The Dogs’ horror run of injury luck has continued, with Jacob Kiraz becoming their second winger in a week to limp out in the early stages.
Parramatta had been favourites to down the depleted Dogs before they lost Kiraz to a suspected MCL tear, and without him, it went downhill fast.
That the final score was 30-4 to the Eels was a testament to the commitment on show from Canterbury, who defended for their lives.
Parra will likely be annoyed that they didn’t cash in more, but from the moment Will Penisini slalomed in from range to open the scoring, the result was never in doubt.
This was more like the Eels of last year. Reagan Campbell-Gillard continued his campaign for an Origin recall with a mammoth showing in the middle, with Brad Arthur revealing that the prop had spent time in hospital this week with an unspecified complaint before rising to play his best game of the year.
On this form, it would be negligent for Brad Fittler to leave him out. RCG topped the metre count, scored a try and bust seven tackles before Arthur gave him an early mark.
“We have high expectations and standards,” said the coach. “We won last week and we’ve won this week and they’re flat in the sheds, which is a good thing, but it’s hard to win NRL games and we’ve got to enjoy them when we do.
“I felt like we should have went on with in a bit more in the second half but we know that we’re not at our best but we’ve managed to get two points today and two points last week.”
Canterbury didn’t help themselves with a slew of errors at crucial moments, but were hamstrung throughout by a backline that was missing its two best wingers and included Jake Averillo, who was clearly unfit and struggled to move with any freedom.
Reed Mahoney, who was booed by the home crowd on his return to Parramatta, had an off-night, making several errors and conceding multiple penalties. Tevita Pangai junior, in his first start of the year, was excellent, as was Paul Alamoti on the wing.
They go again next week against the Sharks and will need to get creative with the squad to find outside backs. Cameron Ciraldo can at least take solace in the success of the NSW Cup side, who top the table in second grade. They need all the depth they can get at this stage.
“I was really proud of their effort throughout the day,” said the coach. “There were definite improvements on last week, but some periods where we lost control a little bit when things went against us. I was happy with how they dug in there.
“There’s a couple of guys out there battling that probably shouldn’t be playing at the moment, but they’re playing because we need them to play.
“This club’s built on determination and grit and we’re showing plenty of it at the moment. In the future, we’re going to look back at this period and it’s going to be the making of some of these guys.”
It was always going to be tough for the Eels. Their draw was rock solid to start off, with tough trips to Manly and Easts interspersed with visits from the Storm, Sharks and Panthers.
Having such a tough start isn’t ideal, the positive would be that it helps a side to become battle-hardened. The Eels are certainly that.
Their win last week against the Tigers was scratchy as anything, but it spoke to a side that were better prepared to take the chances in front of them, having already been in several close games against strong opposition.
Souths, who faced the same sides as Parramatta to start off, have found this too. When their draw eased up, they started to pile on the points.
On the evidence of today, that is happening to the Eels. Their attack was on early doors and essentially ended the contest by halftime, with their flowing shift plays far too good for a Dogs’ edge defence knocked sideways by injuries.
You can only beat the team in front of you, of course, and Parra did that with relative ease. Penisini was excellent and Shaun Lane, who they missed badly in the early rounds, was back to his best.
The offloads were flowing and their power game, lead by the returning Junior Paulo and the ever-excellent Campbell-Gillard, was in full effect.
On this sort of form they showed in the first half, the Eels can match anyone. Arthur, however, will worry about how early they put the cue in the rack, only sparking back into life with ten minutes to play. Their failure to exploit Averillo’s injury on their left edge will also worry the coach.
But, just like last week, this was a team that did enough to win and, after such a difficult beginning, that is encouraging stuff. Sometimes in the NRL you play well and lose, so winning when you don’t play to your best for 80 minutes is a good skill to have.
The Bulldogs must have sinned in a past life. They’ve got the NRL’s longest injury list – and the only thing worse than having multiple players out is having multiple players out in the same positions. Anyone who can play on a wing will get a run at the moment in blue and white.
Kiraz went down in a three-man tackle that, if not a hip-drop, was hip-drop adjacent. The early mail is a low grade MCL tear, which could see him miss a month.
Last week, Josh Addo-Carr got stuck in the Accor Stadium turf, spraining an ankle and ruling himself out for even longer.
Jake Averillo was in the constant company of the trainer in the first half with a patella issue and Hayze Perham seemed in discomfort with a shoulder problem.
Jackson Topine is a bloke that Bulldogs fans have been clamouring to see more of in the top grade, but few would have wanted that to be out of position at centre for two weeks in a row.
Ditto Paul Alamoti, who has impressed in his young first grade career but twice has been forced to shift to a wing to cover injuries. Coaches will never use it as an excuse, but if ever there was a situation where it would be totally justified, this is would be it.
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