Rumours and Stuff

[Incorrect]

A week is a long time on the forum when we lose.

Ain't that truth!

I usually steer clear of this place for 2-3 days after a loss....

 

[Gronk]

Starting spot lured Evans to the Eels

Martin Gabor Thu 25 May, 2017, 10:00am
By Martin Gabor, National Correspondent‌‌, ‌‌‌NRL.com


Departing Sydney Roosters prop Kane Evans admits it will be tough to leave the place he has called home for the past eight years but is looking forward to the opportunity of starting matches when he joins the Parramatta Eels next season.

The Earlwood local has been in the Roosters system since he joined their SG Ball side as a 17-year-old and has been a mainstay in their NYC and NRL squads ever since.

Currently in his fourth NRL season, the Fijian international has only managed four run-on appearances and revealed that was the main reason he signed a three-year deal with the Eels starting in 2018.

The hulking prop has provided plenty of punch off the bench this season, but at 25 years of age, he feels he is ready to play more minutes up front for a side that has been crying out for someone of his size.

"It was a hard decision to leave because this has been my home for so long and I wouldn't be the player I am today without the Roosters," Evans told NRL.com.

"It's going to be sad to leave but I've got to do what's best for my family and take any opportunity that comes.

"I had a talk with the Roosters and a few other clubs, but the thing that stood out with the Eels was that they wanted a tall and rangy prop who could play good minutes.

"They've got a lot of short and powerful props, but they wanted to add a tall, dynamic prop so I fitted their needs.

"They were looking for someone who could potentially start, and that's been a goal of mine since I was young to be a starting prop in the NRL. I've only started a few games at the Roosters, and we've got so many good props here that I had to take the opportunity at Parramatta because it was my best chance to progress."

Evans – who made his NRL debut against the Eels in 2014 – was put in a strange position just recently when he came face-to-face with his future teammates 10 days after it was announced he would be joining them next year.

The Roosters pulverised Parramatta 48-10, and Evans said it felt good to put in a strong performance in front of next year's employers.

"It was awesome to play them and get the win," he said.

"It was a bit nervous for me having to play them and I wanted to earn their respect before I went to them next year.

"All I wanted to do was give it my best and get the win."

http://www.nrl.com/starting-spot-lured-evans-to-the-eels/tabid/10874/newsid/107182/default.aspx

 

[Chipmunk]

Gee there's some cheery folk out on the forum today.

Despite our mental injury toll (Jennings, Norman, IDG, Fritchard, Peni, Bevan (back now), Taka, Brown), only for and against is keeping us out of the 8.

We aren't far away and we've recruited Kane Evans and Mitchell Moses - pretty good for less than half way though the year. Cheer up - we're one or two players away.

We're all frustrated, we're all impatient, but we're about to have a stack of home games (at a venue where, despite what many might suggest, we have a pretty good record in recent years).

Let's see how we go in the next couple of weeks before we assume we're doomed for all eternity.

Well we shouldn't have much worry accounting for a bottom 4 team this weekend.

PS - Where are these other two signings you said were confirmed over a month ago?

 

[Stevie]

Gee there's some cheery folk out on the forum today.

Despite our mental injury toll (Jennings, Norman, IDG, Fritchard, Peni, Bevan (back now), Taka, Brown), only for and against is keeping us out of the 8.

We aren't far away and we've recruited Kane Evans and Mitchell Moses - pretty good for less than half way though the year. Cheer up - we're one or two players away.

We're all frustrated, we're all impatient, but we're about to have a stack of home games (at a venue where, despite what many might suggest, we have a pretty good record in recent years).

Let's see how we go in the next couple of weeks before we assume we're doomed for all eternity.

We weren't far away? You are kidding aren't you? We are a LONG way away from the top teams (Roosters/Melbourne) at our best.

 

[Soren Lorenson]

We weren't far away? You are kidding aren't you? We are a LONG way away from the top teams (Roosters/Melbourne) at our best.

