Smith proves Parra matter
By Barry Toohey
April 2, 2004
BRIAN Smith couldn't resist the touch of sarcasm. As he walked out of the press conference following Parramatta's win over Newcastle last weekend, the Eels coach was heard to mutter: "Not bad for a club in crisis."
It was a pointed reference to what he perceived was the unfair media shellacking his side had received after their first-round capitulation against the Bulldogs. Since that hiding the Eels have rebounded with wins over highly prized scalps Brisbane and the Knights.
Neither victory was vintage Parramatta. But they have taken the heat off the club and, with his side back on the front foot, Smith wasn't about to let the opportunity slip.
The turnaround, according to Eels hooker John Morris, is all to do with attitude.
There was no big shake-up of personnel, no shift away from the "bigger is better" mantra the Eels have adopted.
The resurgence, if you want to call it that, over the past fortnight has been as much mental as anything tactical or physical.
"Our game plans haven't changed too much since the Bulldogs disaster," Morris says.
"It was more our attitude. Out on the field, you could sense in the first 10 minutes we were in big trouble against the Bulldogs.
"There was just no intensity, no talk, we were dropping the ball. I remember thinking 'what the hell is going on out here?'
"Everyone kept saying we can't afford to turn the ball over but it just kept happening in the first half. It really was 40 minutes of madness."
Morris clearly remembers the mood in the dressing room afterwards.
"It was pretty quiet," he says. "Everyone was pretty much in a state of shock.
"Brian didn't say much initially and it was left to the senior blokes like [Nathan] Cayless, [Nathan] Hindmarsh and [Adam] Dykes to speak."
The general theme was the same.
"They all basically said that we never want to feel like this again," Morris says.
"I think Brian was amazed as much as anything else. We'd trained so well in the off-season and our trial form had been pretty solid.
"There was no hint of it in the build-up to the game.
"I don't think the coaching staff could believe we could turn in a performance like that."
The week following the defeat was long and drawn out.
The media turned the blow-torch on the club. Smith turned the blow-torch on his players.
And in the middle of it all, one of the club's stars, Jamie Lyon, walked out because he had had enough of rugby league.
Lyon's stunning decision only added to the Eels' dramas.
"That stunned everyone, no one saw it coming," Morris says. "'Killer' [Lyon] was the last person you would think would just walk away because he loves playing so much.
"Everything he did he did with intensity, even at training, and nothing had changed right up until he left.
"He didn't tell anyone what was going on. Brian just addressed everyone and told us 'Killer' needed some time off to sort a few things out.
"Brian left it at that and hasn't said anything more about it.
"A few of the boys have spoken briefly to 'Killer' on the phone but no one really knows what is going on.
"I think everyone is just hoping he is starting to miss it enough to want to come back."
Understandably, the post-mortem into the defeat was thorough.
Smith held meeting after meeting with individual players, searching for answers.
"Everyone sat down with him that week," Morris says.
"He pointed things out and wanted to know why this or that had happened.
"He wanted to know what led to the performance. Some meetings went longer than others.
"What we all knew was we had to start against Brisbane and the Knights with a lot more intensity to at least give ourselves a chance.
"We probably didn't play great against the Broncos but there was further improvement there against the Knights.
"Brian made a point of saying to us after the Bulldogs game that the good thing about footy is if you play really poorly, you can turn it all around in seven days. To an extent, I think we have done that.
"Now we just have to keep building on it."
It is not beyond the realms of possibility the Eels could extend their winning run significantly over the next month.
They face a tough game away from home against the Raiders on Saturday before coming up against the Rabbitohs. Then it's the Sea Eagles, Sharks and Cowboys before a bye in round nine.
If all goes to plan, the "crisis" club could suddenly become the "cruising" club.
Then Brian Smith would really have something to gloat about.
The Daily Telegraph
