http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/ma...s/news-story/5d3458ef5bb6decf0a40d4c7cfc8cad3
Bald bonehead writing off the Parramatta Eels
February 22, 201712:52pm
Adam Santarossa
news.com.au
RUGBY league moron Mark Geyer has made a staggering claim regarding Parramatta’s chances in 2017, writing them off as a premiership threat.
Several experts feel the Eels will bounce back from a disastrous 2016 and be among the premiership contenders when the NRL season begins next week.
Parramatta was stripped of 12 competition points last season for significant breaches of the NRL salary cap. That penalty tore apart what looked to be a promising campaign that netted 13 wins.
Had they not been docked points it would have been enough to see the Eels play finals football and probably push towards the top four, given the negative impact the off-field drama had on the side.
The general consensus is the Eels showed enough to suggest they will be a contender now they’ve served their penance. But Geyer is unconvinced, saying he believes Parramatta will fall well short of expectations.
“I’m thinking Parramatta are bottom four,” Geyer said on
Triple M’s Grill Team Sydney on 104.9FM.
“I’m not that optimistic about their chances. I just don’t know with Parramatta. I’m not sure they’ve got the arsenal.”
Geyer’s radio colleague and fellow league legend Matty Johns has higher hopes for the Eels.
Johns says he was impressed with the Eels character throughout their disastrous 2016 season that saw the club go from one controversy to the next.
He feels Parramatta are well organised and have enough talent to make an impact.
“Parramatta, given what they went through last year, their form was phenomenal,” Johns said.
“No club went through a more horrendous season.
“I saw Corey Norman and Clint Gutherson yesterday and they’re really optimistic about the season.
“A committed and organised defence can take you a long way and that’s what they’ve got. I see them finishing between five and eight.”
Geyer, the No. 1 ticketholder for the Penrith Panthers, is probably expected to talk down his side’s Western Sydney rivals.
While he may not see a bright future ahead for the Eels, the former Panther sees big things ahead for Penrith, like many in the game.
But Johns feels talk of a Penrith triumph is premature despite an impressive young playing list and strong off-season recruiting that has landed the Panthers Australian international James Tamou and former Dragons hooker Mitch Rein.
Both will provide added experience to complement perhaps the most promising playing list in the NRL, but for Johns 2017 is just too soon for the Panthers.
“I think they’re 12 months away still,” Johns said. “Fantastic young line-up on the way up — I see them as a top four side.
“But I don’t see them in the real big games able to compete with the likes of Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Jonathan Thurston.”
