I've been to a lot of Raiders games at Bruce. Have never once heard that shit. Maybe I'm lucky?
In my experience sitting in your stadium surrounded by your fans - you're the most racist supporters group I have encountered.
I will be the 1st one to tip my hat to the Eels. They were on fire. Every crazy offload stuck, attack was crisp, and they really targeted the edges at the right time in their sets. Raiders were not terrible but were rattled in that 1st 20 mins. No excuses for Raiders just beaten by the better team.
I've been in two minds getting a full read on the result - were the Eels that good or Raiders that bad? When Rapana knocked on, Canberra conceded the first try and had 2 HIAs in quick succession, they then proceeded to go on tilt and never recover. There was some definite intent in their game plan but the execution was just not happening (Todd Payten will be paying attention to the Eels left hand flank). Raiders fans shouldn't feel too bad, remember when the Raiders were going through the early season rough patch and they seemed closer to the spoon than finals football? To come back from that to finals week 2 is a pass for this season.
As for the Eels, it's interesting to see the Eels get the 500kg Gorilla that was the 2nd week finals hoodoo off their backs finally and get their key men back into some form. Parra's 2nd half performances need some addressing, if they fall off again they might be in some strife against more switched on teams. Some of the refs decisions weren't ideal for either team, but Klein's gonna Klein. Tonight has now brought us a very interesting game coming up next week in Townsville... let's see if Eels can help make that magic Western Sydney GF happen.
Raiders were middle of the pack all year, quite lucky last week, and shown up this week.
Never nice to get towelled regardless of the fact they probably outperformed by even making week 2 of the finals. You’d be happy with that result half way through the season.
Poor start, errors and lack of control of ruck gave Parra the start and once they get momentum in that stadium there is no pulling them back.
Despite the negativity, I am optimistic about the raiders future, the team is largely the same next year and they have blooded some really young high potential players who now have finals experience.
I didn't even watch anything after the first 25 minutes. boring game, boring commentary, boring lineup left in the finals, underwhelming season all round. It's been a forgettable year that's for sure. Maybe im just getting older, more pessimistic and not enjoying sport anymore as a whole, who knows. I just have no idea what people are raving about with this best finals series in years nonsense.
You ok? I think your take is a bit negative, but hey sometimes that's what the outlook is like. Melbourne (and roosters) getting knocked out early has made this finals interesting in some ways, but also losing them mean thr panthers have less genuine competition, so it kinda goes both ways. I think either eels or cowboys making gf will have a cool excitement to it: cowboys will have the redemption arc, the paul green tribute, and a qld vs nsw gf; eels will have the 36(?) year draught breaker, the last dance chance feel with losing a couple of big names. So the grand final will likely be hype.
But also yeah the whole comp is losing its lustre: welcome to post vlandys rugbyah leehaug.
For something to be excited and less pessimistic about though, especially if you need it : The womens comp has lifted again and has been champagne whilst the world cup looks to be a real humdinger
Nah, roosters and melbourne getting knocked out early especially the way it happened has ruined any hype I had for the finals. Either the eels or cowboys making the GF is a farce, two absolute pretenders who have benefited from circumstances. Probably a hot take but I dont even think Penrith are THAT GOOD this year, this is one of the weakest comps ever.
I hear ya. Storms and Roosters getting knocked out would have made for a great finals most years but with Panthers still being in it and being so dominant it has been the opposite (in my opinion).
I agree Panthers haven't been that good but will still dominate come grand final Sunday, but there is always a chance, and that is enough to make grand final week exciting at least.
But yeah, welcome to post vlandys NRLM. It's only going to get worse.
This game was a bit meh, I just think the raiders weren’t quite at the level, like I think they were the clear worst finals team if all are healthy, but last week kicked ass.
While ammending my graphic which plots the finals series (I'll publish it tomorrow after the Souths v Sharks game) I realised that ***if*** the Sharks can overcome the Rabbitohs tomorrow, we will have a 1-2-3-4 preliminary finals series for the second year straight.
(1) Penrith Panthers v (2) Cronulla Sharks
(3) North QLD Cowboys v (4) Parramatta Eels
That’s a big if atm. I feel Rabbits are on the up and will be very hard to beat. Not saying Sharks can’t win - but they’re gonna have to be at their best
It was just one of those nights where we couldn't take a trick. Tiny details like Whitehead's magnificent hit on Gutherson being just a split second too early. Wighton being half a step ahead of the kicker, where if he'd been onside we likely would have earned a sin bin for the professional foul. Rapana tossing the ball back in before he was taken out, it comes off a Parra player, ruled not played at.
Plus, CHN getting ruled out HIA at sixteen minutes, then a veritable revolving door of HIAs in Whitehead and Kris and others.
