BY JASON TAYLOR
Parramatta have won one game from eight this year. They have struggled to score points in most of their games and are down on confidence. Yet, last week they scored 30 points in 13 minutes, surely an NRL record. Tigers coach Tim Sheens attributed this to his side's unacceptable defence, which he described as "rubbish and not befitting an NRL side". Eels fans, however, who stood and cheered their team from the field, even though they lost, believe it was due to their team's brilliant attack.
In reality it was a bit of both. The Tigers got things started for Parra as they came up with some terrible attempted tackles and really poor decisions in conceding the first three of their five tries. Then, with 18 points on the board, the Eels' confidence went through the roof and they started to play a different brand of footy. The Eels scored their last two tries in the final three minutes of the game. This was done on the back of passing the ball to the edges of the field deep in their own half. Passing the ball wide in this area is not something Parra often do but it worked a treat. The Eels made 60- and 70-metre breaks down the touchlines on either side of the field in scoring these tries. It was great to watch as they went within one point of winning the game and producing the greatest comeback of all time.
In preparation for tonight's showdown with the Bulldogs, Parramatta coach Stephen Kearney has had some tough decisions to make about his coaching style. Kearney did his coaching apprenticeship at the Melbourne Storm, and has brought the Storm's no-frills, grinding, defence-oriented style with him to the Eels. But, after a 32-game trial period, it is clear the Melbourne style doesn't suit the Parramatta team. And after watching the last 13 minutes last week it would have become clear to the coach that change is needed. Parramatta isn't a ''grind it out'', ''kick and chase'' team. They can play that way when they need to but it isn't one of their strengths. With players such as Jarryd Hayne, Willie Tonga, Ben Roberts, Chris Sandow and Luke Burt, the Eels need to play an open style of footy. In fact, history shows the Parramatta club has based all of its success on a skill-based, open style of attack. Their premiership-winning teams in the 1980s included some of the greatest attacking players the game has seen, and they played accordingly. The Eels' 2001 minor premiership-winning team scored more points in a season than any previous team. And the 2009 premiership runners-up, with Hayne leading the way, made the grand final from eighth position by playing some of the most entertaining footy I have seen.
This puts Kearney in a predicament. He knows his team needs to play a more open style but it goes against everything he learnt at the Storm. Regardless, the coach would have decided on a course of action at the beginning of the week and we'll see the results tonight. As I see it, the Eels will have prepared for this game in one of two ways. The first way they could go would be to stick with the existing game-plan and structure while encouraging the players to increase their passing and support play. This will definitely add a dimension to their attack but will also lead to passing for the sake of it and to errors through forcing passes that aren't on. This style can be hit or miss. The second option for Kearney and his staff is to throw out the old structure and introduce a more open style of attack based on the way Parra played in the last few minutes of last week's game. Instead of butting heads with the Bulldogs in the middle of the field all night, the Eels need to test the Dogs with some well-practised attacking shifts to the edges of the field. The key to this is setting up the structure at the start of the week in training and actually practising to play with more skill. Practice is everything. Practising how to shift the ball to the edges and when to do it will ensure a more effective outcome while limiting errors. The idea that to avoid errors a team shouldn't pass the ball is ridiculous. We're talking about professional footballers here. A team that plays with skill but maintains a good completion rate is going to be harder to beat than a team that runs one-out all day.
Canterbury are a great example for the Eels and how their style could look. Since joining the Dogs, Des Hasler has coached differently to how he did at Manly, as he has a different team. At Manly, size and aggression were his forward pack's strengths. At the Bulldogs, he has smaller, more skilful forwards. In response to this, Hasler has coached the Dogs forwards to play with more passing and creativity than almost every other team in the NRL.
While I'm sure the Eels will have a different look tonight, it is hard to know exactly what they will come up with. This uncertainty could be their greatest asset as they attempt to upset their oldest rivals.
