Thursday night had to be a statement game for the Parramatta Eels if they wanted to be anywhere near the top of the tree come the end of the NRL season.
After an indifferent run of form, including a loss at Bankwest Stadium last weekend, they found themselves tasked with a Melbourne Storm side so understrength you could have sworn State of Origin is on the calendar next Wednesday.
Of course, the postponed Origin series is still months away, and the Eels, at full strength, had to put their doubters in the corner.
A win might have been the result, but it was hardly pretty. The names out for Melbourne bordered on the ridiculous – Cameron Smith, Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Dale Finucane, just to name a few.
It was never about the Storm at Bankwest, whose premiership aspirations weren’t going to go up with a win and weren’t going to go down with a loss. Craig Bellamy’s slightly relaxed demeanour in the coaches box told you all you needed to know about the plight of the travelling team.
No, Thursday night’s game was all about the Eels turning their run of topsy-turvy, inconsistent form around.
The fact they held the Storm to nil was one thing. They are the first team to do so since Round 12, 2014 when the North Queensland Cowboys did it in Townsville. That, for those not interested in counting, is 147 regular season matches. If you want to add in finals, that tally goes to 162.
The Storm haven’t faced an injury crisis like this in that time period though, so it didn’t matter for them.
Given the way the Eels have drifted in and out of games over the last six weeks, it was a positive for Brad Arthur’s men to at least play the entire 80 minutes at one end of the park, and they had to.
It’s not as if the Storm didn’t throw anything at them, but the blue and gold just kept turning up, making big tackles and big plays and managed to hold the Storm to a duck egg.
As positive as their defensive display might have been after last week’s loss to the Dragons, it wasn’t that side of the game which most interested neutral onlookers wondering if the Eels are going to be premiership material or not.
If you had been asked in the opening eight weeks, the answer was yes, but since then, their run has been less than pretty.
A scratchy 10-4 win over the Knights, a loss to the Tom Trbojevic-less Sea Eagles, then less than impressive wins over the Tigers, Bulldogs and Sharks before the Dragons pulled their pants down.
That doesn’t scream premiership contender, but they managed to keep winning for the most part, so it didn’t scream hopelessly out of sorts either.
And while their attack was an improved entity against the always watertight defence of a Craig Bellamy-coached side, it wasn’t improved to the level they need.
Sure, there were positives. The forwards led the way for the first time in some weeks, allowing the Eels to play the game at the end of the park they wanted to. That’s reflected in victories across the key stats of completion rates, run metres and territory.
It was the back row who led the way, with Nathan Brown topping the tree at 185 metres, backed up by Shaun Lane (169) and Ryan Matterson (136). While their middle third was still a fraction soft, they did enough to be passed as competent.
It was the small wins on the stats sheet in the forwards which then allowed Parramatta to start to get back to the brand of rugby league they played all those weeks ago when they were at the top of the table. Fast. Free-flowing.
They were good to watch again, but only in patches. Consistency is still a way off, but under a sped-up game, the Eels suddenly looked like a team who may be able to challenge again, even if not for the premiership at this stage.
But, with five games still to run in the regular season, there was no better time than last night to make a statement after squandering a trio of opportunities to do so in the last three weeks which left fans wondering whether they were the real deal. Perfect or not, the Eels had to win and win well, and they did just that. If nothing else, it’ll give the side confidence from which to build on.
What’s more, they won 14 to blot without Mitchell Moses playing well, and without their attack looking crisp permanently as a result.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The major bright spot, apart from the already mentioned back row, was the performance of fullback Clint Gutherson. The number one was simply everywhere, whether it be the kicking, passing or running game. He forced dropouts, set up a try and ran for more than 200 metres once again.
In fact, you could almost make an argument that Gutherson has been the mainstay when it comes to looking for a blue and gold bright spot over the last six weeks. He ran for 369 metres last week.
What is clear is that if the Eels are going to challenge to break a long hoodoo on grand final day, they need consistency. They need Moses to stand up and Gutherson to continue his form. They need the middle forward to stand up. They need to be close to perfect.
Last night was a start, and a win is a win.