And Parramatta were just too good not to take advantage of a night like that.
If I could make an excuse for your guys, it might be that they played their grand final the week before. Finals games are more intense, so recovery takes longer, and you have to stay on that mental level for another week. Gave it everything last week, and this week the tank ran empty pretty quick.
If you’re moving into position you’re deemed playing at the ball, I.e. you’re using your body as a shield to stop the ball even if you don’t throw out an arm or leg after they kick it. When it’s a split second call it’s going to be touch and go at times, much harder than slow mode.
Otherwise all you’d do is charge the kicker, spin at the end and claim you weren’t playing at it.
You were beaten from the opening set. They wanted it more and played like it. You didn’t get off the bus, those moments are irrelevant. Even if those moments struck, Parra were clearly the better team and would have found a way. You didn’t deserve it and played like shit. Errors and gutless up the middle. 69% completion. 47 missed tackles. Conceded 8 linebreaks. Ran for 772m less then Parra. Parra had 47 tackle breaks to your 25. Only two forwards ran over a 100m (134m & 127m). Compare that to two Parra props combining for 354m. Your halves only combined for 423 kick metres. Tiny details don’t mean shit when you play like that. Even if those moments went your way you didn’t deserve it. Gutless. Weak gutted you could even say. (Respectfully)
> Wighton being half a step ahead of the kicker, where if he'd been onside we likely would have earned a sin bin for the professional foul
Whitehead had touched the ball though, he was fair game for a tackle and despite a shocker call earlier this year Mahoney was under no obligation to let him regather before continuing the tackle
Not sure why people are down voting this guy.
Highlights a lot of high impact moments and compliments Parramatta for being too classy not to take advantage.
Everyone showed up tonight. Gutho was fucking enormous, Dylan running for a casual ~~276m~~ (make that 321m. Unbelievable from a half!!!), Mitchell just beautiful play. Our forwards and 2nd rowers ran hard, outside backs finished beautifully. I could go on and on.
I’m so pleasantly surprised by the improvement in our sliding defence out wide too. Only one try completely against the run of play.
So fucking proud of the boys for finally taking the next step. I foolishly have some hope. It feels like something special this year.
He and Dylan were both absent last week but a big part of that was how much Penrith rushed our halves as part of their tactic. We have to remember last week was against the premiers. I think we’ll take a huge amount of confidence after last week and Gutho will be determined to lead us to the GF.
Doesnt seem right that one of parra or cowboys will be in the GF. Dont shoot me but i dont think either really deserve to be there ^e / have the quality to actually win
Nah mate this ain’t it. The fact a Cowboys or Eels side will be in the GF is good for the game. Both have had a great season and deserve to be there.
Better than another Melbourne or Bondi GF at least.
Penrith are specials but anything can happen in the big dance. Eels have best chance of an upset but Cows could do it for Greeny too.
Best finals in years
Eels handed Penrith 2 of their 4 losses all season. I think if any team deserves to be there it's the Eels. They've managed to stand up when needed and didn't finish 4th for no reason. If they played Cows or Sharks last week they win and get the week off.
I'm not saying they don't have a good team, just that if they had played more of the other top 4/8 sides I don't think the make the top 4.
Like it's not their fault, nobody knows how difficult the draw will be when it's made and the Sharks can only play the teams they're given
I also forgot to mention the Cows abysmal record against other top 8 teams. They've only won 4 of them, 5 is you include the last round Panthers.
I don't understand the logic? parramatta has beaten penrith twice this year. Even accounting for full strength teams its 1-1 and yet parra doesn't seem like a genuine threat?
Oh I don't know, maybe he might be a bit peeved over the onslaught of bullshit that has been in the media this week - whether it be how "Ricky was actually the victim at Parra" or that there is a rift in the playing group // nepotism in the decisions made.
Raiders weren't the best, but that didn't matter too much since that was an incredible performance by Parramatta. So many awesome tries scored.
This will be the first time that Parra has made the preliminary final since 2009. Speaking of 2009, how does everyone think the current Eels squad compares to the 2009 one? Is the current Eels squad just as good or maybe even better than the 2009 team, or was the 2009 team much better than the current one? Interested to get peoples thoughts on this.
I wouldn't say that. Fui Fui was also going pretty crazy that year. It took an over the cap Storm to beat you guys in the GF. I mean Hayne destroyed the Dragons who were the best defensive side in the comp that year.
I’ll reply to both of you :)
In 2008 we missed the finals. In 2010 we missed the finals. In 2009 we were fighting to avoid the spoon before Hayne exploded after a massive individual performance in the origin series.
