Rd8: Eels v Dogs GAME DAY THREAD @ Stadium Australia 1/5/21

[Gronk]

Gutherson was also playing reserve grade at age 20, of course he's not going to be anywhere near Gutho or Moses at this stage but his defense is better than 99% of all 20year old five eights.
Everyone needs to lay off the kid. he 100% deserves to be part of this team on defense alone.
His line runs will improve dramatically as he gains strength. He'll be a devastating 5/8 in 18 months

I agree with most what you say. To me, there are just those 1%ers that he needs to ice. Rheed was like that last year. He was one dimensional and had no trickshots other than the wide pass. Dylan just needs engage the line with the ball in front of him and learn to to find his edge forward or centre. Having said that, the edge runner needs to be running the right line for it to come off. He’s a good defender and has good pace and I reckon he’ll come good.

 

[IFR33K]

I agree Brown has been average this season so far in attack. His running game is good and his defence for a 20 year old half is superb. 10 years ago we would of been praying for a young bloke this good. If we didn't offer him a decent contract, another club would of and in a couple years he would of been the next gun Parra let go. He is only going to get better. Let's be patient with the kid.

Agree with a lot of what you’ve said. But since his debut has he gotten any better? Seems the same player, May of even stagnated

 

[Incorrect]

I've been one of Dylbags' biggest critics and he was poor last night, but any suggestion he be dropped to reserve grade is lunacy IMO. As a unit the team are doing fine, we've lost a single game all season. At 20 years of age, Dylan is already a far more valuable halve commodity than an imposter like Luke Brooks (on $850K mind) and Ash Taylor ($1m ffs).

He ain't diabolical, and he's not costing us games. We're in a position to be able to keep him in the side and hone his craft, we'd be silly to send him back to NSW Cup right now.

 

[T-Boon]

Agree with a lot of what you’ve said. But since his debut has he gotten any better? Seems the same player, May of even stagnated

That is how I see it. His short kicking game has regressed since he was 18 - it was pretty good then. His defense has definately gotten better. Everything else is about the same or worse. He needs to learn to consentrate for 80 minutes thats for sure. He needs to prove he is not the 2 errors a game player he currently is. Thats way too many errors for what he gives the team.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Look at all of the other halves in the comp. Most of them are f**king dreadful. His form isn’t where it could be but he’s still a better option than most.

 

[Tooooks]

He’s overrated. Defence is great but as absolutely nothing in attack

Overrated by whom? I don’t think anyone on this forum overrates him and no neutral fans do either.

 

[eels_fan]

There is no doubt Dyl has more talent than any junior half we have brought through in decades.
My only concern is we have seen Moses game improve hugely this season and I don’t feel Brown’s has progressed at all, and his brain fades/concentration gaps seem to have increased. I’d like to think with Johns hands on with him weekly would be improving his game as it appears to have with Moses

 

[hindy111]

Nursing a hangover actually. I had about 20 beers watching the game last night.

Gee..... That is a very unhealthy amount. Your liver will go into shock

 

[hindy111]

Jake Arthur is 18 years old. He fits in when he is 21 and has had 3 years playing against men in Reggies. Not everyone has to debut at a young age just because Penrith did it. Every other club does it out of need.

True. Cleary is a very special case. Most likely a future immortal.
Luai was closer to 22

 

[Tooooks]

I was working last night so have only just watched the game. Geez, I’m used to the wrist-slitting after a loss, but some of you are moaning about a very comfortable win where we were well below our best and we’re only in round 8. Had Gutho not been stripped as he was about to plant the ball for his third, we would’ve been up 20 or 22 nil after 25 minutes.

Just enjoy a comfortable win and get pumped about how much room for improvement we have in us.

 

[hindy111]

Then blame the club for offering that money to him.

He's doing his job.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve criticism - of course he does.

But people calling him a dud probably need a little perspective - he's not even 21 yet, and is in his third season of First Grade.

He's got plenty to improve on, but I reckon he's doing fine.

