- Kaysa Pritchard: Parramatta’s gutsy little hero in a land of giants
Parramatta hooker Kaysa Pritchard tips the scales at a miserly 88kg. He stands only 175cm. He lives in a land of giants, but fortunately for Pritchard, courage and bravery aren’t measured in kilograms or centimetres.
On that front, Pritchard is more than a match for most of his opponents. So gutsy is Pritchard, concerned Eels coach Brad Arthur has urged him to play with more caution. There was no stopping him yesterday as Parramatta continued their mini-revival with a nailbiting 24-22 win over Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium.
The Eels started the season with six successive defeats but the past fortnight has breathed life into a season that was gasping for air. For that, Pritchard can take his share if credit. Remarkably, after being awarded the Anzac medal as man of the match, Pritchard wandered into the Eels sheds and apologised.
“He probably worries about his game too much,” Arthur said. “He was straight in the sheds and apologised about a couple of things that he got wrong, which is a good thing for us. He was good. He gained some confidence off the back of last week.
“Couple of things that were a bit erratic but that is Kaysa. That’s what we’re trying to work with him on — making sure that he can get through games.
“We can’t afford to have him taking himself out. We also need him to get through some consistent footy for us. He has to channel (his aggression) in the right way. But he has got a lot better with it.”
Time and again, Pritchard hurtled into the Tigers forwards. Parramatta captain Tim Mannah described it as inspirational. Co-captain Clint Gutherson used another description.
“He is a lunatic,” he said. “He is always 100 per cent and he has no chill. He is someone you want to have in your team and not playing against.
“He’s all energy and that’s what you need in your team at No 9.”
Parramatta’s Kaysa Pritchard takes on the Tigers defence yesterday. Picture: Getty Images
Pritchard said: “It feels good to get a win not only for myself and my teammates, but also for BA (Arthur). He copped a lot of stick at the start of the year.
“They said a lot of things about him. For us as a playing group. we love BA, we love playing for him. I put the body on the line for him week-in, week-out.”
Pritchard wasn’t the only star for the Eels as they made it consecutive victories. They remain at the foot of the ladder but things are looking up.
“The start to the year wasn’t what we planned and with every loss came that extra feeling of pressure,” Mannah said.
“It wasn’t nice. You could tell the difference in the environment this week and I thought today’s result was a good one for us. I think it is even better than last week in terms of the kind of win it was.”
In a game that see-sawed back and forth, the Eels trailed early yesterday after Esan Marsters created the game’s opening try for the impressive Corey Thompson. Parramatta hit back 10 minutes before halftime when Bevan French flew above David Nofoaluma to scored off a Corey Norman kick.
The Eels weren’t finished and they added another try to Michael Jennings before halftime, Norman and Mitchell Moses combining to set up the Parramatta centre.
The Eels took a two-point lead into halftime but they were behind again when Luke Brooks created a try for Matt Eisenhuth with a delicious piece of subterfuge, his sleight of hand giving his Tigers teammate an easy try under the sticks.
At that point, Parramatta had been their own worst enemy. Arthur had urged them to start fast but they began slow.
“The first six or seven minutes (of the second half) we didn’t have any footy,” Arthur said.
“In hindsight it worked out good for us that we had to come from behind and fight our way out.”
Pritchard created the try for Brad Takairangi, which put Parramatta back in front, but the Tigers have no quit in them these days and they responded again when Benji Marshall scored.
The Eels would have the last say, Norman’s pass hitting a flying Manu Ma’u. Moses converted and the Eels had another win, albeit having lost Tony Williams potentially for the reminder of the season with his second knee injury in as many seasons.
Next up is Cronulla, a game that Arthur believes will give them a more realistic idea of whether they are truly back.
“We have to go to a tough place next week against a tough team,” he said.
“It is going to take a really gutsy performance from us. It is a good challenge for us where we are right now.
“We will probably learn a bit more next weekend about what sort of team we will be moving forward.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...s/news-story/b28278492ef774bd5bad574f4e355ffb