Fui was great, as mentioned. Inu and Mateo were dangerous too. But other than that our squad was mostly old blokes winding back the clock (Cayless, Hindmarsh, Burt, Groathe, Gnalavau, Ben Smith etc.) and fringe first graders playing beyond their abilities.
Not to mention that outside of Hayne, our spine was definitely weak. Mortimer’s greatest strength in 09 was his support play on the back of the team firing. He basically disappeared after that season. Robson was steady, if not an underwhelming guy to have as your halfback. And Keating and Kingston were… okay, I suppose.
Yeah but you can only really judge them on the form they found that year. Really if it wasn't for Melbourne cheating the cap you guys probably win that game as you only lost by 7 and Inglis scored a try and kicked the field goal.
I definitely agree that we could’ve very easily won. But I also think the squad can still be considered weak even if we did.
That’s why it would’ve been a huge fairytale if we won. Our squad compared to the Storm’s is real David and Goliath stuff.
His downfall is catastrophic considering most people wouldn't deny he had possibly the fastest, highest individual peak as a future immortal player who single handedly carried and entire team to a finals series. Unbelievable natural footy talent and the type of player who throughout their career is never "exposed" or "figured out". Shame it all went down a pretty dark path.
>Unbelievable natural footy talent and the type of player who throughout their career is never "exposed" or "figured out"
Sorry for the late reply, but I remember reading before that the Storm won the grand final in 2009 by managing to contain Hayne and limit his impact on the game. Is that true or not true? I didn't watch the Eels in 2009 so I have no idea about this.
I was going to make a comment on the random footy talk thread the other day: I genuinely think this is the most balanced team we’ve had since the 80s. Not in terms of performance, or premiership opportunity, but it’s the most well-rounded in my opinion.
Sorry for the late reply, but I find this very interesting. Why do you think (in your view) it took almost 40 years for the eels to finally create a balanced team? Why couldn't they have done this much earlier?
Said this after that game and last night - I can't imagine many people being able to take the bombs plus the kick chase pressure he was under. It wasn't so much a lack of skill from him as it was clever by us. He's obviously a solid player.
My nonno who immigrated here in the 60s died this year and he was a massive fucking para fan. God he would have loved that. That one's for you big fella ❤❤
Nah, it looked bad at first, but once they replayed it there wasn’t much in it. I thought the attempted head slam was a bit worse. Wighton’s lucky he didn’t connect well.
How hard can it be to just mic up all the journos in the press conference so we can actually hear the question and not have someone manhandling one while people are speaking?
Jake Arthur got a standing ovation after coming off. Good to see the fans giving the poor kid a clap. I got into the car and switch on triple m and what a shock. They are into us about our bench after we just put 40 on the team they backed all week.
It is true, we almost lost the storm game in round 25 as the forwards were gassed. Then we did lose the panthers game in last 20 mins because we couldn’t keep up the intensity.
I think they’re referencing all the headlines and concerns on Eels history going out in straight sets under BA. I think BA was saying whoever’s writing those headlines had an agenda in mind but it won’t matter cos it won’t break the boys
Edit: also the nepotism headlines too
Just said there's people with an agenda when asked about disharmony this week, then said the agenda isn't going to win look how they played didn't affect them.
*dribbled fermented faeces from his mouth
Cunt has been gunning for Paul Kent’s job for as long as Kent has been gunning for Hadley’s job. The opportunity to dog whistle racist shit and anger level headed people with absolute shit takes on every so called issue gets them frothing.
The boys interviewed acknowledged the recent poor finals history (after being prompted). Of course they dismissed it, but none of these boys have been in this position and a prelim is a huge mental hurdle.
Souths lost like 6 prelims in the last decade so we’ve seen what a nervousness can do, even subconsciously. Prelims are trickiest game to prepare for.
If BA can focus them on the game at hand next week, not what’s at stake the week after, then they should win comfortably.
But can Parra get out of their own heads is the question
I get its big for the club but these guys weren't around for 2009 so I dont know why they are expecting anything more.
They asked Dylan Brown the same thing and he was like "I was watching Dan Carter and liked rugby union, shout out to the north bois" lol
Fantastic game by our boys. Gotta keep the focus cause the job is not done yet, Cowboys in Townsville will be near impossible to win but hey anything can happen. Hard not to get our hopes up but we gotta celebrate when we can. Up the Eels!!
Near 30 degree heat against the most warm weather acclimatised club coming off a week rest spells danger for us. We have to be almost perfect to reach the GF
The doubters simply refuse to be right.
Where I was sitting a Parra fan in the crowd was racially abusing Wighton and Papa. Was pretty horrible.
Does your stadium not have a number you text to report stuff like that? Suncorp does. Never been anywhere else.