As for Smith, I actually quite like him as a player, and though he may make mistakes, I Iike what he brings to the table.

Maybe I am missing something. I think its possible he will come good. Just like Mahoney. But at this point I have not seen anything in his game for me to be confident that it will happen as he matures and ages.
He maybe a slow burner. Plenty are opposite. Brooks,Seizer,Taylor all looked like stars and where flushed out. So if I had to evaluate D.Brown I'd be sitting on the fence a little. Where will he be in 3yrs time? Perhaps he evolves into one of the top 5 halves in game. But at same time if he was flushed out of NRL completely I am unsure if I would be surprised. At this point I'd lean on the most likely scenario being that he will b a solid and serviceable half. Not a superstar but a higher level then Chad Townsend but perhaps not Moses level.

 

[hindy111]

So you want high intensity every week for 24 weeks? Is this so you can complain come finals time for dropping out early after playing high intensity for 24 weeks?

We played at a low intensity for 60 minutes and won by 22. You should be stoked we can not even try and win by that margin. Last year when we didn't try we beat the dogs by 2

We are like a big tractor. Just ploughing through teams. Unsure why we need to play higher risk expansive footy. This style works. I think the Storm can match us. I feel like Panthers and Souths will be unable to stop it. Aslong as we contained their backline we will just roll over them. Theirs packs won't have the power to stop us imo.
We have heaps of fine tuning to do. But winning by 13+ most games while playing average is a good sign.

 

[hindy111]

View attachment 48076

Things get a bit rough last night mate?

 

[hindy111]

That is how I see it. His short kicking game has regressed since he was 18 - it was pretty good then. His defense has definately gotten better. Everything else is about the same or worse. He needs to learn to consentrate for 80 minutes thats for sure. He needs to prove he is not the 2 errors a game player he currently is. Thats way too many errors for what he gives the team.

The biggest issue is. He doesn't get a chance to do any of it. Between Mahoney,Gutherson,Moses,Cartwright we have 4 ball players. Why I find it so hard to evaluate his game. He also has two guys outside him that aren't attacking threats. Niakuore and Lane. Imagine Cordener,Kikau,Latrell etc out there.

 

[yy_cheng]

I don't have mush issues with his lack of play making

It's the stupid, loss of focus errors that peeve me. They are usually when we have good field position too

 

[Gary Gutful]

Gee..... That is a very unhealthy amount. Your liver will go into shock

I exagerrated slightly.

 

[Incorrect]

I exagerrated slightly.

Over exaggerated or under exaggerated?

 

[Gazzamatta]

I agree with most what you say. To me, there are just those 1%ers that he needs to ice. Rheed was like that last year. He was one dimensional and had no trickshots other than the wide pass. Dylan just needs engage the line with the ball in front of him and learn to to find his edge forward or centre. Having said that, the edge runner needs to be running the right line for it to come off. He’s a good defender and has good pace and I reckon he’ll come good.

I quite like this Gronky. I love Drown. His hands are letting him down badly at the moment and last night he seemed to be far less involved which seemed to be the game plan and not necessarily his fault. Maybe an injury?
He also received an NRL fine through the week and a lot of not needed scrutiny and attention. I'm sure the club has his back. I'm expecting a big bounce back V The Chooks. Let's go Drown!

 

[eel01s]

Maybe we should look at how Mahoney has progressed over a few seasons, adding a bit more to his game. Maybe BA is doing the same with Brown? I think he has been coached to run first and foremost. When their is an opportunity he will take it, like he tried to do last night.

I think we persevere with him. I'm sure BA does too.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I like drown when he is first receiver and passes to Moses like a traditional 7.
U know the pass will get to him accurately and with speed.

They should use him in plays with moses

It could also be that he is on the right now

But I thinks it's mainly Moses who's getting all the good ball

They said they switched so drown kicks from the rhs of the field but what I see is Moses swinging to the right and kicking

I think the change is more about defence, but admitting that would draw drama from league journalists.

EELS COACH: "MOSES CAN'T TACKLE!"