Rd7: Eels v Knights GAME DAY THREAD in Newcastle 24/4/22

[Gazzamatta]

From my excellent viewing position nestled into my leather recliner, I thoroughly enjoyed both games.
Captain Rankin weaved his magic in the 2s and was well supported by Rodwell, Hands, Elie and co. Well played boys.
A very unexpected win by the big boys. I really expected The Knights and Ponga to turn it on today. In a word they were gash. Its probably hard to judge our performance based on what Newcastle dished up but you can only beat who opposes you and we definitely did that. I wont get into the Jake arguement other than I remain of the opinion that he needs time to develop and even allowing for injurys, there are better options available.
Maka and Oregon stood up today. I was surprised when Reg came back on. Madness.
Drown was fantastic as was Mitch. Penisini has been guilty of watching the defender and not the ball on a few occasions now. Needs to work on that. Perham was masterful under the high ball. Well done kid. Best Ive seen from him. Bailey is a solid contributer now. Ice, Matto and Nrown were huge. Rheed had a magnificent game. As a team we looked composed. Gutho solid as ever at the back. Well done boys.
3. Moses
2. Rheed
1. Ice

 

[hineyrulz]

Lol

We're unbeaten despite his inclusion, not because of....

Missed tackles ( like a lot of slightly built halves granted), forward passes, unforced errors, perplexing kicks.... He's a handbrake pure and simple.

But other than that he was great, see how good he stayed out of the way as much as he could??? Perfect back up half.

 

[Soto]

My points would be
3.Matto
2. Ice
1. Reed

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I’m never happy when my team, I’m sure you’ve noticed

And I'm never sad when they lose. We should be in a sitcom together!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We love dominating sides that are passive in defence and throw SFA at us in attack.

Every team loves that.

Flat track bullies!!!

We beat the Storm and lost to the Tigers ffs

 

[hineyrulz]

How much confidence should we have in a backup?

What about a perfect back up???

 

[King-Gutho94]

Jake wont get as much time or space again in FG as he did today and he still looked out of his depth.

Penrith will eat us alive if we go with Jakey boy in a fortnight.

 

[hineyrulz]

I think that game was the perfect Brad Arthur ball we've seen from this team. Calm, composed, boring, sticking to game plan, bashing and winning.

That doesn’t beat the top sides when it matters. But making the top 8 gets you 2 year extensions and that’s all that matters.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

What about a perfect back up???

He's not perfect unless he's on minimum salary. A better backup than that is a waste of cap space.

 

[Happy MEel]

I agree but how does it look in hindsight?

That’s the beauty, I don’t give a shit

 

[Happy MEel]

More like Bradman Better!

*than Paul Caridge…just

 

[parra pete]

I thought Ryan Matterson had his best game in three seasons..

 

[Poupou Escobar]

That doesn’t beat the top sides when it matters.

So what does beat the top sides when it matters? 80 minutes of f**ken trick shots? If the top sides were consistently beatable by lesser sides 'when it matters' they wouldn't be top sides. You just have to hope they have an off day, like Melbourne in the 2008 grand final, or us so many times under Brian Smith.

 

[Avenger]

He's not perfect unless he's on minimum salary. A better backup than that is a waste of cap space.

He is quite ordinary and should never be in first grade unless we are decimated with injuries.

 

[Happy MEel]

I don't think we need to be making rush decisions after one game where we flogged the opposition. Wingers always look great when their team has all the ball.

He’s more physical than I thought he was. He could fill in at 1 - 7 and even 9 at a pinch. He’s no world beater but he’s a very similar mould as Will Smith (hopefully without the brain farts). That far more useful than a poor halfback (by first grade standards) which requires you to move you’re in form 5/8.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

That’s the beauty, I don’t give a shit

Agreed, it is money well spent, although I am now evens for the year. Hopefully I lose another $20 next weekend.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

He is quite ordinary and should never be in first grade unless we are decimated with injuries.

Well we are.

 

[hineyrulz]

He's not perfect unless he's on minimum salary. A better backup than that is a waste of cap space.

A bloke who’s best talent in first grade is to stay out of the way can never be a waste of cap space.

 

[hineyrulz]

So what does beat the top sides when it matters? 80 minutes of f**ken trick shots? If the top sides were consistently beatable by lesser sides 'when it matters' they wouldn't be top sides. You just have to hope they have an off day, like Melbourne in the 2008 grand final, or us so many times under Brian Smith.

Well it’s not what we do that’s for sure.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

He’s no world beater but he’s a very similar mould as Will Smith (hopefully without the brain farts).

That's the problem. Perham has good footwork but he is high risk, much like Smith. He'd certainly be a better impact player than Arthur but not exactly the steady backup doing his job in a tight game.