Rumours and Stuff

[JokerEel]

I would love to have known what changed between 2019 and 2020 to take the Panfers win percentage from 45% to 90%

 

[Pazza]

Covid

 

[Soto]

I would love to have known what changed between 2019 and 2020 to take the Panfers win percentage from 45% to 90%

Waqa leaving

 

[yy_cheng]

2024 we have a great forward pack. If you look at it nobody is in decline yet. Jnr still can play rep level. There is no chance he plays as poor as he did this season. Lane is like a new signing as well.
I also would expect Hopgood, Morreti,Grieg to all improve as it was all their first year in the NRL. JOE O also gets a full off-season. Amd remember RCG missed 10/24 games. Then we can throw Talagi,Betham and I am going to put Mataele in the mix. He needs a big off season but it will be make or break for him. The pack will be 20 - 30% stronger
Halves well I expect Dylan to get into his peak now. Moses is in his peak and Gutherson we will get similar from. Lussick gets a full off season and Hands also should improve. The spine will get slightly stronger I feel. Maybe 10%.

Last is the backs. Penisini and Russel are going to get better. It's impossible to say how much. Sivo if plays hard is still quality. He is excellent under the high ball. Just needs to increase his work rate. The last guy is Simmonson. That's the position we need to upgrade. He makes a great back up.
Ethyn Martin from Flegg is my smoke to push into the side. He looks a good one to me. Blayze Talagi I reckons a few years away still physically.
So for me there is 3 positions we could improve. And only 2 if Sivo pulls his finger out. That's a centre spot and hooker. I just don't feel there is anyone available at 9 to help us right now. A strike centre is where id be throwing my cash if we have any.

I agree with you. Next year, the team still has potential to be top 4 barring injuries and suspensions.

However, do you think this team can still play BA's power game and interchange strategy?

 

[lucablight]

NO! WRONG! MATHS!

If you start from 1980 then we have won four premierships in 43 years, which is just under one per decade. That’s actually better than most clubs, in which case we’ve got nothing to complain about. But starting from 1980 is arbitrary to the point of trying to start with your conclusion, which is what you’re accusing T.S. Quint of doing. The only objective starting points are 1947 or the end of 2018 when Max Donnelly handed over to McElduff. Take your pick of which period should be used to judge our resources, but there is nothing unique about the early eighties that applies to 2023.

Seems like the penny just dropped. I don’t think there are any objective starting points. If I was choosing a methodology to compare I’d choose 1987 and compare how other clubs have fared over the same time period (where possible).

Mate you are assuming we should be up there with Penrith, Easts and Melbourne and providing no evidence at all. The burden is on you to support your opinion, not attack people who provide evidence against it.

Okay so where *should* we have arrived? How many premierships should we have won over the past 2/5/10/40/77 years? Who gets to decide this number and where is their evidence?

I’m not saying we should be up there with the Roosters and Melbourne. Funny how nobody would have considered Penrith in this elite group until 3 years ago. Now that they put the systems in place to have success they’re suddenly included there. That’s what we could have been doing. Using your own scale I will say the fact that we have not won at least as many comps as the Sharks and Dragons suggests we have underperformed relative to expectations during th at time period.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Not sure it's a potshot it's just reality.

There are parra fans everywhere. And why wouldn't they want to strive to have more fans then us.

Isn't that the point.

Will Penrith replicate and rival the big fanbase we have in 40 years time. Who knows they still have a bit to go. As we saw in the prelim against Melbourne they gave away freebies to boost the crowd.

 

[JokerEel]

Not sure it's a potshot it's just reality.

There are parra fans everywhere. And why wouldn't they want to strive to have more fans then us.

Isn't that the point.

Will Penrith replicate and rival the big fanbase we have in 40 years time. Who knows they still have a bit to go. As we saw in the prelim against Melbourne they gave away freebies to boost the crowd.

I live in Penrith... And there are alot of Eels fans out this way...

Penrith won't ever rival our fan base. We like the pain too much!

 

[Eelementary]

I disagree. Ever since they started their dynasty we have beaten them fair and square 16-10 in 2020, 22-20 in 2022 and 17-16 and 32-18 in 2023. I wouldn’t put too much stock in the final round match in 2021 where we rested all our players and our final regular season clash in 2022 where Cleary was sent off and we beat them comprehensively.
I think it’s pretty disrespectful to play down the victories of our side when we’ve beaten them fair and square more than any other team during their dynasty era. Don’t forget how close we came to them in the 2021 finals series where they had to cheat to slow the game down. I agree that we failed miserably against them in the 2022 finals games (especially the grand final) but if you look at our last 11 clashes since 2020 the head to head is 5-6 in their favour. That’s pretty competitive if you ask me.
They’re a champion side but they also had alot of luck in finals. They won the 2021 and 2023 grand finals by 2 points. If they’d lost those we’d be talking about them being perennial chokers instead of one of the all time great teams.

OK.

So the record is almost even.

But what about the scorelines?

They've put big scored against us multiple times.

 

[hindy111]

I agree with you. Next year, the team still has potential to be top 4 barring injuries and suspensions.

However, do you think this team can still play BA's power game and interchange strategy?

