Eels in the media

[84 Baby]

I mean who wouldn’t spend $135 on an autographed Scott Fisher t-shirt?

 

[Happy MEel]

FFS Pou

 

[Gronk]

NSW Cup 2021: Why Parramatta’s Will Penisini will be far more than just Joseph Suaalii’s schoolboy teammate

He hasn’t attracted the same hype as his schoolboy teammate Joseph Suaalii but an 18-year-old Parramatta centre is close to the best outside back prospect in rugby league.

He was Joseph Suaalii’s centre partner at The King’s School and it won’t be long until his name is added to the list of teenage stars cutting loose in the NRL.

Parramatta’s NSW Cup centre Will Penisini isn’t far behind his former rugby union teammate when it comes to the best outside back prospects in rugby league.

Still just 18, Penisni has taken great strides with his game in the second-tier competition this season with his workrate and athleticism helping Parramatta to a top-four berth.

“Will’s been going really well. He’s still got lots to work on but the things he’s been doing he’s been doing really well,” the Eels’ Joey Lussick said.

“You hear so much hype about Joseph Suaalii debuting the other day, Will was his centre partner at school that people can sort of forget about.

“But he’s been really good and he’s only going to get better.”

There’s a host of talented youngsters coming through the Eels - including halfback Jakob Arthur and fullback Sean Russell - Penisini is close to the pick of the bunch.

In nine appearances so far in 2021, Penisini has averaged over 130 metres per game.

He’s yet to hit the park for his first grade debut but has been named on an extended bench several times, including for this week’s clash with the Rabbitohs.

Should Penisini be granted his first NRL debut he’d join the likes of Arthur, Lussick, Wiremu Greig and Haze Dunster in graduating to the top grade.

“One thing Brad has touched on a lot this year is we’re not a 1-17 squad, we’re a 30-35 man squad,” Lussick said.

“I think that really shows in Cup, where it can be tough because players are going up and down.

“Will, Jake, Sean Russell, all these young boys have been putting their best foot forward and really challenging the rest of the squad.”

The Eels will face 10th-placed South Sydney this weekend but don’t let the Rabbitohs spot on the ladder fool you - they’ll come fully loaded with Liam Knight and Origin forward Jaydn Su’A both dumped to reserve grade by Wayne Bennett.

Penisini will lock horns with Souths flyer Braidon Burns, while Latrell Mitchell’s older brother Shaq will act as 18th man for the Rabbitohs.

If Parramatta can keep its best team on the park, the Eels will fancy their chances of matching runaway ladder leaders Penrith, who are unbeaten so far this year.

Western Suburbs, who take on last placed St George Illawarra this weekend, are the other major superpower in NSW Cup - they’ve put together an eight-match winning streak and average over 34 points scored per game.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...e/news-story/05e833e611433ebe0b6c651b8a981681

Young Kyle Schnieder has been good this year, patching hooker and halves spots in reggies. This week he’s on the bench for Flegg. Is it just a light week for him or ?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Young Kyle Schnieder has been good this year, patching hooker and halves spots in reggies. This week he’s on the bench for Flegg. Is it just a light week for him or ?

Dropping out of full time contract status is a massive vote of no confidence for a player. Very few come back from it. The only one I can think of is Jamal Fogarty, though there would surely be others.

 

[Gronk]

Joey Grima said that Moses had an offer for considerable more to another club and (obviously) knocked it back.

Listen to The Tip Sheet - 2021 Episode 23: Turn & Turnabout - Eels Eye Bounceback Victory Over Rabbitohs by The Cumberland Throw on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/w4ZR8

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Mennings

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...m/news-story/ebf4bd22b647ffd40353f9116ff2d193

 

[T.S Quint]

FFS Mennings...cut your f**king hair!

 

[Gazzamatta]

FFS Mennings...cut your f**king hair!

Pmsl. Looks like a f'n feather duster. Is he serious. Not a good look. Jury will find him guilty just by the way he looks.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Dropping out of full time contract status is a massive vote of no confidence for a player. Very few come back from it. The only one I can think of is Jamal Fogarty, though there would surely be others.

the great Kenny Edwards......

 

[Avenger]

Mennings

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...m/news-story/ebf4bd22b647ffd40353f9116ff2d193

Never liked him despite his obvious ability. Another dickhead. Thank f**k he's gone.

 

[Phil Mann Stand]

 

[Angry_eel]

Mennings

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...m/news-story/ebf4bd22b647ffd40353f9116ff2d193

We have civil courts for criminal offences in Australia? Wow I learnt something today.

