R5 eels

[Eatons Hill Dragon]

I'm all for a bit of creativity but Dufty really needs to be very careful with his long cut out passes to our outside backs, in particular when we are pressing the oppositions try line.....its ok now and again but not all the time....it wont be long before other teams sweat on an intercept and away they go

Happened twice last year and the opposition ran 90 both times.

 

[SBD82]

With the way that Parra played today they were beatable. The Tigers weren’t great and they almost got the win.

I think it’s a big ask for our middle to recreate their performance against the knights, but if they do we are a very good chance.

 

[Brutalitops]

I just hope if we lose this, we get behind the team rather than turn against them like has been the case after every loss in the last few years. Finally the dragons are at a point where a loss is, for lack of a better word, "due". They are clearly moving in the right direction and I am sure will not be push overs. Undefeated competition is a tall ask for every team in the comp.

Betting it will be a cracker of a match

 

[Dion]

I just hope if we lose this, we get behind the team rather than turn against them like has been the case after every loss in the last few years. Finally the dragons are at a point where a loss is, for lack of a better word, "due". They are clearly moving in the right direction and I am sure will not be push overs. Undefeated competition is a tall ask for every team in the comp.

Betting it will be a cracker of a match

Losing was never the real issue in the past.
It was how we lost.
Pathetic capitulations and white flag surrender was the order of the day most weekends..
Most of our fans can accept losing if the effort and grit is on show.
We showed some real ticker against the Knights and no reason why we can't do it again against Parra.
Hopefully it will be reflected on the scoreboard as well.

 

[hewi]

Losing was never the real issue in the past.
It was how we lost.
Pathetic capitulations and white flag surrender was the order of the day most weekends..
Most of our fans can accept losing if the effort and grit is on show.
We showed some real ticker against the Knights and no reason why we can't do it again against Parra.
Hopefully it will be reflected on the scoreboard as well.

You nailed it. If we are beaten by a better team but the players have played with commitment and effort I’ll be disappointed but not not angry.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

With the way that Parra played today they were beatable. The Tigers weren’t great and they almost got the win.

I think it’s a big ask for our middle to recreate their performance against the knights, but if they do we are a very good chance.

I’d love nothing more than for Corey Norman to put on a man of the matcher to sink his former team.

 

[Overseas dragon]

In February I put my predictions in here somewhere and picked Penrith and Canberra to be the Grand Finalists this year but now I'm thinking Penrith vs Parr is looking more likely. Both of them are so strong across the park. Parra has a huge pack and their backs are nearly as big plus their spine is just lethal.
We'd have to play the best game we've ever played to win this, no mistakes, no poor discipline giving away 8 or so restarts and I don't think we'll be bullying Parra into submission.
I'll be happy if we can just, complete well, compete well and give a good account of ourselves and not let the game get away from us entirely.
It won't happen but I'd seriously consider swapping Periera for Ramsey just for this one.

Possible ravalawa injured you might see Pereira on the other side we will see ....

 

[BLM01]

I just hope if we lose this, we get behind the team rather than turn against them like has been the case after every loss in the last few years. Finally the dragons are at a point where a loss is, for lack of a better word, "due". They are clearly moving in the right direction and I am sure will not be push overs. Undefeated competition is a tall ask for every team in the comp.

Betting it will be a cracker of a match

LOL..now Gus death riding us.
Has us making the 8.

 

[blacksafake]

I’m not expecting a victory, especially at Bankwest with a very vocal crowd which always influences the ref. I hope it’s not Klein or Gough.
I’m more interested in how we play for the 80 & compete until the end. They say you tend to learn more from a loss than a win.

 

[gitano]

Possible ravalawa injured you might see Pereira on the other side we will see ....

Chatted with him just before he'll be right.

I think it won't be long until we see Bud in the 17.

 

[possm]

Well I'm all in! I believe we can win this one with Bird back at left centre and with Clune having a good hit out last round against the Nights.

Our forwards are improving each game esspecially Lawrie, Vaughan and Sims. We have lost nothing in defence and gained a better organiser in McCullough and Fui is playing just great.

In the backs Ravalawa and Lomax are playing well on the right and with Bird back, our left side should also do well.

We are a much better side than the Tigers and Parra had a lot of luck going their way to help them eventually go over the top to win. I felt the final score did not reflect the contest but Parra were the better team on the day.

I'm looking for Sims and Kerr to shut down the Eels halves and for Vaughan and Lawrie to match it with Parramatta's big guys. If Fui can replicate his form against the Knights, we will definately be in with a chance. For this game, the forwards again need to be powerful, tough and with good line speed in defence.

Our halves need to feed our centres and give them plenty of room to weave their magic. Lomax will be heavily marked so no good jamming him up against the sideline before delivring a pass. Norman and Clune need to pepper both of the Parramatta wingers with high floating bombs that dip as they come down. They should be aiming for their kicks to land deep into the corners.

