Monday, June 28, 2004
Match Analysis: Bench problems
If only the Eels forwards had kept going like they started.
Parramatta's starting pack put together their best opening 20 minutes of the year. Time and again, Penrith's renowned hard-running forwards Joel Clinton, Martin Lang and Trent Waterhouse charged at the likes of Vella, Pearson, Wagon, Stapleton and Muckert only to be stopped in their tracks.
Meanwhile, the Eels forwards were making good metres as well as completing most of their sets and subsequently Parramatta totally controlled the opening stanza and should have been more than ten points in front before the Panthers started to turn the game around.
Unfortunately, the Eels clearly missed the playmaking abilities of Adam Dykes. Michael Witt was solid in the first half and his longer kicking game was quite good, but once again Parramatta's fifth tackle options were poor and we lacked the attacking flair inside the opposition's quarter to put on quick points.
The game started to change complexion, noticeably, as both teams made interchanges. Unfortunately for Parramatta, it was the Penrith forwards who began altering the course of the game. Ben Ross and Frank Pritchard would be starting forwards in most other packs and they began to make big metres against Parramatta's smaller interchange forwards.
An analysis of the metres gained by the forwards showed that both Pearson and Vella were more successful in gaining metres than Clinton or Lang, but that Pritchard and Ross were significantly better than Parra's interchange players.
The dominance that Penrith started to gain at the back end of the first half continued into the second 40 minutes and Parramatta found themselves continually forced to work the ball out of their half. The Eels resorted to a lot of dummy half running by the backs and while this was reasonably effective in gaining metreage it didn't put the Panthers, who had regained the lead by this time, under any real pressure.
Michael Witt was placed under enormous pressure for this game. He has played very few games at half back this year, was returining from a two game suspension and he is still learning the ropes, but with Parra reverting to using Wagon at five-eighth, all the organisational responsibility fell on his inexperienced shoulders. With that in mind, he didn't do badly, but the Eels desperately needed someone in the second half to step up and change the point of the attack.
The Eels defence has improved markedly in recent weeks but there are still occasions where defenders are too slow to slide across and cover up the inside ball or the man stepping back into the centre of the field.
Parramatta's starting pack put together their best opening 20 minutes of the year. Time and again, Penrith's renowned hard-running forwards Joel Clinton, Martin Lang and Trent Waterhouse charged at the likes of Vella, Pearson, Wagon, Stapleton and Muckert only to be stopped in their tracks.
Meanwhile, the Eels forwards were making good metres as well as completing most of their sets and subsequently Parramatta totally controlled the opening stanza and should have been more than ten points in front before the Panthers started to turn the game around.
Unfortunately, the Eels clearly missed the playmaking abilities of Adam Dykes. Michael Witt was solid in the first half and his longer kicking game was quite good, but once again Parramatta's fifth tackle options were poor and we lacked the attacking flair inside the opposition's quarter to put on quick points.
The game started to change complexion, noticeably, as both teams made interchanges. Unfortunately for Parramatta, it was the Penrith forwards who began altering the course of the game. Ben Ross and Frank Pritchard would be starting forwards in most other packs and they began to make big metres against Parramatta's smaller interchange forwards.
An analysis of the metres gained by the forwards showed that both Pearson and Vella were more successful in gaining metres than Clinton or Lang, but that Pritchard and Ross were significantly better than Parra's interchange players.
The dominance that Penrith started to gain at the back end of the first half continued into the second 40 minutes and Parramatta found themselves continually forced to work the ball out of their half. The Eels resorted to a lot of dummy half running by the backs and while this was reasonably effective in gaining metreage it didn't put the Panthers, who had regained the lead by this time, under any real pressure.
Michael Witt was placed under enormous pressure for this game. He has played very few games at half back this year, was returining from a two game suspension and he is still learning the ropes, but with Parra reverting to using Wagon at five-eighth, all the organisational responsibility fell on his inexperienced shoulders. With that in mind, he didn't do badly, but the Eels desperately needed someone in the second half to step up and change the point of the attack.
The Eels defence has improved markedly in recent weeks but there are still occasions where defenders are too slow to slide across and cover up the inside ball or the man stepping back into the centre of the field.
