The Storm sucked the wind right out of Parramatta on Monday night after another week of turmoil out in the West.
Having to win 12 of their last 14, the Eels were desperate as they welcomed back Kieran Foran for the Round 11 clash but once again could not deliver as lack of patience and poor execution consigned them to a 18-6 loss.
Now unable to drop more than one game with 13 games to go, the Eels season is now almost certainly over.
After last weeks salary cap drama culminated in a heart-breaking loss to the Rabbitohs, this week the Eels also had to deal with news articles implicating Kieran Foran in a betting splurge as well as Corey Norman being caught with unknown pills.
While in both cases the details have not been confirmed, once again the Eels and the playing group are in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, proving an unwanted distraction.
You have to feel for Parramatta. Hung out to dry by their administration, after starting the season so strongly and so full of promise, they will miss the finals again, having not been there since 2009 when they made the grand final and went down to the Storm – who themselves had that title stripped for salary cap breaches.
Essentially for the rest of the comp it means that it will become a top nine. If Parramatta had not been caught they looked certain to make the finals. Even if they had started the season minus a couple of players they had to shed, they still would have likely played finals footy.
This means that the spot in the eight they have vacated will create space for the team that would have finished ninth. With only four teams arguably going consistently well, the other teams who are fighting for those spots are given more spots to fight for.
The Cowboys, Sharks, Broncos and Storm are certainties. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs look strong, although at times inconsistent.
Meanwhile, the Panthers, Raiders, Sea Eagles, Titans, Dragons and Rabbitohs are all close enough if good enough. All have played in good contests and have had good displays but cannot nail down the consistency of the best teams in the comp.
The Tigers, Knights and Roosters can nearly be ruled out. They just cannot match it with the best and have too much work to do already to contend. They have all been on the end of floggings and it has been indicative of issues with each.
The Warriors, well, who knows. They probably won’t but they definitely could.
It has been an absorbing and surprising start to the season, one punctuated by the usual drama and controversy that always seem to plague the NRL.
With Origin on the doorstep and plenty still to be decided it will come down to the wire as it always does
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