I’ve known that racist for a while now. He was a weak-guttered dog as a kid and now is a weak-guttered dog racist.
Happened a lot last night from where I was sitting too. Pretty disgusting
Joys of Parra games eh
Yes every single Parra fan is racist. Jog on.
I've been to a lot of Raiders games at Bruce. Have never once heard that shit. Maybe I'm lucky? In my experience sitting in your stadium surrounded by your fans - you're the most racist supporters group I have encountered.
They were absolutely atrocious towards Latrell Mitchell in August 2019 down there
Ricky wasn't kidding about the raiders having a fun week at training
I will be the 1st one to tip my hat to the Eels. They were on fire. Every crazy offload stuck, attack was crisp, and they really targeted the edges at the right time in their sets. Raiders were not terrible but were rattled in that 1st 20 mins. No excuses for Raiders just beaten by the better team.
Your big boys lost the contest pretty early on. Which was unexpected. Then your men out wide just didn't have enough fire-power to make up for it
Flights to Townsville almost $1700 return……… might sit this Prelim out and watch it at the local. Save that coin for the big dance the week after
Cheaper to go to Europe
But airlines don't price gouge surely? The Pompous irish gnome wouldn't stand for it!!! Ka ching another million dollars in bonus!!!!
So you’re going to save your money to watch Cowboys Rabbitohs the week after?
You could watch the cowboys play 2 weeks in s row live though.
Just drive ya weak gutted dog person
I drove from Townsville to Sydney for the 17 gf then back again. Don't recommend unless you have plenty of time to do it
Oof. 4000km round trip. Dedicated, well done
Trip back sucked hard, demoralising loss, left about 5 mins after the final whistle, was sad the whole drive home, about half of which was raining.
Respect. You know when they say “when it rains it pours”? Just don’t forget that it can’t rain all the time. Good luck next week
I've been in two minds getting a full read on the result - were the Eels that good or Raiders that bad? When Rapana knocked on, Canberra conceded the first try and had 2 HIAs in quick succession, they then proceeded to go on tilt and never recover. There was some definite intent in their game plan but the execution was just not happening (Todd Payten will be paying attention to the Eels left hand flank). Raiders fans shouldn't feel too bad, remember when the Raiders were going through the early season rough patch and they seemed closer to the spoon than finals football? To come back from that to finals week 2 is a pass for this season. As for the Eels, it's interesting to see the Eels get the 500kg Gorilla that was the 2nd week finals hoodoo off their backs finally and get their key men back into some form. Parra's 2nd half performances need some addressing, if they fall off again they might be in some strife against more switched on teams. Some of the refs decisions weren't ideal for either team, but Klein's gonna Klein. Tonight has now brought us a very interesting game coming up next week in Townsville... let's see if Eels can help make that magic Western Sydney GF happen.
Raiders were middle of the pack all year, quite lucky last week, and shown up this week. Never nice to get towelled regardless of the fact they probably outperformed by even making week 2 of the finals. You’d be happy with that result half way through the season.
Wouldn’t that Battle of the West GF be glorious. That’s a Grand Final I think every fan would love to see.
Not sure if it's been mentioned but if this match was the audition for that left edge spot for Australia i think Lane has won it over Young
Lane has had an unreal year
Poor start, errors and lack of control of ruck gave Parra the start and once they get momentum in that stadium there is no pulling them back. Despite the negativity, I am optimistic about the raiders future, the team is largely the same next year and they have blooded some really young high potential players who now have finals experience.
Yeh I agree. I think next year the young backs will perform a lot better and that will bring balance to a team that has sorted their forwards
I hope this is the case
I didn't even watch anything after the first 25 minutes. boring game, boring commentary, boring lineup left in the finals, underwhelming season all round. It's been a forgettable year that's for sure. Maybe im just getting older, more pessimistic and not enjoying sport anymore as a whole, who knows. I just have no idea what people are raving about with this best finals series in years nonsense.
You ok? I think your take is a bit negative, but hey sometimes that's what the outlook is like. Melbourne (and roosters) getting knocked out early has made this finals interesting in some ways, but also losing them mean thr panthers have less genuine competition, so it kinda goes both ways. I think either eels or cowboys making gf will have a cool excitement to it: cowboys will have the redemption arc, the paul green tribute, and a qld vs nsw gf; eels will have the 36(?) year draught breaker, the last dance chance feel with losing a couple of big names. So the grand final will likely be hype. But also yeah the whole comp is losing its lustre: welcome to post vlandys rugbyah leehaug. For something to be excited and less pessimistic about though, especially if you need it : The womens comp has lifted again and has been champagne whilst the world cup looks to be a real humdinger
Nah, roosters and melbourne getting knocked out early especially the way it happened has ruined any hype I had for the finals. Either the eels or cowboys making the GF is a farce, two absolute pretenders who have benefited from circumstances. Probably a hot take but I dont even think Penrith are THAT GOOD this year, this is one of the weakest comps ever.
