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Young Eels' high jinks can sidestep Parramatta's jinx
Greg Prichard | September 7, 2007
The best thing about the three young magicians at the centre of Parramatta's spellbinding performance against Brisbane last Sunday is that they are not affected by the curse of the Eels.]
Jarryd Hayne, Krisnan Inu and Feleti Mateo don't know what it is like to be in a team that has lost a big finals game as hot favourites or after building what should have been a match-winning lead.
Plenty of their teammates for tonight's first qualifying final against the Warriors in Auckland have had to cope with that sort of heartbreak - most notably Nathan Hindmarsh and Nathan Cayless, who played in four of the five games over the past decade detailed above which evidence the club's play-off jinx.
The knowledge from painful experience of just how hard it is to win a finals game no doubt had something to with Hindmarsh warning - in the wake of the 68-22 win over the Broncos - that Parramatta have got to be ready for the likelihood of a vastly different type of game tonight.
Like the Eels, the Warriors have freakish attackers, who can make tries out of nothing with basketball-like catching and passing, and big forwards, who can rumble. This game is likely to get very physical before it even looks like opening up.
There is the suggestion the young Eels might not want to let go of what happened against Brisbane and could make the mistake of trying to run before they have learned to walk on the post-season landscape. Hayne played a finals game on the wing against Melbourne last year, while Inu and Mateo will be making their finals debuts.
After the game against the Broncos, winger-turned-fullback Hayne said: "We've got a lot of young guys and the pressure for us isn't as great as the older blokes. It's just a game of football, and you go out and do your best."
To some, those might sound like the words of an over-confident youngster who has the potential to come undone because he has underestimated the challenge in front of him - but we have seen Hayne rise to the occasion in big games before.
Playing for NSW in State of Origin I this year, his misplaced pass led to Queensland's winning try, but, as the man who knows him best - his father, former first-grader Manoa Thompson - says, Hayne did not make the mistake out of panic, but because he believed it was the right option, as it would have prevented a Maroons 40-20.
Hayne came back bigger and better in Origins II and III, and, Thompson says, will show tonight that he was meant to play finals football - regardless of what type of game it turns out to be. "Jarryd is going to have a big game," Thompson said. "If it's a game where you have to get down and dirty, he'll get into that. Jarryd can adjust his game. If it's a tight game, he can play tight. He's got skill and speed but he's also a physical player."
Hayne is only 19 but, as a footballer, mature beyond his years. Thompson says his son has always been like that.
"Jarryd is a big thinker on the game," Thompson said. "That game against the Broncos presented itself for the type of football Parramatta played. It was dry and the game opened up. But it might rain in Auckland. It could turn out to be an arm-wrestle, and Jarryd is aware of that. I always told him that your preparation starts on Monday. If you've done the hard yards, you can cope with anything. Nobody sees him doing the extra training he does or getting treatment at nine o'clock at night. His mind is on the job all the time. He's confident, but he's not arrogant, not a smart-arse.
"I told him that what he did in the Origin game was the right play. He could have stayed down and been penalised for a voluntary tackle, or he could have gotten up and been hammered into touch. Or he could have thrown the ball to 'Mini' [NSW fullback Anthony Minichiello], which he did.
"It was Jarryd's execution that let him down. He knew that. That's the way it goes sometimes. There were plenty of other factors in the game that contributed to the result. Jarryd scored a great try, too. The thing about him is that he doesn't take the soft options.
"Jarryd is ready for finals footy. So are Inu and Mateo. They can do freakish stuff and if the pass is on they won't die wondering, but they're tough, too. They're the sort of players you want in a game like this."
FALLS FROM GRACE
Survivors from Parra's finals tale of woe 1997
Newcastle beat Parramatta 28-20 in week one. The Eels led 18-0 after 18 minutes, but got run over.
Survivors: None.
1998
Canterbury beat Parramatta 32-20 in the finals. The Eels led 18-2 with 11 minutes left, but the Bulldogs scored three late tries to force extra time.
Survivors: N Hindmarsh, N Cayless.
1999
Melbourne beat Parramatta 18-16 in week three. The Eels led 16-6 at half-time, but did not score another point.
Survivors: D Wagon, N Hindmarsh, Cayless
2001
Newcastle beat Parramatta 30-24 in the grand final. The Eels were runaway minor premiers and hot favourites, but were blown away by half-time, when the Knights led 24-0.
Survivors: Cayless, N Hindmarsh, I Hindmarsh, Wagon, PJ Marsh.
2005
North Queensland beat Parramatta 29-0 in week three. The Eels were again minor premiers, but were gone when they trailed 18-0 at half-time.
Survivors: B Smith, T Tahu, Wagon, T Smith, E Grothe, Cayless, M Riddell, C Robinson, Marsh.