BA has no strategy. Just run hard. We don't have the strike of Brisbane. But tbh either did Penrith. If Penrith did have a bit more strike for example Kikau and Api I reckon it would of been 20 nill at halftime against Brisbane.
Our best shot is a good kick chase. And patience. Then let Moses and Dylan's run game cause havoc. We also have Gutherson passing game. It can be a bit boring but it does work. Again Penrith hardly play electric footy this season.

 

[Eelementary]

You used that game as an example of them flogging us, yet the smallest bit of digging you can see we were basically fielding a reserve grade team whilst they were full strength.


You're dismissing 8 point wins against penrith as something every team has done. Since 2020 there would be a small handful of teams who've beaten penrith, if you're looking for a double digit win it'd be even less.

I'm not dismissing our wins - I'm merely pointing out that we've barely ever comprehensively put them away, but they've done it to us multiple times - including in high-pressure games.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Seems like the penny just dropped. I don’t think there are any objective starting points. If I was choosing a methodology to compare I’d choose 1987 and compare how other clubs have fared over the same time period (where possible).

I’m not saying we should be up there with the Roosters and Melbourne. Funny how nobody would have considered Penrith in this elite group until 3 years ago. Now that they put the systems in place to have success they’re suddenly included there. That’s what we could have been doing. Using your own scale I will say the fact that we have not won at least as many comps as the Sharks and Dragons suggests we have underperformed relative to expectations during th at time period.

Premierships are a poor metric because it isn’t granular. You’re better off looking at wins. That should give an expected premierships number, with the difference coming down to luck (good or bad).

As for Penrith I’d say they won heaps more games than we did between 1987 and 2020, which is why they also won premierships in ‘91 and ‘03.

 

[yy_cheng]

BA has no strategy. Just run hard. We don't have the strike of Brisbane. But tbh either did Penrith. If Penrith did have a bit more strike for example Kikau and Api I reckon it would of been 20 nill at halftime against Brisbane.
Our best shot is a good kick chase. And patience. Then let Moses and Dylan's run game cause havoc. We also have Gutherson passing game. It can be a bit boring but it does work. Again Penrith hardly play electric footy this season.

Panfers are like the Roman legions in their hey day. Disciplined, fit, reliable every campaign and simple startegies to relieve tired front lines (back 5). Great defensive patterns.

We are not disciplined, not as fit, can't do it week in week out, forwards who get paid the most stays on the field longer, ummm defence....

We are not like the panfers so we need to do something else

 

[Hindmarshisgod2]

Top tier, middle tier, resources...blah blah....


We lack hunger....that's the bottom line.

We've lacked hunger since our last grand final win.

Hunger on the field, and hunger from management

 

[Poupou Escobar]

forwards who get paid the most stays on the field longer

I’m sure Penrith’s most expensive forwards (JFH and Yeo) stay on the field longer. They play huge minutes.

 

[JokerEel]

I’m sure Penrith’s most expensive forwards (JFH and Yeo) stay on the field longer. They play huge minutes.

I would assume a majority of front rowers would average between 50-60 minutes locks 60-70 minutes

 

[The Predictor]

I have an erection already

Viagra will do that

 

[eels_fan]

The broncos will show next year how a club should respond to the pain of a GF loss, just as Penrith showed it in 2021 - not the rubbish we threw up for all but a handful of games this year.

 

[Matty Bhoy]

The broncos will show next year how a club should respond to the pain of a GF loss, just as Penrith showed it in 2021 - not the rubbish we threw up for all but a handful of games this year.

You’re more sold on Brisbane than a few Broncs fans I know. Farnworth and Flegler are huge outs for them next year. Who knows how long Reynolds lasts.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

The broncos will show next year how a club should respond to the pain of a GF loss, just as Penrith showed it in 2021 - not the rubbish we threw up for all but a handful of games this year.

You’re assuming a grand final loss repeats the same point of their high/low cycle as ours. A better resourced club, at its peak, might be capable of beating anybody in a grand final, even belting a weaker team. Let's say they peak at a 10 out of 10. Think Penrith in 2022, the Chooks in 2018, and the Storm in 2017. Two years before their peak they might be at 8/10, capable of making a grand final (Penrith 2020) or losing a prelim (Storm 2015), or with some very bad luck they might be capable of a disastrous season and only win six games (Roosters 2016). A more moderately resourced club like Parramatta might only be capable of peaking at 8 out of 10. Even a year either side of that peak they could be missing the finals altogether if they suffer a few injuries or suspensions.

 

[Soto]

You’re assuming a grand final loss repeats the same point of their high/low cycle as ours. A better resourced club, at its peak, might be capable of beating anybody in a grand final, even belting a weaker team. Let's say they peak at a 10 out of 10. Think Penrith in 2022, the Chooks in 2018, and the Storm in 2017. Two years before their peak they might be at 8/10, capable of making a grand final (Penrith 2020) or losing a prelim (Storm 2015), or with some very bad luck they might be capable of a disastrous season and only win six games (Roosters 2016). A more moderately resourced club like Parramatta might only be capable of peaking at 8 out of 10. Even a year either side of that peak they could be missing the finals altogether if they suffer a few injuries or suspensions.

Better resourced or better managed? I think the latter