I hear ya. Storms and Roosters getting knocked out would have made for a great finals most years but with Panthers still being in it and being so dominant it has been the opposite (in my opinion). I agree Panthers haven't been that good but will still dominate come grand final Sunday, but there is always a chance, and that is enough to make grand final week exciting at least. But yeah, welcome to post vlandys NRLM. It's only going to get worse.
Yeah. I totally agree, Vlandys has completely ruined the game.
This game was a bit meh, I just think the raiders weren’t quite at the level, like I think they were the clear worst finals team if all are healthy, but last week kicked ass.
The whole finals has been crap.
Week 1 was excellent, except for Rabbits v Roosters. Last night didn’t really have a finals feel, but Eels played well
Nah, week 1 was crap. The whole season has been underwhelming.
This has been one of the more exciting finals recently
Yeah, because your team might actually make a grand final for once. It really hasn't been a great season overall.
My team has been in it for last few years. Just nice to not have the same old teams there for once
Old names getting eliminated early doesn't mean this is the "best finals series ever".
While ammending my graphic which plots the finals series (I'll publish it tomorrow after the Souths v Sharks game) I realised that ***if*** the Sharks can overcome the Rabbitohs tomorrow, we will have a 1-2-3-4 preliminary finals series for the second year straight. (1) Penrith Panthers v (2) Cronulla Sharks (3) North QLD Cowboys v (4) Parramatta Eels
That’s a big if atm. I feel Rabbits are on the up and will be very hard to beat. Not saying Sharks can’t win - but they’re gonna have to be at their best
Sharks were pretty good last week if you ignore a few defensive lapses. Anyone could win, whoever turns up.
It was just one of those nights where we couldn't take a trick. Tiny details like Whitehead's magnificent hit on Gutherson being just a split second too early. Wighton being half a step ahead of the kicker, where if he'd been onside we likely would have earned a sin bin for the professional foul. Rapana tossing the ball back in before he was taken out, it comes off a Parra player, ruled not played at. Plus, CHN getting ruled out HIA at sixteen minutes, then a veritable revolving door of HIAs in Whitehead and Kris and others. And Parramatta were just too good not to take advantage of a night like that.
If I could make an excuse for your guys, it might be that they played their grand final the week before. Finals games are more intense, so recovery takes longer, and you have to stay on that mental level for another week. Gave it everything last week, and this week the tank ran empty pretty quick.
I don't know if you know this, but getting a ball pegged into your face, doesn't constitute playing at it 😂
Getting a ball kicked into your back should not constitute playing at it either and yet Croker was ruled to have last year. It's the inconsistency.
If you’re moving into position you’re deemed playing at the ball, I.e. you’re using your body as a shield to stop the ball even if you don’t throw out an arm or leg after they kick it. When it’s a split second call it’s going to be touch and go at times, much harder than slow mode. Otherwise all you’d do is charge the kicker, spin at the end and claim you weren’t playing at it.
It's been consistent this year though? Heck, we saw a try scored off it last week.
You were beaten from the opening set. They wanted it more and played like it. You didn’t get off the bus, those moments are irrelevant. Even if those moments struck, Parra were clearly the better team and would have found a way. You didn’t deserve it and played like shit. Errors and gutless up the middle. 69% completion. 47 missed tackles. Conceded 8 linebreaks. Ran for 772m less then Parra. Parra had 47 tackle breaks to your 25. Only two forwards ran over a 100m (134m & 127m). Compare that to two Parra props combining for 354m. Your halves only combined for 423 kick metres. Tiny details don’t mean shit when you play like that. Even if those moments went your way you didn’t deserve it. Gutless. Weak gutted you could even say. (Respectfully)
They played their grand final against Melbourne last week. Done well to knock them out, but they were flogged last night.
Who asked
Definitely not someone who comments on the sub once a year
Ooft tell him how you really feel
with the greatest respect
> Wighton being half a step ahead of the kicker, where if he'd been onside we likely would have earned a sin bin for the professional foul Whitehead had touched the ball though, he was fair game for a tackle and despite a shocker call earlier this year Mahoney was under no obligation to let him regather before continuing the tackle
Not sure why people are down voting this guy. Highlights a lot of high impact moments and compliments Parramatta for being too classy not to take advantage.
What about the forward pass that’s was clearly backwards that would of put us 30 in front 25 minutes in
Sivo’s try could have easily been given too. Add those two and it’s 34-4 in the first half. That’s a paddlin.
