Opinion
For fans of 15 NRL clubs, the Parramatta Eels are a wonderful source of amusement.
Put simply, they consistently promise the world, deliver nothing and apparently won premierships when some bloke named Bob Hawke was the prime minister of Australia.
In 2022, the Eels and their fans have once again been puffing out their chests, feeling the murmurings of success in their loins that they hope will take them into another finals campaign and perhaps something even greater.
More likely, Parramatta will fall short, extend a 36-year premiership drought and provide another wonderful season about which opposition fans can take to social media with clever memes and cutting heartlessness.
After four wins from their opening five matches, a telling two points against the might of the Melbourne Storm and 170 attacking points out of their unquestionably talented squad, Easter Monday against the Tigers loomed as a proverbial walk in the park.
Considering where Wests were in the lead-up to the fixture, the Eels were assured to be short-priced favourites, $1.07 in fact.
Some might have suggested that was even a little generous, with the Tigers being winless after five games and entering the match with just 42 points to show for their efforts.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Coach Michael Maguire was under siege. His squad were widely touted as simply not good enough and some people wondered where a win would come from in 2022.
Maguire stunned the league world by shifting stalwart Luke Brooks to five-eighth for the match, Jackson Hastings took over in the number seven jersey and most held grave concerns that should those moves go pear-shaped and the expected belting play out, Maguire could well be out of an NRL job in the short term.
Instead, Wests reportedly trained the house down in the week leading up to the match, fixed their attention firmly on sheer effort and apparently drew something of a line in the sand when it came to the unacceptable nature of their performances in the first five rounds.
Wests took to the field breathing fire, snatched an early lead and despite a series of piggy-back penalties in the opening half that kept the Eels in the contest, went to the sheds in front at 14-10.
The home crowd at CommBank Stadium was stunned as the Eels played show-pony football, looking wide before earning the right to do so and the Tigers managed to turn up time after time in defence.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
When Ken Maumalo scored in the 48th minute, the finish line loomed, before two late Parramatta tries sent the match to golden point where Hastings iced the game for Wests.
It wasn’t supposed to happen. It couldn’t happen.
The Eels have superior quality right across the park, more skill in key positions and a powerful pack that even without Junior Paulo seemed likely to man-handle the Tigers.
Instead, Wests played a mentally resilient game, ignored the names, the stars, the reputations and the tipsters, fought harder than Parramatta from the opening whistle and frankly deserved the win.
So often in sport we see teams turn up to fields, courts and stadiums, beaten before the contest begins, knowing that the opposition are somewhere near the top of the table and unlikely to lose.
Michael Maguire managed to instil a mindset in his players leading into the clash with Parramatta that eliminated all such thought.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
He achieved coaching Nirvana by sending a team onto the field without a care for the opposition.
For those 80 minutes, Wests’ players saw nothing by 17 opponents with two arms and two legs, convinced that they could bring the performance required to be better than them on the day.
They bonded, unified and found form that was poles apart from anything they have shown in recent history.
Of course, it is likely that the Eels will finish well ahead of the Tigers on the 2022 NRL ladder and just how many times Wests can muster such an effort over the next five months is unknown.
Yet they did prove two categorical facts in their win over the Eels.
Firstly, the men in black and gold showed that no matter the opposition, their talent or reputation, all teams are beatable, if the underdog brings the mental application required to challenge them.
The performance also reiterated the fact that for fans of 15 NRL teams, Parramatta are the gift that keeps on giving.
It won’t last forever, but thank goodness we can continue to enjoy them again 2022.
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
Some of the best TV we'll see all year!
For someone who insists he’s a centre, Zac Lomax is a top-quality winger. He is set to cost himself hundreds of thousands of dollars…
The rugby league world is in mourning after the death of Balmain Tigers legend Keith Barnes, who has passed away at the age of…
The Dolphins suffered injuries to three of their key players as half Isaiya Katoa inspired their 26-16 win over Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium…
South Sydney have suffered another huge blow with Lachlan Ilias carried off in NSW Cup after a late shot from Warriors hooker Freddy Lussick.…
