Eels in the media

[yy_cheng]

For those that want a summary of the extensive Rugby League Eye Test article:

• The article critiques the Parramatta Eels rugby league team for their failure to address recurring issues from the previous season.
• It highlights the team's consistent struggles with decision-making, adaptability, and performance against top-tier opponents.
• Despite promising starts in recent seasons, the Eels often falter when facing stronger teams, indicating a lack of progress.
• The author argues that the team's failure to learn from past mistakes suggests a deeper problem within the organization.
• Issues such as poor recruitment, lack of strategic planning, and coaching deficiencies contribute to the Eels' underperformance.
• The article emphasizes the importance of acknowledging weaknesses and implementing effective solutions to achieve success.
• Without significant changes in leadership and strategy, the Eels are unlikely to break their cycle of underachievement.
• The author concludes that the team must undergo substantial reforms to fulfill their potential and compete at the highest level in the league.

It is Brads philosophy. It will work one day even if it didn't work last year or previous years

 

[Poupou Escobar]

The Bulldogs performance here continues to stand out, as their forward pack has nowhere near the same level of names as the Eels, yet is consistently outperforming them defensively. It’s all attitude.

Or is it all mobility? This bloke provides awesome stats but his conclusions are all over the place. Talks about our ageing pack and then concludes attitude is the problem?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Parramatta sits very firmly in the ‘inefficient/unlucky’ quadrant

I f**king knew it!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It also states that changing the coach will not change these things - that’s clearly why it was posted here

It's pretty obvious our roster is the issue rather than coaching. But if you're desperate to throw the coach under the bus, he obviously recommended at least most of these retentions. It's just that sacking him now won't undo any of that.

 

[Legal Eel]

It's pretty obvious our roster is the issue rather than coaching. But if you're desperate to throw the coach under the bus, he obviously recommended at least most of these retentions. It's just that sacking him now won't undo any of that.

you are right

he has had no role in recruitment, retention, structures, development, tactics or management

 

[Poupou Escobar]

View attachment 87356

Awesome article. But the big clubs seem to be able to reward the past without sacrificing the future. Do we have no benefactor able to offer our ageing forwards 50% off apartments in Wenty as an early retirement gift?!?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

A 1st grade level hooker improves a lot of the above issues regarding metres gained and conceded

It didn't really help when we had Mahoney.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

you are right

he has had no role in recruitment, retention, structures, development, tactics or management

No you're right. Arthur's is a one man band.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

It also states that changing the coach will not change these things - that’s clearly why it was posted here

It's pretty obvious our roster is the issue rather than coaching. But if you're desperate to throw the coach under the bus, he obviously recommended at least most of these retentions. It's just that sacking him now won't undo any of that.

you are right

he has had no role in recruitment, retention, structures, development, tactics or management

Now that's just picking a fight where there isn't one.

 

[emjaycee]

Now that's just picking a fight where there isn't one.

No one does that on here mate.
Every post by every poster is read without prejudice.

 

[lucablight]

The Parramatta Eels have learned nothing from last season - The Rugby League Eye Test

Another round, another second half flame out by the Parramatta Eels. When they found themselves behind against Manly in the second half, they doubled down on some incredibly poor discipline and let the game slip away from them. Unfortunately, the team hasn’t learned the first law of holes – when...

www.rugbyleagueeyetest.com

The Parramatta Eels have learned nothing from last season​

Another round, another second half flame out by the Parramatta Eels.

When they found themselves behind against Manly in the second half, they doubled down on some incredibly poor discipline and let the game slip away from them. Unfortunately, the team hasn’t learned the first law of holes – when you’re in one, stop digging.

The depressing thing for Eels fans is that things hasn’t changed much from last season. This is from last year’s post on the site after Round 8:

“When they have the majority of possession, they make metres quite well through the middle of the field. But when they’re unable to maintain that strong possession percentage, teams can consistently find metres (especially up the middle of the field) and the Eels are often gassed early in games to a point where they can’t contain them.”

After eight rounds last season, it seemed pretty clear they weren’t the same team as the one that reached the 2022 grand final, and would need a significant change to be relevant. In the end, they weren’t.

And after eight rounds in 2024, it’s clear they’re not even the under achieving 2023 Eels, they’re much worse. Yet they’re still chasing a style of play that the rest of the league has left behind. For a club with so many inherent advantages over the rest of the competition off field, it’s becoming embarrassing how little they’re using them to help the on field product.