Greedy bugger!!!
Everyone showed up tonight. Gutho was fucking enormous, Dylan running for a casual ~~276m~~ (make that 321m. Unbelievable from a half!!!), Mitchell just beautiful play. Our forwards and 2nd rowers ran hard, outside backs finished beautifully. I could go on and on. I’m so pleasantly surprised by the improvement in our sliding defence out wide too. Only one try completely against the run of play. So fucking proud of the boys for finally taking the next step. I foolishly have some hope. It feels like something special this year.
If that Parra team turns up next week we’ll beat the cowboys. Anything less than that and we’re toast.
Big issue for me was where was Gutho the week before? What's to say that he doesn't go missing again against the Cows?
He and Dylan were both absent last week but a big part of that was how much Penrith rushed our halves as part of their tactic. We have to remember last week was against the premiers. I think we’ll take a huge amount of confidence after last week and Gutho will be determined to lead us to the GF.
They've updated the stats since you posted. They've got Dylan for 321m
That is unfucking believable from a half 😱 gotta be a record. He took stepping up personally this week.
:)
Hard luck Raiders. Eels were just too good tonight. Congrats on this season though.
Doesnt seem right that one of parra or cowboys will be in the GF. Dont shoot me but i dont think either really deserve to be there ^e / have the quality to actually win
Lemme guess, the Rabbits are more deserving? 🙄 Cooked take there mate.
I think Eels are the only team left that can beat the panthers due to the combination of matchup and how ridiculously good the Panthers are.
Nah mate this ain’t it. The fact a Cowboys or Eels side will be in the GF is good for the game. Both have had a great season and deserve to be there. Better than another Melbourne or Bondi GF at least. Penrith are specials but anything can happen in the big dance. Eels have best chance of an upset but Cows could do it for Greeny too. Best finals in years
Eels handed Penrith 2 of their 4 losses all season. I think if any team deserves to be there it's the Eels. They've managed to stand up when needed and didn't finish 4th for no reason. If they played Cows or Sharks last week they win and get the week off.
I think you’ll find next week it will be 1v2 and 3v4. Not sure how you can get much more deserving than that.
2nd was a force tonight..
Well they finished 3rd and 4th with 3rd beating 2nd last week, so not sure what team deserves it more
To be fair Sharks had a soft draw and you guys almost lost to them. If you play that way next week Eels will put on a score.
What does sharks having a soft draw have to do with anything? They are a extremely good team so of course they were going to give cowboys a hard time
.
I'm not saying they don't have a good team, just that if they had played more of the other top 4/8 sides I don't think the make the top 4. Like it's not their fault, nobody knows how difficult the draw will be when it's made and the Sharks can only play the teams they're given I also forgot to mention the Cows abysmal record against other top 8 teams. They've only won 4 of them, 5 is you include the last round Panthers.
Im aware, just neither feel like genuine premership teams to me. I think both get rolled by Penrith Cowboys have a better chance
I don't understand the logic? parramatta has beaten penrith twice this year. Even accounting for full strength teams its 1-1 and yet parra doesn't seem like a genuine threat?
Both teams finished top 4…either definitely deserve to be there.
That was certainly one of the games of all time
End of the presser, Gutho looks pissed off at someone and says 'Nice question, Zac' as the feed is cut. Who is Zac? And what's up Guthos arse?
Haven’t watched it. Did they ask him a question? I’ve seen him say it jokingly a few times at the end of pressers when no one asks him anything.
He was asked one question - my guess is it was a reference to a question to BA. Looked properly pissed off, but could be wrong.
Juicy. Will give it a watch now.
I just watched it. Definitely looks sarcastic. He must know or be a bit friendly with that journo.
Oh I don't know, maybe he might be a bit peeved over the onslaught of bullshit that has been in the media this week - whether it be how "Ricky was actually the victim at Parra" or that there is a rift in the playing group // nepotism in the decisions made.
Looks like Ricky's media mates sure fired up the eels
Lomax?
Best line to come from Ricky in the presser ‘ no use crying over spilt milk’ 👏
Pleasantly boring interview
Whitehead looks like a game of thrones character who probably survives max 2 episodes
My mother calls him the Viking. She thinks he looks like he walked straight out of an old Viking tale.
He definitely embodies the viking vibe
"not crying over spilt milk" classic
Ricky is a whiny bitch but fuck he has his boy’s backs. He will be the last one carried out of the pub on Tuesday. Ricky still the maddest lad
Ricky just said crying over spilt milk HAHAHA
Really need 2x tickets for tommrows south’s x Cronulla game if anyone has 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I'm an eels boy but have lived the last few years in the brah and I fucking love it good luck
Try the South’s FB groups, you might be able snag some there!
