Eels in the media

[Poupou Escobar]

Also, makes me sick that Sandow is third on that list.

Second for losses but sixth for wins.

 

[T.S Quint]

Second for losses but sixth for wins.

And first in being a hopeless dickhead.

 

[Avenger]

All this talk about us being a real chance this year smells very similar to 2018. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Gary Gutful]

We won't win...

There, hopefully that balances things out.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

All this talk about us being a real chance this year smells very similar to 2018. I hope I'm wrong.

2018 was the best thing for our club. It gave us the no dickheads policy for starters. By 2019 guys like Hayne, Norman and Edwards were gone from our club and we've been on an upwards trajectory ever since. Obviously two seasons is a small sample but it's the only sample we've got.

 

[yy_cheng]

news.com.au

• Sport
• Nrl

Immortal Andrew Johns the secret to end Eels’ 35-year premiership drought
FEBRUARY 20, 2021 7:23AM

NRL stars James Tedesco, Cameron Munster, Kaylyn Ponga and Mitch Moses have all had their faces painted on the turf at Parramatta's BankWest Stadium. Their larger-than-life faces are part of the countdown to the NRL season and it is the largest player outdoor artwork seen in Australia with the painting cleverly laid down by painting little white squares and lines on the grass.
Andrew McMurtrynews.com.au
It’s the unavoidable fact that will haunt Parramatta until they break it but the NRL’s longest premiership drought is out to 35 years.
The Eels finished the 2020 season in third but were eliminated in straight sets after losses to eventual champions the Melbourne Storm before the South Sydney Rabbitohs delivered the knockout blow.

Watch Live & On-Demand coverage of NRL pre-season trial matches on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial now & start streaming instantly >

While the losses were disappointing after another promising campaign went begging, the Eels now have a settled spine with Dally M fullback of the year Clint Gutherson, third-year five-eighth star Dylan Brown, halfback Mitch Moses and hooker Reid Mahoney solidly in place.

But it’s Moses who has had the Eels poisoned chalice of the famous No. 7 jersey sitting on his shoulders ahead of his fifth season with the club.

Since the Eels’ last Grand Final victory in 1986, the club has gone close to premiership glory, twice losing the decider.

And now the architect of the Eels 2001 Grand Final loss may just be the man to end the heartache of long suffering fans at three and a half decades.

Former Newcastle Knights superstar and rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns is now able to take a more hands on approach with the side as part of Brad Arthur’s coaching staff.

Johns was involved with the team last year but was outside the bubble and was seen coaching from the other side of a fence.


The Eels still believe Mitchell Moses is the man. Source: Getty Images
Moses told news.com.au at the Fox League launch, ahead of the 2021 season that can be streamed on Kayo, that Johns’ influence had been massive as the club looks to end the NRL’s longest drought.

“He’s been coming in two times a week, sometimes three, so we’ve been doing a bit more work with him because last year it was a bit hard with COVID because we had to stop and couldn’t see him as much,” Moses said.

“He’s been really beneficial for us as a spine and as a team I guess. We’ve been getting a bit more stuff that we’ve been working on with him at training into our training sessions.

“It’s outstanding. He’s one of the best halfbacks to play the game in my eyes and I looked up to him as a young kid so to be working with him at the moment is something special.”

While Moses added Johns was helpful last season, bubble life brought its challenges.

Hard to coach from the other side of the fence. Source: AAP
As the 2021 season nears, one has been the shorter pre-season, with Moses saying the side has even “benefited” from it, saying it’s been “better on the body”.

Last season Moses was on fire in the early stages of the season before a calf injury derailed his free flowing play as the season went on.

It was something he had to manage throughout the season but after getting some rest after the Eels were eliminated from the finals, he said he was ready to go for the new season.

Ahead of his fifth season in the No. 7 jersey made famous by Peter Sterling and his four premierships in the 80s, Moses said he’s learned to deal with the talk of the premiership drought.

“I’ve had it since I’ve moved here so it’s no different to anything else I’ve copped,” he said. “We haven’t won one in so many years so you’re going to cop it and you’ve just got to soak it up and try to get it done.”


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Nationwide News Pty Ltd Copyright 2021. All times AEDT (GMT +11).

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https://amp.news.com.au/sport/nrl/i...t/news-story/1b35e83fdef99f74d662c59d08f6a297

 

[84 Baby]

Did we sign Reed’s brother?

 

[Avenger]

2018 was the best thing for our club. It gave us the no dickheads policy for starters. By 2019 guys like Hayne, Norman and Edwards were gone from our club and we've been on an upwards trajectory ever since. Obviously two seasons is a small sample but it's the only sample we've got.

I hope so Pou. Couldn’t stand at least 2 of the players you mentioned.

 

[Incorrect]

Did we sign Reed’s brother?

*Read

 

[strider]

*Rheed

 

[Gronk]

All this talk about us being a real chance this year smells very similar to 2018. I hope I'm wrong.

Most of the judges don’t even have us in the top 4. So no pressure on us IMHO.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Most of the judges don’t even have us in the top 4. So no pressure on us IMHO.

Top four would be an overachievement, as it was last year and in 2017. The upside is we get to enjoy more wins. The downside is we are surely up against a better team than us in week one of the finals. Roughly 33% chance of getting the f**king Storm in Melbourne again.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Johns doesn’t have to talk from behind a fence? F**k yeah, we’ll be premiers now...

 

[Gronk]

Top four would be an overachievement, as it was last year and in 2017. The upside is we get to enjoy more wins. The downside is we are surely up against a better team than us in week one of the finals. Roughly 33% chance of getting the f**king Storm in Melbourne again.

Our next coach can get f**ked.

 

[Incorrect]

Our next coach can get f**ked.

Translation of what Flannos thinking there - 'Sharks are probably just ahead of Eels as my next employer.... Hedging my bets'

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Our next coach can get f**ked.

Honestly, I think Flanagan's top eight is pretty realistic, with the caveat that each team is plus or minus four rungs on the ladder. Randomness is always a factor.

 

[Gronk]

 

[Gronk]

 

[Cloeel]

We need average first graders as part of a balanced squad. He will do a job.

As long as he is consistent I think it will be a great retention for the right price.

 

[Twizzle]