Well no, and that's the point. At our best, we aren't far away. At our worst, we are.

 

[Incorrect]

Should we offer her a spot at the Eels? Could be handy in the prop rotation...

 

[TheRam]

We could have defended better across the board, but we had one set in 13 minutes of footy. One single set. The game was over after 15 minutes regardless of scoreline, there was no way we were coming back from that level of possession against a genuine top 4 contender regardless of our pack. Why do you (and others) refuse to acknowledge that stat when you talk about how our forwards were supposedly the reason we lost the Roosters game?

You refuse to understand that one play kicker (who is not a very good long kicker anyway) is a huge concern. Norman is the obvious target for fifth tackle defenders and Guthbus can't kick anything other than a bomb.

The modern game is not just about which forward pack wins the battle as you seem to believe. That's actually a small part of winning. It's about possession and field position. If you do not have kicking options that can put the ball down the other end consistently, you do not win field position and you have a much harder time winning the game. You say our forwards are getting belted because of size or whatever. I disagree. Our forwards make enough metres, but our kicking game means that we start defending in the wrong field position without a line leading defender like IDG to give us line speed. But even if we are conceding a few too many metres as a result of line speed, conceding 45-50m from the opposing try line is much less of an issue than conceding the same from their 30. But people blame the pack, not the fact that our kickers can't bury the ball in their end.

Did you hear S Burges on 360 the other night. They were discussing the wrestle, and at the end of it he made the comment that winning the ruck(wrestle) and the lines speed (meaning that the wrstle determines line speed) is everything in the game and therefore dictates winning and losing.

That's why he had a bitch about it to the ref on the weekend and told him that the Storm were getting 1.5 secs longer in the ruck then them. Big good forwards dominate in the ruck and in attack. We dominate up our arse and shit comes out on both sides of that ledger.

Good big forwards baby. Big freakin forwards also help tire out those pests that generally put pressure on our kickers too.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Gee there's some cheery folk out on the forum today.

Despite our mental injury toll (Jennings, Norman, IDG, Fritchard, Peni, Bevan (back now), Taka, Brown), only for and against is keeping us out of the 8.

We aren't far away and we've recruited Kane Evans and Mitchell Moses - pretty good for less than half way though the year. Cheer up - we're one or two players away.

We're all frustrated, we're all impatient, but we're about to have a stack of home games (at a venue where, despite what many might suggest, we have a pretty good record in recent years).

Let's see how we go in the next couple of weeks before we assume we're doomed for all eternity.

Interestingly in BA's interview today when the jorno's mentioned our injury toll with Norman / Jennings out, he specifically mentioned Peni / Pritchard as being big losses as well to us because of their "leg speed".

 

[TheRam]

Haha. Wow, three sets in a row! That sure does compare to 9/10 sets in the first 13 minutes of a footy game!



No, getting embarrassed like that happens when you never have 30% of the footy for 70 minutes.



Ok then. Explain how, with 30% of the footy, 9 sets in the first 40, a poor kicking game, and both play makers off injured at various stages of the game, we crawl back into the game.



That's because you refuse to accept that no team in the game wins that Roosters game in the same situation. Zero. None.

This isn't 1990. You do not win games with 70% possession against you. It's that simple. You can whine all you like but at the end of the day that is the overarching fact of the matter. It's not an excuse. It's the reason we lost so badly.

You're missing the point champ, 70% possession against you means you are struggling in a much wider area the just kicking and maybe, just maybe your kicking game is suffering much greater due to the underlining problem.

 

[TheRam]

Alvaro is better than at least one of the bench props in every side named this weekend. To say that he shouldn't be playing NRL footy is absolutely, completely, and totally stupid.

Take out kick returns, Paulo made 18 hit ups for 132m. With Alvaro on the field he made 10 for 72. Boyd made 6 for 43. Alvaro was up in their faces smacking them every time they ran the footy, and because of him a 10m a run forward made 7m a run. But nah, he's a NSW cup player....

