Round 1 vs. Parramatta Discussion + Voting

[lockyno1]

I hate Dodds so I'm glad Slyney was chosen over him

I would have chosen Ben Hunt to play prop before I would have considered Dodds, he makes Anderson look like the best prop in the world. Useless C/D grade plodder and glad someone else has been given a go!

 

[Snappy]

Only took 60 minutes to get going, but started to get better in the end.

Norman went ok I reckon and I think he'll go ok.

Hodges looks the best Ive seen him in years. If we can get him some more space he will carve up some teams.

Looking forward to Petro in the front row to get us better go forward, which was really lacking tonight.

Great kick from the sideline from Parker.

Before the game I expected the win, but after that first half im very relieved to have the two points.

 

[beads6]

Second Half was very good but our defense was solid all game. Will be better for the run for sure. Can't wait till our home match against the Cowboys.

 

[beads6]

3. Wallace
2. Hodges
1. Hannant

 

[Country Bronco]

Happy with that win. Over the next few weeks our performance will give us a better idea of how we're going so i'm not going to judge tonights first up game. But I will give a 3, 2, 1 to vote.

3 Wallace
2 Hodges
1 Hannant

 

[00digger00]

Always good to get the season off with a win, but plenty to do during the week to sharpen up. Thought we scrambled well in D when we had too.
Wallace 3
Hodges 2
Thaiday 1

 

[APRIL BELLE]

cant believe you could give 3 points to Wallace on that match. I have been saying that I think he will have a good season but tonight I thought he was average. Threw 3 passes that went to ground, looked slow. He kicked well.

Hodges looked dangerous with every touch. Hannant played his best match in 2 seasons, probably suited by the heavy conditions. I thought all the back row were strong particularly in the second half.

 

[Big Pete]

Frustrating 60 or so minutes. After waiting five months I expected more but we played some stupid inexperienced football. Ended up being the stronger sign, and there were some positives to take out of the game but plenty of negatives that need to be worked on.

It's Round 1, I'm passionate about footy so I'll give my thoughts on each player.

Hoffman - Geez he's a good player. Plenty of tough kicks directed at him tonight and the defence was ready through out the night but he just persisted and finally he was rewarded.

Beale - Not a great evening for him. Didn't get much ball, and came up with one very costly mistake and another that was potentially lethal. Good take under pressure, but not a night to remember.

Reed - Fairly quiet night for Jumpin Jack. Well covered by Sandow all night, and Morgan gave him a bit of trouble but otherwise solid. His intercept was very valuable.

Hodges - Very very busy and was on the threshold of blowing the Eels apart. Well covered but his quick play the balls allowed Yow Yeh to draw those cheap penalties, made some good defensive reads and made some good ground.

Yow Yeh - Scored our first try sans Lockyer and plenty of penalties to boot. Typical night from him, unlucky to be have a knock on ruled against him.

Norman - Ordinary. Took a couple of silly options but showed some good signs too, couple of good kicks and his involvement improved in the second half. A OK performance to build off of.

Wallace - Some really good signs tonight. Couple of bad mistakes too, but lead the team around well and that try he scored was exactly what the doctor ordered. Needs to play a bit more direct and organise the side a bit better but he's looking better without Locky.

Hannant - Silly pass aside, strong start to the season. Got through plenty of work and very persistent through the middle.

McCullough - Mixed bag. Would take a good option one play, then a poor one the next. Finished strongly.

Thaiday - A solid performance from captain Sam but not a long term option up front. A couple of good passes really impressed me.

Glenn - Solid performance, came up with a couple of really good defensive efforts and for mine that's what scored us the victory.

Te'o - Bit disappointed in Te'o. Had him down for a big game and he came up short (literally).

Parker - Standard Parker performance. Hasn't missed a beat and that was a impressive strike to start the season.

Hunt - Thought he played better than Macca's first stint. A very handy player to have around the squad. Still think he should work on his craft in the Q Cup if we're serious about his future in the halves.

McGuire - Really impressed me. Like Parker, didn't really miss a beep. A tad disappointed with the kick off. It was Wallace's fault but Moose should have put a foot on the dead ball line.

Gillett - Broken record time - standard Gillett performance. Came up with big plays whether it was in attack or defence and is still dangerous on the fringes. Annoys me a bit with his jinking stop start runs, but a fine talent and love having him at our club.

Slyney - Poor, silly penalty to give away and didn't really do much else.

VOTES:
3. Ben Hannant
2. Justin Hodges
1. Peter Wallace

 

[Snappy]

Hannant played his best match in 2 seasons, .

You forgetting that match against the Bulldogs last year (approx round 5) where he forced his way into the test team ? He played that well that the selectors couldnt leave him out. Good tonight Yes, but best in 2 years, nah.

 

[AuDragon]

That first half needs to be quickly forgotten by the fans.
First outing of the season, crappy weather, no Locky, determined opponent, all combined to that 6-0 result.

Pretty happy with the fact that we didn't panic, settled down, and allowed the superior quality to shine through. Every single player improved in the second half, and having cut those silly errors, we converted the supremacy into enough points to win comfortably in the end.