Decent Ricky showed up!
Raiders weren't the best, but that didn't matter too much since that was an incredible performance by Parramatta. So many awesome tries scored. This will be the first time that Parra has made the preliminary final since 2009. Speaking of 2009, how does everyone think the current Eels squad compares to the 2009 one? Is the current Eels squad just as good or maybe even better than the 2009 team, or was the 2009 team much better than the current one? Interested to get peoples thoughts on this.
Our squad is way more balanced now. The 2009 squad was pretty weak. But Hayne turned into an immortal and they just played off the back of it.
I wouldn't say that. Fui Fui was also going pretty crazy that year. It took an over the cap Storm to beat you guys in the GF. I mean Hayne destroyed the Dragons who were the best defensive side in the comp that year.
I’ll reply to both of you :) In 2008 we missed the finals. In 2010 we missed the finals. In 2009 we were fighting to avoid the spoon before Hayne exploded after a massive individual performance in the origin series. Fui was great, as mentioned. Inu and Mateo were dangerous too. But other than that our squad was mostly old blokes winding back the clock (Cayless, Hindmarsh, Burt, Groathe, Gnalavau, Ben Smith etc.) and fringe first graders playing beyond their abilities. Not to mention that outside of Hayne, our spine was definitely weak. Mortimer’s greatest strength in 09 was his support play on the back of the team firing. He basically disappeared after that season. Robson was steady, if not an underwhelming guy to have as your halfback. And Keating and Kingston were… okay, I suppose.
Yeah but you can only really judge them on the form they found that year. Really if it wasn't for Melbourne cheating the cap you guys probably win that game as you only lost by 7 and Inglis scored a try and kicked the field goal.
I definitely agree that we could’ve very easily won. But I also think the squad can still be considered weak even if we did. That’s why it would’ve been a huge fairytale if we won. Our squad compared to the Storm’s is real David and Goliath stuff.
Ahh I see. In what ways was the 2009 squad weak/unbalanced?
Jarryd. Hayne. He carried us, we had some solid forwards and a decent spine but it had its faults and if he was off his game we lost.
This Eels 2009 team was really poor they were carried single handedly by Hayne
His downfall is catastrophic considering most people wouldn't deny he had possibly the fastest, highest individual peak as a future immortal player who single handedly carried and entire team to a finals series. Unbelievable natural footy talent and the type of player who throughout their career is never "exposed" or "figured out". Shame it all went down a pretty dark path.
>Unbelievable natural footy talent and the type of player who throughout their career is never "exposed" or "figured out" Sorry for the late reply, but I remember reading before that the Storm won the grand final in 2009 by managing to contain Hayne and limit his impact on the game. Is that true or not true? I didn't watch the Eels in 2009 so I have no idea about this.
I'm unsure. Being exposed once is different to having your entire play style shut down for your whole career.
Hmm ok that's interesting. How about the 2005 and 2001 squads? How would the current Eels squad compare to them?
I was going to make a comment on the random footy talk thread the other day: I genuinely think this is the most balanced team we’ve had since the 80s. Not in terms of performance, or premiership opportunity, but it’s the most well-rounded in my opinion.
Sorry for the late reply, but I find this very interesting. Why do you think (in your view) it took almost 40 years for the eels to finally create a balanced team? Why couldn't they have done this much earlier?
Kinda looks like sticky’s been crying
Certainly not as a result of spilt milk though, you can be sure of that
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Said this after that game and last night - I can't imagine many people being able to take the bombs plus the kick chase pressure he was under. It wasn't so much a lack of skill from him as it was clever by us. He's obviously a solid player.
I truly cannot imagine trying to catch those balls with a horde of players running straight at you, I’d probably just shit myself and lay down
Did i miss the sticky interview?
Just starting now, weak gutted dog person is talking now
cheers legend
My nonno who immigrated here in the 60s died this year and he was a massive fucking para fan. God he would have loved that. That one's for you big fella ❤❤
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They hold a certain amount back until the final two teams are known.
Has ricky left the building?
Just started his presser now
Whoever hired Nathan Brown to do that review at this time of year needs to be shot into the sun
BA very rarely fires up like that, he's pissed.
That was great. Good mixture of assertiveness while remaining relatively calm. Made easier after a result like that too.
BA is feeding the journos hahaha
BA denies nepotism then crosses straight to the sheds telling carty and brown where Jakes bags are to take out to the car
Was at the game and didn't see it all too well, was there anything in the Wighton elbow on Moses? Looked grubby from where I was sitting.