I get it. Alvaro is one of the new scapegoats. But it's nonsense to suggest that he isn't good enough to play NRL and it's nonsense to suggest that he wouldn't make our team at full strength. The guy is probably 3 years off his peak at 23 years old, can make big metres when needed, and tackles his fking ring off. He'll be a starting NRL prop in a couple of seasons and if it's not with us the people bitching about him now will be the first ones whinging about how we let him go.

To be clear, I have no problem with Alvaro. It's that other oxygen thief Tepai that I have a problem with. He is so useless for a man of his size and earlier potential.

 

[TheRam]

The people that complain we don't have enough big forwards in first grade are the same people who will complain that we have too many big kids(ignorantly) in our junior system.

What? What an idiotic statement that is.

 

[Gronk]

We dominate up our arse and shit comes out on both sides of that ledger.

I've always said that.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

You're missing the point champ, 70% possession against you means you are struggling in a much wider area the just kicking and maybe, just maybe your kicking game is suffering much greater due to the underlining problem.

Everyone knows your kicking game is extra important against the biggest packs. The way to beat them is to move the ball around, which means your halves. We have played every game this year with only one legitimate half. And won half of them.

 

[Chipmunk]

Everyone knows your kicking game is extra important against the biggest packs. The way to beat them is to move the ball around, which means your halves. We have played every game this year with only one legitimate half. And won half of them.

Storm won plenty of games early in the season with only one kicking half.

 

[hineyrulz]

Well we shouldn't have much worry accounting for a bottom 4 team this weekend.

PS - Where are these other two signings you said were confirmed over a month ago?

One of them was apparently massive, great team next year we were going to have............

 

[hineyrulz]

Should we offer her a spot at the Eels? Could be handy in the prop rotation...

Well we need more size........

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Storm won plenty of games early in the season with only one kicking half.

Cronk + Smith = 2

 

[Chipmunk]

Cronk + Smith = 2

Smith isn't a half and French can kick. Norman/Moses + French = 2

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Smith is an NRL level kicker and French is not. Neither is Gutherson.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...8/news-story/5de2da724d554b0ac4acb77974dc1e7c

Eels winger Semi Radradra could return to the NRL in 2018

• May 25, 2017 1:33pm
• by AAP
• Source: FOX SPORTS

PARRAMATTA coach Brad Arthur has declared his desire to bring Semi Radradra back to the NRL club once his rugby commitments in France are over next year.

One month after Radradra was facing the possible end of his rugby career due to domestic assault allegations, Arthur on Thursday revealed the Eels were in talks with the winger on a new deal.

Arthur confirmed Radradra, whose charges were dropped in court earlier this month, will still link with Toulon in French rugby’s Top 14 at the end of the season on a one-year deal with an option for a second.

However Arthur left the door wide open on Radradra returning in 2018.

“One hundred per cent we would be (open). If Semi wants to come back, he’s not the sort of player that you’re going to turn away. He’s part of our club anyway,” Arthur said on Thursday.

“It’s with the club and Semi, but at the moment we’ve just got to worry about getting him through the rest of this year.

“He’s definitely going overseas to fulfil his dream there.”

Arthur’s comments come after Radradra’s management hinted at him coming back before the end of NRL transfer deadline on June 30 next year. The French rugby grand final is around May.

Arthur said Radradra, a two-time Dally M Winger of the Year, is still yet to reach peak form this season despite turning in a strong performance in last week’s loss to Canberra.

The 24-year-old carried the ball for a team-high 184 metres, made a game-high seven tackle breaks, and assisted on two line breaks for the match.

“He’s trying very hard. He’s still not quite on top of his game at the moment, but he’s working really hard and he’ll get there,” Arthur said.

“We’re hoping that when he goes overseas and he enjoys his footy there, but at some stage we want to see him back in the blue and gold.”