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Remember as a kid when your mother said ‘cheaters never prosper’? Well that saying is all well and good, but usually it is false, with great success usually following those that cheat *cough*Melbourne*cough*.
So it was refreshing to see the Parramatta Eels have their squad ripped apart in 2016 for salary cap rorting.
It was a terrible year for Parramatta. They were stripped of points, had their star halfback leave them one year into his multiyear and multimillion-dollar contract, were forced to shed more players, had their other superstar half suspended for more off-field issues, and found out that their superstar winger was going to union at the end of 2017.
Not the most fun times.
However, if it weren’t for the point stripping, Parramatta would have made the eight, even with the injuries and suspensions.
Not only that, but after they lost Kieran Foran, Anthony Watmough and Nathan Peats, they had plenty of dough to spend on players, and spend they did.
But is it enough for them to make the eight this year and reach their first finals series since 2009?
Strengths
You know, I like this prop rotation a bunch. Granted, Tim Mannah is slow and probably the weak link, but the other three (all of whom are new recruits) are great players.
Nathan Brown was one of the few bright spots for the Rabbitohs in 2016, having a breakout year, despite being dirtier than a Paul Gallen covered in mud. Siosaia Vave also had a similar 2016, with the former slow fatty losing weight and gaining a much better work ethic.
These two, along with Suaia Matagi, are powerful ball runners, and with this pack Parramatta could power up the middle and beat their opposition into submission.
Corey Norman is one of the best five-eighths in the game. Off the field, the guy may, um, make poor choices, but his ability is undeniable. Norman is going to be the playmaking core that holds this side together, and he is a great pick for it. Fast, evasive and skilled, he is one of the premier halves in the game.
Speaking of premier talents, Bevan French is one of the best young talents in the game. He may be small but he is more elusive than a healthy option at an American fast food restaurant, and he has speed to burn. It will be interesting to see how he compares to the other great rookie fullbacks in Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell this year.
Semi Radradra may have one step out of the door and a potential suspension upcoming, but he is still head and shoulders the best winger in the game. People say ‘you can’t spend over $500,000 on a winger’, the Semi Trailer is different. He provides more than any winger I have seen play, and will be a huge loss in 2018, but for 2017 he will help Parramatta win multiple games.
But the biggest strength of this Parramatta side is their coach. Ever since taking the reins after Ricky Stuart did a runner, the Eels have been on the up, and Brad Arthur will lead this team very deep into the finals in the next few years.
Arthur knows how to make his men play for each other, with his team showing heart and pride in almost every match they have played.
Weaknesses
Their first-choice hooker, Isaac De Gois, would be a third-string choice at most of the other clubs. Based on a few of Nathan Peats’ comments since leaving the Eels, it seems Arthur prefers his number 9s to tackle a bunch and do nothing too fancy, which works for some clubs. However, even then, you can get a better choice than De Gois, who is full of silly errors.
Meanwhile, Kaysa Pritchard is the homeless man’s James Segeyaro and Cameron King is injured far too much.
Clinton Gutherson is a wonderful centre, winger or fullback who can even convert quite well. However, there is a lot of noise that he will be picked in the halves, and I am not a fan of this decision. Gutherson is nothing more than a stop-gap there, and if something happens to Norman, Gutherson can’t lead the team around.
Parramatta have Jamal Fogerty, who was wonderful in the Queensland Cup last year. He is ready for first grade and would make a great partnership with Norman.
Summary
Parramatta have recruited very well and repaired their squad – this is a great team, spoiled for choice in their backs, props and second rowers. They have one of the best young fullbacks in the game and Corey Norman is an amazing half.
The Eels have ‘top eight’ written all over them – in fact, they have ‘top four’ written all over them. The only thing really holding this team back is their dummy-half choices.
As such, I have this team finishing fourth, but they could end high as third or low as sixth. Regardless, this team will make the top eight, they just have too much quality in their squad to miss it.
I don’t know if they can win the premiership this year, but they will go very far into the finals.
2016 finish: 14th
Predicted 2017 finish: fourth
Transfers
Gains: Jamal Fogerty, Siosia Vave, Nathan Brown, George Jennings, Josh Hoffman, Suaia Matagi, Frank Pritchard, Kirisome Auva’a, Will Smith
Losses: Tyrell Fuimaono, Michael Gordon, Kieren Moss, Anthony Watmough, Kieran Foran, Luke Kelly, Danny Wicks, Vai Toutai, Mitch Cornish
Full-strength team
1. Bevan French
2. Semi Radradra
3. Michael Jennings
4. Clinton Gutherson
5. Josh Hoffman
6. Jamal Fogerty
7. Corey Norman
8. Tim Mannah
9. Isaac De Gois
10. Nathan Brown
11. Manu Ma’u
12. Kenny Edwards
13. Beau Scott
14. Kaysa Pritchard
15. Frank Pritchard
16. Suaia Matagi
17. Siosaia Vave
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