Eels.v Round One 2018 Team List Thread

[Gazzamatta]

Smith was good against the Storm but wasn’t he dogshit against the Cowboys?

He let that high ball bounce which probably got The Cows on a roll. Other than that he was pretty good imo.
Smith offers a little x factor off the bench that you need I reckon. He is also the only player to cover hooker proficiently if we go with one hooker. He also is good enough in other backline positions which would avoid moving players around should injury occur.
No decision will be perfect but the quality of players available means that no decision is wrong either. What a great position to be in.

 

[eel01s]

Yes our depth is looking great at this stage. BA has a few tough decisions to make for the first few rounds.

 

[emjaycee]

He let that high ball bounce which probably got The Cows on a roll. Other than that he was pretty good imo.
Smith offers a little x factor off the bench that you need I reckon. He is also the only player to cover hooker proficiently if we go with one hooker. He also is good enough in other backline positions which would avoid moving players around should injury occur.
No decision will be perfect but the quality of players available means that no decision is wrong either. What a great position to be in.

Any decision that gets us a win in Round 1 over Penrith, no more than 6 losses in the season and a spot at the dance in the last week of September will be perfect IMO.

 

[emjaycee]

Duplicate

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I think it is amazing how many of our fans underrate Alvaro.

Currently our best prop and could be pushing as a top 10 prop in the game by the end of the season.

I will put this disclaimer though. Kane Evans could be even better than Alvaro for our purposes (not saying he definitely will be but it is possible). I understand they are prob different players. Alvaro is a work horse like a very poor mans Matt Scott where Evans is more an impact prop like a Tamou.

Terepo is a solid enough 1st grade prop but not above Alvaro.

Alvaro is a better worker than Scott ever was, but his attack is very average. Definite first grader, but plenty of fans overrate him.

 

[Stevie]

Alvaro is a better worker than Scott ever was, but his attack is very average. Definite first grader, but plenty of fans overrate him.

Geez I think you're a bit tough on Alvaro there mate. I can think of his 2 tries alone last year that he scored with pure f**king grunt!

I have also heard it reported about him that he is incredibly strong (exhibited in those tries) and a very hard man to wrestle to the ground. So whilst he is not trampling merkins every run, his attack is very good.

 

[Gazzamatta]

Alvaro is a gun. No doubt about it. Terepo had a bad start to season last and really didnt get going. Prior to 2017 Terepo was a BA favourite. Ive read training reports how Alvaro is "killing it" yet Terepo has gone pretty much unnoticed. Regardless, in our one and only trial Terepo was outstanding both offensively and defensively.

 

[84 Baby]

I reckon BA picks Alvaro simply because he's near top of preseason fitness

 

[strider]

The Bear was easily our best prop last year, he should be starting with Evans IMO.

I am entirely happy to have the "safe" and "reliable" mannah starting ... alongside a strong runner ... then some impact off the bench

The advantage of Alvaro off the bench is he is developing some running impact but he is also reliable in defense ... he is ideal to replace mannah after 20 mins

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I reckon BA picks Alvaro simply because he's near top of preseason fitness

He is the hardest worker in our pack as well, which is extremely important to a strong defence.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I am entirely happy to have the "safe" and "reliable" mannah starting ... alongside a strong runner ... then some impact off the bench

The advantage of Alvaro off the bench is he is developing some running impact but he is also reliable in defense ... he is ideal to replace mannah after 20 mins

Alvaro is ideal to partner with our laziest, worst defensive forward, though only Vave would be considered a defensive weakness in our middle. Maybe Tony Williams as well if he plays prop.

 

[hindy111]

Right. So what Polar has to do is make some funny faces in a dance competition, then smash twelve Bundies, drive home and smash into a parked car. THEN he'll be a first grader for sure!

Some boxes throw a lot of punches....
Some throw less. The guys that hit harder take energy out of the opponent. Show me a stat for that? Some things dont show up in stats. Woods runs per meter may not be any better then Mannah but he takes more energy to stop and wrap his arms up.

 

[hindy111]

Alvaro impressed me as season went on. If could develop an offload or pass before the line and a little more grunt he can be a top line prop.
At moment he is just a good working forward. Tbh Gower would do same job imo.

 

[Bazal]

Some boxes throw a lot of punches....
.

Personally I've never met a box that threw any punches, and I'm not sure I'd like to...

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Some boxes throw a lot of punches....
Some throw less. The guys that hit harder take energy out of the opponent. Show me a stat for that? Some things dont show up in stats. Woods runs per meter may not be any better then Mannah but he takes more energy to stop and wrap his arms up.

If it took more effort to stop him he would make more metres per run.

The reason Woods is a better player than Mannah is because he is taller, and has better footwork and ball skills. He's not stronger. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Mannah ran harder than Woods. But it's not all about how hard you run. Some effort is wasted, and sometimes a quick play-the-ball is better than fighting for an extra half metre and getting put on your back.

 

[Bazal]

If it took more effort to stop him he would make more metres per run.

The reason Woods is a better player than Mannah is because he is taller, and has better footwork and ball skills. He's not stronger. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Mannah ran harder than Woods. But it's not all about how hard you run. Some effort is wasted, and sometimes a quick play-the-ball is better than fighting for an extra half metre and getting put on your back.

I think Terepo is actually a good example of this. Often runs hard first up, but just as often gets stopped dead at the line without making a dent. Do that a few times and you've spent all your effort for nothing.

Hindy has an obsession with those few hard runs that Terepo makes, but they never amount to anything. He invariably makes very few post contact metres. I reckon he'd be better off playing like Alvaro.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It is intriguing how hard Terepo goes before the line compared to his effort after contact. Maybe he is coached to do it, looking to play the ball quickly rather than wrestle?

 

[Stevie]

I think Terepo is actually a good example of this. Often runs hard first up, but just as often gets stopped dead at the line without making a dent. Do that a few times and you've spent all your effort for nothing.

Hindy has an obsession with those few hard runs that Terepo makes, but they never amount to anything. He invariably makes very few post contact metres. I reckon he'd be better off playing like Alvaro.

One stat you can't see though is how defenders feel after stopping him. You very often see the massive Terepo whack, only to see the defender walking off looking like that one hurt.

 

[Bazal]

One stat you can't see though is how defenders feel after stopping him. You very often see the massive Terepo whack, only to see the defender walking off looking like that one hurt.

If it hurt he'd make more post contact metres.

 

[hindy111]

One stat you can't see though is how defenders feel after stopping him. You very often see the massive Terepo whack, only to see the defender walking off looking like that one hurt.

Exactly. And quite a few times last season in his limited games he almost broke the line. I recall him almost scoring a few times.
Sure it is about balance. But last thing you want is a bunch of soft forwards.