 

[TheRam]

@Poupou Escobar, what have you got to say about Sterlos comments? He all but named BA in his assessment of them not understanding defense. I mean how are they so clueless, right? Week after week, year after year. Look how frustrated he is. He sees what we all see but you. He knows something needs to change in their structures and it is killing him, just like most of us, that we haven't worked it out yet.

But you will find a way to spin it I know you will.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I don't actually rate Sterlo's judgement that much, and the reason is a conversation I had with Brian Smith in about 1998. He specifically mentioned how commentators get it wrong all the time and it feeds into the fans' misunderstanding of the game. He mentioned Sterlo by name.

For all his faults, Smith really did understand the game, at a level most fans don't care about. Those fans prefer commentators like Sterlo, and despise people like Gould, who also understands the game at a deep level. Anyway, that's why I don't value Sterlo's opinion when it comes to the deeper understanding of rugby league.

Obviously we concede a lot of tries on our right edge, and a superficial understanding of the game would tell you that it is a problem with the players or system on the right edge. If you didn't give it much thought you'd assume that it can be fixed by teaching or tactics. The logical conclusion of this simplistic assessment is that if it can be fixed but hasn't then the problem lies with whoever is responsible for fixing it. Arthur and Kidwell. Why haven't they fixed it? Because they're unable. End of story if you don't like thinking.

But what about the times when our right edge doesn't get torn apart? What's different there? Why does our defence work well on those occasions? That's how you fix problems, rather than just identify them. You look at what does work and keep doing that.

 

[strider]

While we do seem to have alot of issues with rushing in defense - particularly fergo and waqa .... i have seen evidence of attempts to slide, moreso on the other side.

So i dont know if our structure includes both rushing and sliding and we just dont do it well or what.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Don't forget these players are just footballers, and during a game they need to react to what's happening and make decisions. It's stands to reason that they'll all get it wrong at some stage, and some will get it wrong more than others. Just like how some will drop the ball more often. I think it's natural that the players who are in the team for their physicality (including many wingers) will be the worst at the mental aspects of the game.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Our defence will probably improve when Ferguson is gone (assuming any given winger is likely to make better decisions) but he has been essential to our attack since he joined the club. In 2018 when we signed him he was 28, won a premiership, played Origin and was Dally M winger of the year. He was also 4th for tries scored, 2nd for linebreaks, and 1st for runs, running metres and post-contact metres. For a team that couldn't get out of its own half that year he was the perfect signing. He was a big part of why our attack was so good in 2019 (3rd for points and tries and 4th for metres). But he has since hit the magic 30 years mark and niggling injuries are impacting his performance (he is now 12th in the NRL for PCM rather than 1st). He's obviously less valuable than he was and not worth as much. He will be even less valuable next year. But right now he is still important to our team, and when the team gets it right in defence so does Blake Ferguson, at least often enough that for the second year in a row our defence is top four. Yes we concede more points against the good teams than the bad teams. Show me a team that doesn't.

The natural implication of having a salary cap is that administrators building teams need to make decisions and balance strengths and weaknesses. That's just rugba leeg.

 

[Gazzamatta]

Has Gennings learned to slide?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Has Gennings learned to slide?

The Storm players are so good at defence across the board that Gennings isn't put under much pressure.

But Gennings always knew how to slide, as does every other player. The question is whether he knows when to do it, and whether he has the physical ability (lateral movement and acceleration) to be effective at sliding in defence. If he's more effective coming out of the line then his coach will have him lean toward that response, and have inside defenders prepared to cover behind him. Their ability to do that determines how well the edge responds to overlaps, and the ability of the middle to slow down the play directly determines how many overlaps their edges face.

 

[Gazzamatta]

I don't actually rate Sterlo's judgement that much, and the reason is a conversation I had with Brian Smith in about 1998. He specifically mentioned how commentators get it wrong all the time and it feeds into the fans' misunderstanding of the game. He mentioned Sterlo by name.

For all his faults, Smith really did understand the game, at a level most fans don't care about. Those fans prefer commentators like Sterlo, and despise people like Gould, who also understands the game at a deep level. Anyway, that's why I don't value Sterlo's opinion when it comes to the deeper understanding of rugby league.

Obviously we concede a lot of tries on our right edge, and a superficial understanding of the game would tell you that it is a problem with the players or system on the right edge. If you didn't give it much thought you'd assume that it can be fixed by teaching or tactics. The logical conclusion of this simplistic assessment is that if it can be fixed but hasn't then the problem lies with whoever is responsible for fixing it. Arthur and Kidwell. Why haven't they fixed it? Because they're unable. End of story if you don't like thinking.

But what about the times when our right edge doesn't get torn apart? What's different there? Why does our defence work well on those occasions? That's how you fix problems, rather than just identify them. You look at what does work and keep doing that.

* Small sample size.