You can talk about how they’re missing Mitch Moses until you’re blue in the face, but just like South Sydney and Lachlan Ilias, a halfback isn’t the reason for a team having an appalling season defensively. Luckily they have the bye this week, but return to face Brisbane and Melbourne after that. The pain for Eels fans is likely to continue.

So what, if anything is different for Parramatta this season? You could say nothing, but that would be wrong.

All that has changed is that their pack has aged a year, and most of them are well into the twilight of their careers and aren’t keeping up with the pace of the NRL in 2024. Their starting forwards (excluding hooker), have been the fourth oldest in the NRL this season at an average age of 28.5, and would be even higher if Junior Paulo was not coming off the bench.

Agile middles with good lateral mobility are worth a premium, and the Eels don’t really have any of them. They have an excellent forward pack for the late 2010s, but an abysmal one for the mid 2020s.

This shouldn’t be a dissection of Brad Arthur’s coaching capability. He’s been at the helm of the club’s best seasons in decades, even if they weren’t able to finally break their premiership drought. And if he was to part ways with the club, it’s likely that whoever follows him won’t have the same level of experience (Trent Barrett) or have produced similar results (Justin Holbrook), taking over an aging playing list with limited upside. For now he’s still probably the best option.

I’m going to start the deep dive this week looking at their margin by minute chart, as it shows when the downfall is occurring.

Their first halves have generally been pretty good this season, and their average margin after 40 minutes is +2.13 one of their best marks since 2016. And by the 48th minute it climbs to +3.63.

Then the clock strikes the 49th minute and the Eels turn into a pumpkin. From that moment on their margin drops rapidly and ends up 10.5 points lower by the end of the game, sitting at -6.88. That’s not far off the pink line you can see below it, which occurred during their disaster 2018 run that netted coach Brad Arthur a wooden spoon from a six win season.

When you look at some other metrics it’s easy to see why the decline is happening then. To set the scene, below is a chart of the rolling average of metres per run in an NRL game this season.

Great read and it paints a scary picture for the future. Doesn’t the club have people it pays to do this kind of analysis?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Great read and it paints a scary picture for the future. Doesn’t the club have people it pays to do this kind of analysis?

So before the grand final and even before that tight final against Penrith in 2021 people were talking about our team being out of date for the modern rules:

Sure but it's a lot quicker changing your style to suit your players than rebuilding your roster to suit a particular style. Arthur had us playing this style because it was what worked best in 2018 and 2019 when we decided we needed to spend so much on powerful forwards (the Broncos were another club who did this). Prior to that we played a very different style, attacking the edges, which was nullified in 2018 with teams getting up quickly after slow play-the-balls. The best teams were all attacking through the middle and we needed to adapt. So we brought in Paulo and Ferguson (and then RCG) and shortly after the f**ken rules changed again. It reminds me of the 2002 ruck interpretation that killed our small, speedy pack.

But to the club's credit we were good in the finals across those two years (except for the post-tropics grand final implosion), so maybe they know something we don't?

 

[Pazza]

Great read and it paints a scary picture for the future. Doesn’t the club have people it pays to do this kind of analysis?

Doubt it

 

[hineyrulz]

Doubt it

You can’t spend money like this when you are a small tin pot bogan club with no resources.

 

[Gronk]

A little OTT dude.

Sign the Petition

Kick the Parramatta Eels out of the NRL

www.change.org

 

[Soren Lorenson]

A little OTT dude.

Sign the Petition

Kick the Parramatta Eels out of the NRL

www.change.org

I signed it already

 

[Gronk]

I signed it already

Did you read the comments? Jarryd Hayne from prison is there.

 

[the phantom menace]

So before the grand final and even before that tight final against Penrith in 2021 people were talking about our team being out of date for the modern rules:

So the example you used for "people" was something you'd posted?

But to the club's credit we were good in the finals across those two years (except for the post-tropics grand final implosion), so maybe they know something we don't?

So is this a sly Pou way of finally admitting you were wrong about something you've posted - which has nothing to do with other "people" at all?

 

[King-Gutho94]

NRL 2024: What Jason Demetriou’s axing as South Sydney coach means for struggling powerhouse Parramatta Eels​

The axing of South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou turns the blowtorch onto another struggling mentor in Parramatta’s Brad Arthur, adding a layer of intrigue to the Rabbitohs’ pursuit of Wayne Bennett.
Demetriou and Eels coach Arthur started the week as the NRL’s most under-pressure coaches.

