Mark my words, the Eels are still a threat in this competition. I know they’ve been so inconsistent for a large part of the year, but I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen at times in the past few weeks, in particular the second half against Manly and last week’s win over the Bulldogs.
To win the competition, I think they have to make the top four. It might come down to the final-round clash against the Storm next week for that fourth spot.
The player I’ve been most impressed with has been Dylan Brown. He scored two tries off kicks last week, both of which came from his halves partner, Mitchell Moses. It shows a great understanding in each other’s game, and I think it proves Brown has taken his game to a whole new level in the past couple of months.
I love the way Parramatta attack. They find pockets of attack all over the field. With Brown, Shaun Lane and Maika Sivo on that left side, I reckon they take the correct option nine times out of 10. There’s also a lot of ball movement with Moses and Isaiah Papali’i on the right side, and throw in Reed Mahoney and Clint Gutherson, and they have a unique way of posing threats to an opposition with that high energy and offloading style. Moses’ kicking game is the real cherry on top.
As for the Broncos, they’ve been flat as a pancake for the past month. It’s been a big year for them physically and emotionally. I can imagine being in a one-team town – the constant pressure would wear you down. In fact, I know it can. They’ve been hearing for months how they were going to make the top eight, but they’ve hit a really bad patch at the worst possible time, and the loss against the Tigers was the big one for me. It just wasn’t acceptable having 60 put on them by the Storm last week as well.
Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown offer the Eels a lot of options in attack.Credit:Getty
They desperately need Patrick Carrigan back, and I’m sensing Payne Haas is exhausted trying to shoulder the load in that pack without the Wally Lewis Medallist. The positive is Adam Reynolds is playing his 250th NRL game. The team will want to lift for him against the Eels.
I think they’re a huge chance of missing the finals if they can’t beat Parramatta. They have to come to Sydney next week to play the Dragons, and do you think their old coach Anthony Griffin won’t have his team primed for that one?
Joey’s tip: Eels by 12
First try-scorer: Maika Sivo
Man of the match: Dylan Brown
Finals start early
I can’t wait for the next two rounds, and I think the Storm-Roosters clash on Friday night might be the game of the year. When you add in the Rabbitohs and Cowboys on Saturday night, it’s going to be a fantastic weekend.
Souths will be looking for another win over arch-rivals the Roosters when the teams meet in a final-round blockbuster to open the new Allianz Stadium.Credit:Getty
The finals have definitely come early when you look at some of the matches in the final round, with the Eels and Storm kicking things off on Thursday night, and then old rivals the Roosters and Rabbitohs in the opening of the new Allianz Stadium. The form line usually goes out the window for that game because those two teams just try to bash each other. That stadium will be rocking, and I reckon it will get an early test of its foundations.
It’s going to be brilliant to see the best players playing in the big games with finals intensity before we even start the play-offs.
Development the key
There’s no point trying to gloss over it, the last round was awful to watch with a heap of blowouts. Here’s a few long-term solutions to ensure we don’t have another weekend like it.
I’ve been talking about this for a while, but I think it’s worth stressing again: we need more development of quality players in key positions. Each NRL club has to be allocated a group area in regional NSW and Queensland. It’s not a token gesture either. They need to own it.
Wests Tigers players come to terms with a terrible result on Saturday night.Credit:Getty
I’m talking regular visits to schools, coaching clinics, pre-season camps and scholarships for young players. Why not bring the coaches to Sydney and help them with passing on the knowledge to younger players? We should be looking at coach the coaches sessions.
I also go back to my push for weight divisions in junior rugby league, or having more kids playing touch football and Oztag. I’ve even given thought to a nines concept played between regional and Pacific teams. It would give people in the bush something to strive for and those athletes in countries such as Fiji and Samoa, where rugby sevens is so big, an avenue into rugby league. Can you imagine their athleticism and attacking skills in a format like nines? We can’t expand the game at the top level unless we produce more kids at the grassroots.
I know it went by the wayside several years ago, but I thought the under-20s National Youth Competition was important for bringing the next generation through. We had those young players on television every weekend and that helped attract the really talented kids from other codes.
The Warriors had an under-20s team that included Shaun Johnson and Konrad Hurrell, and it allowed young New Zealand rugby union players to see there was a pathway in league. That Warriors team had such a following some fans would watch the under-20s but not the NRL side.
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