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While this column generally prefers to focus on the on-field aspects of a team’s performance, for the Eels in 2015 the off-field concerns manifested on the field far more directly than for any other team.
The story is well known at this stage with the club’s diabolical mishandling of their roster over the last few years leading to a suspended penalty of the loss of four competition points.
All of which is probably Ricky Stuart’s fault in some way shape or form.
The salary cap drama also reverberated on-field this year as the club were actually restricted in who they could play at various points during the season. Underperforming players were retained in the starting line-up and deserving outsiders prevented from playing because supposedly coach Brad Arthur had no choice.
There was of course a separate but related off-field soap opera that played out to some extent on the field and that was the comings and goings of Chris Sandow. An incredibly divisive player, Sandow was typically hot and cold in 2015 and was eventually shipped out to the English Super league.
So a lost season for the Eels but the good news is that 2016 – and the arrival of Kieran Foran – is not too far away.
Season highlight – four wins in five games
While many lament the annual chaos that is the State of Origin period, for teams that are less affected (and this year the Eels missed only Will Hopoate) the chaos can be a ladder. In 2015 the Eels took advantage with four wins in five games over the heart of the Origin period.
The sequence began with a win over west Sydney rivals Penrith in Round 12 and after a forgettable loss to the Cowboys in Round 13 the team rattled off three more wins including capitalising on understrength Storm and Tigers teams.
It was an impressive period that could well have been the building block for a successful season. It’s just too bad they started the season 3-8.
Season lowlight – Chris Sandow
In the end Chris Sandow just flew a little too close to the sun for the NRL.
When at the top of his game Sandow is a magical player to watch, with an infectious grin and a carefree kid-in-the-school yard attitude to the game.
But all too often in 2015 the magic show was a one man affair as Sandow left his teammates as bewildered as the opposition, abandoning the game plan to play ‘what he saw in front of him’ or whatever other cliché you’d like to use.
So it came as no surprise when the Eels allowed him to depart for the Super League. After eight years at the Rabbitohs and Eels it seems like the NRL will have to do without Sandow’s particular brand of manic rugby league at least for a while.
While Sandow may have been incredibly frustrating at times the league will be poorer without him. For fans of “The Wire” think of Sandow as the rugby league Jimmy McNulty. Brilliant and dogged at times but not a lot of use for the bosses, or the rules. Much like McNulty, Sandow set fire to everything he touched (including a HSV Commodore) and then walked away while it burned.
Best Player – Corey Norman
With apologies to the incredibly impressive Semi Radradra, who simply missed too many games for my taste, my pick for the Eels’ best player in 2015 is Corey Norman.
After a hit and miss season in 2014, Norman was far more consistent in 2015 recording eight try assists and ten linebreak assists, placing him mid-table among all halves in those categories. It was an impressive effort given the club’s poor season overall.
Norman is also the Eels player with the most interesting future given the imminent arrival of Foran. The Kiwi international specialises in the very same left side half position that Norman has made his own in 2015.
Perhaps one of the two could switch and play on the right edge, however the concern remains that neither is a noted kicker, placing 22nd and 28th on the list for total kicks in play. A good kicking game is absolutely mandatory in the NRL so it will be fascinating to see how Arthur accommodates both Foran and Norman.
A shift back to fullback, where Norman played for the Broncos before joining the Eels, might have made sense, however the Eels have signed veteran fullback Michael Gordon for 2016.
Roster management
Clearly the recruitment of Foran is the headline but the club has made a number of other moves for 2016 despite being hamstrung by the aforementioned salary cap restictions and a tire fire of a club administration. Veterans Gordon and Beau Scott will add experience, though there are very serious questions about what Scott adds at this stage of his career.
The club are also losing several useful contributors from the recent past with Darcy Lussick probably the biggest loss along with Sandow.
But Foran is the headline for a reason. He’s a hard-nosed, unselfish half who thrives in a complementary role. However with Norman also best suited to a secondary role Foran will probably have to take on more kicking and game managing than he is accustomed to playing alongside a ball-dominant half like Daly Cherry-Evans.
Prognosis
The best case for the Eels 2016 is probably yet another rebuilding season as the team integrates Foran.
The good news is that the forward pack is still very good. The pack retains a number of dependable contributors such as Tim Mannah and David Gower while Manu Ma’u brings pure aggression on the left edge. The boy-mountain Tepai Moeroa looks to be on the verge of making the same leap that Jason Taumalolo made between 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile, the less said about Anthony Watmough and Beau Scott the better.
The outside backs are a little thinner with Radradra the only true certainty, though at some point they will presumably come to an arrangement with Hopoate and Gordon will be the front runner for the fullback position.
But everything comes back to whether or not Norman and Foran can utilise the possession and territory that the forward pack is likely to generate.
Predicted finish: Bottom four
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