Excitement might build in the heart of Western Sydney if the Eels can go past the Rabbitohs and Panthers in the next three weeks, but until then, expectations must remain tempered. Because when even Bellamy refuses to go macho at an underperforming Storm side, the result must be taken with a grain of salt.
Brett Allen
Guest
Papenhuysen & Munster yes, but the rest no. They just don't have the extra gear IMO. That said I still think they are one of the three that can win it along with Penrith & Parramatta.
Phil
Guest
Interesting to see Brad Arthur's press conference where he said training has been focused on defence and neglected attack.This will change once defence is in order.Hope he is right!
The Barry
Roar Guru
I was super impressed with Hynes and I’d have him ahead of Jacks too Looks a great option at 14 too when troops come back I was a big fan of Brenko at the Dogs...he’s a really talented attacking player. Brilliant at creating space for others with his footwork and offloads. He had issues in defence but it was more decision making than actual tackling...I don’t think he was as bad as a lot of Dogs fans made out.
Bob
Guest
I think you might be being a bit harsh on the raiders, they won that game, Melbourne didn’t lose it!
Col in Paradise
Roar Rookie
My conspiracy theory is the NRL and NSW Govt want the Eels to win the premiership..keep Bankwest full and making money. And justify building more stadiums for clubs...
StuO
Roar Rookie
Spot on with this article Scott. I never had the Eels in my top 4 so they are exceeding my expectations at the moment. I dare say if this was a regular season we may have seen a slide down the eight reminiscent of the 2018 Dragons. They are a group of individually talented players rather than a team. Not as in sync as other contenders.
Rob
Guest
I’ve got a gut feeling the Eels are being looked after by the officials. Milking penalties and getting late in the tackle count 6 again calls seem to be more forthcoming for the Eels this season?
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Certainly wasn’t a great game to watch. I’m not sure if Parra should be pleased with keeping Melbourne to nil, or should Melbourne be happy keeping Parra to 14.
Chris Love
Roar Guru
Fairly spot on the money Scott with the assessment of Parramatta. When Nathan Brown returned and started those full tilt hit ups I thought watch out! While he was out RCG and Paulo were an awesome tag team for it but since Brown added to the mix they’ve both gone back a gear, though Paulo’s footwork and ball skills have still been up there. Possibly Arther had a word to pull it back a peg to last the whole season? The edge forwards, Lane, Matterson and Nuikore seem to be getting more ball in attack. If Brown RCG and Paulo can ramp it up to their best come finals I think the likes of D Brown, Moses and Gutherson can have the attack firing like earlier in the season. By far the biggest improvement Parramatta has seen this year is patience in attack. Where in the past they’d look for a trick shot or low percentage play that would often cost them points, this year they seem far more composed in trusting their game plan. Round 5 against the Panthers had me start to notice this. Down 10-0 with 18 to go they managed to put 3 quick tries on to sink a very very good Panthers side. While the defence has been a highlight with a massive reduction in silly penalties, the patience in attack has also kept them in tight games. They’re retaining a lot more possession at the right end of the field and where in the past they would have got a lot less repeat sets and let teams easily come down field with silly penalties now teams have to really earn their meters. Parra aren’t far away from their best if they can keep injury free. They can win the comp. the big test will be against the Panthers in round 18. We’ll know a lot coming from that game.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
The coach needs to show his team Ferguson's run down the sideline to set up the SoO winning try last year. What a try that was.
The Barry
Roar Guru
That’s a fair point Criticism of the Eels over the last few years is they’re front runners and they can’t get in the trenches and win ugly...I’ve certainly shared that opinion.. So yeah, I can see why it’s galling when we come back say “we’ll, they won ugly but they should have won by more”
Chris Love
Roar Guru
It’s constant stupid comments like this over the years that got Cleary in trouble last week. Everyone that watches league knows referees manage teams back into the game. Go back and watch the Parra Raiders game and tell me it doesn’t happen. If a team is up decently the soft penalties come out for the losing team. We used to just say one side was more disciplined on the night. And clearly Parramatta are far less ill disciplined to a lot of other teams this year. But no, an 8:1 penalty count is never poor discipline anymore it’s poor refereeing.
