Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Match Analysis: Eels vs Warriors
Somebody at Parramatta has really peeved off somebody upstairs. We’re not sure what they’ve done, but it was enough to make sure the Gods conspired to do everything in their power to help the Warriors beat the Eels.
Like many Parra fans, 1Eyed Eel was heart broken by the loss to the competition’s bottom-ranked team. However, after closing watching the replay, the effort was not nearly as bad as we first thought. We’ve picked up the remains of our most vital organ and somehow we’ve managed to find a pulse again.
There were a number of key factors that really hurt the Eels. The first were early penalties. After getting the ball back from a short kick off, the Eels should have been able to apply early pressure but they gave away a string of penalties that put New Zealand on the attack early in the game. The first try came after a bad missed tackle on Richard Villasanti from the forwards and then the backline again failed to number up from the ensuing set deep in Parramatta territory. Stacy Jones doesn’t miss when he’s got four on three.
It’s hard to find somebody to blame for the second try. The referee made what must surely be the worst refereeing blunder of the year when he penalised Corey Pearson for a flop, despite the fact that he was the only man in the tackle. That put New Zealand on the attack and Stacey Jones managed to squeeze between Daniel Wagon and Junior Langi to slip a pass away and the Warriors were over again. Not a lot the Eels could have done but the Warriors should have never been in that position. You’re a goose Steven Clarke.
New Zealand’s props were awesome early and they gave New Zealand some momentum, but their impact may have been somewhat overstated as it was largely limited to the first 25 minutes of the first half. The Eels then began to turn the game around with breaks made by Parramatta’s WWW - Wagon, Witt and Widders. The Witt bust should have resulted in a try but Afamasaga went outside instead of in and Ashley Graham overran the play. Peterson’s near-try was another missed opportunity and Parramatta really should have been going to the break at 12 all and at the very least 12 to six, which would have had them well placed considering they were running with a gale force wind in the second half.
Unfortunately, Parramatta didn’t put the points on the board and instead Chris Thorman threw a pass that was never going to anyone but Stacy Jones, who sprinted away for a heart-breaking try.
All of a sudden, the Eels were needing to make up 18 points in the second half, although it could almost have been 24 as Michael Witt ran almost a copy cat play to the Thorman intercept, finding Vinnie Anderson who was fortunately called back for offside.
As if the task wasn’t difficult enough, torrential rain started belting down 10 minutes into the second stanza and from that point on, it was always going to be near impossible to score four tries in those conditions. The Warriors did their best to give the Eels a shot continually turning the ball over, but the Eels simply didn’t have enough go-forward or enough spark from the halves to run through the Warriors like Melbourne did the week before.
Refereeing decisions continued to play against Parramatta when a short Daniel Wagon pass that sent Lee Hopkins over was called back for a forward pass.
However, Parramatta’s problem is they can’t afford to have things not go their way. Every time a bad call goes against them it seems to result in a try because their defence has trouble holding out under pressure and spilled chances are rued, because not enough are created to make up for those squandered.
The Eels need Dykes back desperately or they need to find another halves combination. Neither Witt or Thorman have the experience or command to guide the Eels around the park and while Parramatta may get away with playing one of them alongside a player like Dykes, with both of them on the park, there are just too many bad options and not enough pressure for Parramatta to really worry the opposition in attack.
Like many Parra fans, 1Eyed Eel was heart broken by the loss to the competition’s bottom-ranked team. However, after closing watching the replay, the effort was not nearly as bad as we first thought. We’ve picked up the remains of our most vital organ and somehow we’ve managed to find a pulse again.
There were a number of key factors that really hurt the Eels. The first were early penalties. After getting the ball back from a short kick off, the Eels should have been able to apply early pressure but they gave away a string of penalties that put New Zealand on the attack early in the game. The first try came after a bad missed tackle on Richard Villasanti from the forwards and then the backline again failed to number up from the ensuing set deep in Parramatta territory. Stacy Jones doesn’t miss when he’s got four on three.
It’s hard to find somebody to blame for the second try. The referee made what must surely be the worst refereeing blunder of the year when he penalised Corey Pearson for a flop, despite the fact that he was the only man in the tackle. That put New Zealand on the attack and Stacey Jones managed to squeeze between Daniel Wagon and Junior Langi to slip a pass away and the Warriors were over again. Not a lot the Eels could have done but the Warriors should have never been in that position. You’re a goose Steven Clarke.
New Zealand’s props were awesome early and they gave New Zealand some momentum, but their impact may have been somewhat overstated as it was largely limited to the first 25 minutes of the first half. The Eels then began to turn the game around with breaks made by Parramatta’s WWW - Wagon, Witt and Widders. The Witt bust should have resulted in a try but Afamasaga went outside instead of in and Ashley Graham overran the play. Peterson’s near-try was another missed opportunity and Parramatta really should have been going to the break at 12 all and at the very least 12 to six, which would have had them well placed considering they were running with a gale force wind in the second half.
Unfortunately, Parramatta didn’t put the points on the board and instead Chris Thorman threw a pass that was never going to anyone but Stacy Jones, who sprinted away for a heart-breaking try.
All of a sudden, the Eels were needing to make up 18 points in the second half, although it could almost have been 24 as Michael Witt ran almost a copy cat play to the Thorman intercept, finding Vinnie Anderson who was fortunately called back for offside.
As if the task wasn’t difficult enough, torrential rain started belting down 10 minutes into the second stanza and from that point on, it was always going to be near impossible to score four tries in those conditions. The Warriors did their best to give the Eels a shot continually turning the ball over, but the Eels simply didn’t have enough go-forward or enough spark from the halves to run through the Warriors like Melbourne did the week before.
Refereeing decisions continued to play against Parramatta when a short Daniel Wagon pass that sent Lee Hopkins over was called back for a forward pass.
However, Parramatta’s problem is they can’t afford to have things not go their way. Every time a bad call goes against them it seems to result in a try because their defence has trouble holding out under pressure and spilled chances are rued, because not enough are created to make up for those squandered.
The Eels need Dykes back desperately or they need to find another halves combination. Neither Witt or Thorman have the experience or command to guide the Eels around the park and while Parramatta may get away with playing one of them alongside a player like Dykes, with both of them on the park, there are just too many bad options and not enough pressure for Parramatta to really worry the opposition in attack.
