Hindy has everything to play for

[woddy]

Hindy has everything to play for

Adrian Proszenko | September 27, 2009

NATHAN HINDMARSH needs just one word to describe what an elusive grand final win would mean to him: everything.
The closest the 30-year-old has come was in 2001, when Parramatta lost the ''unloseable'' grand final to Newcastle.
''The last time we were here we were the hottest team going around, breaking all the records and no one was coming near us,'' Hindmarsh said. ''[And] we got pumped in the grand final.
''This time, nobody gave us a chance halfway through the season. That's the only difference. It will be a different week [this time].
''I was only young in 2001. I was just going out there to play another game of footy, [believing] this will happen every year. This week will be totally different for me. I'm a lot older now so it's going to be weird. I'll have to enjoy it somehow.''
Hindmarsh will play his 260th NRL game for the Eels in the decider, surpassing the mark set by club legend Ray Price. The former Kangaroos back-rower can pass Brett Kenny's record of 265 next season.
Asked what a premiership would mean to him, Hindmarsh replied: ''Everything. This is what you dream of when you're a young kid, to win an NRL grand final.
''We're not there yet. I've won world cups, Origins .. But I'd really want [injured captain Nathan] Cayless to be there doing it at the same time.''
Cayless, one of three survivors from the heartbreaking 2001 decider alongside Hindmarsh and Luke Burt, yesterday rated himself ''some hope'' of being fit. Scans revealed his hamstring injury was a strain rather than a tear, and he's likely to be named on the team sheet released on Tuesday.
Hindmarsh was hoping his good friend would be there.
''[His presence is] massive. We've been going through it together since '98,'' Hindmarsh said. ''To go on there without him, it's going to be disappointing not just for me but for the whole team.
''He's a great team leader and to have him miss one would be very disappointing for everyone.''
The Eels have won 10 of their past 11 games, although Hindmarsh admitted the wooden spoon was once a realistic proposition.
''Midway through the year, I was just going, 'Let's keep away from the Roosters at the bottom of the table','' he said. ''That's what I was thinking. I was looking at the table thinking, 'Geez, they're only three points behind us, let's have a few more wins. As long as we don't get the spoon'.''
Parramatta players spoke about their desire to win a competition for their senior teammates.
''They wouldn't want us to say that, that we want to win it for them,'' interchange prop Tim Mannah said. ''They really deserve this.''

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhq...ing-to-play-for/2009/09/26/1253813653039.html


really hope Cayless plays

 

[parra-all-the-way]

love to see cayless play, cant wait for sunday...

 

[Eelectrica]

If one person says we've got nothing to lose...
If we win this Hindy will be the Churchill medalist.

 

[Casper The Ghost]

Just like last years World Cup when the Kiwis put such intense pressure on the Kangaroos Billy Slater lost the plot and the Kiwis came up trumps

DESPERATION ... Billy Slater's errant pass contributed to Australia's incredible loss to New Zealand in the World Cup final.

This is what Parramatta must do to Slater, Inglis, Smith, Cronk, Finch & co and Hindmarsh will lead the way with Cayless, Burt, Inu, Hayne, Smith, Fui & co.......

The Eels full on 80 minute game of ferocious defence, intensity and 2nd/3rd/4th phase plays to rattle the Storm who will completely lose their composure and drift away from their game plan becoming a broken team with a broken spirit.....

Billy Slater blunder hands Kiwis the Cup

Peter Badel | November 23, 2008 01:00am
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,24692749-5003409,00.html

BILLY Slater has been the beacon of brilliance in the game's centenary season for the past nine months.

Then, in one instant, in a stupefying flash of insanity, the Melbourne, Queensland and Australian flyer became the villain of a World Cup final the Kangaroos supposedly could not lose.

Over the past month, no one has dominated this centenary showpiece quite like Slater. He's been everywhere; scoring tries, breaking lines, cajoling, terrorising, orchestrating.

Simply captivating.

And then this. Sixty one minutes into last night's decider. Australia leading 18-16. New Zealand kick downfield. Like a gazelle, Slater ghosts across field. Sticks out his right hand. Catches it effortlessly, like David Copperfield without the wand.

Electrifying.

The confidence levels soar. Slater sees a sliver of space down the Kiwis' left flank. Manu Vatuvei shows him the sideline. Slater knows he can do this. If he can slide past Vatuvei, he can sprint the requisite 90 metres.

And win another game.

He's done it before.

Breathtaking.

As he attempts to sucker punch on Vatuvei, the Kiwi winger isn't conned. He pushes Slater towards the touchline. Slater panics, throwing the ball infield. Madness. Australians scramble for the ball. The Kiwis sense destiny. Slater falls over the touchline. Benji Marshall pounces, in disbelief as he completes the easiest 10m run of his career to score the try producing arguably the greatest boilover in rugby league World Cup history.

As the Kiwis pump the balmy night air, Slater rises from the turf. A thousand blunders have been made this season, but surely nothing so embarrassing, so stupefying, so costly.

Downright cruel.

It would be unfair to blame Australia's shock loss last night on Slater's moment of madness. But the Maroons maestro will wake this morning playing the blame game inside his head. He will yearn for the play again. He won't get it. How he recovers, whether he accepts with the passing of time a clanger no one could envisage he would make, will determine if he returns a better, stronger player.

Certainly, his first hour at Suncorp Stadium gave no evidence of the blunder that was to follow.

Slater owned the first stanza. After a tough opening, Slater ensured the Kangaroos struck first blood, slicing the Kiwis line before his inside ball found skipper Darren Lockyer, who touched down in the 12th minute.

Four minutes later, the Storm sensation was at it again. Drifting down the Kiwis left corridor, Slater threw a superb cut-out ball for winger David Williams, who powered home to give the Kangaroos an ominous 10-0 lead.
The sad postscript for Slater is that he remains in line for a unique treble. Last week, he was named the inaugural winner of the International Rugby League player of the year award.

This Saturday night, he is favourite to win the Golden Boot, awarded to the best player in the world since 1986. At the same function, he could be named the Rugby League Professional Association's player of the year.
So many gongs, so many accolades, so many grand memories.

But, in the 61st minute last night, you get the feeling Billy Slater would have swapped every top honour for the chance to swerve infield and do what a man of lesser ability would have done - play the percentages.

 

[Casper The Ghost]

If one person says we've got nothing to lose...
If we win this Hindy will be the Churchill medalist.

More than likely it will be Robson who wins the Churchill medal and deservedly so for what he has done this year. Without Robson (same as Hindmarsh), the Eels would find it almost impossible to win the GF.