It,s going to be a long hard winter

[imported_midas]

After watching the Eels get whacked by the Dogs last night ,I get the feeling that it,s going to be a long,hard winter out West.
No forward depth,no power in the back row,halves not gelling yet,defensive pattern non-existent-no cause for optimism there.
Admittedly we were without Hindmarsh,Burt and Hodgson but that was never going to make a difference,particularly in defence.
It,s OK to say that the club is in a rebuilding phase but that takes several seasons by which time other players will have to be replaced.
Don,t know how or if Smith can solve this problem but it,s not going to be easy to be a Parra fan this year (what,s new?).
My only other gripe (and if you get whacked by 20 points you,re entitled to a gripe )is that Parra had to shed qite a number of personnel to stay under the cap ,yet the Dogs were able to actually add to their playing roster.Must use a different form of arithmetic over there.

 

[legend]

Midas, the Eels are in all sorts and to be honest, I don't think the Dogs played all that well. Your biggest problem is Green. He is just awful, He failed to find touch, he knocked on from dummy half and Dykes isn't much better. Time to bring in Steve Witt and give him a go.

The other thing that puzzled me was how Smith brought Vella off right on 20 minutes. In big games like these you need you players to give it all they've got and Parra just don't have the personell but some of the errors they made were tragic. Moodies was the worst and as long as Smith keeps trying the band aid solution for the halfback problem, Parra will continue to struggle.

 

[imported_midas]

Another problem is that Adam Dykes can,t tackle a decent feed.He virtually provides an escort service for wide-running attacking forwards.
It,s difficult to recall a first-grade player with worse defence."Chook" Heron,maybe.

 

[imported_Roopy4246]

Parra bought a guy who has all the skills necessary to be the next great halfback, and they are playing him at hooker.

 

[imported_eels fan...]

Hear hear Roopy...
I've been moaning about this since round one. Morris & Green need to swap, end of story.I dont rate Green to begin with but to be fair a year off is a big skill drop in anyones book & I think we would be better served having Paul ween himself into the game again by way of hooker. Morris looks good with the ball in his hands & although gets a little flustered I think would quickly make the transition a smart one. Adding to that I think Greens short kicking game would become more of a weapon as opposition would, I'm guessing, be looking to Morris to have the ball. Theres a sense of panic in Greens game ATM, & without fail the more he tries to correct it the worse it will become.

Witt is a definite option & I have no doubts he will see time in the big show this year but I'd really like to see a Morris/Green swap first.

Small consolation but I think there is a little more ticker in this team than last year. I know the Dogs took their foot off the pedal last night but Parra didnt let it blow out to a 40 point drubbing. Little consolation I know but it's about the only thing I liked about last night.

 

[El Duque]

Cheaterburyscored most of their points in a 9 minute period. Nothing special about the other 70 minutes.

My only other gripe (and if you get whacked by 20 points you,re entitled to a gripe )is that Parra had to shed qite a number of personnel to stay under the cap ,yet the Dogs were able to actually add to their playing roster.Must use a different form of arithmetic over there.

Midas, they're cheats, and shouldn't be in the comp at all with this squad.

The AFL got it right by heavily punishing Carlton, but the Cheats got hit with a feather.

 

[imported_Docker]

The Eels halfbacks are pedestrian at best.

Without an exceptional player in either the 6 or 7 jersey you aren't going to go far. To go all the way you need a champion and at leats avery good one in the pairing.