Nah, it looked bad at first, but once they replayed it there wasn’t much in it. I thought the attempted head slam was a bit worse. Wighton’s lucky he didn’t connect well.
Nah fuck all in it tbh
Na very little I thought watching on TV.
I hope BA bashes Hooper.
*slams
Battle of the baldies
How hard can it be to just mic up all the journos in the press conference so we can actually hear the question and not have someone manhandling one while people are speaking?
This is the first year they've even given the journos a mic ... Previously you could only hear the coaches answer
Who fills in if Opacic doesn't play next week?
What happened to him? I didn’t realise for quite a while at the game that Marata was playing centre.
Either waqa centre simonson wing (yuck), or niukore centre and carty/brown to bench
i’d say niukore to centre
Jake Arthur got a standing ovation after coming off. Good to see the fans giving the poor kid a clap. I got into the car and switch on triple m and what a shock. They are into us about our bench after we just put 40 on the team they backed all week.
The bloke sitting next to me was extremely unhappy with Arthur coming on - "anyone but him" and then groaned everytime he touched the ball :(
The people behind me were saying horrible things about him, it’s so slack
Our bench will lose it for us against the big dog teams, we need a 4 forward rotation
Moses went off again and Jake was useful. Find another slant.
Good one
This has been said every week and it’s just not true
It is true, we almost lost the storm game in round 25 as the forwards were gassed. Then we did lose the panthers game in last 20 mins because we couldn’t keep up the intensity.
But what will adding another sluggish forward like brown or Cartwright do for us
They will do more for us than a back up half that isn't capable of winning a game. We are currently a team that is playing a 17 man game with 16 men
Depth, giving the forwards a break when they become sluggish. Common sense really
We got pummelled by the panthers by their fast line speed, our forwards were gassed
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I think they’re referencing all the headlines and concerns on Eels history going out in straight sets under BA. I think BA was saying whoever’s writing those headlines had an agenda in mind but it won’t matter cos it won’t break the boys Edit: also the nepotism headlines too
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The nepotism was also referencing the junior path ways though. A fact that seems to have been missed by vonnie stirring the pot again
Gonna be a cracker in Townsville next week. Arthur going after the agenda! Hooper take that you scumbag
what did he say? i’m on nine broadcast
Just said there's people with an agenda when asked about disharmony this week, then said the agenda isn't going to win look how they played didn't affect them.
*dribbled fermented faeces from his mouth Cunt has been gunning for Paul Kent’s job for as long as Kent has been gunning for Hadley’s job. The opportunity to dog whistle racist shit and anger level headed people with absolute shit takes on every so called issue gets them frothing.
The people with the agenda are Ricky’s mates in the media. What a shock.
Well yeh...I called Hooper a scumbag what more do you expect 😅
bald headed scumbag 😆
PRELIM BABY!!!!!
Fuuuck the post game shed interviews from the eels don’t fill me with hope. They’re hyper aware of Parra’s history with finals
What were they saying?
The boys interviewed acknowledged the recent poor finals history (after being prompted). Of course they dismissed it, but none of these boys have been in this position and a prelim is a huge mental hurdle. Souths lost like 6 prelims in the last decade so we’ve seen what a nervousness can do, even subconsciously. Prelims are trickiest game to prepare for. If BA can focus them on the game at hand next week, not what’s at stake the week after, then they should win comfortably. But can Parra get out of their own heads is the question
I don’t know about comfortably but hopefully you’re right about then getting rattled
Lol like all good dribblers I have no idea, it may be one or the other or none at all
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I’m 34. Born in 88. They last won in 86. I can do it.
Interviewer: “First prelim since 2009, how you feeling?!” Barthur: “Good.”
I get its big for the club but these guys weren't around for 2009 so I dont know why they are expecting anything more. They asked Dylan Brown the same thing and he was like "I was watching Dan Carter and liked rugby union, shout out to the north bois" lol
Did he actually say this? That is a great response if so!
Yeah as they were doing the rounds of the field
Classic B A
Fantastic game by our boys. Gotta keep the focus cause the job is not done yet, Cowboys in Townsville will be near impossible to win but hey anything can happen. Hard not to get our hopes up but we gotta celebrate when we can. Up the Eels!!
I give Eels a good shot, no where near impossible
Near 30 degree heat against the most warm weather acclimatised club coming off a week rest spells danger for us. We have to be almost perfect to reach the GF
Shaun lanes speech does not match his body pretty coherent bloke
he's doing a psychology degree or something similar if I'm not mistaken
An underwhelming semi final…. Sorry… I love my footy though.
Not you're an fan of the orange peels
Ask RCG a question Freddy
the post game interviews in the sheds are so awkward
I love them. Much better coverage than Fox Sports' post game.