Tries to Ravalawa, Ramsey, Dufty and Bird. Lomax to kick 4 from 4

Dragons to WIN 24-12

 

[LINESPEED]

I

Losing was never the real issue in the past.
It was how we lost.
Pathetic capitulations and white flag surrender was the order of the day most weekends..
Most of our fans can accept losing if the effort and grit is on show.
We showed some real ticker against the Knights and no reason why we can't do it again against Parra.
Hopefully it will be reflected on the scoreboard as well.

Hook will have the lads feeling uncomfortable feeling comfortable

.... they’re hungry & confident

& will want to bust even more so-called superor packs

 

[giboz71]

We've won in hostile environments twice already this year. Cows and Knights at their home grounds.

I'm not necessarily expecting a win against one of the premiership favourites (especially without Hunt), but we will make a good account of ourselves. Hook has proven the team can deliver that at the very least (win or lose).

Tell you what though, if we can roll Parra at BankWest, I'll be jumping on that bandwagon towards the semi finals quick smart.

 

[denis preston]

Interesting to see how long we can put in sustained efforts in the forwards like the past couple of games. Will it be 2018 all over again ? Perhaps the mid season signing of 2 forwards and the return of Debellin is more crucial than we first thought ?

 

[getsmarty]

MATCH PREVIEW


NRL.com preview: Round 5 v Eels
Author
NRL.com
Timestamp
Mon 5 Apr 2021, 06:48 PM
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Two high-flying teams come together on Sunday evening with neither having tasted a loss since the Dragons' defeat to Cronulla back in round one.

Parramatta survived an Easter Monday scare against Wests Tigers to move to 4-0 alongside Penrith at the top of the ladder while the Dragons capitalised on an unfortunate injury toll to the Knights to record their third straight win.

The Eels are 2-0 at their Bankwest Stadium fortress so far this year but the Dragons took the points away last time they were here in round 14 last year.

Eels v Dragons /

Match: Eels v Dragons

Round 5 - Sunday 11th April

6:15pm

Home Team

Eels

2nd Position


Away Team

Dragons

6th Position

Venue: Bankwest Stadium, Sydney

Match broadcasters:

• Kayo
• Foxtel

Buy Tickets
The rundown
Team news
Eels: Ryan Matterson is likely to return to a starting edge forward role after sitting out the past two games due to a head knock, which would push impressive recruit Isaiah Papali'i back to the interchange.

Dragons: Jack Bird will return from a one-game suspension at centre, with Brayden Wiliame set to return to the interchange after a try-scoring performance in round four.

Key match-up
Reed Mahoney v Andrew McCullough: The Eels' No.9 has snuck under the radar as one of the form players of the competition after four rounds. His passing and kicking games have blossomed this year and he has been among his side's three best players every game so far.

Tackle-machine McCullough has been a critical cog for the Red V, providing reliable service to the forwards and proving an astute recruit so far.



Stat Attack
The Dragons got the win last week despite making 16 errors against just seven from their opponents; they can't afford to do that again if they want to topple the co-ladder leaders on their home patch.



Head to NRL Pick'Em and get pickin’ to win a share of $100,000 cash every week!


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2021/04/06/nrl.com-preview-round-5-v-eels/

 

[giboz71]

Interesting to see how long we can put in sustained efforts in the forwards like the past couple of games. Will it be 2018 all over again ? Perhaps the mid season signing of 2 forwards and the return of Debellin is more crucial than we first thought ?

I don't think there is as much of a risk of a mid season fade out this year like in previous years.

Hook actually knows how to rotate a bench. I agree though, those extra forwards will come in handy, especially now that Vaughan and Tariq might be back to Origin form.

 

[Dragons-4Life]

Eels strength lies in the middles. RCG, Paulo and Brown with their hooker playing off the back of them.

We need to hold strong early in the game and stop their go forward with line speed and stopping the offloads. Kicking early to turn them around is an option to somewhat nullify that with a good kick-chase.

 

[matPORTS]

Side note... did anyone see/hear Brad Arthur talking to the media post-game last night? He made reference to the fact that the Tigers scored two tries off kicks and the Eels emphasis on the 'power game' this season. Mary says hello.

Win, Lose or Draw this week - I'm expecting us to make a good account of ourselves and take only positives away from the game.

Will be my first time attending a game at BankWest Stadium. Looking forward to it. Go the Big Red V !!

 

[Dragon David]

Side note... did anyone see/hear Brad Arthur talking to the media post-game last night? He made reference to the fact that the Tigers scored two tries off kicks and the Eels emphasis on the 'power game' this season. Mary says hello.

Win, Lose or Draw this week - I'm expecting us to make a good account of ourselves and take only positives away from the game.

Will be my first time attending at game at BankWest Stadium. Looking forward to it. Go the Big Red V !!

Hopefully, matPORTS your first time at Bankwest brings luck to the Red V. Enjoy.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I think we are all surprised at our performances thus far especially our forwards but Im not yet fully convinced that we can sustain our early form especially against the top 4 or 5 teams.....whilst Im generally excited about what stage we are at because for me its totally unexpected Im just pulling back a little and not getting to carried away.....we have gone from bottom 3 to now talk of maybe the 8 or even the top 4 and thats fine but its very early days yet