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/young-eels-can-sidestep-jinx/2007/09/06/1188783416133.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Greg Prichard | September 7, 2007
The best thing about the three young magicians at the centre of Parramatta's spellbinding performance against Brisbane last Sunday is that they are not affected by the curse of the Eels.]
Jarryd Hayne, Krisnan Inu and Feleti Mateo don't know what it is like to be in a team that has lost a big finals game as hot favourites or after building what should have been a match-winning lead.
Plenty of their teammates for tonight's first qualifying final against the Warriors in Auckland have had to cope with that sort of heartbreak - most notably Nathan Hindmarsh and Nathan Cayless, who played in four of the five games over the past decade detailed above which evidence the club's play-off jinx.
The knowledge from painful experience of just how hard it is to win a finals game no doubt had something to with Hindmarsh warning - in the wake of the 68-22 win over the Broncos - that Parramatta have got to be ready for the likelihood of a vastly different type of game tonight.
Like the Eels, the Warriors have freakish attackers, who can make tries out of nothing with basketball-like catching and passing, and big forwards, who can rumble. This game is likely to get very physical before it even looks like opening up.
There is the suggestion the young Eels might not want to let go of what happened against Brisbane and could make the mistake of trying to run before they have learned to walk on the post-season landscape. Hayne played a finals game on the wing against Melbourne last year, while Inu and Mateo will be making their finals debuts.
After the game against the Broncos, winger-turned-fullback Hayne said: "We've got a lot of young guys and the pressure for us isn't as great as the older blokes. It's just a game of football, and you go out and do your best."
To some, those might sound like the words of an over-confident youngster who has the potential to come undone because he has underestimated the challenge in front of him - but we have seen Hayne rise to the occasion in big games before.
Playing for NSW in State of Origin I this year, his misplaced pass led to Queensland's winning try, but, as the man who knows him best - his father, former first-grader Manoa Thompson - says, Hayne did not make the mistake out of panic, but because he believed it was the right option, as it would have prevented a Maroons 40-20.
Hayne came back bigger and better in Origins II and III, and, Thompson says, will show tonight that he was meant to play finals football - regardless of what type of game it turns out to be. "Jarryd is going to have a big game," Thompson said. "If it's a game where you have to get down and dirty, he'll get into that. Jarryd can adjust his game. If it's a tight game, he can play tight. He's got skill and speed but he's also a physical player."
Hayne is only 19 but, as a footballer, mature beyond his years. Thompson says his son has always been like that.
"Jarryd is a big thinker on the game," Thompson said. "That game against the Broncos presented itself for the type of football Parramatta played. It was dry and the game opened up. But it might rain in Auckland. It could turn out to be an arm-wrestle, and Jarryd is aware of that. I always told him that your preparation starts on Monday. If you've done the hard yards, you can cope with anything. Nobody sees him doing the extra training he does or getting treatment at nine o'clock at night. His mind is on the job all the time. He's confident, but he's not arrogant, not a smart-arse.
"I told him that what he did in the Origin game was the right play. He could have stayed down and been penalised for a voluntary tackle, or he could have gotten up and been hammered into touch. Or he could have thrown the ball to 'Mini' [NSW fullback Anthony Minichiello], which he did.
"It was Jarryd's execution that let him down. He knew that. That's the way it goes sometimes. There were plenty of other factors in the game that contributed to the result. Jarryd scored a great try, too. The thing about him is that he doesn't take the soft options.
"Jarryd is ready for finals footy. So are Inu and Mateo. They can do freakish stuff and if the pass is on they won't die wondering, but they're tough, too. They're the sort of players you want in a game like this."
FALLS FROM GRACE
Survivors from Parra's finals tale of woe 1997
Newcastle beat Parramatta 28-20 in week one. The Eels led 18-0 after 18 minutes, but got run over.
Survivors: None.
1998
Canterbury beat Parramatta 32-20 in the finals. The Eels led 18-2 with 11 minutes left, but the Bulldogs scored three late tries to force extra time.
Survivors: N Hindmarsh, N Cayless.
1999
Melbourne beat Parramatta 18-16 in week three. The Eels led 16-6 at half-time, but did not score another point.
Survivors: D Wagon, N Hindmarsh, Cayless
2001
Newcastle beat Parramatta 30-24 in the grand final. The Eels were runaway minor premiers and hot favourites, but were blown away by half-time, when the Knights led 24-0.
Survivors: Cayless, N Hindmarsh, I Hindmarsh, Wagon, PJ Marsh.
2005
North Queensland beat Parramatta 29-0 in week three. The Eels were again minor premiers, but were gone when they trailed 18-0 at half-time.
Survivors: B Smith, T Tahu, Wagon, T Smith, E Grothe, Cayless, M Riddell, C Robinson, Marsh.
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/young-eels-can-sidestep-jinx/2007/09/06/1188783416133.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
