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Righteo, it's a massive week this week as we shift focus and look towards the clash against the Eels this Friday night. It's a huge clash because it's a top four clash, the first time we've played a top four team since we last played Parra in Round 12 and it's certainly our toughest challenge since that game. This game will be a test for us and after having big wins against sides further down the ladder for the last eight weeks, we'll get an idea of where we're really at this Round.
There's been a lot of talk about the Eels recently, a lot of criticism. I know they've had a couple of really bad weeks but I believe they're just that, bad weeks. We had two terrible weeks ourselves this year and recovered and I think Parra will do the same. They'll bounce back and it may well be against us this week. The fact remains that they are still a top four team as it stands and on their day, they deserve to be there. Haven't been playing well recently as I said but we must be extremely wary this week as that is only going to fire the Eels up even more and they will be extremely desperate to get their Season and home to the Finals back on track. It's been clear that they've really missed Mitchell Moses and he looks set to return to face us so I'm expecting a much better Eels side in this game. They still have strike power everywhere, in both the backs and forwards with plenty of rep players so as I said, this is a big test.
For us, we need to rise to the challenge. We've stepped it up post Origin, there's no doubt about that but now we need to step it up even more. We have some tough games on the run into the Finals and this is certainly one of them so it's time to really ramp things up. I want to see us go out there with a really steely attitude, fired up and focussed, ready to make a statement. On another note, Parra might have some stars back this week but so do we. Murray, Graham, Marshall, Sele and Knight should all be back and available for selection so that will bolster us and it's going to be interesting to see what the make up of our side is. Significantly, our attack is humming along brilliantly (which will hopefully continue to be the case) but that defence is still lacking so that is a big area of focus this week. With Moses back, the Eels will throw a lot at us. It's also important to note that with the rescheduled Round 20, this becomes a five day turnaround so how that gets managed will be crucial, especially considering Parra will be well rested.
Really looking forward to this one, finally we have a challenge! Let's hope the boys are up to it!
There's been a lot of talk about the Eels recently, a lot of criticism. I know they've had a couple of really bad weeks but I believe they're just that, bad weeks. We had two terrible weeks ourselves this year and recovered and I think Parra will do the same. They'll bounce back and it may well be against us this week. The fact remains that they are still a top four team as it stands and on their day, they deserve to be there. Haven't been playing well recently as I said but we must be extremely wary this week as that is only going to fire the Eels up even more and they will be extremely desperate to get their Season and home to the Finals back on track. It's been clear that they've really missed Mitchell Moses and he looks set to return to face us so I'm expecting a much better Eels side in this game. They still have strike power everywhere, in both the backs and forwards with plenty of rep players so as I said, this is a big test.
For us, we need to rise to the challenge. We've stepped it up post Origin, there's no doubt about that but now we need to step it up even more. We have some tough games on the run into the Finals and this is certainly one of them so it's time to really ramp things up. I want to see us go out there with a really steely attitude, fired up and focussed, ready to make a statement. On another note, Parra might have some stars back this week but so do we. Murray, Graham, Marshall, Sele and Knight should all be back and available for selection so that will bolster us and it's going to be interesting to see what the make up of our side is. Significantly, our attack is humming along brilliantly (which will hopefully continue to be the case) but that defence is still lacking so that is a big area of focus this week. With Moses back, the Eels will throw a lot at us. It's also important to note that with the rescheduled Round 20, this becomes a five day turnaround so how that gets managed will be crucial, especially considering Parra will be well rested.
Really looking forward to this one, finally we have a challenge! Let's hope the boys are up to it!