Eels in the media

[Poupou Escobar]

Greenberg gave him the f**ken award FFS!

 

[Twizzle]

well he could have stood out of the frame

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Then why even have the f**ken award? Its purpose is to recognise how good the NRL is for recognising when merkins do nice things for the community FFS.

 

[Twizzle]

what a silly question

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

It wouldn't be the first time he's presented the award. It's probably written into the rules now that he has to appear in the pic.

 

[hineyrulz]

It wouldn't be the first time he's presented the award. It's probably written into the rules now that he has to appear in the pic.

Is Darren Dietz now a powerhouse???

 

[Gronk]

 

[Gronk]

 

[hineyrulz]

King Guth still the coaches pet

 

[hineyrulz]

He’s a fantastic kid, hopefully a 10 plus year player for us.

 

[Gronk]

He’s a fantastic kid, hopefully a 10 plus year player for us.

I worry about him actually. Will he be durable enough to play long term. Will he be able to put on the weight necessary for him not to be rag dolled. Or will he find his way around that like Slater etc.

 

[eel01s]

In hindsight he was brought back too early to play the Bulldogs. A shame we couldn't get him back for the finals.

 

[hineyrulz]

I worry about him actually. Will he be durable enough to play long term. Will he be able to put on the weight necessary for him not to be rag dolled. Or will he find his way around that like Slater etc.

I think he will be fine, he’s still only had about 2 pre seasons with the top squad so he has plenty of improvement in him.

 

[StEely Matt]

Parramatta take some big steps forwards in 2017 despite finals exit
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...t/news-story/3399499324c02161622a543796a4bc51
A STRAIGHT sets finals exit may have taken some of the gloss off Parramatta’s season but the Eels still came a long way in 2017.

Here’s what went right and what went wrong in a watershed season that ended with the Eels making the finals for the first time since 2009.

WHERE THEY FINISHED
Parramatta surged into the top four before they exited the finals in straight sets with losses to eventual grand finalists Melbourne and North Queensland.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Apart from the end, very little. Parramatta came a long way from their disastrous 2016 season and returned to finals football for the first time since 2009.

However, the meek exit against the Cowboys will leave a bad taste in the blue and gold’s mouths — especially given the Eels gave Melbourne a hell of a scare the week before.

A truly woeful second half, filled with basic handling errors, put paid to Parramatta’s hopes of ending their long wait for another premiership.

Parramatta were expected to beat the Cowboys in the finals.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
A whole hell of a lot. Mitchell Moses was a smashing success once he joined the club from Wests Tigers and Nathan Brown was one of the best buys of the season. Corey Norman was brilliant for the first three quarters of the season before he faded late and Clint Gutherson was in white-hot form before a knee injury ended his season.

The meek finish to the year belies just how far the Eels came over the last 12 months and they’ll have their eye on another finals berth next year.

STAT THAT SUMS UP THE SEASON
Here’s Mitchell Moses’s attacking stat line in the 16 games he played for Parramatta — 14 try assists, 17 line break assists, four line breaks, one try and 31 goals. In the 10 games he played for the Tigers, he managed only two try assists, two line breaks and four line break assists. Moving to Parramatta worked out terrifically for Moses — he immediately found the form he showed in the latter stages of 2016 and his combination with Corey Norman grew by the week. He gave the Eels a creative outlet outside of Norman and some of the passes he was able to throw were truly spectacular, such as the brilliant ball he gave to Will Smith in the qualifying final against Melbourne.

If Parramatta are to win the premiership, it will be on the shoulders of Moses. Look for him to get even better as he gets a full off-season training alongside Clint Gutherson and Norman.

Moses hit top form once he switched to Parramatta.
IT’S A SHAMBLES!
The Eels forward pack was a collective effort in 2017. Apart from Nathan Brown, none of the regular middle forwards (Suaia Matagi, Daniel Alvaro, Siosaia Vave and Tim Mannah) averaged over 100 metres gained for the season.

All four of those players and the fiery Brown are hardworking grinders who did a fine job but the Eels could very much do with a more dynamic presence in the middle of the field to round out their rotation.

Kane Evans joins from the Roosters and Brad Arthur will be hoping the Fijian giant can fit that bill. Evans has some real ability but didn’t quite hit his stride in his four years at Bondi.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON
The devastating 52-34 win over the Broncos in Brisbane, capped by Semi Radradra’s four tries, was a performance that had Parramatta fans dreaming of a premiership.

LOWLIGHT OF THE SEASON
The final match, a listless 24-16 loss to North Queensland in the second week of the finals.

BIG-NAME RECRUITS
Kane Evans (Sydney Roosters),

BIG-NAME LOSSES
Isaac De Gois (retired), Jeff Robson (retired), Jamal Fogarty (released), Semi Radradra (Toulon)

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT YEAR?
Best case scenario

Moses and Norman continue their development as a duo and combine well with Clint Gutherson upon his return from a knee injury.

Bevan French bulks up a little over the off season and takes over from Semi Radradra as the club’s resident superhuman try-scoring machine.

Kane Evans gives the club the extra punch they need in the middle, Kaysa Pritchard stays healthy and the Eels make the top four again.

Worst case scenario

Gutherson isn’t quite the same when he comes back and the Eels can’t compensate for it. Radradra’s loss is keenly felt, not only in terms of tryscoring but in his underrated work from his own end.

The forwards remain brave and physical but can’t consistently create space for the backs. Kaysa Pritchard breaks down again.

The Eels stagnate and miss the finals again.

COACH SAFETY RATING
Brad Arthur has done a superb job with recruitment and development in his four full seasons as head coach and will be in charge of the Eels for some time.

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

Did I copy and paste that article?

 

[Gary Gutful]

Then why even have the f**ken award? Its purpose is to recognise how good the NRL is for recognising when merkins do nice things for the community FFS.

People think the award is entirely about the guy did good things but the reality is that also exists so that the NRL can point to how 'community focused' and downright wonderful they are.

If the NRL didn't get anything positive out of it for their brand and reputation then they'd drop the award like a wet turd.

 

[StEely Matt]

Did I copy and paste that article?

Shit.. Sorry. Just saw how it turned out! I copied and pasted from my phone... Sorry! Feel free to delete!

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

Shit.. Sorry. Just saw how it turned out! I copied and pasted from my phone... Sorry! Feel free to delete!

No worries. Same kept happening to me on my phone. I think you can get around it by copying and pasting the main body then the headline.

 

[Gary Gutful]

I like big text and I can not lie!!!

 

[Gronk]

The Telecrap has used our friends at TCT as a source.