Monday, May 24, 2004
Analysis: Eels lose their balance
It's really not surprising that Parramatta has fallen into a hole since Chris Thorman was promoted into first grade.
Despite the cries of the many fans who didn’t like seeing Daniel Wagon at five-eighth, the composition of the side made some sense. With a shortage of skilled outside backs, Parramatta’s attacking force was directed around the rucks with a skillful hooker and half making inroads from dummy half or first receiver and forwards like Cayless and Hindmarsh exploiting weaknesses on the fringe of the ruck.
It was one-dimensional but it worked well enough to have Parramatta in the eight and looking forward to a bevy of home games against lower-placed opponents.
Then Chris Thorman was promoted. The more game time Thorman has had, the worse Parramatta has played. More to the point, his inclusion has affected the form of Adam Dykes and John Morris and with Nathan Cayless and then Nathan Hindmarsh out through injury/suspension and State of Origin duty respectively, Parramattas has lost all of its attacking potency.
Quite simply, it never, ever works having three playmakers at hooker, half and five-eighth at the best of times. In Parramatta’s case, it is a recipe for disaster.
It’s all very well to have plenty of skill in the team, but not if you don’t have players who are going to actually punch through the holes and half-gaps that might be created. Morris, Dykes and Thorman all play the same game. They will first look to set up their teammates and their second option is to try and sprint through the defence with acceleration. Not one of them is a hole runner or has the strength to punch through a half-gap.
Just maybe, having all three in the team would work if the Eels had some great hole runners in the centres and backrow. You could possible argue that Melbourne has three predominantly creative players in Orford, Smith and Hill (although I’d argue they all have quite different games with Smith and especially Hill able to break tackles as well as make opportunities), but they always have speedy, powerful outside backs, plus Billy Slater at fullback and a couple of ex-centres in the backrow with David Kidwell and Danny Williams.
Meanwhile, the only real hole-runner in the entire Parramatta team is Dean Widders. No wonder Parramatta has been going from side-to-side without any real penetration. The end result coach Brian Smith has come up with in recent weeks is too many players trying to do too much creative smarts for too few ballrunners.
If Parramatta can’t find an effective five-eighth (and let’s face it, we may win some games with Wagon there, but we can’t win the comp) then Morris is not the right hooker. Hopkins, with Webster coming off the bench, would provide some strength and then speed to complement the halves. Morris should probably shift to five-eighth or he just doesn’t fit in the side. It really is no coincidence, that the form of both John Morris and Adam Dykes has plummeted since Thorman came into the squad.
Too many cooks do spoil the broth. It’s something that NSW used to get into trouble when they employed creative five-eighths like Cliff Lyons. A football team involves many jobs and right now Parramatta can only fill half of the positions that are required. St George showed last weekend that even if every player is not a star, if a team is well-balanced, it can perform well above the talents or experience of its individual parts.
Despite the cries of the many fans who didn’t like seeing Daniel Wagon at five-eighth, the composition of the side made some sense. With a shortage of skilled outside backs, Parramatta’s attacking force was directed around the rucks with a skillful hooker and half making inroads from dummy half or first receiver and forwards like Cayless and Hindmarsh exploiting weaknesses on the fringe of the ruck.
It was one-dimensional but it worked well enough to have Parramatta in the eight and looking forward to a bevy of home games against lower-placed opponents.
Then Chris Thorman was promoted. The more game time Thorman has had, the worse Parramatta has played. More to the point, his inclusion has affected the form of Adam Dykes and John Morris and with Nathan Cayless and then Nathan Hindmarsh out through injury/suspension and State of Origin duty respectively, Parramattas has lost all of its attacking potency.
Quite simply, it never, ever works having three playmakers at hooker, half and five-eighth at the best of times. In Parramatta’s case, it is a recipe for disaster.
It’s all very well to have plenty of skill in the team, but not if you don’t have players who are going to actually punch through the holes and half-gaps that might be created. Morris, Dykes and Thorman all play the same game. They will first look to set up their teammates and their second option is to try and sprint through the defence with acceleration. Not one of them is a hole runner or has the strength to punch through a half-gap.
Just maybe, having all three in the team would work if the Eels had some great hole runners in the centres and backrow. You could possible argue that Melbourne has three predominantly creative players in Orford, Smith and Hill (although I’d argue they all have quite different games with Smith and especially Hill able to break tackles as well as make opportunities), but they always have speedy, powerful outside backs, plus Billy Slater at fullback and a couple of ex-centres in the backrow with David Kidwell and Danny Williams.
Meanwhile, the only real hole-runner in the entire Parramatta team is Dean Widders. No wonder Parramatta has been going from side-to-side without any real penetration. The end result coach Brian Smith has come up with in recent weeks is too many players trying to do too much creative smarts for too few ballrunners.
If Parramatta can’t find an effective five-eighth (and let’s face it, we may win some games with Wagon there, but we can’t win the comp) then Morris is not the right hooker. Hopkins, with Webster coming off the bench, would provide some strength and then speed to complement the halves. Morris should probably shift to five-eighth or he just doesn’t fit in the side. It really is no coincidence, that the form of both John Morris and Adam Dykes has plummeted since Thorman came into the squad.
Too many cooks do spoil the broth. It’s something that NSW used to get into trouble when they employed creative five-eighths like Cliff Lyons. A football team involves many jobs and right now Parramatta can only fill half of the positions that are required. St George showed last weekend that even if every player is not a star, if a team is well-balanced, it can perform well above the talents or experience of its individual parts.