Now, Demetriou no longer has a job.

Arthur has the unwavering support of Parramatta powerbrokers but with the Eels facing another season of finals oblivion, the coach’s job security is looking tenuous.

The Eels are languishing in 14th on the NRL ladder and now have to turn their season around without both general Mitchell Moses (foot) and skipper Clint Gutherson (knee).

It feels like an uphill battle for Arthur. One he must conquer to not only silence detractors but the rumours – which refuse to go away – about Bennett lurking in the shadows waiting for a chance to pounce.

Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly has made Bennett the No.1 priority and has already started work to get the deal done and Bennett has declared his interest in taking over from Demetriou.

It leaves Parramatta at risk of missing out on the coach that is arguably best suited to replace Arthur if the club does eventually part ways with the coach.

Interestingly, South Sydney are also monitoring Arthur’s situation at the Eels.

For many pundits, Bennett returning to South Sydney on unfinished business, after taking the side to the 2021 grand final, is a foregone conclusion.

But Bennett, who has won seven titles, is a shrewd operator – one that would know Parramatta is actually the more attractive proposition.

The situation at South Sydney is dire.

The side has only won two games since late August last year, there is speculation the playing group is fractured and talk management is not on the same page.

The best football appears to be behind the likes of Cody Walker and Damien Cook while Latrell Mitchell remains an enigma and the club is betting on an untried NRL commodity in St Helens halfback Lewis Dodd to lead a revival.

Parramatta are in a far better shape overall. Ironically, a lot of that is on Arthur.

Boasting the likes of Moses, Gutherson, Junior Paulo and youngsters like Dylan Brown and Will Penisini, the Eels should be in a premiership window.

No one is better at taking an experienced, but balanced side that is ripe for the picking to the next level than Bennett.

The club identified the outside backs as a position that needed strengthening and have now added Zac Lomax, arguably the form outside back in the NRL, to the mix.

It took over 12 months to land the right player, but the club managed to achieve what it set out to do.

Unlike South Sydney, Parramatta also have a seriously promising crop of young talent coming through.

The likes of playmakers Blaize Talagi and Ethan Sanders lead a cohort of impressive youngsters that also includes hooker Matt Arthur, centre Richard Penisini and forwards Charlie Gymer and Sam Tuivaiti.

The lure of winning a title at the Eels and achieving a feat no other coach has been able to since 1986, is hard to refuse for a coach like Bennett.

The option of choosing Parramatta is likely to be taken from Bennett with Parramatta unlikely to make a move on Arthur any time soon.

It begs the question, if not Arthur or Bennett, then who?

Jason Ryles is an option but is unlikely to leave the Storm even if Craig Bellamy does coach for another season. Michael Maguire is committed to the NSW Blues for at least two seasons.

Cronulla and Queensland assistant Josh Hannay is highly regarded and seen as the next NRL head coach in waiting.

But given the pressure the Eels gig comes with, and the very big personalities in the roster, the job is better suited to someone with plenty of experience.

While Arthur is safe for now, the club can’t deny that serious consideration must be given to a change of personnel.

Not at the coaching level but in the roster.

Once a formidable proposition, Parramatta’s forward pack is well below the mark in 2024.

The Eels rely heavily on the likes of Paulo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Joe Ofahengaue to generate go forward momentum and less on outside back carries out of yardage.

But the added workload is denting the effectiveness of the side’s power game, especially in the second half of matches.

Instead of big middles bending the line, it has exposed the Eels of lacking agility and mobility in the forward pack – a cornerstone in the modern game.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-2024-what-jason-demetrious-axing-as-south-sydney-coach-means-for-struggling-powerhouse-parramatta-eels/news-story/c5b635cb95fdc6046dd75a99435b9a6e

 

[Gronk]

While Arthur is safe for now, the club can’t deny that serious consideration must be given to a change of personnel.

Not at the coaching level but in the roster.

Once a formidable proposition, Parramatta’s forward pack is well below the mark in 2024.

The Eels rely heavily on the likes of Paulo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Joe Ofahengaue to generate go forward momentum and less on outside back carries out of yardage.

But the added workload is denting the effectiveness of the side’s power game, especially in the second half of matches.

Instead of big middles bending the line, it has exposed the Eels of lacking agility and mobility in the forward pack – a cornerstone in the modern game.

Somebody has been reading @Poupou Escobar Rugby League Eye Tests posts.