Monday, August 23, 2004
Smith denies final possibility
While Eels fans cling to the possibility that their team is a slim finals chance, coach Brian Smith remains a doubter - at least publicly.
At the Eels post match press conference, Smith was asked if Parramatta was thinking "something could happen in relation to the finals".
"No, not at all. We recognised a few weeks ago where we were," Smith responded.
"We have been playing some good footy but we have not been playing playoff style of footy."
When it was pointed out Parramatta was just a win outside the eight, Smith said: "Yes we are, but it would be foolish to get ahead of ourselves. We play Penrith next weekend and we would be really happy if we could roll them - that would be fantastic."
The Eels have played since once the expectations of a finals berth was removed from their shoulders.
While admitting his team "did some really nice things, some very entertaining things", Smith said the Warriors and Sharks both were defensively poor in their respective losses.
"To be fair the last 2 teams we have played have been well down on their "d"..we have played some nice football, and certainly some smart football at times."
Asked about the performance of Michael Witt, Smith said he was particularly happy with the half's long kicking game.
"He got into trouble from all of us over that charge down in the first minute of the Sharks game and has done heaps of work this week on his kicking game. Michael took everything on board and it was a real feature of the early part of the game was his control of our kicking game, and particularly when we needed big yardage. It was tremendous, and I am very happy for him. "
At the Eels post match press conference, Smith was asked if Parramatta was thinking "something could happen in relation to the finals".
"No, not at all. We recognised a few weeks ago where we were," Smith responded.
"We have been playing some good footy but we have not been playing playoff style of footy."
When it was pointed out Parramatta was just a win outside the eight, Smith said: "Yes we are, but it would be foolish to get ahead of ourselves. We play Penrith next weekend and we would be really happy if we could roll them - that would be fantastic."
The Eels have played since once the expectations of a finals berth was removed from their shoulders.
While admitting his team "did some really nice things, some very entertaining things", Smith said the Warriors and Sharks both were defensively poor in their respective losses.
"To be fair the last 2 teams we have played have been well down on their "d"..we have played some nice football, and certainly some smart football at times."
Asked about the performance of Michael Witt, Smith said he was particularly happy with the half's long kicking game.
"He got into trouble from all of us over that charge down in the first minute of the Sharks game and has done heaps of work this week on his kicking game. Michael took everything on board and it was a real feature of the early part of the game was his control of our kicking game, and particularly when we needed big yardage. It was tremendous, and I am very happy for him. "
