Rd 5 Eels vs The Mighty Raiders game day thread

[Noise]

All those hookers would miss loads of tackles if they were isolated as often. Instead they are usually flopping after other players have made initial contact.

No he didn't.

No it wasn't.

If he was he wouldn't have been retained.

The only linebreak he conceded was when he was isolated against a big powerful winger. And on that occasion he didn't come out of the line, he was just left posted by the defenders either side of him.

Ah yes he did. According to fox sports he missed 7 tonight. And my mistake, 6 last week. He also missed 5 against the Dragons. That is a liability.

And the reason he keeps getting picked is because we have 3 shit hookers in our squad. 2 of which are injured.

 

[IFR33K]

Yea I know and I was trying to think who would be available. Rumours are he signed thi week but if not I'd take Hasler

Yeah Hasler coached teams rarely fail to deliver. But I can understand why some dogs fans/admin/past greats are losing patience with him.

 

[IFR33K]

I'd honestly love to see peats back in the blue and gold.

Was tough and an excellent defender. A very typical BA type player.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

You are going around in circles. If they didn't push those stupid offloads in the middle then we don't tackle as much. Possession was fairly even until Mannah, Brown and I think Scott started pushing passes.

Yeah agreed. The stupid offloads come because we are not patient and (IMO) we are impatient because we lack a key kicker and playmaker.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

And why were we doing more tackling?

Impatient with the ball.

 

[Noise]

I'd honestly love to see peats back in the blue and gold.

Was tough and an excellent defender. A very typical BA type player.

Him leaving was the worst part of last year IMO

 

[Poupou Escobar]

But apparently we're between 700k to $1m under the cap for this season. Who's fault is that?

Whose fault do you think it is? We were forced to start rebuilding mid last year when few high value (performance for price) players were available. There's no point wasting money just to spend the cap. You end up paying overs for players for multiple years. At least we got Fritchard when he came available, and we didn't need to offer a multi-year deal either. Otherwise if the players we need weren't available at the right price. That gives us flexibility for next year's recruitment/retention as well as leaving us ready to pick up some value if it comes on the market this year. If we were desperate to just spend the cap this year we might not be any more competitive, plus we wouldn't be advantaged for next year.

 

[hybrideel]

Some teams are spending 100% of the cap plus they have a couple of million in TPAs. We might only be spending 70% as much as those clubs.

I am aware of how it works and in the current format it will never be a completely level playing field but that makes it even more important to ensure the whole cap is used and used well

 

[Poupou Escobar]

So our middle forwards are weak?

Who said that? They might lack size compared to some packs but they are fast and hard working. It's a defensive style that takes a lot out of a team. Therefore we don't want to be conceding 60% possession.

 

[Eelogical]

Y'all can chew it three days to Monday but it's quite evident we will struggle to make the 8, most likely come in around 10 at best from what I've seen so far. More than happy to be proven wrong and have egg on my face ( benedict please) if my judgement is incorrect. Our cattle aren't Wagyu yet, They just need more time on a stud farm.

 

[Chipmunk]

Whose fault do you think it is? We were forced to start rebuilding mid last year when few high value (performance for price) players were available. There's no point wasting money just to spend the cap. You end up paying overs for players for multiple years. At least we got Fritchard when he came available, and we didn't need to offer a multi-year deal either. Otherwise if the players we need weren't available at the right price. That gives us flexibility for next year's recruitment/retention as well as leaving us ready to pick up some value if it comes on the market this year. If we were desperate to just spend the cap this year we might not be any more competitive, plus we wouldn't be advantaged for next year.

We're committed next year to too many players who aren't going to make us a Top 4 side though.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I am aware of how it works and in the current format it will never be a completely level playing field but that makes it even more important to ensure the whole cap is used and used well

No it means you have to build to a premiership window instead of being able to challenge every year. Our window is obviously not this year but rolling this year's cap space into the future might give us a genuine title shot.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We're committed next year to too many players who aren't going to make us a Top 4 side though.

You don't think we have cap space for 2018? Most of the blokes already signed would be good value.

 

[Chipmunk]

Y'all can chew it three days to Monday but it's quite evident we will struggle to make the 8, most likely come in around 10 at best from what I've seen so far. More than happy to be proven wrong and have egg on my face ( benedict please) if my judgement is incorrect. Our cattle aren't Wagyu yet, They just need more time on a stud farm.

Like I said earlier, we're in a battle with 10 sides for the last 1 or 2 spots in the 8, but that also relies on 7 teams copping a heap of injuries.

None of those 10 are going to bother the top teams come finals time.

That loss to the Titans isn't going to help our cause though.

 

[Eelogical]

No it means you have to build to a premiership window instead of being able to challenge every year. Our window is obviously not this year but rolling this year's cap space into the future might give us a genuine title shot.

If only we had this piece of insight circa 1987.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

The Duck of Penrith asked on Twitter if fans would prefer to make the finals every year but never win a premiership or if they would rather miss the finals half the time but be a genuine threat when they do make it.

I get the feeling most Eels fans are just desperate to make the finals. This team is clearly a mid-table side, meaning we are probably about a 50-50 finals chance. I hope we are smart with our spare cap space and can build a genuine title shot.

 

[Chipmunk]

You don't think we have cap space for 2018? Most of the blokes already signweed would be good value.

Hopefully we have enough cap space to buy a few better players to get us a top 4 capable team. I think we need at least 4 players (wing, half, front row and hooker)

 

[Poupou Escobar]

If only we had this piece of insight circa 1987.

I don't think the squad development side of the game in the 1980s had much in common with what is required today.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Hopefully we have enough cap space to buy a few better players to get is a top 4 capable team. I think we need at least 4 players (wing, half, front row and hooker)

Well I don't think we are going to get too many stars at those positions without wasting a lot of money. We might have to settle for one star and the rest just solid first graders. Don't talk about the squads available to the Storm, Roosters or Cowboys. They are playing by different rules.

 

[Noise]

The Duck of Penrith asked on Twitter if fans would prefer to make the finals every year but never win a premiership or if they would rather miss the finals half the time but be a genuine threat when they do make it.

I get the feeling most Eels fans are just desperate to make the finals. This team is clearly a mid-table side, meaning we are probably about a 50-50 finals chance. I hope we are smart with our spare cap space and can build a genuine title shot.

Of course Eels fans are just desperate to make the finals. Arthur should be too. It's a starting point from which to build. Most teams in recent years who win the premiership have been in the 8 the previous years.