Wallace could've done better a few times, but his kicking game was fairly good, he guided us well around the park and scored a opportunistic try.
Norman started hesitant, but improved with time and towards the end, was about ready to tear the Eels a new one. Pity his assist at the end was just forward...

Our pack dominated the Eels pack easily, which is not a given when you look at the Eels prop rotation, even if their second row is a bit poor.

Hoffman, Hodgo and Yow Yeh very good, Reed solid as usual and Beale... Well, he just isn't a winger. He has never looked comfortable in the wing.

Te'o was okay, Glenn and Parker their usual selves, and Gillett was awesome. Slyney didn't have much time to show anything, but seem a bit affected by the occasion.

Hannant was enormous, Thaiday did the job, but looks so much better on the fringes, and McGuire certainly didn't hurt his chances of a spot in the 17.

Finally, Macca crap at first (like most of the team), Hunt had a fairly good stint and Macca finished much better.

Ignoring the many errors, so common at the start of comp, the signs are actually really good.
With such an awesome pack and backline, we only need the halves and hooker to stand up and make themselves count. Come on!

3- Gillett
2- Wallace
1- Hodges

 

[blaza88z]

The first half was ugly but I think this game tonight proves one thing which we all already knew, even though some will still say Griffin was taking advantage of Henjak's pre-season (last year)..

but this coach, he's something. The guys looked horrendous first half, never really looked like scoring bar 1 or 2 pieces of individual plays, I was thinking all the first half defending we had to do would show late in the game and we would concede a few soft ones but geez, they came out and sure they got gifted some possession but you could just see the mentality was different, the tries were barge over tries (except the backline movement which was the first try I think)

it's like someone flicked a switch and you just knew who was going to win, I don't think we beat much but it was a tough spot there for a while and we had to dig ourselves out without the champion (which is something alot of people don't think we can do)

 

[blaza88z]

also I think Norman deserves more credit then he's gotten, our first try was a result of a dropped ball from a bomb which he put up

he's little chip back to the centre of the field, on a drier night that's a try

he added a bit more creativity then Wallace offers, Wallace does a job, his crossfield kicks are on the money and he's got a decent kicking game but tonight I thought Norman added the "what's gonna happen next" factor

 

[qld aussie]

Scrapppy game but plenty to look foward to for 2012. Tried to score of everything in the 1st half much better in 2nd half when showed some patience with the football. Norman will be OK with some cohesion with Wallace. Why did we go wide in wet weather? Pass the ball to Hodges for something to do. 2nd half up the middle and ran over the top of them. Parra in for a long season ordinary. Why did we pick Slyney? Needed a another frontrow on the bench in wet weather.

3. Gillett (freak)
2. Hannant (dominated)
1. Hodges (please dont get injured)

 

[hellteam]

Strange game, I think if .we were playing any team but the eels last night we would have lost . Next week will be the real test

 

[GoTheBroncs]

I think we should be very pleased with their efforts for the first game of the season. Hopefully Beale has got his shocker out of the road for the season.

It is obvious that its gunna be a be a bit more tricky for us to score point this year, but Wallace and Norman did a pretty good job, and hopefully they only get better. I am very pleased that Hodges got through the full game and did plenty of work. No doubt the heavy ground would have been a big test for his hamstring.

3. Gillett
2. Wallace
0.5 Hannant (should have scored a double?!?!?!)
0.5 Hodges

 

[lockyno1]

Well I just watched the game as I had a prior engagement last night. However, it was what I call a "workman-like" performance, and you need that it horrible conditions. Hodges was so far ahead of anyone on the park it was not even funny, I hope that is a sign to come, if he gets through the whole season we may have a shot at the top 4.

 

[AuDragon]

Strange game, I think if .we were playing any team but the eels last night we would have lost . Next week will be the real test

Where have I heard this before? :sarcasm:

 

[Leagueaddict]

Watched the game on delayed telecast (12:15am) due to 9's geniuss who schedule the tv guide down here in AFL territory!!! Thought the game was a real test due to conditions and first game of the season plus without Lockie etc. First half we didn't play to conditions but did enough to stay in touch.
Second half we played better and luckier for us the eels became more undisciplined as time went on. Can't say i noticed too much of Norman until the latter stages. Wallace did enough and our forwards were strong. I thought the eels muscled up as well but kept shooting themselves in the foot territory wise. :lol: The usual suspects ( Thaiday, Yow Yeh, Reed, Hoffman) all played "good enough" but Hodges was the stand out. Is he totally fit though?
Anyway i enjoyed the game and thought we gelled pretty well and looked solid in defence. Know it's only early days but think this first win will give us a lot of confidence and a good foundation to work on. Cheers boys!

 

[josh1111]

3. Glen was always there in defense and he had some good touches he is 1st class.
2. Walace guided the team around well although he does need to let the ball go to Norman more often.
1. McGuire is again going to be our best prop this year. Hannatt got through a lot of work but McGuire is the man who can take the game away from the opposition.

 

[Steve_oneskie]

3 Hodges
2 Hannant
1 Wallace