Chris Love
Roar Guru
I legitimately think Parramatta can win the comp. but if Gutherson were to go down I’d put a line through them straight away.
Chris Love
Roar Guru
This is a farce. Clearly a head high shoulder. That was 2-3weeks minimum in my book. Niukore a week below NAS, if they’d have given NAS the three weeks like they should have then 2 for Niukore would have been sufficient. I didn’t think any of the crushers were worthy of suspensions. Especially the ones on Brown and Sivo.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
For the record, the Storm have a 73% win rate under Cummins. The team with the next best % under Cummins is Souths - all the way back at 54%. The Eels under Cummins are sub 50%. So I don't think that relationship will be too tarnished.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Which penalities did you think they didn't deserve to get last night? The strip after the call of held? The escort with clear eyes for Gutherson? The Shoulder to the head? The clear marker infringement (which confused all the Nine commentators except for Fittler)? The dragging of player clearly tackled on the ground, back into his ingoal? Did you think the Storm were harshly treated as Parra got the same number of set restarts (3) even though most neutral observers would say the Storm (particularly Eisenuth) seemed to get away with laying over the tackeld player quite a lot. Was JAC's pass not clearly forward? Niokore should have been penalised for the high shot with 3 to go - at which point the game was over anyway. So I struggle to see how Cummins helped Parra?
matth
Roar Guru
Not the Panthers?
theHunter
Roar Rookie
Parra at least are having some consistency of winning games after a long while. Winning by 2 points or 20 points doesn't matter for now, the key thing is they are working hard to get wins. Maybe after a couple of seasons of this kind of consistency they might be seen in the same light of a full strength Rooster or Storm but not yet for now. This team is at the right strength at the moment hopefully it can be consistent for a couple of seasons. Besides, you only play what's in front of you. And that was an injury hit Storm. If they had beaten the Eels people will be talking about Eels are hopeless and that Bellamy is the greatest coach but they win and the "ifs" and "maybes" come out.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Was expecting an Eels victory so wasn't surprised. Regardless of the team they're facing the Eels needed that win after last weeks loss so doing it without conceding a point I think is a pretty good sign. They just need to stay in the 4 and they're a big chance. Lets not forget that they're the only team to beat the Panthers this year. For the Storm I was looking more at individual performances and who can step up if needed in the Finals. I think Nicho definitely showed he belongs and will likely even be a replacement half ahead of Jacks now. I was also very happy with Brenko's performance. He is getting better with every game and his defense last night against Jennings was solid. He also has that great step and ball skills and almost put Kaufusi away, he knows how to setup his wings. He is an emerging X-factor player. Cooper, Vete and Schonig and Earl were workmanlike but really posed no threat. Paps was probably our biggest threat and like Slater is consistently good regardless of those around him. B.Smith likely is playing himself out of the 9 competition with Grant. What it showed is injuries is going to play a big part in this competition as no team can hope to win it with reserve players.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Well maybe. On the 'ugly' bit the reason the Storm didnt score last night was 4 part Parra defence and 6 part Storm throwing nothing, zilch, at them. Unbelievably non creative,straight out of the Dogs playbook. 'Give the Storm a full strength side' Look at the list and add Kenny B to it. Brandon Smith (jaw, TBC) Ryley Jacks (hip, TBC) Jahrome Hughes (groin, round 15-16) Marion Seve (ear, round 15-16) Cameron Smith (shoulder, round 16) Jesse Bromwich (suspension, round 16) Cameron Munster (knee, round 16-17) Max King (Achilles, round 19) Suliasi Vunivalu (jaw, round 19-finals) Dale Finucane (calf, finals) Tui Kamikamica (lower back, finals) Paul Momirovski (finger, finals) When they come back, it will be early and theyll still be vulnerable to furthering it, blokes with ACs, calfs and fractured jaws. Are they ever going to be full strength ? Getting Cummins will put them further behind it. Parras beaten Penrith the only time they played, last night they virtually did it without their props raising a lather.