some more time in Wentworthville. But obviously Joel Reddy has been injured in the off season, so a couple of games at Wentworthville wouldnt have done him any harm and he should be back next week.

I doubt many teams wouldve beaten Penrith last night, they're level of enthusiasm, commitment and game plan for the situation was superb...full credit to them really. I think we were really off our game. After a long pre-season and the coaching staff wouldve had us up ready to go for Round 1, there was always going to be an emotional let down at some point....The whole season is going to be up and downs from all teams and in general whoever fronts up with the most enthusiasm is probably going to win the game.....We were never in the contest last night.

I think we need to get Fui back in the starting team, Ben Smith either has to start or plays at Wentworthville...I think Lasalo is probably more suited coming off the bench at this stage, Id probably consider giving Webb a run off the bench. Allgood and Shack look pretty straight up and down and I think we can only afford to have one of them in the team (if Webb can put it together that is).

Ive had enough of the halves situation. Im still totally perplexed why we dropped off on Orford! Mortimer would be a completely different player with a halfback of that calibre! I really just dont know what we can do, Murrays pretty untried and from all accounts Humble has been MIA for months.....not that I have really seen alot of either of them to suggest they're the answer at 7....its a very sad situation that doesnt appear to be going to be answered anytime soon.

I think overall Whatuira, Hicks, Walker and eventually Maitua have something to offer this team and with the right players up front and in the halves can cause alot of damage. At this stage Id stick for 2 out of the three and see how things go for another month.

I dont think last night was the end of the world and we will play better as the season goes along....but I still think we are going no where with the combinations of Mortimer/Robson/Keating.

 

[Tin Man 4.24]

Thanks for the match summary, True Eel. I wasn't able to watch last nights game, and couldn't bring myself to watch the replay.

Parra were here, there and everywhere during the week, but it looks like they forgot to turn up last night. Hopefully a quiet week in the media, will mean a better performance against the Bunnies.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

I would be considering moving Lasalo to centre if he still has ok speed. Would add some size and go forward to our backs. Remember he doesn't need super speed, just the ability to read the defence. He could be a hand full out wide.

Aslo I agree with Mcguire should have started, as I have posted in another thread, this may have cost the eels any chance of winning last night

 

[The Engineers Room]

I'll say it again.

It's not the players out there it is their gameplan. Too much one out and too much 5 hit ups and kick even when in the attacking half. The Panthers defensive line was so compressed that the winger frequently had two players outside him with 20 metres to work in and the ball never got more than 1 pass wide.

And I warned you all after last week. Once again the focus in the offseason was fitness and not gelling as a team and working on attacking play. Lot of good fitness does you when you refuse to run the opposition around and let them gang tackle in defence.

 

[Chipmunk]

I'll say it again.

It's not the players out there it is their gameplan. Too much one out and too much 5 hit ups and kick even when in the attacking half. The Panthers defensive line was so compressed that the winger frequently had two players outside him with 20 metres to work in and the ball never got more than 1 pass wide.

And I warned you all after last week. Once again the focus in the offseason was fitness and not gelling as a team and working on attacking play. Lot of good fitness does you when you refuse to run the opposition around and let them gang tackle in defence.

I agree and and I disagree with this. I think Kearney's come up with a game plan for the players that we have. That game plan probably needs to be more extensive if a team turns up with the level of enthusiasm and commitment and defensive attitude to what Penrith did last night. But most teams wont turn up with that level of commitment every week and Penrith wouldve beaten just about anyone in the NRL last night....

The biggest issue with this team is the overall talent of the individuals, particularly in the key positions....its hard to come up with a game plan when you have no half-back/play maker!

 

[Joshuatheeel]

just watched a bit of the replay of the game and one major positive of the game is while they destroyed us in the first 20 minutes in the forwards they didn't go though us in the middle. Our defence around the ruck / middle was very strong. Both their tries came out wide, with their second being a very smart and brillant ball from Walsh.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

I agree and and I disagree with this. I think Kearney's come up with a game plan for the players that we have. That game plan probably needs to be more extensive if a team turns up with the level of enthusiasm and commitment and defensive attitude to what Penrith did last night. But most teams wont turn up with that level of commitment every week and Penrith wouldve beaten just about anyone in the NRL last night....

The biggest issue with this team is the overall talent of the individuals, particularly in the key positions....its hard to come up with a game plan when you have no half-back/play maker!

And it took Bellamy a few years until he got the storm playing the way he wanted. Their major breakout year was 2006 when they were brillant but Bellamy was with them for I think a least since 2004 ( I could be wrong). So it is going to take some time for Kearney to build the squad he wants.